Contemplating...

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> Right now money is tight. And I've been thinking really hard on this. Right now I have two cars: one is the S2000, and one is an old school Subie. I'm thinking if I should sell both of them in exchange for one practical but fun car or keep one of them?

My Ultimate Baby: Honda S2000 'Silvie'

^ Everything on the car is just that...perfection. However, the payments is taking me a very big hit. I got the car in '08 for a 5 yr. term, so pretty much I'm halfway done, but that upside-down I took from my WRX is taking me a beating! I gave so much love to it, I honestly do not want to sell it!

+ The Best of the Best, best drivers car on my list.
+ DAT VTEC
+ Excellent community
+ Practical for what it is
+ Much love given...
- Car payments
- Insurance payments
- Premium gas
- Parts somewhat $$$$


My Dependable but Cruel Wagon: Subaru GL Touring 'Gladys'

^ The fact that the car has no A/C has taken a toll on me, sure I survived last summer, but this time Vegas has been humid lately and that is bad news for me. Sure it can go along with a Jeep (with its part-time 4WD system), and sips gas like what! But locating for parts on it has been tougher by the week! I'm sure GL enthusiasts will see my car as a steal when I bundle this car with all the spare parts I have on this wagon.

+ Parts stupid cheap
+ Insurance stupid cheap
+ Regular gas
+ 4x4 anyone?
+ Practical? Hell yes!
- No A/C
- Parts harder to find
- Touring model rare
- (Almost) everyone hates it or don't know the car



The Possible Replacement/Partner: '80s Toyota AE86 Corolla GT-S Hatch (will be named "Tomoyo")

Stock Photo

^ If this will be my only car, no more payments and fun to spare! Plus I'm not going to fixed/tune/hop it up ASAP. I will treat it as a DD until something breaks, 'I don't replace, I upgrade' kind of thing. Since I have an experience with the AE86 (an SR5 Hatch) so fixing this car is like fixing my Subie with the fun-juice from my S2K!

+ Parts way cheaper than S2K
+ Regular gas
+ Tires are cheap
+ Practicality between S2K and wagon
+ Almost all payments (insurance, gas, etc.) are affordable
- Car as old as me
- Completely stock? GOOD LUCK!
- Expensive entry fee
- A/C may be in R12 guise


-> Please, feel free to comment on what you think!

 

[JCE]

Keep the Subie, and repair the A\C. Then enjoy no car payments and low insurance. That way you can save the $$$ to pay in full on your next car.

 

[eSZee]

I'll agree with above.

 

[Danoff]

You're going to take a bath selling a car... no question about that. If you can manage to keep the S2000, I would recommend it. Promise your insurance company that you won't drive the S2000 much over the next year (put it at like 500 miles/year or something), and just take it out like once a month for a quick trip. They'll drop the insurance price down. In california you can even get out from under most registration costs by registering as "non-operating", which basically means you can't take it on freeways. Don't know about your state.

Then use the beater to do most of your driving (fix the AC). Survive the next few years until you get out from under your car loan, and then you can drive the S2000 more because you can afford the insurance.

Take all of the money you save from the reduced insurance payment and get out from under that car loan. Save everything you can to get out from under that car loan. Then, when you no longer have a car loan, and you have an S2000 paid off and a beater car... don't ever get another car loan ever again. Pay cash for your cars. Keep the S2000 forever to help make sure that happens.

 

[C-ZETA]

Keep the S2K, give yourself something good to drive. Sell the Subie, it has no street cred now. Buy the AE86, and get yourself affordability. Just give it a cleanup once you've bought it.

 

[JCE]

Keep the S2K, give yourself something good to drive. Sell the Subie, it has no street cred now. Buy the AE86, and get yourself affordability. Just give it a cleanup once you've bought it.

Sometimes bills and financial situations negate "street cred". I'd rather drive that Subaru and save the $$$ then be drowning in monthly debt. 👍 Ironically I'm downing in debt on my Focus so I feel his pain really. I'd rather drive a reliable 80's beater and it be paid off right now than this modern money pit.

He has infinite time to buy a great car later after he's financially better off. Just a thought.

 

[C-ZETA]

Sometimes bills and financial situations negate "street cred". I'd rather drive that Subaru and save the $$$ then be drowning in monthly debt. 👍 He has infinite time to buy a great car later after he's financially better off. Just a thought.

The AE86 is a good car financially and has street cred. And it essentially is well-rounded with the S2k and Subie to compare with. Even if it's getting old and creaky now, you can still do plenty of things with it.

 

[JCE]

The Subaru is cheaper to maintain and insure I would suspect. I still think it is a better overall choice. He said it in his first post that he isn't modifying the Toyota until something breaks--in which case that car will stay stock for eternity since it was made during Toyota's golden age of reliability. So "doing plenty of things" is out of the question for the Toyota in the near future. Plus, this whole topic is about reducing debt is it not? Why would you pay for upgrades and modifications if you are looking to reduce your financial responsibility? Did I mention that he doesn't even OWN the Toyota? He already owns the Subaru. Financially this is a very easy decision. I love that S2000 of his but it has to go. He can always save up money to buy another one or some other hot car he wants down the road. I don't know what his payments are but I'd imagine he could literally save $500 or more a month by ditching the S2000 and sticking with the Subaru. 2 years of $500 is $12,000. That is a hell of a payment on something else of you ask me.

Plus, on the whole "street cred" issue. Like someone should care what car another person drives. Maybe if everyone worried about themselves and quit caring about what material possessions other humans have we would be better off. "Street cred" is a 20th century term that I would like to see go away forever. But I digress...

 

[Luminis]

At times, getting your financial issues straightened out has to take precedence over fun. I hate it myself, but, well, that's the way it is. So, in my opinion... Try to get rid of the S2000 and the car loan, keep the Subie and get yourself the AE86 or another relatively cheap, fun car (Miata?) once you've straightened things out.

 

[slims]

You're halfway done paying the loan so I would say stick it out if you can. But if money is really tight and you're running up credit and putting yourself into debt just to keep the car then it's probably time to let it go.

 

[Xavier2342]

IMO, I think you should keep both cars unless money is so tight to the extent that you're having a difficult time with making car payments. Like you said, you're halfway through paying off your S2K, I think you might as well finish paying it off. Have you thought about refinancing your S2K? Also, you could always just leave your S2K in the garage and try to see if your insurance company will have some sort of "storage" premium that'll cut down your insurance rate due to the fact that you aren't driving it as often.

 

[eSZee]

The AE86 is a good car financially and has street cred. And it essentially is well-rounded with the S2k and Subie to compare with. Even if it's getting old and creaky now, you can still do plenty of things with it.

Really? Who actually cares about street cred?

 

[Luminis]

Really? Who actually cares about street cred?

Well, I don't know, but I know who doesn't: Those who buy the car for themselves to enjoy.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> The problem with the Subie is, it never came with an A/C. Back in the day, the Subie GL-series offered A/C as an option, never a standard feature in SoCal (where it originally came from) back in '88-'89 model years. So its not of a matter of fixing it...but to install the whole unit itself! Plus, given that my Subie only has 85hp when new (now maybe 65-70hp-/+), if I had an A/C to it, the wagon might be slower than its dad, the 360!!!

-> I'm not looking for a car that has street cred or whatsoever, the AE86 just delivers the perfect practical DD fun car. As what I've said, I'll treating it as a DD. I'm just sick and tired looking for parts for my Subie getting harder and harder to find!

EDIT -> I honestly don't want to sell my S2K as much as I can! I put much enough love to it and I'm already halfway through to it. My money situation isn't 'that' tight as of the moment. I just don't want to put any more miles to it (not because I'll sell it in the near future, but for the past 2 years my S2K IS my DD).

-> And to add it all up, my pile of Subie GL parts are piling up like a parts shop. So I'm selling my Subie as a bundle deal: car + numerous spare parts. So people in Ultimate Subaru (USMB.com) might bite into it.

 

[McLaren]

-> Right now money is tight. And I've been thinking really hard on this. Right now I have two cars: one is the S2000, and one is an old school Subie. I'm thinking if I should sell both of them in exchange for one practical but fun car or keep one of them?

I would figure the S2000 to be both?


Taking everything into consideration, I would honestly keep the S2K.

 

[niky]

You've already taken the depreciation and payment hit for the S2K, no sense getting rid of it now.

An AE86 may sound like a gas... but do you really need two "driver's cars?" Too many "interesting" cars in the garage means too many things to maintain/pay for.

And also consider... are AE86s going for a fair price in your area? The whole "Initial D" craze may be dying down, but the fact that the cars are still very active in competition may mean that finding a good one that needs no work may be difficult and expensive... well... expensive for what you get.

If you really have to sell the Subie, get a more boring Corolla... or hell... a Suzuki/Geo Metro. But I'd rather get that AC fixed and the car refreshed.

 

[Luminis]

EDIT -> I honestly don't want to sell my S2K as much as I can! I put much enough love to it and I'm already halfway through to it. My money situation isn't 'that' tight as of the moment. I just don't want to put any more miles to it (not because I'll sell it in the near future, but for the past 2 years my S2K IS my DD).

Well, it sounds like you already made up your mind, aynways If you really want to keep the S2k but don't want to use it as your daily anymore, all you can hope for is to ask your insurance company about any low usage discount or something.

As for the daily... If you need to get an AC installed an constantly need parts to fix it, it might be cheaper to just get yourself a new daily. But, I guess you might want look for something cheaper than the AE86. There's bound to be something that does the trick. I'd just bite the bullet and go with the cheapest (including gas and maintanance, of course) car for a daily you can, if you want to keep the S2k. Two exciting and fun cars might be a bit much to ask for...

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> ...

You're halfway done paying the loan so I would say stick it out if you can. But if money is really tight and you're running up credit and putting yourself into debt just to keep the car then it's probably time to let it go.

IMO, I think you should keep both cars unless money is so tight to the extent that you're having a difficult time with making car payments. Like you said, you're halfway through paying off your S2K, I think you might as well finish paying it off.

You've already taken the depreciation and payment hit for the S2K, no sense getting rid of it now.

^ I would think its more financially logical to keep the car, until someone who is very serious about getting my car. But that will be highly unlikely.

-> But I'm not worried, I can still afford the car...

Have you thought about refinancing your S2K?

^ I've heard a lot of bad things about re-fi's, as if once you re-fi its like going into an endless loop with (slightly) lower payments.

Also, you could always just leave your S2K in the garage and try to see if your insurance company will have some sort of "storage" premium that'll cut down your insurance rate due to the fact that you aren't driving it as often.

^ I might ask my agent about that, thanks! 👍

I would figure the S2000 to be both?

Taking everything into consideration, I would honestly keep the S2K.

^ Yes, my beloved S2K IS just that. But when passengers and cargo considerations, yea the S can't do as much...

An AE86 may sound like a gas... but do you really need two "driver's cars?" Too many "interesting" cars in the garage means too many things to maintain/pay for.

^ For me, yes. I see driving 'Drivers Cars' as my own therapy from stress. Driving a more sedate vehicle will likely for me to go nuts!

-> As for 'too many things to maintain/pay for. The AE86 will be much more afordable to keep in the long run, since the Subie does not have any A/C components and hardware to begin with. As what I've said, the AE86 will be my DD, not my Touge Special. That title will go to my S2K.

And also consider... are AE86s going for a fair price in your area? The whole "Initial D" craze may be dying down, but the fact that the cars are still very active in competition may mean that finding a good one that needs no work may be difficult and expensive... well... expensive for what you get.

^ Average price for a good, mostly stock, AE86 GT-S Hatch runs about a modest USD$2,800 (PHP119,700) to 'are you mad!' USD$10,000 (PHP427,100)!!!! But so far, 'the good ones' runs around USD$3,800 (PHP162,500) to USD$4,800 (PHP206,160).

(USD to Pinoy Peso conversion as of 07-09-11)

If you really have to sell the Subie, get a more boring Corolla... or hell... a Suzuki/Geo Metro. But I'd rather get that AC fixed and the car refreshed.

^ As what I've said before the car never had an A/C just like your typical FMC Anfra, all blow no cold.

EDIT -> ...

As for the daily... If you need to get an AC installed an constantly need parts to fix it, it might be cheaper to just get yourself a new daily. But, I guess you might want look for something cheaper than the AE86. There's bound to be something that does the trick. I'd just bite the bullet and go with the cheapest (including gas and maintanance, of course) car for a daily you can, if you want to keep the S2k. Two exciting and fun cars might be a bit much to ask for...

^ Well for a short time I used to have a WRX wagon (w/ payments) as my DD and an AE86 SR5 (carb-powered 4AC engine) as my project car. I NEED to exciting cars, so my life wont be as boring.

 

[176OES]

Not sure if its been mentioned, but have you considered re-financing the loan?

As you're half way through, the minimum payments on a 10k loan are surely going to be less than the minimum payments on a 20k loan with a 10k balance (figures for example only)

 

[Luminis]

^ Well for a short time I used to have a WRX wagon (w/ payments) as my DD and an AE86 SR5 (carb-powered 4AC engine) as my project car. I NEED to exciting cars, so my life wont be as boring.

See, I'm always getting a bit passionate about topics like these... Comes with the job, I guess. So, I hope you don't take any offense from what I'm going to say.

You said in your OP that your financial situation isn't the best, that your money is tight. And yet, you've basically used this thread to tell us that you're going to keep your S2000 no matter what and get an AE86. I mean, what the hell? If money's tight, you'd better cut your expense and, most importantly, any unnecessary spending as soon as possible. I've seen way too many people drown in debt because of that behaviour. You know, buying stuff when you really shouldn't.

Thing is, from my experience, when your average guy tells you his financial situation "a bit tight", it usually translates to "friggin' broke" in financial advisor language. It often leads to situation where people think they can just go on spending like they used to, only to find that, one day, their bank account doesn't hold enough money to replace that broken fridge or whatever. And that's when most people start realise just how bad their situation is, no matter how often they were told to cut the spending when things were still okay. Not saying that you necessarily are a person that's acting like that, but there's always the danger of underestimating the situation.

Granted, I don't know your financial situation. But, you should really think this through. The S2000 is going to cost you. It's not the cheapest car to keep around and paying for the loan isn't going to help, even if you keep it stationary. Which raises the question... Why spend big money on it if you'll have to keep it from getting much more mileage put on it? Your Subie is probably a money pit anyways, even though you're not paying big money for the individual issues. And the AE86 isn't going to be overly cheap, it's going to be much like your Subie is now. Relatively cheap to buy, yes, but for a car that's roughly 25 years old, it's still expensive and it'll need some more money to be thrown at it, that just comes with the age.

Now, I don't know what you had in mind when you said money was tight, but, really, if you can afford to keep the S2000 and spend even more money on an AE86, you'd better be far better off than what your OP would suggest.

In my opinion, if your money really is tight, I'd suggest to either:
1) Keep the S2000, try to reduce and expenses on it as much as possible and go with a cheap econobox for a DD.
2) Sell the S2000 and the Subie and get a cheaper, yet exciting DD.

I can understand that you want two interesting cars to not get bored, of course. Thing is, an exciting life is rarely cheap.

Otherwise, good luck to you, you'll need if you plan to pay for an AE86 and the S2000, if your financial situation isn't at least decent right now. But, do me one favour: Don't be the guy that's accusing their financial advisor and their bank for ruining them when crap's hitting the fan

On the refinancing:
It would make sense if it's been a while since you took out the loan for the S2000 or can switch to another bank, or if you've got other loans that you could refinance in one go as well. Talking it through with a few financial advisors from some different banks will most certainly not hurt and might self you a couple hundred bucks, or maybe even a grand or two.

 

[Danoff]

^ I've heard a lot of bad things about re-fi's, as if once you re-fi its like going into an endless loop with (slightly) lower payments.

Yup, you definitely can. The problem with refinancing that nobody ever thinks about is extending the term. People always want the lower payments and go ahead and extend the term of the loan back to the original - that's how you lose a ton of money on a refi. For example, if you're 7 years into a 30 years home loan, you need a full 1% drop in the rate just to break EVEN on a new 30 year loan.

So if you decide to refi, I would strongly urge you to keep the end-date of the loan fixed. Don't let them extend it.

Keeping the S2000 stationary while you pay it off is not necessarily a bad move. You got in over your head with the S2000, the smart move is not necessarily to lose even more money by dumping it after you've lost a crapload in depreciation and have paid lots of interest on your loan but not so much principle. What you need is breathing room to get that loan paid off as soon as possible (early if possible).

I want you to think of the most expensive possible way to own a car - buy it new, financed, and sell it shortly after with low mileage on it. There is almost no faster way to burn money on a car - and it's what you'll do if you sell it now.

Now that being said, sometimes you have to do something stupid from a long-term financial point of view in order to have enough money to buy groceries right now. Hopefully that's not the situation you're in.

Sounds like the subaru is no good as a DD. You should probably sell it and get another beater, but not an AE86. You need something cheap, reliable, and economical. I might even recommend riding a bicycle or taking a moped or motorcycle to work.

I still suggest that you drive the S2000 as little as possible, reduce the insurance mileage on it to get a break there, and either suck it up with the subaru or find another way to get to work (carpool, bicycle, etc.) until you get out from under the S2000 loan... and again, no more car loans for the rest of your life.