Potential 135i buyer

[04sidriver]

I am 25 years old and make 61k a year. I own a condo and my honda is almost paid off. Do you think i should consider buying the bmw or just pay off my car and save money?

[Perfect128]

Pay off and save. Drive the Honda until it quits and get a little ahead. Then take another look at your situation.

[m1stert1m]

You are young! Live it up! 135i definitely!

[3toM]

Do you have any other debts (sounds like the condo is paid off)? If not, save up a nice down payment and enjoy!

[vivid]

sounds like your doing quite well... You own your condo, nearly paid off your current car... do you have any depts that need taking care of? If not then the qu should be would you like a new car, sounds like you have a good start and can treat yourself as long as there are not other depts that we don;t know about

[LazyT]

Unfortunately, Rice Speculators are driving up the price of rice now. Go for the road-rocket!

[04sidriver]

I just bought the house so its not paid off

[ansun]

Originally Posted by 04sidriver

I just bought the house so its not paid off

Youre going to get a plethora of different "opinions" for this. You need to decide if you can afford $500 to $600 a month for a lease payment...even more for finance for the next 2 to 5 years. If you can then DEFINITELY get the 135i. If not...be smart. The car will ALWAYS be there and if anything within the next year the price will go down and they will only be adding things to make the 09 or '10 1ers betters.

[SCA1]

You're young and can handle the stress of paying for a house and a car. Get the 1er!

[Dan203]

How much equity do you have in the Honda? If you get a decent amount for the trade-in and have at least a few grand in cash to put down on the BMW then you should be OK. For your income level you should try to keep the payment to around $600. Although don't get stuck in some crap 8 year loan just to keep the payment down. You're better off paying a slightly higher payment for a shorter period of time then stretching it out to get the payment down.

One other thing you might want to check on is insurance. For young guys insurance on cars like this can be pretty expensive.

Dan

[EDUC8ED]

Wow sounds just like me. Im 25 and bought my house @ 24. I sold my 06' civic si (which I loved) saved for a few months and put my down payment on my 135. I can relate to your situation, its really about priorities. Never live beyond your means!! But like others have said, you only live once. Take time now have fun and get what you want..as long as you can afford it. If youre like me and work hard you deserve to endulge a bit. Get the 1

[e90_m3]

Buy it now, since you will have other priority later even if you can afford it more (you will need bigger houses, family, family van, etc.)

However, if you are financial-logical, you should of course pay things off and save $. All depending on your priority....

[Rye]

Pay off the Honda, save up money for a few years, then get the BMW....heck, even better to get a used one that's only a year or 2 old. It's so nice to not have a car payment. Not sure if your newly purchased condo is new or old, but if it could use a bit of fixing or remodeling...your saved money could go to improving the condo which would increase the value of the condo over the longrun.

You're in a better situation than most ppl...owning a home at a young age. Unless you did one of those home loan ARM things then I say....uh oh. You're already ahead of what most people start to have in their 30s. Don't go blowing it by getting into bigger financial debt. By getting the 1er, how does this affect your savings plan? Did you have one in the first place? Does this mean you're now living paycheck to paycheck? Just some things you should think about.

[04sidriver]

Thanks for all the advice guys....I think I'm going to keep my car and pay it off. After saving for a few years, I will have a good downpayment for the 135i

[Dan203]

A very wise and responsible decision. :w00t:

Dan

[rdkind62]

I know you have already made your decision, but just a word to others that may be in the same situation. Make sure you are putting a good portion of your money into a retirement account. Consider it just as you would a bill: something you have to pay. Then, if you stil have left over income then by all means do as you like.

[Robert]

Keep in mind the actual cost of the 135i is not just the msrp and tax. It's the premium fuel, the mods (trust me you will mod this car), and insurance. All said, it's worth it.

[Alext]

Save the money for the downpayment on the car for a downpayment on ANOTHER property once market hits rock bottom (if you can pick it). Wait a few years then down the track you might find yourself deciding what colour leather to pick from the Carrozeria Scaglietti programme collection.

[Dan203]

I bought a rental condo just before real estate prices started to drop. I thought I could hold onto it for a year and then flip it for a profit. Unfortunately the bubble popped a few months after I bought it and now it's worth less then I paid for it. At this point I'm going to have to hold onto it for another 3-5 years before I'll be able to sell it for a profit, all the while I'm stuck being a landlord. I don't even get tax benefits from it because the IRS has a cap where if you make more then so much a year you can't claim rental losses as a deduction.

That was not the wisest investment I ever made! I would have been better off putting the $30K I used as a down payment into my eSavings account that earns 5% APR. Although I'm still luckier then some others, as I can afford to ride it out. I know a lot of people who tried to do the same thing and ended selling at a loss, or getting foreclosed on, when the bubble burst.

The point of this whole post is... don't go into real estate investment unless you know exactly what you're getting into. Buying a house for yourself to live in is one thing, but buying rental property is a whole other headache and may not even return as much on your investment as a high interest savings account or mutual fund.

Dan

[Alext]

I feel for you Dan...that was unlucky. If you bought in a good location and if the market rides out the bad spell (just a matter of time of course) everything will hopefully be fine. Buy to rent is something that has to be carefully considered I agree.

[BMW Dreamer]

If you are good with money and can save while owning the 135i, I say GO FOR IT. If you are strapped with the 135i and bad with saving, then wait awile and get ahead. BUT remember, you are young ONLY 1 time, so choose wisely young(LUCKY) man.

I would HOPE you can still save while owning the Condo and 135i. That would be a great life at such a young age. Good Luck !!!