by Jenkins » Fri 24 Aug 2007 04:00
Yeah, for me, a car was a big thing. I've been working on cars since I was 8. I work on a racecar on the weekends, and no more about cars than most men in their 30's. It's more of a way of life for me. I possibly even have a career in them, who knows. It's not about following a timeline for life...when you're 16, you buy a car, and have a job. When you're 18, you have a job, and go to college. When you're 24, you have a job, and get married, and buy a house. When you're 30, you have kids...no, you don't HAVE to work and get a car. Sure, you may want a car but nobody is forcing you to get one. I don't know about market trends in your area but there are a couple beaters in my area that can be had for as little as $500. Hell, drive that around, a lot of high school / college kids around here do that. They don't save up, and spend a couple hundred bucks on a car, and they spend their moeny elsewhere. Or you can buy a car for around half of what you would normally save up, and work 25% less, therefore you still have 25% overfunding, to do whatever with.
Just watch out for other expenses once you get your car. I made the mistake of buying my car, with the $6,000 I saved up, and then I had to worry about insurance which is $150 / month for just liabilty(whoo! sports car.), and maintainance. Luckily I know how to replace my own transmission so I don't get raped on labor fees, but I just bought a new clutch($300) and will need my transmission rebuilt($3-600), and I only have $900....so I'm rather tight on money at the moment :[