2006-11-13 09:02:47 · 5 answers · asked by gbpascal 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Buying & Selling
thisis a tough one, not knowing your salary, but in buying a house, one shouldnt pay any more per month than one weeks salary brings...
2006-11-13 09:05:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
As little as possible. Finance companies generally do not like to finance more than 15-18% of your take home monthly income. And you better like your job, as you will be paying for the car for probably the next 5 years. A car is about the worst investment you can make as it will depreciate rapidly. If anything, I would suggest a 2 or 3 year old car. For say $15000, you can get a new Elantra or Corolla, or you can get a 2003 Accord or Maxima. Or you can get like a 1998/1999 Lexus LS400 with a V8 and leather and laugh at your coworkers tooling around in their Taurus's and Camry's. A new car is nice, but after 6 months it is not gonna look brand new anymore. I have a 1995 Lexus and paid $12000 for it a few years ago. I get more compliments and glances than any new car that cost that much money. And the reliability and quality are the best out there.
Whatever you choose to do, research the car. Can get some good review off of MSN autos.
2006-11-13 12:42:41 · answer #2 · answered by XUSAAAgent 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would suggest that you buy the least expensive car that meets your needs. Spending any more than that is just a waste of money, since you wouldn't do anything with the expensive car that you can't do with the cheaper one.
I also recommend buying a used car rather than a new one. You lose thousands of dollars in depreciation on a new car as soon as you buy it.
2006-11-13 09:07:58 · answer #3 · answered by rainfingers 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Rule of thumb: Take your gross annual salary and calculate 10% x 3 or a maximum of x 4 if not in debt of over 8%. However, if you are in debt of over 12% x 2 and finally if in debt of 18% x1. If you are in debt and making payments then you need to be especially cautious of the total load, as the extra expenses ie: insurance, maintenance, and repairs must be figured in.
2006-11-13 09:41:36 · answer #4 · answered by Dr.Money 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Half of a weeks pay is the norm. Most people lie and use two weeks of hard work,trying to out do their neighbors.
2006-11-13 09:55:51 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋