Calling the financial lounge!

[SpecialFX]

I'm getting married in a couple of months and I need to get a car for my fiancee mainly just for her to go back and forth to work, run errands, and take the kids wherever they need to go. It will get the occasional 100 mile round trip to see her family and 4-5 times a year would probably go on a trip of several hundred miles. Here are the (general) options I am considering and I'm not sure what is best.

Let her have the Subaru SVX I've been DDing: It's a slightly fragile car, with expensive hard to find parts and it needs some trans work, probably a starter soon, and has a small oil leak. I don't mind driving the car as it is, but I would definitely want to fix some things before I sent her off in it with the kids. Plus it only gets 22mpg on a good day and I would be back to DDing my GTI, which I am trying to set aside to make into the fun/race car

Buy a cheap beater for now: In the $1-2000 range I'm looking at older, higher mileage, crappier car and probably a somewhat unknown history. I don't want to put her in a beater but with the wedding coming up this is a more financially responsible decision. With this I would probably be wary of the several hundred mile round trip and would probably take the GTI

Buy or Lease a cheap new car: Buy a stripper base model car like a no options Accent, Versa or similar. It will be new, reliable, get the best gas mileage and not be an embarrassment to drive, but it will be the most costly and I'll be stuck in a payment. I've never leased, but if there is a good case for a lease I'd consider it.


What does TCL say? So far I've just been keeping my eyes open for whatever I see if any of the above options make sense. I've seen some pretty good lease deals lately and I keep my eye on the local classifieds in case a deal comes up.

[warren_s]

Nothing says love like getting your newly-minted wife a beater, amirite?


Okay, hi, now it's adult time: There's two of you and presumably you're both working, and safety (you, your wife, the kids) is super important, right? -- small lease payments should be NBD.

Get a Cruze.

[patrikman]

Give me the SVX, in return I will give you a 2007 Trek Fuel EX7. It has less than 1000 almost completely off road miles and has been meticulously maintained. Very economical, the wife will be so proud.

[Mosbius Designs]

Give your wife the GTI and then find a real car to turn into a track vehicle

[DrFrisker]

Give your wife the GTI and then find a real car to turn into a track vehicle

+1

[adrew]

Honda $0 due at signing leases are back.

Civic is $220, Accord is $250, CR-V is $320, Crosstour is $330, Odyssey and Pilot are $340. All are LXs except the Crosstour is an EX-V6.

http://automobiles.honda.com/current-offers.aspx

[someguy123]

Put her in a Toyota Echo, most reliable car in the world.

[SpecialFX]

The beater option would be temporary until she gets moved in settled and finds a job and we recover financially from the wedding/honeymoon/moving expenses. We can buy something nice later.

Manual trans is no problem

I know not everyone will understand the GTI for a track toy but the car is special to me and i want to take it as far as I can. I figured everyone would think I am

[BRealistic]

Buy a cheap beater for now: In the $1-2000 range I'm looking at older, higher mileage, crappier car and probably a somewhat unknown history. I don't want to put her in a beater but with the wedding coming up this is a more financially responsible decision. With this I would probably be wary of the several hundred mile round trip and would probably take the GTI
.

Can she drive 5 speed manual?

If so- ZX2, 626... there are some decent cheap used cars out there.

If she needs an auto and is a typical "all about the exterior style" woman... Cavalier.

http://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/3002574995.html

[ValveCoverGasket]

If she needs an auto and is a typical "all about the exterior style" woman... Cavalier.

http://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/3002574995.html

nothing says "im a fan of exterior styling" like a cavalier

[Cousin Eddie]

nothing says "im a fan of exterior styling" like a cavalier

Thank you, I like to think of myself as a connaisseur.

[caj1]

The best financial advice I can give would be to ditch the wedding, go to the court, throw a kegger party/reception in the back yard, and buy something safe and reliable for your wife.

[Jason4]

The best financial advice I can give would be to ditch the wedding, go to the court, throw a kegger party/reception in the back yard, and buy something safe and reliable for your wife.

I support this plan ^^^

But I wouldn't take wedding advice from a guy who doesn't even have a girlfriend.

[dieselraver]

The best financial advice I can give would be to ditch the wedding, go to the court, throw a kegger party/reception in the back yard, and buy something safe and reliable for your wife.

we did exactly that. we saved a sh*tload, and instead of blowing it on some stupid party, we bought a house in NYC.

edit - we didn't do the hillbilly BBQ though, actually went to a catering hall and had a small intimate party.


got sh*tfaced on Remy Martin XO Special

[BRealistic]

nothing says "im a fan of exterior styling" like a cavalier

Sarcasm?

Jest if you must, but I know MANY young women that think a shiny red Cavalier is "cute".

[Jason4]

Sarcasm?

Jest if you must, but I know MANY young women that think a shiny red Cavalier is "cute".

There's a difference between being a fan of something and having an opinion on it.

[IsraelGT]

Its an opportunity to fix the SVX...



Or get her a small new car.

[bubbagti]

Get her a good new/ slightly used cpo car.

I was in the same situation when I got married. My wife's beater car she had in college literally gave up the ghost the week before we got married. As soon as we got back from our honeymoon, the #1 priority was getting her a car. We got her a 3yo CPO jetta, which was a great decision. It was little more than we wanted to pay, but it was dead reliable, way nicer than her beater car, much safer and it got great mileage. I'm convinced that we came out ahead, than if we would have tried to keep her car on the road.

[Vision33r]

I vote 98-01' (GC) Subaru Impreza RS Coupe or Sedan. They can be gotten for about $3-5k nowadays in great condition.

[romanl]

I'm getting married in a couple of months and I need to get a car for my fiancee mainly just for her to go back and forth to work, run errands,.

well there's your problem for starters, GAME OVER for you,,,, dont do it ..
j/k
but its hard to advise w/out knowing budget or some form of financial situation for the car

[boner]

Beater. You'd be surprised what can be had by keeping your ear to the ground and acting fast. Didn't plan on looking till the fall but i stumbled upon a $500 '99 passat. Passed safety with no issues. I have no doubts that it will serve its purpose for a couple of winters with ease.

Sure, not entertaining whatsoever but its a nice safe car.

I'd recommend that route as a temp solution. Plus at ~$500,you'll break almost even at the end if you sell a few bits and then scrap the rest. Only cost is insurance and fuel..... And hopefully no maintenance!!!!

[Hostile]

I would be back to DDing my GTI, which I am trying to set aside to make into the fun/race car

I hate to break it to you but if getting a car for your wife to drive around in is so hard you shouldn't be keeping a 3rd, "fun/track" car...

[Khyron]

I'm getting married in a couple of months and I need to get a car for my fiancee mainly just for her to go back and forth to work, run errands, and take the kids wherever they need to go. It will get the occasional 100 mile round trip to see her family and 4-5 times a year would probably go on a trip of several hundred miles. Here are the (general) options I am considering and I'm not sure what is best.

Let her have the Subaru SVX I've been DDing: It's a slightly fragile car, with expensive hard to find parts and it needs some trans work, probably a starter soon, and has a small oil leak. I don't mind driving the car as it is, but I would definitely want to fix some things before I sent her off in it with the kids. Plus it only gets 22mpg on a good day and I would be back to DDing my GTI, which I am trying to set aside to make into the fun/race car

Buy a cheap beater for now: In the $1-2000 range I'm looking at older, higher mileage, crappier car and probably a somewhat unknown history. I don't want to put her in a beater but with the wedding coming up this is a more financially responsible decision. With this I would probably be wary of the several hundred mile round trip and would probably take the GTI

Buy or Lease a cheap new car: Buy a stripper base model car like a no options Accent, Versa or similar. It will be new, reliable, get the best gas mileage and not be an embarrassment to drive, but it will be the most costly and I'll be stuck in a payment. I've never leased, but if there is a good case for a lease I'd consider it.


What does TCL say? So far I've just been keeping my eyes open for whatever I see if any of the above options make sense. I've seen some pretty good lease deals lately and I keep my eye on the local classifieds in case a deal comes up.

You need to man up and put her in a safe car, especially with kids. You have a crap 10+ year old car with sketchy reliability, are balking at the cost of a monthly payment, so that you can afford to play rich-man with a 3rd weekend-only race car!?

If you can afford a track/race car you shouldn't even BLINK to buy her a nice safe family car that she can pick out. Ie, a Rav4, a Caravan, a Focus, Cruz, whatever. You need to be financially stable enough that if you crash that GTI on the track, you are not impacting the family with the burden.

Or let her drive the GTI if it's a mk6, assuming you aren't gutting the thing and putting in a cage...

[koston.]

Don't let her drive the SVX daily, its a "future classic" that needs to be kept ding/mail box free. If anything, sell the VW, keep the SVX for a fun car and put the wife in something modern and safe.

[DIAF]

The beater option would be temporary until she gets moved in settled and finds a job and we recover financially from the wedding/honeymoon/moving expenses. We can buy something nice later.

Manual trans is no problem

I know not everyone will understand the GTI for a track toy but the car is special to me and i want to take it as far as I can. I figured everyone would think I am

Give her the GTI temporarily then.

I did the performance GTI thing (autox)



Those are 285 r-comps up front. It was great, for a GTi.
If you lend it to her, you can always take it back when you can afford another car for her. You drive the SVX in the meantime, and your set.

I miss my GTI, but I never miss it when I'm autocrossing.

[JLJetta]

Wait.

You need to get her a car, and you are going to marry her? Is she not able to take care of basic necessities?

[KC Jazz]

Wait.

You need to get her a car, and you are going to marry her? Is she not able to take care of basic necessities?

no joke. people put themselves in some ridiculous situations around here.

[DrFrisker]

no joke. people put themselves in some ridiculous situations around here.

bringing the trash off the street eh?

[BRealistic]

Wait.

You need to get her a car, and you are going to marry her? Is she not able to take care of basic necessities?

Maybe she just turned 16 and is pregnant.

[22AudiQ]

Figure out what you're going to spend on a leased car and then put that amount into a used Honda.

Get great mileage, great safety and reliability-- and you actually own it.

[Pool Runner]

First off LoL at spending tons of $$ to turn a GTi into a track car But seriously this is you're wife, she should be driving a nicer car than you really unless mpg's are super important because she has a long commute.

I'm not saying buy a new car but why not something on the lines of an IS300 Lexus? '02-'03 Nissan Maxima, Altima 3.5....How reliable were 1st gen Cadillac CTS's?? 2nd gen ES300 is not a bad looking car and dead reliable.

[JLJetta]

Maybe she just turned 16 and is pregnant.

Well, then it is probably a different guy who was paying her $750/month for an old passat.

[blue70beetle]

Everyone saying you need a brand new car to be safe is higher than ten hippies. Cars have been quite safe for a long time. I don't feel guilty putting my kids in my Jeep, even though my wife's Cadillac is "safer." Before that I didn't feel guilty putting them in my mk2 Jetta.

Do the financially responsible thing and buy (don't confuse the word "finance" with this one) a car you can afford. There are lots of really good, reliable, affordable cars out there. Carmakers have been in the appliance business for years, so finding something suitable you can buy outright shouldn't be a monumental task.

This whole safety thing has reached a point of diminishing returns. I don't disagree that a car built today is safer than the previous generation of the same car, but honestly, what's in it for me, and how likely am I to need that "extra" safety?