tldr; I'm currently a little job insecure, but have saved up 35k for a car and want a BRZ. And I'd like to go by the conventional wisdom of r/personalfinance and only buy Used for my first car. Is getting a beater car under 8k now and upgrading within a year hopefully when the market cools down a financially bad decision?
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Long version:
I have a budget of around 30-35k out-the-door and want a BRZ. This would be my first car, and I currently live in CA. However, I’m in tech, and the recent layoffs in my company have gotten me scared (I expect more layoffs next quarter). So I’m considering getting a cheap beater under 8k (I’m thinking old reliable Toyota/Honda) to fit my needs right now. And I’m actually still seeing used BRZs sell for over new car MSRP right now. I also have an emergency fund for 6 months.
If I upgrade a 5-10k beater to a used BRZ within a year, would it be a financially worse decision than just buying a BRZ now? I will be also turning 25 end of the year so I expect insurance to be pretty high right now.
I also posted on r/whatcarshouldIbuy, hope it isn't against community rules. Thanks!
Edit: Yes, I am on currently track to max out my 401k for the year if I don't get laid off, don't have any loans, and have a 6-8 month emergency fund in a CD. I've been saving up for the car for a long time, and will be trying to get it in cash, should not need a loan. I guess my question is specifically about whether I should expect used BRZ prices to go down over a year more than a beater would go down in value when I own it for less than a year, including all the tax/registration overheads.
Submitted February 09, 2023 at 12:45AM by ChocolateBreadstick https://ift.tt/Q9am8Wk