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Stuck in a crappy situation

N

nickgpgt

New member
So Ive posted about all my cars problems before but oh well lol I had it at the shop the other day and they dont even want to lift it theyre afraid the rust is so bad that something will break. According to them its the worst theyve seen out of the grand prixs theyve got. I could just keep driving it for awhile Im just worried about the rear suspension because it makes a knocking everytime I drive over a bump because its so rusted out. Theres literally holes in my wheel wells...

Do you think Im fine with just normal city driving for awhile? I mean Ive been driving it for almost a year and its just an annoying noise.
I was also thinkning of maybe getting rid of it and financing an 04 or something but being in high school Im not sure if I really want to.
I guess this was kind of a rant sorry lol
 


It's way easier than you think to ditch the car you have and go finance something better, like an 04. It sounds like what you're driving is dangerous, and if they wont even put it on a lift I really doubt it would pass inspection.

If the car is that rusted out, it really shouldnt be on the road, and you shouldnt even be questioning whether or not to get a new one!

My opinion, dont wait another day, go on Auto trader, find a few that you'd like in the area... then see who's open tomorrow and go out, do the normal haggle game, use black friday as an excuse to get a little extra off the top, walk away if you have to if they dont come down to what you want.

You could be driving a new car home tomorrow.

Find out what the junk yard would give you for it, though... at that state, if it's as bad as you say, the dealership might not even accept a trade-in
 
Yeah I thought Id go look around tomorrow, Im just not sure how easy it will work financing something while Im still in school. I have a job so I can definitely make the payments its insurance Im worried about, you cant put no fault on a financed car can you?
 
Financed cars usually require full coverage, but if you can secure the financing and cover the insurance for just a little... you might be able to jump into a credit union.

They're different from banks because they dont operate or profit, so their interest rates are waaaaaaaaaaay lower, and that usually impacts the end total and monthly payments by a lot.

Even if you find an 02 or 03 in good condition, go for a gtp, they'll probably only want a 2-3k for it.
 
I mean it would be in one of my grandparents name so the insurance probably wouldnt be too bad either way. I mean technically I guess I dont really need a car right now but it would inconvienience them because Id have to use there cars to get around.
 


I suggest you talk to then about it and they can probably give you the best advice in your situation.

If they don't mind you driving there cars to go to work etc then do it and save up and maybe finance or just buy another used affordable car.
 
FriboRage said:
It's way easier than you think to ditch the car you have and go finance something better, like an 04.
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Doubtful. Being he's in high school, he'll have several factors working against him. For starters, he won't have any credit history at that age. Secondly, chances are his income is pretty low considering the jobs and hours he's limited to by being in high school. That will make getting financing in the first place a bit more difficult, and IF he does, getting a good interest rate even harder. If his grandparents are going to cosign, or buy the car under their name outright, that's a different story. Though even then, it's hard to get a good rate, or even get a loan on a car that old ('04 and older). The way the banks look at it, if you default on your payments and they have to repo it, they've lost their money because a car that old isn't going to be worth jack by then.

Even if all that worked out, he'd still have to take into consideration the down payment (no dealer is going to accept his current car on trade in the condition that it's in), cost of monthly payments, for how long, maintenance, repairs (he'll still be buying a pretty old car) insurance, etc. Unless he's going to receive some assistance financially from his parents or grandparents, it's going to be rather difficult to swing on a high school budget. The good thing is he's at least aware of this and thinking about it, as opposed to the usual mentality of "buy now, worry about how I'll pay for it later".

nick - I'd do what REDCOMPG suggested. I'm sure your grandparents will understand, and if it isn't a huge inconvenience, will be willing to help you out by using their cars, even if it's just till the end of this school year to allow you to save up a bit. You don't want to rush into buying another car, not to mention in most cases, looking at other cars that are 10+ years old usually isn't going to fare a whole lot better than what you have now (eg. even if they're not total rust buckets, things are going to break under normal wear and tear by that age).
 
RareGMFan said:
Doubtful. Being he's in high school, he'll have several factors working against him. For starters, he won't have any credit history at that age. Secondly, chances are his income is pretty low considering the jobs and hours he's limited to by being in high school. That will make getting financing in the first place a bit more difficult, and IF he does, getting a good interest rate even harder. If his grandparents are going to cosign, or buy the car under their name outright, that's a different story. Though even then, it's hard to get a good rate, or even get a loan on a car that old ('04 and older). The way the banks look at it, if you default on your payments and they have to repo it, they've lost their money because a car that old isn't going to be worth jack by then.

Even if all that worked out, he'd still have to take into consideration the down payment (no dealer is going to accept his current car on trade in the condition that it's in), cost of monthly payments, for how long, maintenance, repairs (he'll still be buying a pretty old car) insurance, etc. Unless he's going to receive some assistance financially from his parents or grandparents, it's going to be rather difficult to swing on a high school budget. The good thing is he's at least aware of this and thinking about it, as opposed to the usual mentality of "buy now, worry about how I'll pay for it later".

nick - I'd do what REDCOMPG suggested. I'm sure your grandparents will understand, and if it isn't a huge inconvenience, will be willing to help you out by using their cars, even if it's just till the end of this school year to allow you to save up a bit. You don't want to rush into buying another car, not to mention in most cases, looking at other cars that are 10+ years old usually isn't going to fare a whole lot better than what you have now (eg. even if they're not total rust buckets, things are going to break under normal wear and tear by that age).
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I missed the part about still being in HS, so yeah that kind of negates everything I said, sorry. Definitely have a conversation with whoever is gunna be financially responsible for the car.
 
When I turned 16 my dad got a signature loan (car was too old/cheap for an auto loan) for like 4k. My payments were $115 a month, my dad gave me the payment book and I paid it every month.

And there was no need for comp/collision insurance. If your parents/ grandparents could do something similar that's the route I would go.
 


Tough it out for the rest of the winter and plan on getting something in the spring is what I would suggest.
 
Yeah I'll most likely just keep driving my GT for now. Even with what they told me Im sure normal city driving isnt going to be dangerous for me seeing as Ive been driving it for almost a year and it couldnt have been much better when I bought it. But yeah as much as Id like to get another one I can easily just keep driving mine or if it sells drive their cars and save up for awhile. I make pretty decent money anyway for a high school student anyway. But do you guys think just normal city driving is a risk with my car? school and work for me arent far at all
 
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A car that rusty is more dangerous than you might expect. If you have not checked the brake lines for severe rust, do it ASAP. My car has practically no rust on the body but have had one brake line burst due to rust, and 2 others I changed just for the safety. It is not fun having a steel brake line break when hitting the brakes.
 


Does yours look as bad as those pix? Make sure the brake lines are okay. If they are you might be okay for in-town driving and such. Just don't speed and/or carry heavy loads.
 
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