Convince me this is the car I want

[Scout]

Lol... I've been interested in one of thses since I heard about them a few years ago. Buying one new was out of the question.

My wife is insisting I sell several cars and buy somethjing new(er) because I spent a week working on, fighting with, and waiting on parts for my 89 Corvette. I finished that up a few days ago, and today on my way to work it died on me. ("Every time you fix something on that car, something else breaks.") Let's be honest, it looks good, handles great, being a manual it's fun to drive, but the 245 hp makes it underpowered by today's standards. But, it's paid for, as is everything else I own. It's why I like driving old stuff, I don't like payments.

Today I've been online thinking about my next car, and the two that came to mind are the Stinger and the Chevy SS. I found one online I like, 2019, GT2, AWD, black exterior, red interior, about 32k miles, asking $40,990. I live in northern Indiana and we do get snow in winter, which is why I wanted AWD.

I've looked at a dozen pictures, lots of videos, and the onl;y thing that I don't like is the touchscreen and dash.

The only way I'm going to afford this car is by taking a loan against my 401k, I just can't have a six or seven hundred dollar car payment.




What do you think?

 

[bfglitch]

While I love the car, taking a loan on your 401k isn't exactly a good idea. I wouldn't do it unless you're 100% positive you'll pay it off on time and don't expect to change jobs before it's paid off, and even then I'd avoid it. It's a risky move considering if you don't pay it off on time it could get marked as a distribution, and then you'll REALLY be hurting based on the taxes you'll have to pay back on it for an early withdrawal.

Either way, the decision is yours. Take your time before you make your decision.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Nope. That is not a scenario I would encourage. Keep fixing your oldies but goodies. Eventually enough fixes have eradicated the most likely breaking stuff and you get a reprieve. I am talking about an older car that is basically in good shape and isn't simply a collection of abused parts.

And welcome, by the way.

 

[Landshark]

nah, don't go into debt over a car.

might i suggest an Infiniti G37 AWD ... 330hp, and 2013+ ones are pretty bulletproof, and can be had for around $15k-sh. i had one two cars ago and probably should have kept it LOL

 

[Scout]

Nope. That is not a scenario I would encourage. Keep fixing your oldies but goodies. Eventually enough fixes have eradicated the most likely breaking stuff and you get a reprieve. I am talking about an older car that is basically in good shape and isn't simply a collection of abused parts.

And welcome, by the way.

That's the way I think. An old car that needs attention now and then is still cheaper than making payments on a newer car, plus the increase in insurance, etc. I understand the Mrs point of view though, but it's a 33 year old car and things wear. I will admit I do get jealous now and then of people who have fancy new cars, but I certainly do not want the payment.

 

[Ohiocruiser]

The only way I'm going to afford this car is by taking a loan against my 401k, I just can't have a six or seven hundred dollar car payment.




What do you think?

As much as i love my stinger, i would never have bought it, if i couldn't pay cash for it. But that's just me.

 

[Hiryuu]

Sounds like you are not in the best financial state to buy the car. I'd prob sell some of your older cars and get something more moderate priced but still sporty.

2012+ G37S, 2015+ TLX V6, 2013+ Genesis Coupe V6, etc.

 

[nhcowboy28]

This is not the car you’re looking for.

 

[MerlintheMad]

That's the way I think. An old car that needs attention now and then is still cheaper than making payments on a newer car, plus the increase in insurance, etc. I understand the Mrs point of view though, but it's a 33 year old car and things wear. I will admit I do get jealous now and then of people who have fancy new cars, but I certainly do not want the payment.

Agreed. Our vehicles were all older (but nothing as fun as a Vette), increasing in size to meet the growing family size, then decreasing in size to meet the family size as kids grew up and moved away: my last used vehicle was a '94 Voyager (overlapping with the '96 Ford Club Wagon 15 passenger), bought in 2005 and sold right after I bought my Stinger in March 2018: my initial plan was to keep the Voyager until it died or I did, then when it died, I relented and restored the engine by rebuilding the heads and it ran better than when I had bought it: I was slowly "restorodding" it (as in, restoring it and turning it into a sleeper hotrod: by the way, it was a unicorn, with 5 on the floor), when the Stinger came along and destroyed my plans utterly. Three months in, I bought out the lease (we had freed up cash in those days), thus saving us over $5K in lease rent. I've never looked back and the fun is just as big today as it was well over 4.5 years ago. (This is the only brand new vehicle that I've ever had.)

 

[Devin]

I have a '90 SHO and at one point I was going to make it my daily driver. However time has determined that was a very foolish expectation and I needed a reliable car to get to work with. I've had plenty of boring commuters while also maintaining the project car (which is currently on blocks, I might add).

 

[boosted1g]

I love my car, and there is really nothing in its league that is not thousands more.
With that said I would never encourage someone to take out a 401k loan to get a car, even more so a on premium car.

Since I doubt there is anything fun in your price-range (without having to borrow against 401k) I would suggest to get something cheap with a warranty and then keep your favorite car for fun.
5 year old car without warranty is becoming a big risk because of how many oem only parts nowadays are $1000+. Buddy had a Cadillac with the same engine as that chevy ss ... the fuse box in engine bay cracked and it was over 2k!

 

[turboAWD]

Depending on your needs, yeah, look at some of the cars people have mentioned. G35/37, heck, even the M35 with the V6 (NOT the V8), etc - they come in AWD too.

Chevy SS is a cool car (I was *REALLY* looking at them for a while, ALMOST bought one during the fire sale in '17 or whenever when I had an hour or two to buy one new for $35K), but certain parts are going to be AS MUCH of a pain OR MORE than your Vette. It's a rare, IMPORTED car and I'll bet some of the parts are already unavailable - and it does have a few known weakness and very few go-fast options. Ask me how I know about parts for rare, imported models, said the owner of a 1994 Corrado VR6 in Canada, who in 2003 got the LAST driver's door left in North America (deer ran into me) that had to be shipped from CA to Ontario.. Total Corrado sales in the US were about 2x those of the Chevy SS.

What are you needs in terms of doors / cargo? If you're fine with a Vette, pick up a newer Vette or like '01 or '02 F-body (Camaro / Firebird). 10+ years newer than your car, probably similar in terms of parts, ~300 HP, etc..

Challenger SRT / newer Camaro / Mustang might also be up your alley, if you don't mind switching to Mopar.. RWD with LSD and/or torque vectoring and a couple of bags of sand in the trunk can really help in the winter.. Or, pick up a Taurus SHO with the 3.5 Ecoboost / AWD?

Edit: don't go into huge debt over a car. Especially when it's "go into debt to get a fun car vs. get a normal car without going into debt".

 

[LordKOTL]

I agree with most here; don't go into debt.

I wanted a Stinger bad since ~2018, so I saved my drachmas until I could afford one.

 

[Devin]

100% I financed mine. I don't feel bad about it, either.

 

[Redleg94]

100% I financed mine. I don't feel bad about it, either.

So did I, but I did t pull money from my 401k either.

 

[idweldthediffificould]

Lol... I've been interested in one of thses since I heard about them a few years ago. Buying one new was out of the question.

My wife is insisting I sell several cars and buy somethjing new(er) because I spent a week working on, fighting with, and waiting on parts for my 89 Corvette. I finished that up a few days ago, and today on my way to work it died on me. ("Every time you fix something on that car, something else breaks.") Let's be honest, it looks good, handles great, being a manual it's fun to drive, but the 245 hp makes it underpowered by today's standards. But, it's paid for, as is everything else I own. It's why I like driving old stuff, I don't like payments.

Today I've been online thinking about my next car, and the two that came to mind are the Stinger and the Chevy SS. I found one online I like, 2019, GT2, AWD, black exterior, red interior, about 32k miles, asking $40,990. I live in northern Indiana and we do get snow in winter, which is why I wanted AWD.

I've looked at a dozen pictures, lots of videos, and the onl;y thing that I don't like is the touchscreen and dash.

The only way I'm going to afford this car is by taking a loan against my 401k, I just can't have a six or seven hundred dollar car payment.




What do you think?

Go second hand anyway.. were talking 365bhp from factory that's a lot of bang for the buck. As far as cars go kia are pushing Honda and Toyota to bring there A game with reliability and making BMW and Mercedes sweat with the styling and interior comfort. Test drive both and figure out which one you look back at the most as your walking away....

 

[Scout]

The thing about borrowing against the 401 is that i can set the interest rate, and any interest is being paid to me. If I set the interest to 2%, I'll end up losing money over the long run, if I set it to 4% it won't affect my balance, and at ten percent I'd actually be up $8400. The problem is that payment (5 year term) is $956... its kind fun playing with the calculator. I can get the payment down to $166, but thats 2% interest and a 30 year loan.

I'll look into some other cars and see if anything else excites me.

 

[Devin]

The thing about borrowing against the 401 is that i can set the interest rate, and any interest is being paid to me. If I set the interest to 2%, I'll end up losing money over the long run, if I set it to 4% it won't affect my balance, and at ten percent I'd actually be up $8400. The problem is that payment (5 year term) is $956... its kind fun playing with the calculator. I can get the payment down to $166, but thats 2% interest and a 30 year loan.

I'll look into some other cars and see if anything else excites me.

Do you have a financial advisor? If not, I would find one that will give you a free consult (I know a good one). Most worth their salt will tell you not to borrow against your 401K. What you say about the interest is true, it is paid to you, but that may not make up for any losses you incur by taking out money out of a down market (you're essentially selling low). So while it may seem like a better deal, you really have to have someone run the numbers. And as @bfglitch mentioned you have to make sure that you are not separated from your employment otherwise you'll be charged normal income tax (which may bump you into a higher bracket for part of that income) rates and a penalty.

As far as convincing you, take a test drive.

 

[boosted1g]

that may not make up for any losses you incur by taking out money out of a down market (you're essentially selling low).

^^This.
If the market rebounds in the next 2-4 years then you will end up selling your shares now for pennies on the dollar to buy them back (paying off 401k loan) at a significantly higher price. The 4-6k you would pay in interest to a bank on a conventional loan is most likely significantly less vs the losses of selling your stocks now in a low market.

 

[DoctorStiches]

Worth a buy at 35-65k miles gt1/gt2 for around 35k if you find that buy it