Downgrading Mustang GT?

[PhillyMike]

Atm it’s about $527 a month with 4.6 interest rate and still got like 70 months ish left

First thought: Keep what you have for now, if money gets tight in your new situation without roomates, and you're having trouble getting ends to meet, you will need to trade a lot further down to something in the 10-15K range to make much of a difference in the payments with today's interest rates. Shame to sell a car you have mods in and are happy with for an unknown used car.

Really we would need to know much more about your situation than you should share to random forum assholes to give you an informed opinion. Is there a trusted family member you can review your full financial situation and options with?

Alternative employment options- higher paying job in another city since it sounds like you are moving anyways?

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[junits15]

Atm it’s about $527 a month with 4.6 interest rate and still got like 70 months ish left

Ok so you just got this thing? 70 months sounds like you've paid 2 months of a 6 year loan.

Which really sucks because that also means you don't have much equity to get a new car. I would jump ship, absolutely.

Roughly 18-20% not including gas and insurance (insurance is 220 atm)

If $530 is 20% of your total monthly income you need to get out of this car immediately. I would say that the car payment itself should not exceed more than 5-10% of your post tax monthly income. The total payment with the gasoline, and insurance should not exceed 15-20%.

The reason I say this is that you do not need to stretch thin to have a fun car, it is 100% not required at all. There are many many very fun and very fast options out there for far less money. You can buy an older BRZ/FRS for a quarter of the money of the mustang, and reduce that monthly payment from $530 to $150 and you will absolutely have fun.

In reality the only way to have more money is to make more money, you'll make your life easier by reducing this payment, but pushing towards more income will serve you much better in the long run.

Good luck!

 

[Jasonb543]

There is some insanity in here… you can’t afford the GT, that’s fine… accept it and BUY what you can afford.

scrape up a few grand and buy the nicest lowest mile Toyota Corolla/Camry you can afford to pay cash for.
Focus on working and earning and investing.

 

[Q Tip]

If you really love your car and want to keep it, pick up some part time work. If it doesn't really matter one way or the other to you, ditch it and get something cheaper. How about a V6 Stang? They sound pretty snorty with an exhaust and they are reliable and fun.

 

[Q Tip]

I did vote to keep. You're 24; you'll be 28 in a flash and you'll have a bad mustang paid for in the garage. Just pick up a side hustle and roll on.

 

[RowdyRam]

Been here, done this....and I agree with the suggestion to get into a lower car payment if you can - definitely closer to 5-10% of your current income.

When I did this, I picked up a used Caprice and a used Escort, but those aren't options these days.

As far as "what" to get, you're probably ok looking at anything up to the 9-10K range that's reasonably fun to drive and is still in good shape as verified by a good mechanic.

S197 Mustang
Miata (strong aftermarket following for mods)
C4 Corvette
Civic
Accord
Corolla
Camry
Mazda 3
Mazda 6

I realize some of these may be slow, but "it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow..." as they say. It still holds true in some cases.

In that price range I'd stay away from:

Anything German/European as repairs are expensive
Anything Korean as repairs can be numerous and sometimes expensive


Then I'd focus on getting 6 months of salary saved in case you have an emergency or unexpected problem, if you haven't already done that.

It's hard, mentally, to step back but sometimes you have to do that so you can pivot and move in a different direction. No car out there is worth your financial security.

 

[Balr14]

You haven't said how many miles you have on that Mustang, or the trim level it has. That's going to have a big impact on value.

 

[Q Tip]

Or, if you really want to get your ducks in a row, join the military, pay off your Stang with your enlistment bonus, and get in killer shape, skills training, money for college, and preferential hiring. You also get to serve our great nation and protect me. You'll still be 28 when you're done.

 

[docmogas]

Or, if you really want to get your ducks in a row, join the military, pay off your Stang with your enlistment bonus, and get in killer shape, skills training, money for college, and preferential hiring. You also get to serve our great nation and protect me. You'll still be 28 when you're done.

Haha, would like to be on a fly on the wall if this happened. I can just hear it in my head. Marine D.I. "Why do you want to be a Marine maggot?!" "To pay off my mustang Sir!"

 

[DadzMach]

OP, I agree with @04DarkShadowGT. If the lack of a roommate impacts your ability to afford your car, are you giving yourself any cushion for emergencies and/or future savings? Don't let yourself be in the statistic that can't get $1k together in a pinch if/when things get tough (roughly 57% of Americans from the latest reports I believe). Don't get me wrong, it's an expensive world and it sucks having to wait to have awesome toys. But, make no mistake, one day you're going to have an unexpected expense pop up that you can't put off. If it happened tomorrow, how confident are you that you could handle it without much trouble? It'll feel so much better finding yourself in a position where you can genuinely separate your living expense budget from your car expense budget so that neither has to be impacted by the other.

That said, I have to respectfully disagree with @sirben711. That is not the most fiscally responsible advice. That line of thinking is generally what causes repossessions, foreclosures, and bad credit scores. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't happen to everyone, but it happens a lot. I know this advice was given with the best intentions, but it is just not the wisest financial decision you can make. Especially when you're only 24. If you make the decision today to provide more cushion in your budget, not only will you have another Mustang again in the not too distant future, but your future self will absolutely be glad you did.

As for car suggestions. If you're wanting to stay on the relatively newer side, you should check out a Civic Si. No, it won't feel like a Mustang. But, like the Mustang, there's a huge community and lots of aftermarket options to make them more fun and put your own stamp on them. They are very reliable cars and you should be able to get a certified one within your budget pretty easily if you keep your search to the 10th gen or older. When your budget is fairly limited, having a fun car that's also very reliable is huge.

Excellent advice! While it sucks to need to do this, it’s the best thing you can do for your future self, clearly you are smart enough to already be aware of this. Trust your gut.
I also agree with something like a Civic SI. They are pretty quick, handle well, much better MPG and probably cheaper to insure. If you buy it right, hopefully within a year or so you can sell it and not have it cost you much and buy another Mustang or whatever you want at that time.

I do applaud you for being smart and willing to do this at the age of 24! So many young people make really bad choices. Keep using your brain and you will be able to afford anything you want.

 

[Rick#7]

At the risk of sounding like a Dad, buying a car with that kind of payment when you have to rely on roommate income to pay it, and not have anything saved to fall back on was a not a good financial decision, but you're only 24, you have lots of time to make things better, and you'll make plenty more bad choices before you get things right, we've all been there.

So what to do now? You paid retail for the car, if you sell or trade, you'll only get wholesale value for it, then you'll most likely be paying retail price for whatever replaces it. From an equity standpoint it's not a good way to go, it's tossing thousands out the window. If you absolutely need the cash flow right now, sometimes you just have to take the hit on your net worth, but if you can manage the payments for now, it's better in the long for your total cost of ownership to hang onto it. Look into other ways to boost your income, there's opportunities and side hustles that can add to your monthly budget if you can commit the extra time, look at it as the price you have to pay to have a nice car. Once you start bringing a little more in from a side hustle, give some serious thought to taking some of that extra income and putting it into a Roth IRA, even if it's only a few bucks a week. You'd be surprised how much a little bit now will add up to in 40+ years! Your future self will be very happy you did. Once that retirement account gets established and builds some value, you'll have the option to take an emergency loan from it without penalties if the need arises, so even if you don't have other savings to fall back on, it can be a safety net for you in emergencies.

 

[young at heart]

I say again, first things first.

Everyone is assuming the OP could easily get out of the GT and have equity left. I’m not so sure and yes, as mentioned just above we don’t know payoff, trim level, mileage, condition, etc. From what he did say it didn’t sound ideal.

He needs out of the trap before getting too concerned with more cheese!

 

[XFactor7889]

I say again, first things first.

Everyone is assuming the OP could easily get out of the GT and have equity left. I’m not so sure and yes, as mentioned just above we don’t know payoff, trim level, mileage, condition, etc. From what he did say it didn’t sound ideal.

He needs out of the trap before getting too concerned with more cheese!

We do know a rough estimate for the payoff, actually. OP said about 60 months, $527 monthly, 4.6% interest. That means OP's looking at about a $28k-30k payoff, depending on just how close to 60 remaining payments OP actually is. Even a base in okay condition should net OP at least $1k (according to KBB) given what's been shared so far.

 

[CorralesR]

I was in your boat 35 years ago. I had an 85 LX notch that I just couldn't afford to keep after moving. I sold it and paid cash for a beater until I could afford something nicer. You're young. Don't screw your future self for today's gratification.

 

[FreePenguin]

Or, if you really want to get your ducks in a row, join the military, pay off your Stang with your enlistment bonus, and get in killer shape, skills training, money for college, and preferential hiring. You also get to serve our great nation and protect me. You'll still be 28 when you're done.

I tell everyone struggling that. I joined at 17, and it literally paved a good life and skill set and was paid to workout and travel and make friends. Got out when I turned 21 and had a DoD job lined up.

military is a solid option for an able male imo. Tho many look down on military now a days oddly. I don’t understand it.

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