GT350, worth the payment?

[bgexpress]

Hey guys,

Long time lurker here thinking about purchasing a base 2016 gt350. My current daily is an s2000. Love my s2000 but looking for something with more power. I am a recent college grad with a well paying engineering job and few expenses. I have been lusting over the s550 since it was released but now that the gt350 came out I feel like I would be crazy to spend 35k if the gt350 is obtainable with a slightly longer loan term and a bigger down payment.

Feels a little crazy to buy such a nice car after not working for more than year, even if I can technically afford it. The question I really have is the ~700 dollar car payment worth it vs a GT with a ~500 dollar payment? Or would you say forget both cars and drive my s2000 until I have been working a while longer?

Thanks for sharing your responses and experiences

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[firestarter2]

If you can afford it yes in a second. I take the long way home in the car. To me it feels exotic. Ive also never seen another one on the road.

8250 RPM, the sound. yes yes yes.. Look at the brakes! it feels special to me.

 

[dron_jones]

Worth the payment of you can afford it

 

[Superdog]

IMHO, absolutely not.

But I'm old fashioned like that. To be blunt, you are a kid. You appear very smart and responsible. Likely you will be very successful as well. Doesn't matter how brilliant you are, experience creates wisdom.

But you talked about payment...

Buy a house first, save a good chunk of money. Start investing a little etc etc.

For now, imho buy something more reasonable and get into something like this in a few years when you are more established.

 

[superman07]

everything is more expensive, tires, oil, gas, pads, literally everything.

Add 100 dollar a month minimum gt350 tax to cover 1200 dollars to set aside for these items.

have you checked insurance?

If you have to ask I say no.

 

[SchultzLT1]

$700 is not a good estimate of a GT350 payment unless you put a whole bunch down. I put $11k down (plus $4k ADM) and my payment is a little over $800 for 6 years. My interest rate is higher than ideal, so I intend to refi but....that's more like it. Add in higher insurance, gas, consumables, etc, and the GT350 is significantly more than a GT to own. I afford it very comfortably and sometimes I even consider selling it to go to a more track focused (non-street legal) car.

Also, I own my house, have 2 other cars, and my only bills are the ones I choose to have and utilities.

 

[Siggy550]

Both cars are livable as a daily in FL. Is the car worth $2400 more annually? Yes. Should you check insurance on GT350 over GT at your age? Yes! Your total monthly might be more than just your payment differences you quoted. The GT350 has a stupid high symbol rating. Plus, upkeep is more on the GT350.

Do you homework and make an informed decision.

FWIW, you can't legally come close to exploring the limits of the GT350 on the road. In fact, it's pretty much over in 2nd gear. The GT is a very fun car giving you about 90% of the GT350 if you aren't tracking.

 

[Mike02z]

I'd say no. If you just got a new job I would not want to take on a car payment if your current car runs and is paid. Too many people get in over their heads because technically they can afford the payment.

As for insurance, mine stayed exactly the same as my 16 GT. Not sure if the VIN identifies it as a 350 but if it does, my insurance company does not seem to care,

 

[John Montana]

I can't even imagine having a car payment of $500 +. I'm 41 now, but my rule of thumb has always been to never buy a car unless i could put at least 50% deposit down. That meant buying cheap cars for years, but eventually you get ahead of the game and start paying cash for cars. Just starting out...no way would I have saddled myself with a $700 car payment. Just my two cents.

 

[SchultzLT1]

I can't even imagine having a car payment of $500 +. I'm 41 now, but my rule of thumb has always been to never buy a car unless i could put at least 50% deposit down. That meant buying cheap cars for years, but eventually you get ahead of the game and start paying cash for cars. Just starting out...no way would I have saddled myself with a $700 car payment. Just my two cents.

This is an ideal way to go about it. Myself, I've always followed the rule of "always be able to sell it the next day for more than you owe."

 

[Superdog]

I can't even imagine having a car payment of $500 +. I'm 41 now, but my rule of thumb has always been to never buy a car unless i could put at least 50% deposit down. That meant buying cheap cars for years, but eventually you get ahead of the game and start paying cash for cars. Just starting out...no way would I have saddled myself with a $700 car payment. Just my two cents.

Wise words.

When I was in my 20's I lived pretty well below my means. And it greatly helped me get ahead for today in my early 40's.

Get in too deep at a young age and you might never climb out. A car, especially a sick GT350, is just not necessary. Wait, save, get ahead. Then treat yourself.

 

[Blaze489]

Fellow young engineer here, I bought the car. I paid the car all in cash, because I was saving for it for 2 years. I do still live at home though so that helps. Also I am still on my parents insurance,and I give them cash for it every 6 months, which is about $550.

 

[bgexpress]

I can't even imagine having a car payment of $500 +. I'm 41 now, but my rule of thumb has always been to never buy a car unless i could put at least 50% deposit down. That meant buying cheap cars for years, but eventually you get ahead of the game and start paying cash for cars. Just starting out...no way would I have saddled myself with a $700 car payment. Just my two cents.

Thanks for sharing that, I actually really like this idea of continuously upgrading by increasing the down payment and holding the payment steady.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, the general thought seems to be the gt350 is worth it over the GT payment but maybe I shouldn't even buy a GT at this point in time. I could definitely swing it even including brakes tires gas etc but it would feel better knowing I could hop out of it at anytime and get cash out of it if need be.

My calculation for a 700 dollar payment included a 10k down payment. Another year or two of saving and I could probably put John Montanas plan into action on a gt350 or something ford puts out, and hopefully I'll have purchased an apartment or house by that time. Guess I just need some s2000 parts to hold me over until then.

 

[honeybadger]

Hey guys,

Long time lurker here thinking about purchasing a base 2016 gt350. My current daily is an s2000. Love my s2000 but looking for something with more power. I am a recent college grad with a well paying engineering job and few expenses. I have been lusting over the s550 since it was released but now that the gt350 came out I feel like I would be crazy to spend 35k if the gt350 is obtainable with a slightly longer loan term and a bigger down payment.

Feels a little crazy to buy such a nice car after not working for more than year, even if I can technically afford it. The question I really have is the ~700 dollar car payment worth it vs a GT with a ~500 dollar payment? Or would you say forget both cars and drive my s2000 until I have been working a while longer?

Thanks for sharing your responses and experiences

Wow. Some very opinionated answers in this thread

It's difficult to say without knowing your income, expenses, etc... Some people dont like to place a lot of money into a depreciating asset (ie. large down payment on a car) because they will place the money into appreciating assets instead (IRAs, 401Ks, homes/real estate, other investments). Nothing wrong with this approach. It really all depends on your income/cost of living and how it affects your debt-to-income ration.

I think most would agree that the car is worth it if you can afford it. If you can afford it is a question better answered by you/your financial advisor ;)

 

[bgexpress]

Fellow young engineer here, I bought the car. I paid the car all in cash, because I was saving for it for 2 years. I do still live at home though so that helps. Also I am still on my parents insurance,and I give them cash for it every 6 months, which is about $550.

This gives me hope, hopefully in a year I can pull something similar off. Congrats on the car.

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