Newbie/General ForumBeginner/basic questions and general EVO discussion. Specific questions should be asked in a focused forum below. This area is for the newbies.
Well right now i'm from the DSM community. I have a 97 GST, and i'm just getting fed up with it. I have almost no mods in it what so ever, and I just got it rebuilt, and it now has a major exhaust leak (i think thats what it is). So basically i'm getting that fixed, getting my front end fixed, and selling it for about 7800 or so (sound right for a newly rebuilt GST?). I am in the Navy DEP and leaving for Basic in January. After completion of that I should have a good 2000 in the bank, plus 7000 atleast from my GST to put on a downpayment. I'm looking at the GSR w/ sunroof package, but wondering if the MR is worth the extra 4k? Also about how much a month can I expect on a 5 year payment with 10k down? I'm figuring like 650ish? And how much do you guys on average pay for insurance, this i'm firing is gonna be about 300 a month for me being i'm still 18, and I pay 180 a month for the GST. I'll be living in Flordia for over a year going to school with no expenses making 1500 a month pretty much, and when I finish that i'll be making 700 more a month on special pay and get promoted to E-4, so i'll be making decent cash with little to no expenses, which is why I want to get the Evo.
Well right now i'm from the DSM community. I have a 97 GST, and i'm just getting fed up with it. I have almost no mods in it what so ever, and I just got it rebuilt, and it now has a major exhaust leak (i think thats what it is). So basically i'm getting that fixed, getting my front end fixed, and selling it for about 7800 or so (sound right for a newly rebuilt GST?). I am in the Navy DEP and leaving for Basic in January. After completion of that I should have a good 2000 in the bank, plus 7000 atleast from my GST to put on a downpayment. I'm looking at the GSR w/ sunroof package, but wondering if the MR is worth the extra 4k? Also about how much a month can I expect on a 5 year payment with 10k down? I'm figuring like 650ish? And how much do you guys on average pay for insurance, this i'm firing is gonna be about 300 a month for me being i'm still 18, and I pay 180 a month for the GST. I'll be living in Flordia for over a year going to school with no expenses making 1500 a month pretty much, and when I finish that i'll be making 700 more a month on special pay and get promoted to E-4, so i'll be making decent cash with little to no expenses, which is why I want to get the Evo.
If you do this, you will be putting your ENTIRE after tax income into the car between the car payment itself, and insurance costs. Maintenance on an EVO is no joke, and very expensive compared to other cars.
I waited until I was an E-5 with zero bills befor buying an expensive car, and even then it was a foolish waste of money. You can buy a freaking HOUSE for less per month out of pocket expense than you are planning to spend on a car....
If you plan on a minimum 4 years in the NAVY you will get out with zero money in the bank, and still have a year left on a large car payment. If you purchase a house you will get out with 4 years of equity in your house and an incredibly good credit rating.
Hell, if you plan on moving back to your home town when you get out of the NAVY, buy a house there and have your parents rent it out to someone while you are gone.... the rent will pay the mortgage for you.
While I am telling you how to run your life, (making fun of myself not you at this point) don't convince yourself to get married for the increase in BEQ money!
Keith <------ wants you to avoid all the stupid @ss mistakes he made.
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EVO 11.53 @ 123.37, Black WRX Wagon 13.62 @ 99.24
I was Army SFC (E7), got off active duty after 8 years, spent to much time away from the US. Its good to see other military on the boards though.
For insurance, I pay $700 every six months for a 05 MR and my wifes 05 Toyota Rav4, but if your younger and not married I expect it would be a little higher (I'm 27 and married, get a pretty decent break).
I read somewhere that the Evo was one of the highest cars to insure.
If your not using USAA I would look into it, their insurance rates are pretty cheap and the service is excellent. They also cater to military (you have to be military or a dependant to get on with them) and will waive collision if the car is in storage.
They also have pretty decent auto loans if you've got decent credit. I financed my MR for 7 years at 5.7%. With no money down purchase price was $33500 and I financed my sale tax my payments are at $519 a month. I've since paid the car off but I liked having a smaller payment while I transferred to from active duty into the civilian side.
If you do this, you will be putting your ENTIRE after tax income into the car between the car payment itself, and insurance costs. Maintenance on an EVO is no joke, and very expensive compared to other cars.
I waited until I was an E-5 with zero bills befor buying an expensive car, and even then it was a foolish waste of money. You can buy a freaking HOUSE for less per month out of pocket expense than you are planning to spend on a car....
If you plan on a minimum 4 years in the NAVY you will get out with zero money in the bank, and still have a year left on a large car payment. If you purchase a house you will get out with 4 years of equity in your house and an incredibly good credit rating.
Hell, if you plan on moving back to your home town when you get out of the NAVY, buy a house there and have your parents rent it out to someone while you are gone.... the rent will pay the mortgage for you.
While I am telling you how to run your life, (making fun of myself not you at this point) don't convince yourself to get married for the increase in BEQ money!
Keith <------ wants you to avoid all the stupid @ss mistakes he made.
How in the world would I buy a house? A down payment on a house is 20%, 20% on a cheap house where i'm from is 60k, how is that cheaper than buying an evo? And i'm going into the Navy an E-3 and will be automatically promoted to E-4 upon completion of EOD school and recieve a 30k bonus(this bonus is going to that downpayment I just mentioned). How in the world am I gonna put ALL my money into the evo?, it doesn't cost 500 a month to maintain a car, I'm looking at 1k a month for payment and insurance, with another 300 in my pocket to save, with almost no other expenses.
I think what FOURDOOR is really trying to tell you here is in the long run the house would run you cheaper than a vehicle that year after year loses it value while a home continues to increase in price. I have that same dilemna. I own an 06 MR. i love my car but nonetheless investment on a car is probably the worst investment you can ever make because even if you decided to sell it one day you will never get what you payed for it.
60k for a house isnt bad....damn over in southern california. your lucky if you get a house under 250k. Your still young so if you really want the evo why not but nonetheless a home is a great investment. Imagine it this way if you buy a home and decide to sell it three years later. you'll more than likely have enough money to buy yourself another car CASH! just my opinion
I missed the part about being 18 and going in as a e3, I would probably hold off on the car. Even as a e-4 with less than 2 years your not really making that much, especially after taxes.
Even having free quarters and eating at the dining facility your going to have expenses and leaving yourself $300 a month isn't much to live on.
When I first went into the service one of my buddies who ended up at the in the same unit as me at Fort Hood went out and bought a brand new (1997) Camaro SS. On paper he had the money to pay for it and still had some left over but in reality little expenses here and there killed him. When we used to go out to Austin and chase girls he was stuck in the barracks cause he couldn't afford to do anything, as all his money went to his car, insurance, and gas.
So basicly, his car owned him.
I'm not telling you how to live your life but I would suggest either paying off and driving your current car or sell it and get something cheap. While your at basic and eod school your probably not going to be able to go off post much or be allowed to drive, why not save all that money and then make a decision to purchase something when you get to your first duty station. If you took your bonus money and saved you paychecks while your at basic and AIT (or whatever they call it) you could have a pretty big chunk of change in a year or so. Might even invest or look at a CD's and mutual funds.
I would definately wait until you get where your going and have a chance to see how things are in reality, never good to make a big decision on speculation of how you think things are going to be.
How in the world would I buy a house? A down payment on a house is 20%, 20% on a cheap house where i'm from is 60k, how is that cheaper than buying an evo? And i'm going into the Navy an E-3 and will be automatically promoted to E-4 upon completion of EOD school and recieve a 30k bonus(this bonus is going to that downpayment I just mentioned). How in the world am I gonna put ALL my money into the evo?, it doesn't cost 500 a month to maintain a car, I'm looking at 1k a month for payment and insurance, with another 300 in my pocket to save, with almost no other expenses.
I went into the Navy as an E-3 and promoted to E-4 at the completion of training as well.... you don't make crap as a baby E-4. Trust me, I've been there.
That 30K bonus will be paid half when you earn it, and the remainder spread over the remaining years of your enlistment, so you will get 15,000 befor taxes. Right around 10,000 after taxes.
You as a member of the military can get a VA garenteed loan on a home, basicly zero down payment. You would need to carry "PMI insurance" on the loan until you reach 20% equity in the home. Property value increase over time automaticly counts as extra equity in the home, so if you are in a booming housing market it takes less time to reach 20% equity.
I am not telling you how to live your life, most of us F'ed up ourselves when we were young and first in the Military.... I sort of wish somone had pounded some sense into my head so I didn't make the mistakes you are thinking of making.
You want to spend over 2/3 of your pre-tax income ($1501.20 BEFORE TAXES) on your car. That is aprox 100% of your after tax income!
You will never go to a movie, you will never go to McDonalds, you will never buy a book at the mall, you will never buy a pack of smokes.... you will be BROKE
Hell, you will never buy a gallon of gasoline on that income.... so the car will sit gathering dust and you will be unable to drive it.
I am not urging you to buy a house. Just pointing out what I have seen the truely sucessful military members do with their money.
A fast car don't even get you laid if you don't have any money to spend on a date.
Keith
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EVO 11.53 @ 123.37, Black WRX Wagon 13.62 @ 99.24
Last thing you want to do is go in as a young enlisted and immediately buy a brand new Evo. Use that bonus towards something real. Holy cow, 60k house? That's unbelievably low, and you don't have to do 20% with a VA loan. With a VA loan, you get a great rate, no money down, and no PMI penalty. I just don't know how it works while you're IN SERVICE, since I got mine after leaving the Corps.
Btw, what is up with receiving E-4 automatically out of school and getting a 30k bonus? Good Lord, do they not make people earn things anymore? A boot recruit E-4 with no experience whatsoever is scary. In the Corps, an E-4 is an NCO. NOBODY gets that automatically - it has to be earned. Sorry for the off-topic rant...
Btw, as a 3, 4, and 5 year E-5 in the Corps, I relegated myself to a used 1G DSM that I modded, built, and raced weekly. I had a blast with a car that cost me 8k to buy and around 7-10k total in mods, tranny/clutch, wheels/tires, etc. It went 12.1@113 and got me into the performance world eventually leading to my Evo, and you can see where I am now. I couldn't have come close to affording an Evo even as a multi-year E-5...
Last thing you want to do is go in as a young enlisted and immediately buy a brand new Evo. Use that bonus towards something real. Holy cow, 60k house?
If I read it correctly I think he was saying that 20% of the apraised value of a house in his area is $60,000... so a house cost aprox $300,000
Keith
PS: A huge group of ex-military who are Rabid EVO enthusiasts are telling you to hold off.... this is NOT becase we hate you or think you can't handle it. We all respect your comitment to your (our) Country and want you to do well. Money worries like this can lead to pore performance, and bad performance evaluations culminating in lack of promotion.... none of us want to see that happen to you. Each of us has seen this happen to someone we personally know.
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EVO 11.53 @ 123.37, Black WRX Wagon 13.62 @ 99.24
A 1g awd talon or eclipse would be cheap fun, and for less than 1/4 of what you will spend on the evo you could easily be in the 11's. Just a thought. Have the sleeper effect going to.
I don't know about Navy post/base/whatever but I know that having a nice car on a Army post is not a good idea. I don't know how many times I'd leave the barracks and see someones car on cinderblocks cause someone jacked their wheels. Alot of local civilians and military dependants like to loot the soldiers parking lots on base since so many young guys go out and buy nice cars and rims.
I didn't commit to buying a expensive car until I had my own garage, since keeping the finish nice can be somewhat of a challenge when constanly exposed to the elements.
If I read it correctly I think he was saying that 20% of the apraised value of a house in his area is $60,000... so a house cost aprox $300,000
Keith
PS: A huge group of ex-military who are Rabid EVO enthusiasts are telling you to hold off.... this is NOT becase we hate you or think you can't handle it. We all respect your comitment to your (our) Country and want you to do well. Money worries like this can lead to pore performance, and bad performance evaluations culminating in lack of promotion.... none of us want to see that happen to you. Each of us has seen this happen to someone we personally know.
Exactly, and I said a cheap house in my area, the average house in my area goes for well over half a million. My parents house is worth 600k+ right now.....
and as far as earning my E-3/E-4 I have earned it. I have spent four years in JROTC. Also I am going into EOD which is Naval Special Warfare (thus the bonus), and am going to one of the most challenging schools in the military, which is over 55 weeks, and thats just the basic two schools, not the many other advanced schools i'll be going to after that such as Jump School, Comm School, Etc.
Good thinking fellow dsmer....you dont want your life revolved around a car that takes all of your paycheck. Thanks for clarifying about the house thing i was about to move out to florida if they were at those prices.
you'll be eating at the DFAC a lot with a car payment and insurance dude. I've seen so many new soldiers go out and get new cars and they are repo'd within 3 months. I could easily afford my explorer as a civilian and when I got to my unit I found out it was too much. I sold my truck and bought a mustang i could pay off and with insurance alone i am still suffering but that is debt and poor fiscal planning from college years.
I'm pretty set on an EVO, but my #1 solution.... DEPLOY! its the only way i can, thankfully i'll be in theatre in 4-6 weeks, i'll pay off all my debt and be able to put half value down. Granted the navy deploys for a shorter period but with one year combat pay i'll be fine. That and I ETS 8 months after i get back from iraq, so payments on civilian pay again will be cake.
Trust me bro, the $1,700gross(roughly, i forget) that an E4 makes doesnt go that far w/ bills.
?????? how the hell do you earn E4(i dont want to even say earn) with less than 2 years service, without a bachelors? granted my degree helped my promos a lot, i still got my SPC with a waiver at 16months service.... and the army is by far the fastest promoter for junior enlisted ranks. Congrats on the bonus, i wish id gotten $30K... and oh yeah, the other guy was right, youll get half when you get to your unit and the rest in installments. I wouldnt have signed if it wasnt infantry, i was thrilled that they offered me a bonus! I guess the catch was that i got stuck in central texas....
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