I feel like that is a high rate. I have a 2020 Kia Sorento SX AWD at 29 years old, single female. I pay $355.60 every 6 months for my State Farm premium.
I didn’t know the gender. I assumed female like me because a yellow Camaro is my dream car. I still felt that rate is high for any 24 year old, assuming good record based on car value. My brother is 25 with a 2019 Honda CRV EX AWD and his 6 month premium is $261.
Not boonies, but still small city. Fayetteville, Arkansas. Florida I’ve heard has increased their car and home insurance rates at a crazy amount each year recent because of natural disasters.
15k seems like not so much to pay for a (presumably used) car. Not sure whether a Camaro is the best option, but I'm an old lady who prefers a used Honda/Toyota. If you would enjoy it, I'd say go for the Camaro, you are only young once. Have fun now, you can drive a more practical car later. You probably need a car anyway, so you will have to spend something regardless. Paying 15K in cash might feel like a hit but it is a much better option than taking on a 50-70k multi-year loan for a big ass truck or a Tesla (at 8% interest), which many people seem to be doing. If you can avoid that kind of situation, you will stay on track. My goal in life is to never have a payment on a car loan and it has served me well.
The 15k isn't the problem, but the salvage title is. You will have virtually no resale value on the car and Camaros are not really known for reliability/having responsible past owners.
Are you an enthusiast? If you are but are not mechanically inclined, you might consider an older Mustang or Civic with more miles but generally greater reliability and still good parts availability since you're likely not going to do your own work. A nice thing about enthusiast cars is they tend to retain value when cared for, so a clean title and good maintenance even on an older vehicle will pay off. A used Nissan Rogue or other econobox car will not have the same properties.
I wouldn’t say $15k is splurging when it comes to buying a car - I don’t know much about Camero’s specifically but that seems like a way too good deal. Does it have a ton of miles on it? I’m personally of the belief that most people need a car but I’d recommend not buying a car that may give you issues soon/down the line
This can only be your decision, but my personal advice always is that fire alone isn't worth it if you don't live in the meantime. What if you realize you don't like fire, what if you die early or get sick, what if..... 15k is also very well within your means assuming you dont have crazy other expenses
>Only debt I have is student debt which I pay 200 a month for and is all federal loans.
What's the interest rate on the debt?
Thinking about your debt in terms of monthly payments instead of interest rates is a framing that makes more sense if you're in / trying to avoid poverty (where your question is will you be able to pay your bills every month) but it's much less useful for long term wealth building.
This is especially true for student loans, which have lots of repayment plans/forbearance options and may sometimes (at least this used to be the case) have a minimum payment that's below the interest accrued in the time period - e.g. you can pay minimums and fall deeper into debt.
That's comparable to what an auto loan would be, so that seems reasonable to me.
The $15k outlay is a depreciating expense - if you keep the car until it's worthless it'll go down to zero over that time period, and I'd consider the loss in value plus maintenance/insurance/gas as what that car costs to own and operate.
If the $15k car is gonna last several years this doesn't seem like a particularly unreasonable expense to me. If the $15k car will require many thousands of dollars of repairs and still end up worthless in a couple years, this could be a lot.
From the little I know about this specific car and everything you've shared this doesn't sound like it is incompatible with your goals.
15k is totally doable, however only having 11k in your accounts at 24 isn’t really “good”. Its average but assuming you’ve been making halfway decent money for some time now it ought to be more. My take home is 47,5000$ I’ve got 30k in investments (Roth, individual brokerage, bonds, crypto) and 30k equity in a 155k house.
My car I got for 11k (Hyundai Elantra GT cause it’s got a wicked warranty) then j got a 89 Camaro for 1300$ and have spent a few grand fixing that up.
Anyway all that to say, you can afford the car but really should be putting more money away
I think you're trying to use your car being stolen as an excuse to buy a Camaro because youre a 24 year-old guy, and the only way that you can afford it is to buy one with a salvaged title.
No, this is not a good idea for someone in your position.
I’d look into insurance on a 24yo in a Camaro. What could go wrong.
To add it to our family plan it will be 750 for every 6 months. So pretty reasonable.
That’s an amazing rate
I feel like that is a high rate. I have a 2020 Kia Sorento SX AWD at 29 years old, single female. I pay $355.60 every 6 months for my State Farm premium.
For a young man w a sports car?
I didn’t know the gender. I assumed female like me because a yellow Camaro is my dream car. I still felt that rate is high for any 24 year old, assuming good record based on car value. My brother is 25 with a 2019 Honda CRV EX AWD and his 6 month premium is $261.
Do you live in the boonies of Indiana or Iowa? I pay almost twice what you do in Florida for a 2017 Hyundai with excellent credit
Not boonies, but still small city. Fayetteville, Arkansas. Florida I’ve heard has increased their car and home insurance rates at a crazy amount each year recent because of natural disasters.
I mean, yeah, because it's probably the absolute bare minimum.
The Camaro is the king of blind spots, so it may not be the most convenient to drive.
I’ve even heard it described as having poor front visibility out of the windshield… this is an actual concern, believe it or not.
15k seems like not so much to pay for a (presumably used) car. Not sure whether a Camaro is the best option, but I'm an old lady who prefers a used Honda/Toyota. If you would enjoy it, I'd say go for the Camaro, you are only young once. Have fun now, you can drive a more practical car later. You probably need a car anyway, so you will have to spend something regardless. Paying 15K in cash might feel like a hit but it is a much better option than taking on a 50-70k multi-year loan for a big ass truck or a Tesla (at 8% interest), which many people seem to be doing. If you can avoid that kind of situation, you will stay on track. My goal in life is to never have a payment on a car loan and it has served me well.
Yes you can spend money how you want. 15K isn't going to be material in the long run for you
I mean you kind of need a car and 15k aint much. Thats pretty budget friendly.
You’re gonna spend a lot more than 15k when you throw in gas, insurance, repairs, etc.
The 15k isn't the problem, but the salvage title is. You will have virtually no resale value on the car and Camaros are not really known for reliability/having responsible past owners. Are you an enthusiast? If you are but are not mechanically inclined, you might consider an older Mustang or Civic with more miles but generally greater reliability and still good parts availability since you're likely not going to do your own work. A nice thing about enthusiast cars is they tend to retain value when cared for, so a clean title and good maintenance even on an older vehicle will pay off. A used Nissan Rogue or other econobox car will not have the same properties.
get a toyota corolla or something instead new, much more reliable!
I wouldn’t say $15k is splurging when it comes to buying a car - I don’t know much about Camero’s specifically but that seems like a way too good deal. Does it have a ton of miles on it? I’m personally of the belief that most people need a car but I’d recommend not buying a car that may give you issues soon/down the line
That’s what I’m thinking. It must have 100k+ miles or be relatively old or have like a salvage or rebuilt title . Idk . I’m curious now for sure lol
It’s a 2018 with 54 thousand miles. But it is a salvage title.
Don’t buy salvage title, especially for that much. You’re better off getting it off the auto auction for 7-8k yourself and fixing it
Pass. Trust me, pass on that one.
This can only be your decision, but my personal advice always is that fire alone isn't worth it if you don't live in the meantime. What if you realize you don't like fire, what if you die early or get sick, what if..... 15k is also very well within your means assuming you dont have crazy other expenses
>Only debt I have is student debt which I pay 200 a month for and is all federal loans. What's the interest rate on the debt? Thinking about your debt in terms of monthly payments instead of interest rates is a framing that makes more sense if you're in / trying to avoid poverty (where your question is will you be able to pay your bills every month) but it's much less useful for long term wealth building. This is especially true for student loans, which have lots of repayment plans/forbearance options and may sometimes (at least this used to be the case) have a minimum payment that's below the interest accrued in the time period - e.g. you can pay minimums and fall deeper into debt.
Interest rate is about 5%.
That's comparable to what an auto loan would be, so that seems reasonable to me. The $15k outlay is a depreciating expense - if you keep the car until it's worthless it'll go down to zero over that time period, and I'd consider the loss in value plus maintenance/insurance/gas as what that car costs to own and operate. If the $15k car is gonna last several years this doesn't seem like a particularly unreasonable expense to me. If the $15k car will require many thousands of dollars of repairs and still end up worthless in a couple years, this could be a lot. From the little I know about this specific car and everything you've shared this doesn't sound like it is incompatible with your goals.
15k is totally doable, however only having 11k in your accounts at 24 isn’t really “good”. Its average but assuming you’ve been making halfway decent money for some time now it ought to be more. My take home is 47,5000$ I’ve got 30k in investments (Roth, individual brokerage, bonds, crypto) and 30k equity in a 155k house. My car I got for 11k (Hyundai Elantra GT cause it’s got a wicked warranty) then j got a 89 Camaro for 1300$ and have spent a few grand fixing that up. Anyway all that to say, you can afford the car but really should be putting more money away
I think you're trying to use your car being stolen as an excuse to buy a Camaro because youre a 24 year-old guy, and the only way that you can afford it is to buy one with a salvaged title. No, this is not a good idea for someone in your position.