NockerGeek (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nockergeek) wrote2005-08-14 01:39 am
nockergeek) wrote2005-08-14 01:39 am
Car update
Got a call today from the dealership from which we're thinking of buying a car, and we've got an appointment set up to look at a 2005 Ford Focus. Also, this morning, we did a credit pre-approval check with Ford Auto Credit. I thought we might be approved for $10,000 to $15,000 or so. We were actually pre-approved for around $32,000.
If we get the car, looks like payments will be between $240 and $270 a month. We shouldn't have any trouble fitting that into our budget. At most, we might have to trim back some extraneous lifestyle costs - a bit less eating out, and less spending at Pulp Fiction. Nothing we can't live without. We'll also have to adjust for a bit more insurance, but again, nothing that we can't handle. Our bills will still be covered, and we'll still have extra money just in case.
I think we can do this. If, for some reason, it turns out that we can't, well, then we won't. For example, there's a cash back rebate. Now, if that's a mail-in rebate, and it takes more than 30 days to process, then it's a no-go; we'd need the money for the sales tax. If it's an instant cash deal, then we'd take the $2,500 (the rebate on a 2005 Focus), put $1,000 towards the sales tax, and put the remaining $1,500 away in savings to cover the first few months worth of payments. (Alternately, we could pay off a couple of bills with it, which would free up about $70 a month.)
Really, though, the overall upshot of this is - if we can get approved for this, I think we can get approved for a mortgage on the house. Now, I don't know if we can cover the downpayment on a mortgage -- not yet, anyway -- but I don't know. If I said that I wasn't a bit apprehensive on that, I'd be lying. From what I can tell, though, we can get approved for a mortgage that could actually be slightly cheaper than our current rent payments on the same house. We'll see. Being a first-time home buyer can probably help.
If we get the car, looks like payments will be between $240 and $270 a month. We shouldn't have any trouble fitting that into our budget. At most, we might have to trim back some extraneous lifestyle costs - a bit less eating out, and less spending at Pulp Fiction. Nothing we can't live without. We'll also have to adjust for a bit more insurance, but again, nothing that we can't handle. Our bills will still be covered, and we'll still have extra money just in case.
I think we can do this. If, for some reason, it turns out that we can't, well, then we won't. For example, there's a cash back rebate. Now, if that's a mail-in rebate, and it takes more than 30 days to process, then it's a no-go; we'd need the money for the sales tax. If it's an instant cash deal, then we'd take the $2,500 (the rebate on a 2005 Focus), put $1,000 towards the sales tax, and put the remaining $1,500 away in savings to cover the first few months worth of payments. (Alternately, we could pay off a couple of bills with it, which would free up about $70 a month.)
Really, though, the overall upshot of this is - if we can get approved for this, I think we can get approved for a mortgage on the house. Now, I don't know if we can cover the downpayment on a mortgage -- not yet, anyway -- but I don't know. If I said that I wasn't a bit apprehensive on that, I'd be lying. From what I can tell, though, we can get approved for a mortgage that could actually be slightly cheaper than our current rent payments on the same house. We'll see. Being a first-time home buyer can probably help.
no subject
If you do, indeed, go with a Ford, get the last eight digits of the VIN and let me look it up for you to make sure there isn't any funkity damagey things on its track record.
Gah, at the Mixing Center, we have a saying: Friends don't let friends buy Fords. But if you do, the Focus is a very good car. :) The 500 is really damned nice (and also tempting, and this is coming from someone who wouldn't want a ford), too, and the lower end models are only a little more expensive than a Focus. Food for thought :)