Should I help out with Fiance and new used car?

[stoney508]

Ok so my fiance is going to need a new used car and were looking around. She has said 5k was were she felt comfortable looking for price. She is looking because her car she has now does not get great gas mileage and has check engine light always on and we cant figure out why right now. It was hit near gas tank and has multiple problems with it plus I don't feel she is safe driving the thing especially since she will have a half hour commute starting in december when we move in together.

Now I have offerd to put 200 down on top of her 500 for a total of 700 for a down payment and I know I don't want to finance it but we will need to and we need a fuel efficent car and also want to keep it as long as possible so I want to look at certified pre-owend which will need the price to go past her 5k.

We have found something and it would be about 173 a month but it was just our first look on paper havent went out looking just yet. Do you think it would be in my best interest as well as her's for us to go above 5k and me add 50 a month until we move in and get our budget together so we can start paying this down faster?

She will be making 14.50 an hour about 25 hours a week but she may be able to increase her hours once she is done with college dont really know because it is also a new job she just started.

I can spare an extra 50 a month maybe even 75 if I want. There are a lot of unknowns because we do not have our expenses worked out yet with our rent or utilities but looking around 200 to 250 a month for rent and then utilities we just wont know until we get the place.

Do you think this is a good idea?

Sorry for such a long post im just worried about what to do.

[asdf]

The first question that I'd ask is, when do you the two of you plan to get married? Once that day comes, do the two of you have an understanding as to whom will pay for what?

For the moment, I'll look at this from the scenario that your fiance is buying the car by herself, with her own money. At $14.50/hr for 25 hr/week, that translates to an yearly income of a little over $18,000. A $5,000 car would thusly take up about 27% of her income. I'm not sure what the consensus is on the right ratio, but it strikes me as a bit high.

So should you help out? I think I'd be able to answer that question better if we had more information. I understand things are in flux for you, but if you post a detailed list of the income, monthly expenses and debt for the two of you, it would certainly help.

Based on what I have right now, however, my gut is to say that I'd try to make the current car last for a couple more months if you can until you have your living arrangements in order by December.

[stoney508]

That is ultimatly when the car would be needed is in december. We do not know what anything will be like really. My fiance is the one that will ultimatly make up the decision and she will be looking for better jobs while she works as well as the possibility of getting full time hours or at least more hours are probably a good possibility. Like I said she wont know for sure until that time.

But we plan on getting married in August 2014 so less than a year from now.

[disneysteve]

We have found something and it would be about 173 a month

For how many months? The rule of thumb is to not spend more than 10% of take home for no more than 36 months. $173/month x 36 would be $6,200 so higher than she was looking to spend on her own.

She will be making 14.50 an hour about 25 hours a week

That makes her gross about $1,600/month so take home probably about $1,300. Ten percent would be $130. If you paid another $43 that would get you to the $173 for the car you've found assuming that is on a 3-year loan.

Should you do this? Standard advice is to not merge finances until you are married and there are good reasons for that rule.

Another thing is to be sure she isn't buying based on anticipated future earnings.

she will be looking for better jobs while she works as well as the possibility of getting full time hours or at least more hours are probably a good possibility

She needs to limit her shopping to her current situation and current income, not what might be down the road. If her income rises significantly, she can always move up to a better car.

If at all possible, I would delay the car purchase until you know your monthly expenses. You said that you haven't been able to figure out why the check engine light is on. Many auto repair shops will answer that question for free. All it takes is plugging the car into the computer. It spits out codes that detail exactly why the light is on. If you haven't had that diagnostic done, I'd highly recommend it, especially if you have a local shop that does it for free.

And I'm really curious where you can rent a place to live for $200/month.

[bjl584]

Ok so my fiance is going to need a new used car and were looking around. She has said 5k was were she felt comfortable looking for price. She is looking because her car she has now does not get great gas mileage and has check engine light always on and we cant figure out why right now. It was hit near gas tank and has multiple problems with it plus I don't feel she is safe driving the thing especially since she will have a half hour commute starting in december when we move in together.

Now I have offerd to put 200 down on top of her 500 for a total of 700 for a down payment and I know I don't want to finance it but we will need to and we need a fuel efficent car and also want to keep it as long as possible so I want to look at certified pre-owend which will need the price to go past her 5k.

We have found something and it would be about 173 a month but it was just our first look on paper havent went out looking just yet. Do you think it would be in my best interest as well as her's for us to go above 5k and me add 50 a month until we move in and get our budget together so we can start paying this down faster?

She will be making 14.50 an hour about 25 hours a week but she may be able to increase her hours once she is done with college dont really know because it is also a new job she just started.

I can spare an extra 50 a month maybe even 75 if I want. There are a lot of unknowns because we do not have our expenses worked out yet with our rent or utilities but looking around 200 to 250 a month for rent and then utilities we just wont know until we get the place.

Do you think this is a good idea?

Sorry for such a long post im just worried about what to do.

Not a good idea. Too many what ifs and maybes. She might make a better income. She might get more hours. Maybe you could spare X amount per month. Too many unknowns.

I agree with Steve that the purchase should be based on her current situation. She can always upgrade later. Look at total cost of the car not the monthly payment. If you must finance, then only do so for 36 months and make sure that the monthly payment is no more than 10% of her take home pay. That is, her take home pay today, not what it might be in the future.

[stoney508]

For how many months? The rule of thumb is to not spend more than 10% of take home for no more than 36 months. $173/month x 36 would be $6,200 so higher than she was looking to spend on her own.


That makes her gross about $1,600/month so take home probably about $1,300. Ten percent would be $130. If you paid another $43 that would get you to the $173 for the car you've found assuming that is on a 3-year loan.

Should you do this? Standard advice is to not merge finances until you are married and there are good reasons for that rule.

Another thing is to be sure she isn't buying based on anticipated future earnings.

She needs to limit her shopping to her current situation and current income, not what might be down the road. If her income rises significantly, she can always move up to a better car.

If at all possible, I would delay the car purchase until you know your monthly expenses. You said that you haven't been able to figure out why the check engine light is on. Many auto repair shops will answer that question for free. All it takes is plugging the car into the computer. It spits out codes that detail exactly why the light is on. If you haven't had that diagnostic done, I'd highly recommend it, especially if you have a local shop that does it for free.

And I'm really curious where you can rent a place to live for $200/month.

It was for a 36 month loan I believe. I am more worried about her saftey in her car its tiny and she will have a 30 mile commute instead of 5 minute commute to school and work. There are also many other problems with the car. In the winter the spedometer sticks so she has no idea her speed I believe her heat is not the greatest (live in wisconsin and need heat for winter) and yes I could fix most of the stuff she has wrong with her vehicle now but I would be paying more to fix than the car is worth at this point. She has went to a garage and had it test and we have went and replaced the spark plugs the wires the thermostate and muffler in the last year. She has differentail problems I think her CV joints are going her struts maybe and because of the crash her axel is not completly in the best shape.

The thing is she needs the car and we both need it to be better on mpg for the commute to make sense for her. I meant 200 a piece or 400 total I currently found something around 600 a month with everything included but it has coin op laundry but we could end up taking a trip every sunday to my parents and use there washer and dryer since they have something worked out where they save money by using the electrical more on the weekends than during the week. Things are becoming clearer and they will become even more clear when we move in and when she starts her job next week she just went from 8 bucks an hour to 14.50 so she will have to adjust and I know I can pay 50-75 a month towards her car. I would never go over 36 months for the life of the loan and this will be our car because if she does not have to work I will be taking it to work because my car does not get great mpg and I also will be 30 miles from work in the other direction.

[annibe11e]

Her commute is 30 miles, so she'll only be 15 miles from help, at the most, at any given point in her drive. I live in MN so I get the safety and heat thing. I would recommend a good winter emergency kit. You obviously care about her and are concerned for her safety, so this might make a nice practical gift.

Here's my list:

Blanket
Calorically dense snacks (nuts, dried fruits, chocolate)
Water (squeeze some air out of the jug before you close it for when the water freezes)
Extra gloves
Extra Boots (too big thrift store boots are perfect)
Heat candle
Matches
Hand/foot warmers
Non-clumping cat litter
Shovel

Some things that should always be in the car:
Flashlight
Batteries
Lifehammer
Tow strap
First Aid kit
Jumper cables
Emergency cell phone and charger (if she doesn't have a cell)

My engine light has been on for months. I took it to the mechanic right away and he couldn't find anything. That was in April. There's not much you can do after that, but drive it until something happens.

"yes I could fix most of the stuff she has wrong with her vehicle now but I would be paying more to fix than the car is worth"

In order to do a cost analysis, look at the cost of fixing vs. the cost of buying. Current value has little to do with anything until you sell or trade it.

I would definitely agree with previous posters that she should not buy based on future income.

[stoney508]

Her commute is 30 miles, so she'll only be 15 miles from help, at the most, at any given point in her drive.

My engine light has been on for months. I took it to the mechanic right away and he couldn't find anything. That was in April. There's not much you can do after that, but drive it until something happens.

"yes I could fix most of the stuff she has wrong with her vehicle now but I would be paying more to fix than the car is worth"

In order to do a cost analysis, look at the cost of fixing vs. the cost of buying. Current value has little to do with anything until you sell or trade it.

I would definitely agree with previous posters that she should not buy based on future income.

She has no one in the area she works that could help her out its at least 45 minutes in either direction if she would run into trouble because I work in the opposite direction she will and I cant just get out of work with 15 minutes notice. Her check engine light is more than likely from the crash she had. Her back axle is out of alignment and I dont want that breaking when shes going 65 miles per hour. Its a tiny car (ford aspire) which would mean major injury or worse. She will not get anything from the car minus the money we get for scrap maybe 100 or a little more. And when going into work if her spedomoter needle sticks or in some cases falls off that is a major problem that could involve many traffic tickets as well as fines associated with it. In my mind if she gets 1-2 tickets which can happen in a very short amount of time as well as fines (because you cant legally open up your instrument panel)buying a new used car is actually monetarliy in our best interest.

[stoney508]

Well come to find out her brother offered to sell his car for 2500 but we would have to finace it through the bank we would have the loan for 1800 and probably try to get the loan paid down in less than a year and she could secure it against her CD according to her. I would like to help to increase her credit rating and I think this could help along with her credit card and paying it off before the end of the month.

Does this sound like a better idea than before? And what should we look for in a loan length the 36 months or less?

We would hope to get something for her car but I dont think we will be able to get more than 500. This would end up going straight to the loan when we got it.

[snafu]

Your fiancee needs to check out details of brother's car before making a deal. Use Kelly Black Book [KBB] and Edmunds 'Lemon-Aid' book to establish the value of her car and brother's. Some makes and models work better and have less problems for owners than others. These books are available at libraries; limited info online edmunds.com
Make a plan to sell existing auto like Photo and brief write up on Craigslist and any free buy 'n' sell publications in your area. Clean car inside and out and do as much 'detail' work as you can manage.

http://www.carsearch.com/selling-prepare.html

[stoney508]

you would have to see the car it was hit in the drivers side and it has other issues with it she wants to put it up for sale but I think it will just end up going to the scrap yard.

I have done research on the car and its price we are not going to take it unless she likes how it drives. If she likes how it drives then we will see about it im just looking at if its more feesable monetarily.

[dojo]

The 2.5K car seems like a more reasonable choice based on your current budget/possibilities, than getting into debt for way more.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

How old are you? Kids soon or later? If soon buy the cheap car and make a deal to replace it when you have kids. If later, then is she good with money? Do you trust her financially?

If so I might consider going in since you are getting married. Yeah I know it can happen before the wedding in August, but it's October 2013 and honestly if you trust in her then you know her best.

[stoney508]

How old are you? Kids soon or later? If soon buy the cheap car and make a deal to replace it when you have kids. If later, then is she good with money? Do you trust her financially?

If so I might consider going in since you are getting married. Yeah I know it can happen before the wedding in August, but it's October 2013 and honestly if you trust in her then you know her best.

I am 26 and she is 22 and we are hopeing not to have kids for at least another 2 years. Hopefully be close to debt free by then and have a nicer nest egg built up.

I do trust her and things will only start to get better I hope in december since we wont be 45 on average apart.