Might buy myself a birthday present

My birthday's coming up (it's on November 6th) and i'm really considering buying myself a birthday present...

I've been paying a lot of attention to the Mazdaspeed 3, which will hit my area at the end of this month... between school and rent for a new place tho, i'm not sure i can afford the payments, particularly the insurance... so i have to take a good look at my situation (particularly when i get this new job i have lined up and find a new place to live, since i'm living with my friend at the exact moment).

I know the MSRP on these is right around $23,000 but does anybody know what i can actually expect to pay for one? I know they're really new so does that mean i can pretty much expect to pay full price or do you think i can still get a deal?

I'd be selling my Karmann Ghia, my 626, AND my motorcycle for this, so somebody give me some good insight here...

At the risk of sounding like your dad, why do you need a new car?

Your 626 is your dependable daily driver. The KG and motorcycle are your toys and head-turners (and you'll always regret selling the Ghia). Insurance on a new car is a whole lot more than insurance on a 98. And it sounds like money's a little tight.

Enjoy life, sock away the equivalent of a car payment into the bank each month, and in a few years buy a new car with cash.

Mark in MA
06 Mazda6
03 Honda Pilot
97 Chevy Suburban (on Biodiesel)
83 Mercedes 300SD (on Biodiesel)
62 Jeep CJ-6
58 Jeep FC-150

Very good advice! ^^^

That sounds like a good way to keep the toys and see if you can still afford a payment. Its not worth the stress of a car payment until you are stable.

whether i buy the speed3 or not, the ghia is STILL getting sold. I need to sell it to pay off some school bills and junk. the bike is broken, and i'm also definately getting rid of the 626 anyway because i never liked it very much. yeah yeah dependable... you have to love what you drive tho. and with the 626, it ain't happening. nothing like a 4000lb car with an I4.

quote:

ORIGINAL: timp

whether i buy the speed3 or not, the ghia is STILL getting sold. I need to sell it to pay off some school bills and junk. the bike is broken, and i'm also definately getting rid of the 626 anyway because i never liked it very much. yeah yeah dependable... you have to love what you drive tho. and with the 626, it ain't happening. nothing like a 4000lb car with an I4.

You got a lot of dead bodies in the trunk to get that to 4000lbs. Specs say 2798. and 130 horses with a 5speed is still fun to drive.

My only caution is one should not live beyond their means, short of that, do what you want.

(getting off the podium now).

expensive birthday present

quote:

ORIGINAL: spark3542

quote:

ORIGINAL: timp

whether i buy the speed3 or not, the ghia is STILL getting sold. I need to sell it to pay off some school bills and junk. the bike is broken, and i'm also definately getting rid of the 626 anyway because i never liked it very much. yeah yeah dependable... you have to love what you drive tho. and with the 626, it ain't happening. nothing like a 4000lb car with an I4.

You got a lot of dead bodies in the trunk to get that to 4000lbs. Specs say 2798. and 130 horses with a 5speed is still fun to drive.

My only caution is one should not live beyond their means, short of that, do what you want.

(getting off the podium now).

not entire dead bodies... i collect skulls actually.

that or i was rounding up to the nearest 4000 lbs.

the point stays. i never liked my 626 much and i feel like i should love what i drive... this is the reason i'm nearly 22 and i've owned 8 or 9 different vehicles.

You should absolutely love what you drive. If you're bored with the 626 then you should change it up.

But if money's tight you shouldn't be anywhere near a new car lot. You pay quite a premium when you decide you want a car with zero miles on it...then after 6 months, or a year, or 3 years you'll decide you're bored with that and want a change. That's when you get upside down financially...you owe as much or more than the car's worth, you have a used car, and in order to change it you end up getting deeper in debt.

If you don't like the 626, change it up for something you're more in love with, but has a similar market value to the 626.

I agree with everyone above. If moneys gonna be an issue maybe you should wait till you pay some bills then by all means go buy a new car if thats what you really wanna do.

This is what i say...if you think you cant afford it then dont buy it...steal it, serioulsy though yeah the speed 3 is sex on wheels, but you dont want to put yourself in the postion of getting it and then having to sell it back cuz you couldnt afford the payments. it sucks now but eventually youll have enough to get one.

I'm 53 and ever since I was 23 I have pretty much had a car payment. With a couple of exceptions I have enjoyed or loved all of them except a couple, and I totally agree that you should love what you drive. Driving a new or almost new car is the one luxury I allow myself, I will eat Spam 24/7 if I have to in order to drive something I like. Having a nice ride is what motivates me to get my fat a$$ out of bed everyday and go to work. With that said make sure you do not get in over your head, I am sure the dealers are going to try and rape the first buyers of the speed3 just like they did with the speed6. We checked out the speed6 when they first arrived and the dealer where we test drove was willing to sell us one with a $31,000+ sticker for $38,000 out the door. Needless to say it did not happen, but I am sure they will try the same thing with the 3. Wait six months to a year and then pick one up a lot cheaper and pay down any debts in the mean time. If you can swing it now then by all means do so but, do you really want ot buy a new 260+ horsepower FWD car going into the snowy winter season?

new6fan makes a good point.....if you buy one now, you'll only have about a month (if that depending on where you live) to play with then comes winter.....wait till spring then you'll have 7-8 months of fun

very good points on getting raped with the Speed3... what's gonna happen is this:
I will be selling my 626. With the money, I will buy my uncle's 95 Eagle Talon ESi.
I will be selling my Ghia. With the money, I will pay bills, buy my uncle's 65 Volkswagen Baja and use the money i would have spent on the MazdaSpeed 3 (actually much much less) on what I will be calling "Operation Lightning Bug". more info on that once I get it.

You can all still feel free to buy me birthday presents if you want.