Opinions please.

[rthorley]

get the Vet for now infact get a Z06, 2002 Z06 should run you about 20 if you shop around there are deals out there, Also in a year sell the Corvette and get the viper you can afford. in a years time the Corvette will lose only about 10% of value so for that year it cost you 2 grand to own a Z06 i would say thats a great great deal.

just make sure what ever you buy you pay below book.

 

[VicTxV10]

Buy a Gen3 and work your way up. Fill-up on here has an 03 srt10 for $31k. Drive a year and you still will get $31k for it.

 

[mattdillon]

+1. The income of Viper owners is all over the map. Some can afford to buy small countries, some live paycheck to paycheck. I'd say put down a nice down payment and finance the rest. You never know what tomorrow holds, enjoy life while you can! I bought my car when I was 23. Put down 25% IIRC and financed the rest. Did I pay some interest? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes. Paid the car off early and have enjoyed every mile of the ride! I'm not married, no kids, don't smoke and no drugs. I decided I owed myself for having such a boring life

Chad, I seen a post earlier you took some pics @******* back in 07' (you'll still be hanging out there when your 60) probably end of marrying one of them! And Mr. Cool, now its time to go to the corvette forum & get their opinions (be sure & let us know what they say). jmo

 

[viperbilliam]

Walked 12 miles to school, eh? You're as bad as the grandparents that claim they walked 10 miles in the snow to get to school! You have to look at the total cost of ownership, not just the purchase price. Gas, insurance, maintenance (substantially more than the C5), etc. If you're that worried about the money, then just get the C5. I wouldn't (and I had a Vert C5) but then I'm not as worried as you are about the money. I'm not rich but peace of mind is important so your concerns are legit. The C5 is fun if it doesn't nickel and dime you to death with problems. The C5 will tickle you a little but the Gen IV Viper will punch you in the face when it comes to performance!

 

[TonyCool]

Keep saving and get the Viper you want.

That's the plan.

The cost of money is cheap right now. If you keep playing the Wall Street Casino you may wind up driving a Yugo. Depending on where you live the good weather is running out so waiting may not be a bad idea. It seems like a lot of folks including myself are waiting for the new car thinking that Gen4 prices will drop but that tells me that demand will still be pretty high and the price drop may not be significant. If you can accumulate money as fast as you say then you have a high disposable income and a small car payment with $30k down shouldn't be a big deal. You'll have your dream car for the same monthly payment that some folks pay to drive an Altima. Seems like 2008's that have daily driver type mileage are selling just over $50k now. Forget the Vette.

OK...I'll play Devil's Advocate...
Tony Cool, you make a good point, the C5 vert won't depreciate as much anymore, especially if you get it for just 12 months, drive it as your DD, then upgrade to the Gen IV once the Gen V's come out....at that point, the Gen IV's should drop in price even more. The prices should be cheaper and what you have saved in the meantime along with your C5's residual value at the end of the next 12 months, you could get into your Gen IV...basically having your cake and eating it too as opposed to being toyless till you get enough cash scraped together.

This is exactly what I had in mind when I posted the question. I thought I could have the experience of owning a c5 for a few thousand dollars (due to depreciation). It seemed I could own the C5 for cheap while I continued to save for the SRT10. In the end I decided not to do it because I could end up adding some mods to the c5 delaying me from getting the viper. Also I'm concerned I could end up not buying the viper at all, if later me and my wife decide we need a bigger place to live or we decide to start traveling more often, etc. So I'll just keep saving and buy the viper as soon as I both have the money and find the right car, hopefully this second part won't take as long but who knows Vipers are so rare I'm sure the searching takes some time. Fortunately for me it seems Venom Red had the largest production numbers of 2008 so hopefully it won't be as hard to find, who knows I might even get a good deal because of that.

You have the sense to save your money and not have payments yet you are indecisive. In contrast, I spend money as soon as I get it and know exactly what I want. Strange how life is.

I know that doesn't help much.

I don't know if I'd say I'm indecisive. If you noticed I know exactly what car I want (year, model, color) etc. I just thought owning the c5 would be fun while I save and wanted some third party perspective on the situation. It's cool that you just spend money as soon as you get it though I sometimes wish I would be a more like that.

Plunking down only 10% to 20% cash on a car, then financing the rest is not where most would want to be. If you are putting down $36K or $37K and financing only $20K, your payments over say 5 years are going to be very small. Those that express, just write a check for this or that, 100% cash for everything are very fortunate. That is not the real world of most people's situations, but to each their own. The finance charges are not going to be large by any stretch. Most Credit Unions, etc. are in the 2.99% range for a 60 month loan like that. 2.99% is nothing.

I say stop denying yourself any further and finance the rest, thus enjoying your dream now. If you settle for the car you really don't want, you will regret it. My motto is that you never have regrets in life. Some financing is a part of life and there are rules you can follow to keep you out of trouble or getting in too deep, even when having to finance things. Be smart and you will be fine. If you have the self control to save that kind of money in that period, then you will have the self control to simply pay off your small loan. Calculations can be run all over the map and numbers be manipulated to make any scenerio work out to your desired situation.

Good luck in your search, and stop denying yourself your dream already. Wall Street is just not a way a safe way to make money. In fact, this 401K fraud we have thrown on us is about as criminal as it gets. Yes I contribute to it, but the true profits are going in someone elses pockets. Historical BS numbers they have been trying to cram down our throat and long term stability of growth, etc. are complete BS. Work hard and make money the old fashion way, through hard work and blood, sweat and tears. Work hard and play hard. Now go grab life by the horns. Sorry that is the best pep talk I could come up with on short notice.

Nice pep talk...

If you really want the car now then buy the Viper with a loan and just prepay the principal as opposed to saving while waiting to get a car. Interests rates are so low that the cost for the privilege of using the bank's money is negligible with your income. If interest rates were 9% or even 5% this would be a different discussion. Start looking for the car you really want and don't hesitate when you see it. The only way you could lose is gambling in the market. If you buy the vette then put some Prozac money aside for the first time you see the Viper you could have had.

I think I can wait a little longer... LOL about the prozac.

+1. The income of Viper owners is all over the map. Some can afford to buy small countries, some live paycheck to paycheck. I'd say put down a nice down payment and finance the rest. You never know what tomorrow holds, enjoy life while you can! I bought my car when I was 23. Put down 25% IIRC and financed the rest. Did I pay some interest? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes. Paid the car off early and have enjoyed every mile of the ride! I'm not married, no kids, don't smoke and no drugs. I decided I owed myself for having such a boring life

Hahaha I guess I own it to myself too. It's not like my life is a party...

Below is my post in another thread, just to put some numbers together. I commend you on not wanting to go into debt for a toy. Like I said earlier, I'm the same way and paid cash for my Viper, but something you said above not wanting to be in debt if you lost your job, brings this point in more in favor to some extent. If you lost your job, would you rather have a lot of cash on hand with a car payment to take care of, or much less cash on hand and a car you HAD to sell right away? Again, I am NOT questioning your thoughts on saving and buying outright, but money is just so damn cheap right now, it's unbelievable.

PedFed has something like 2% finiancing for 60 or 72 months.
Let's say you financed $40k over 60 months at 2%. Your payment would be around $700/month and even if you didn't pay the car off early, your total interest charges over the whole 60 months is less than $2,100.
If you bought the C5, even though it's had most of it's depreciation, you would still lose more than $2,100 by the time you count your sales tax paid and any loss you would take on re-selling it. Not to mention fixing something or replacing the tires, clutch, etc.

Just my $.02

Very interesting insight. I think you get where I coming from more than most people. Maybe I'll finance the last 10-20 thousand if the right car shows before I've the whole amount. If that doesn't happen maybe I'll just wait. With some luck prices could come down some after the gen5 is released.

Here's the scenario....say you've just detailed the vette and driving down the road on a nice weekend. Your're feeling good and looking smooth. All of a sudden a Viper comes slithering down the road and the driver gives you as much attention as a Ford Focus. Like most vette drivers, you'll pretend you're fixated on driving but secretly regretting not being the other driver.

Whatever you decide, buy the Viper. It's truly an amazing machine and you can have fun making vette owners tremble.

Right. To be honest the scenario is unlikely in here I've only see 2 vipers in the road while driving around in the last 3 years. Ferrari's are more common here. You are right though may be I should start thinking on getting one of those T-shirt's that say "God make vipers so corvette guys could have heroes". Hehehe.

Here you go:
Pen Fed- (who I use for car/boat) 60 months, used car, 2.49%- borrow $25,000- payment of $443 a month-
you have $30K cash plus $25K borrowed: $55K- = 2008 Viper- Car now -enjoy now.
You say you pull in $1800 a month in money for a car (that you save each month) Apply all $1800 towards payment
and you should be paid off in a litttle over a year- 15 or so months - and very little interest costs
why not enjoy now ?

I see your point but this doesn't take in consideration a change on my finances. Shall my financial situation change, the numbers would change dramatically. I know I could still sell the car if I loss my job and need the money but that would be more heart breaking that waiting a little longer to get it in the first place.

 

[TonyCool]

get the Vet for now infact get a Z06, 2002 Z06 should run you about 20 if you shop around there are deals out there, Also in a year sell the Corvette and get the viper you can afford. in a years time the Corvette will lose only about 10% of value so for that year it cost you 2 grand to own a Z06 i would say thats a great great deal.

just make sure what ever you buy you pay below book.

Exactly it would be a great deal. I agree with you except on the Z06 because I really want a convertible. But in the end I've decided to wait for the viper.

Buy a Gen3 and work your way up. Fill-up on here has an 03 srt10 for $31k. Drive a year and you still will get $31k for it.

I really want venom red which was not available in the Gen3. I also like yellow but they were produced until 2005 and the cheapest I've seen go for near 50K so it's not that far from the price I'd pay for the 08. You make a good point though I guess that if I found a viper red gen3 with white stripes in the low 30s and I'm not getting close to have the money I could go that direction.

Chad, I seen a post earlier you took some pics @******* back in 07' (you'll still be hanging out there when your 60) probably end of marrying one of them! And Mr. Cool, now its time to go to the corvette forum & get their opinions (be sure & let us know what they say). jmo

I did consider about getting their opinions but I didn't do it. I figured a large number of guys there have indeed settled with the corvette and convince themselves that's what they wanted. I also think it's unlikely most guys in the corvette forum have ever owned a viper while it's not so unlikely guys in here had a vette before having a viper. So I figured answers in here would be more insightful. Not saying the guys at the corvette forum are not cool because there are some really great people there just saying that in this particular instance their opinion wouldn't have been as useful.

Walked 12 miles to school, eh? You're as bad as the grandparents that claim they walked 10 miles in the snow to get to school! You have to look at the total cost of ownership, not just the purchase price. Gas, insurance, maintenance (substantially more than the C5), etc. If you're that worried about the money, then just get the C5. I wouldn't (and I had a Vert C5) but then I'm not as worried as you are about the money. I'm not rich but peace of mind is important so your concerns are legit. The C5 is fun if it doesn't nickel and dime you to death with problems. The C5 will tickle you a little but the Gen IV Viper will punch you in the face when it comes to performance!

I guess I'm as bad but that doesn't make it untruth. Though I just realized I did a wrong conversion from Kilometers to miles. it was more like 3.5 miles. I double it instead of dividing it I guess even engineers can make that sort of mistake from time to time. I'm not as concerned about ownership cost (I'm willing to bet monthly ownership cost is less that what I'm currently saving for the car) and if I don't want to spend money in gass tires etc. I could stop driving for a period of time while things get better... On the other hand you can stop making payments for your current debt, so we are talking of completely different things in here. That being said and to put it in your own words I can't wait to be punched in the face

 

[C.Hermsen]

I figured a large number of guys there have indeed settle with the corvette and convince themselves that's what the wanted.

Hahah, quote of the year right there!!