What should my girlfriend do?

[skives]

Here's the situation. My girlfriends car broke down and is not fixable. She is using a car from her parents that is old and not that great especially in the winter. Should she look at get a new used car and pay it off as fast as she can or should she try to get by with the not so great and safe car she is borrowing and save for a down payment?


She has no debt and lives with her parents

Rent - $100 every month
car insurance - $84 every two months
cell phone - $30 every month

pay check - $1,300 gross a month

[am_vanquish]

We need more information to give you a decent answer (which happens quite often around here). What does her current savings look like? Does she have an emergency fund and/or retirement savings? If so, how much?

At $1,300 gross a month, she doesn't have much room to swing a large car payment and insurance (even with very few expenses). At 40 hours/week, that puts her pay at just over $8/hr. Is this a full-time job or only part-time while she's going to school or pursuing something else?

[skives]

She has no money in savings right now but she would put $1,000 in a EF before the car. She has very little in a IRA.

The job she has is new and she starts it in two weeks. She actually makes $7.50 per hour and then after two weeks they will decided how much of a raise she deserves. When they asked what she thought she should get she told them $9 per hour. Her job is as a prep-cook with room for advancement.

Right now I am trying to get her a budget setup by the end of the year.

My thinking here is that she should be driving something safe in the winter.

[Payn_it>>>]

here's a tangent...whats wrong with the car. what is it i'll bet i can help you fix it.

[arthurb999]

Is she a student?

[skives]

the mounts that hold the motor up are rusted through. her dad tried to weld them back on but they just broke again. she is not a student.

[Payn_it>>>]

get new ones....what type of car. i'll find them for you.

[Justice44]

RE: What should my girlfiend do?

She has no money in savings right now but she would put $1,000 in a EF before the car. She has very little in a IRA.

The job she has is new and she starts it in two weeks. She actually makes $7.50 per hour and then after two weeks they will decided how much of a raise she deserves. When they asked what she thought she should get she told them $9 per hour. Her job is as a prep-cook with room for advancement.

Right now I am trying to get her a budget setup by the end of the year.

My thinking here is that she should be driving something safe in the winter.

My guess is that she should continue to use the not so great car. Are there any safety issues with the car that you recognize?

[skives]

The brakes are the best and tires are not so good either. It stalls a lot and just a bunch stuff that go wrong with old cars. Everyone would feel better if she had a new used car. She is going to see if your grandpa will finance the himself then she can pay him back not interest.

[Payn_it>>>]

The brakes are the best and tires are not so good either. It stalls a lot and just a bunch stuff that go wrong with old cars. Everyone would feel better if she had a new used car. She is going to see if your grandpa will finance the himself then she can pay him back not interest.

what type of car. I might be able to help you fix this cheap. save everyone the heart ache. most of those problems sound simple.

[disneysteve]

Rent - $100 every month
car insurance - $84 every two months
cell phone - $30 every month

pay check - $1,300 gross a month

We need more info. What happens to the rest of her income? You only listed $172/month in expenses with an income of $1,300 (how much does she actually take home?). If she brings home $1,000/month, there is over $800 that you haven't accounted for. Between now and winter, she could easily save enough for a good used car unless she has a lot of other expenses that you haven't mentioned.

[skives]

no other expenses. The rest of her income is for saving or for purchases like this that may be needed. She is also going to save 1k for EF before any decision is made here. We are planning on this car lasting till it dies so like 15 years or more

[disneysteve]

no other expenses.

No money for food, clothing, travel, entertainment, etc.? If her parents pay everything else for her, perhaps it is time for her to start carrying her own weight.

If she does actually have $800/month free, she should set aside $1,000 for a starter EF and then save up for a car. $3,000-$5,000 will get her something safe and dependable. I don't think this is the stage of her life where she should be looking for a car to last her 15 years.

[GREENBACK]

As stated, she surely must have other personal expenses unless she just goes to work and comes home and wears the same clothes all the time while the parents pay everything else. Is that the case?

I'd love to have $800 to spare after all my wants and needs are met for the month. I think you need a plan in place. I would focus on an EF and budget soon and drive the clunker until you know where the money is going. It was stated earlier that the fix is simple and I agree that it sounds fairly simple for a good shop.

If you want a vehicle that will last "15" years, You're going to need to spend a bit(maybe just a year or two old). You might want to focus on a shorter life span for the vehicle as that's a long life for a showroom new vehicle. If it lives that long, great, but don't realistically expect that for a used vehicle.

[GREENBACK]

not so great and safe car

The safety factor is a consideration. Cars are much safer today than old vehicles. That's a personal decision to weigh.