I just started work at the local Chrysler dealership . I first saw what would become an obsession in a mall in Nashville . I have driven my baby twice in the past few days for 20 minute intervals . I'm having major withdrawals . I must have the precious ! Ok , sorry guy's . I;m really getting motivated to sale , sale , sale ! So I can purchase . I do have a few obstacles . Credit card debt , student loan debt , a family , rent/mortage . I'm trying to figure if I make at least $30K a year(should be a no brainer in sales , I have decade of proven sales experience) can I afford what will probably be a lifelong obsession . Glad to find ya'll . At least I can get invoice heh ? Anyone have any tips on financing with a good APR ? So far I;m figuring about $616 a month including insurance .

 

Only you know your financial 'situation'... but perhaps a lease might be in order for you ? Certainly lower monthly costs..... I won't get into the 'is it really cheaper in the long haul' but it might work for you now... in this situation.... worth an exploration I would think.

 

from a conservative perspective:

first you need to get rid of the obstacles: credit card debt, student loans, your family, and the motgage/rent. i know that sounds really stupid (the part about getting rid of the family and the rent) but that is possibly what might happen if you set yourself up for financial ruin. you are starting a new job - one in which there will be significant fluctuations in what you may be able to earn year to year. why not work on eliminating your credit card debt first? then pay off the student loan. then, if the job is working out well and the family wants you to get a crossfire, do it.

sometimes it is better to wait for nice things. the crossfire is a really neat car. but after all, it is only a car. it will depreciate. it uses expensive premium fuel, the cost of which seems to be rising every week. if you finance one now, do you want to take on the additional risk of owing more on the car than it can be resold for? leasing, as can be an option - but only makes sense if you drive a predictable number of miles each year that closely approaches the limit for the lease.

 

A lease is cheaper if you keep the car for less than 5 years and don't drive the car over the mileage.

A lease is better for short term 'ownership.' Purchasing is better if you want the car for a number of years, or if you are going to put a lot of miles on it.

 

I am totally sympathetic to lusting for this car, but the quick answer to "is there any way I can buy a car that costs what I make in a year?" is NO.

Average American household -- including singles, no-kids, retired -- pulls in $38,500 and spends $287/mo. on car payments, but for many that includes two cars. Median income for a family of 4 in Mississippi is about $45,000, I think; your projected income of 30 puts you above the poverty line but would be considered "low income" by most government agencies. It ain't easy just making ends meet for a family on 30 these days. You probably qualify for low-income energy assistance and other programs, and I'd be investigating those rather than a Crossfire.

It's just cold hard math. An income of 30K in sales or anywhere else will be at best 25K after taxes/SS/Medicare, maybe less depending on state taxes. $616/mo.? $7400 a year out of $25000? Spending 30% of your take-home income just on car payments (that's without gas, insurance, fixing flats on a vehicle where tires alone are a mint)? Not possible without severely compromising other expense categories such as housing, clothes, education, savings....when you are already in debt, every dollar you don't pay off means an extra 5-20 cents a year in interest costs. Not only do you have consumer credit to pay off, if by family you mean kids, you need to be saving for THEIR college education NOW.

Chrysler's target Crossfire buyer makes 150K household. With some of the lease specials, one might not need that, but when I was making 30K/year, my car budget consisted of buying a 5-year-old subcompact, for less than $2000 cash; if I had financed, my budget would have been about $100-150/month in payments.

I'd suggest this: spend $25 for a copy of Quicken, or use a friend's or library's. Or find a free site online. Use the program's "budget" feature, a great tool, plan out your expenditures on everything BUT a car, then see how it fits in.

Before you jump into ANY new car, big payments, and serious boiling water, why not do a test run? For 4 months, see how much you can actually save -- put away in a jar, a savings acct, whatever. If you can't sock it away it, how ya gonna make the payment? And even if you can, do you want to spend every cent of your savings on a car when you have other obligations? I would also make this a joint decision. I don't know Mississippi domestic relations law, but I know plenty of situations in my state where hubby buying a car the family can't afford has not only led to big trouble, but can be considered "dissipation" of family funds.

There will be plenty of used Xfires available in a few years. Fortunately many of the buyers just have them as toys, they may get traded in just because someone with too much money got bored. In your position I'd target getting a cheaper Crossfire when your income is a little higher. Sometimes we just have to defer dreams a little.

 

deco Wrote: "...Chrysler's target Crossfire buyer makes 150K household".

Wow... where did you get that figure??? I guess I'm hob nobbing with the rich and famous now?

Have you looked at car prices today? The Xfire is not that much more in the overall scheme of things if you look at rebates and make a good deal. I agree with much of what you said and the XFire is an expensive car to maintain but having to make $150k to be able to afford one is a little over the top IMO.

I make nowhere near that amount. I pay on two cars, including the Xfire for less than $700 per month. There are ways around buying something that may be on the high side for us income challenged folks. It's called managing your finances and some creative wheeling and dealing.

In my case I sold a 5 year old car that was paid off for $14k. I put that down and with good credit, financed the balance for under $370 per month... and no, I could not have been able to afford my XFire financing the full amount. When it comes time for new tires, I won't be paying the ridiculous high price of new Pilot Sport 2 tires. There are other makes out there that will do just as good as the OEM tires for everyday driving at half the cost.

There are other ways to skin a cat... :wink: :wink: :wink:

BTW: #2815 is a weekend toy and won't come out of the garage when it even looks like rain.

 

It's really not that much more, and if you can deal and wheel you can get the Crossfire for pretty cheap. Next year the Crossfire base model is coming out at $30k. That's not bad at all. Ford makes trucks more expensive than that.

 

Have I looked at car [prices? How can one avoid it? My Saturday paper comes with an auto section 2 inches thick!

I didn't say you had to make 150K to afford a Crossfire. I'm not saying I make that. I said that was the market Chrysler was targeting.

This comes straight from an auto writer who had just interveiwed Chrysler VP of Marketing Tom Marinelli:

Target consumer demographics for Chrysler Crossfire is 55 percent male and 45 percent female. In addition, 60 percent have college degrees, are married and between the ages of 35 and 50. The average annual income is more than $150,000. For many, Crossfire will be used as a secondary vehicle in the household..

All that makes sense because, for most households, the Crossfire is impractical as the primary vehicle, between lack of passenger/cargo capacity, fuel costs, insurance, etc. What kind of $$ do you need for the relatively high-cost Xfire to be a third or 4th car? Even tho, for a near-luxur, near-sports car, it may be a great bargain? It's just math.

I agree with all the above who say you can find creative ways to finance a car. All I'm saying is I've had opportunity to review many personal financial statements, and there is a recurrent pattern to banruptcies and divorces with financial problems. Overspending on a car is one of the most common paths to $$ trouble. Sound personal finance policy should limit car payments to 10% of monthly take-home income, with 5% being a lot more prudent, and the higher the insurance and upkeep, the lower the payments should be. Ditto if one needs to be either saving for something (such as college education or a home down payment) or paying off other debt.

I don't make judgments; I know people who spend more than half their income on skiing. If one's priorities are such that one wants to spend 25-30% of take-home on a vehicle, well, Detroit loves you, but at some point just realize that clashes with other goals.

 

Wow... it looks like, according to Chrysler, I'm not supposed to have a xfire.

Female, unmarried, well below their age bracket, that is definitely not my annual income, and the xfire is my primary vehicle.

Perhaps they should rethink their marketing strategy... because I LOVE mine!

Hey - I do have a college degree! That's one they got right. :wink:

 

Wow, is Tom Marinelli a psychic? How did he know much about me? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Was very facinated to read the demographics on Crossfire owners. They nailed me on a couple of areas, but I am evidently a case of arrested development at 57 on May 6th cruising the highways and byways of So Cal. Perhaps that's why I get so many interesting looks and queries. Oh well, I still like how the car matches my hair and how I feel way below their demograhic for age while I motor around. Time to get in my Crossfire and waunder. Take care everyone!
Graphite - #00633

 

So Nikki - Are you going to join us on the May 15th Left Coast Hook Up?? 8)

 

I'll bet it won't be long before you can get a 1 year old Xfire with 18-20k miles for $20-22k...

By the way, I bought a brand new 2000 Turbo Beetle 2 years out of college for $22k, I kept it for 2 years, and I was paying about $400 a month. It was fun for awhile...Then I got a job offer in California and decided to sell my Beetle so I could put a down payment on a house. I ended up buying a 1994 Mazda Miata for $4500, cash.

Best decision I ever made! The Miata was a blast to drive, and it felt SO good to drive a car free and clear, plus I didn't give a crap about dings and damage, since it was dented when I bought it. It was some of the most fun I've had in a car...

But the best part is that I've made over $150,000 on my condo in less than 2 years!!!! I finally bought my Crossfire in December, and I saved enough to put $12000 down, so my payment is only $400 per month, same as my Beetle. My plan is to start using my equity in the house to invest in real estate. My goal is to retire in 5-10 years as a millionaire. I'll be in my '30's driving golf carts and wearing plaid pants!! It may or may not happen, but it's a worthy goal, and either way I'll be a lot better off than if I hadn't bought that house.

If you're just out of college, get a house as soon as you can! Don't dig yourself a hole and fall into permanent debt, it'll trap you for life in the middle class, living paycheck to paycheck. Buying that Miata and getting rid of a $400 a month payment felt so liberating. As much as I love the Crossfire it was very difficult for me to want to pay monthly again, but I'm in much better financial shape now to handle it. No car to me is worth selling your freedom for!!!

 

It is amazing how these threads go off topic.....

To 4amStudios:

I have to agree with deco in that you are pushing your finanaces to try to satisfy your desires at this time. You need to work on the other obligations first. It is a hard pill to swallow, but better than having to start over with a bankruptcy on your credit file for the next seven years.... Your time will come. Just do it the right way!!!

Chrysler is looking at a nice target market - who wouldn't want that one??? But it is hardly realistic, based on the members of this forum. By AZ's poll, 70% of the owners use this as a daily driver, myself included. The ages and male to female ratios are probably not that far off. The younger owners just have a more adult taste for their age, and the older drivers still have a youthful spirit! I think their real mistake is in the income catagory. I will admit that I make a good buck, based on the fact that I just had to pay a whopper of a tax bill, but I don't think it is necessary to be in that tax bracket to afford this car. I think it is more of a desire by Chrysler to want that demographic, which is probably why the marketing of this car has been such a disaster.... Let get real - how many humidors and fancy wine glasses have been sold to the owners of this car??? :lol: I don't know about the rest of you, but I eat my Frosted Flakes in the morning, drink Dr. Pepper with lunch, and spend 9-10 hours at work, five or six days a week. I can afford this car because my kids are gone, my house is almost paid for, and the work I put into building my business is paying off. Plus this is a $55K SLK being sold with a different body for $35K. That, to me, makes it a deal...

Oh God, another 10,000 word essay. Sorry.

 

hmmmm looks like the spread of real owners on here should make them re think the marketing stratergy, perhaps thats why they aren't selling.

Wonder what the RX-8 and 350Z demos are? anyone know?

 

jsisabella Wrote: "...Oh God, another 10,000 word essay. Sorry".

Been meaning to talk to you about that!!! :wink: :wink: :wink:

 

AZ:

It is hard to put some things into 5 words and a smiley.....

Better?

:lol:

 

Very good!!! :twisted:

 

Response to Vegascrossfire: It is almost killing me to know I won't be on the drive to Monterey. In fact we will be in AZ that weekend attending my Daughter-in-law's graduation from ASU with her Phd in Health & Wellness. A part of me wanted to jump ship, but of course it wouln't have been appropriate. I'll be thinking of all of you as you have a grand adventure. Can you imagine the turned heads and stares when a bunch of Crossfires appear? By hook or crook I'll make the next one. Was in your town this past weekend. Didn't see any Crossfires.
Graphite - #00633