Question about loans/financing from you gents (and ladies)

[Söy]

ok so today i received confirmation from the mechanic that my car is 'unsafe to drive'. it needs about $1500 worth of work, at the least. problem: estimated bluebook value on my car is ~$675, less due to extremely high mileage.

the question:
what would be the best strategy to going about obtaining a new vehicle?

the challenge:
i have one more semester to go in university. i work part-time for the moment because of said schooling. i hope to have a new, well-paid job with the government in a few weeks; however i dont want to spend too much now on the off-chance that i do not in fact get said job

the strategy:
it occurred to me that i only have about half the normal student loan amount (since i still live at home and commute) as most students. therefore, couldnt i get a student loan to get new vehicle since it is a school expense? bonus: deferred repayment.

yea or nay?

i am open to other suggestions as well..

 

[Captain Beard]

Go to a major dealer and ask about a used car. Also, use Carfax. NO SMALL TOWN DEALERS.

 

[Lord Foul]

In general you don't want to take a loan out and pay interest on an asset that depreciates. School loans are very low interest, however, and you often don't have to pay them off for a long time. If you can pay cash for a used car in the 2-3k range I'd go that route.

 

[Anvil]

Rob a bank.

 

[Dead_Lioness]

I know it's always a bad idea to ask for money from friends, but I would prolly find a good friend or family member that would
loan you the money- make a strategic plan with payments and show it to them when you ask for it...
seems like your car chose the *worst* time to go bad... Like you said... you'll be done with school soon,
and then you'll get a job, right? (*any* job would pay you more than that part time anyways )
so you'll have a plan with payments... no interest... but then again: asking sucks too... :/

 

[Reminiscence]

Good suggestion, Kareness.

Yay for one more semester left.

 

[Söy]

I know it's always a bad idea to ask for money from friends, but I would prolly find a good friend or family member that would
loan you the money- make a strategic plan with payments and show it to them when you ask for it...
seems like your car chose the *worst* time to go bad... Like you said... you'll be done with school soon,
and then you'll get a job, right? (*any* job would pay you more than that part time anyways )
so you'll have a plan with payments... no interest... but then again: asking sucks too... :/

that's it in a nutshell... and like you i may be working for the government soon anyways, so if that's the case i can "splurge" on a nicer one... but on the off-chance i don't get the job i'm in the pipeline for, i dont want to be stuck with a nice car i can't afford. also being that i'm 23, i'd like asking the parents for help to be a last-resort (as none of my close friends have the kind of capital to loan anyways).

alas it seems that the last-resort may have to be the way to go since i have hardly any credit history and w/o a solid work-history in a well-paying job, i dont know if any lender would even take the risk on me, since from their perspective i'm not really worth it...

 

[DarkNoise]

My first vehicle that I bought was a 95 Ford Escort and I just went to a local Credit Union and got a vehicle loan for $3800 (that was for the car, plus extra warranty on the drive train). I ended up paying about $100/mo on a 4 year loan, but I had a high interest rate too. If you can get a lower rate at a Credit Union do it.

Never EVER go through a dealership, they'll rob you blind. Another idea is to check with your insurance company, they do financing a lot too. But most places will only finance on newer cars (less than 10 years old).