Family Is Pressuring Me To Go Into Debt

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[fpl_bailey]

Unless family is paying the car bill they should have NO SAY on what car YOU should be paying for!

[step]

Poor guy. Hope he stands his ground. Hes 25. Nobody needs to go way in over their head when buying a car.

[jesknox]

I had a huge epiphany a month ago: the last time I bought a vehicle when I was 20 I remember being pressured by my parents and salesmen to go into debt for a newer better vehicle. I had $11500 I should've bought a vehicle under $10k to avoid debt and it's effected my finances 5 years later so don't let family that has no record of their financial success especially mine tell you what to do especially when you're going the debt free path

[benjaminhough]

Don’t really understand why this is an issue. Everyone involved is an adult. This is my money and my life, I’ll spend it the way I want to.

[juliejacobsen]

Some cars in 20, 000 can break down also.

[toby]

I just recently got hired for a job that pays $23 an hour (in Australia) and i'll be working that part time while I study. I need a car ASAP to get to work and I have no money to my name. I'm tempted to get a loan from family or the bank to get a car, but with this job, if I can walk for a few months, I can buy a cheap and reliable car in a few months time.

I can now see how easy it is to go into debt, but it takes some resistance not to. Hang in there bud

[JCA]

In 2006 I went car shopping and was going to pay cash for a 2000 Honda Civic. The list price was around $8, 800. My parents said, “why don’t you pay half down and finance the rest?” What I wished I’d done was pay cash for a car for around 5 or $6, 000. And then I wound up extending the loan term to 54 months at the suggestion of the dealership, because they were pushing me to get their stupid warranty. Lessons learned.

[MarkZ_]

The parents needs to just accept their son's decision. Obviously in this case, the son is smarter than the parents.

[peanutbutterisfu]

12k car 5k 100k it doesn’t matter. They are all machines that will break down. Some are much cheaper to fix and that’s what you want.

[jcrowley]

If your parents want to pay the difference then they can have their opinion. Otherwise they should accept the fact they can't tell you what to buy.

[mathgasm]

I have been free from car payment land for 11 years. I never liked writing checks for autos at the end of the month anyway.

[jordanroig]

if you have the cash for a $12, 000 car then if you can finance all of it under 3% for three years then do it. Invest the $12, 000 for 3 years make it turn into $16, 000 and then after you pay for the car you go an extra $4, 000. Net worth increasing faster when you borrow other peoples money at a higher interest rate

[jeanlenor]

I bought a $5800 Honda civic hybrid 3 years ago and I wasn't taking a chance. I knew it was a reliable car. It only had 16k mileage on it. Been driving it back and forth from CT to OH for the past 2 years.
If your buying a car for 5k, it should be very safe for the next 5 years unless your buying luxury brands with a lot of mileage for 5k.

[sarrahconley]

Don't do it! I bought a $16000 car pre-damsey..Now I'm not sure what to do

[MsYayMusic]

The car isn't $12k if you decide to go that route, it could be a lot more depending on the interest rate. Just pay cash.

[billgateskilledmyuncle]

If you know what kind of vehicle to buy, $5, 000 can buy you a great vehicle that may not ask much of you in return. For example if you found an old Jeep from the 90s with their old inline 6 cylinder for $5, 000, you might manage to put 200, 000 more miles on it and keep it for 10 years without replacing anything beyond brakes and suspension components. Same case with a Camry, Accord, or any manual transmission vehicles. Or you can spend $5, 000 on a vehicle that has been known to have issues and wind up with all kinds of problems. The vehicle you pick with that money makes all the difference in the world.

[Punkydoodle]

Stay the course and buy a car with the cash you have...just don't forget to keep putting money away to buy a better car in a few years. I get where the parents are coming from as they hate to see him buy a vehicle that isn't very reliable and he ends up putting more money into repairs than what it's worth. However, for $5000 he can find a fairly descent used car to get from A to B for a short while...I just wouldn't plan any long road trips.

[droptozro]

I'm wondering if you just have some boundary issues with your parents also. After I read Cloud's book on boundaries I had recognized some I had with my parents(mainly my mom) more clearly. I'd been standing up for myself before many times throughout my life, but most of the time just wasn't sure if I was in the right because it often devolved into a heated argument(and I was the kid at the time most of that).

It didn't take long for me standing up for my 28 year old self [at the time] with a wife and 2 kids in a calm manner with boundaries for it to show a few times. It's better now I believe, but it's never easy with parents to try to stay respectful when they're intruding a bit too far.

[workingshlub]

sit them down and explain in 2-3 years you can sell the 5k car for maybye 3k and plus whatever you saved by NOT having a car payment and buy a 10k cash and so on.

[emk]

This guy needs to grow a pair. Be your own