$20k and what to do with it

Ok so I have a long sorta convoluted question.
I have 20 thousand I am willing to spend on my vehicle situation...

I am a full time student (or will be soon) and a, what you could call, starving artist. My income (aside from savings which I don't want to touch) will only be around 800 dollars a month. After my bills this will leave me with about 300 dollars a month= I don't want to have a car payment.

I currently drive a 2002 Tacoma TRD with 160some thousand miles on it.
My Options: (and I am looking for longevity and cash savings while still getting a little of what I want)

1. Keep my Tacoma and buy some extra goodies for it. Save what money is left over.(I just worry about my frame-it passed inspection when I was thinking it would not, and the high miles on it worry me as well)

2. Keep my Taco and buy a cheap efficient car or motorcycle. My prob here is keeping up on maintenance on 2 cars instead of one. And if I got a bike and my truck broke down during the winter it would be RLY cold lol.

3. Buy a newer 4 banger Taco (reg cab) with fewer miles and try to sell my 2002, problems and all. My big problem here is losing out on the money I will not make back from my current Taco.

Any opinions? Or options I didn't think of?

 

So you are making less than 10 grand a year and you are considering putting 20k into a truck? I think you should delete your TW account and block the website on your browser.

 

imho, go with #1. keep your current taco, mod it out to make it just the way you want it, then put the rest into savings.

#2 unless you REALLY need a 2nd car, i wouldnt go that route. in the end, its just a waste of money.

 

save your 20K, and drive your current taco until the wheels fall off!!!

even if it has high miles the money you saved can be used to fix any future problems.

 

@Bird..I WILL be making that much, I make much more now, and have a nice account set up for myself to fall back on if I have to. I am choosing to downgrade on my living situation to pursue what I really want to do. I am not a moron and comments like those are really annoying. You have no idea who I am and are assuming.

@rbeezy and 11B4X4, Yea I kinda think that would be the wise way to go, I just need some help convincing myself lol. I am not used to having to budget very much, and have a change coming...That probably is what I will wind up doing....gah...decisions decisions....

 

Buy one of those ninja 250's. Great gas mileage and are pretty cheap. That will leave you with plenty extra in case the truck needs some work.

 

That's actually exactly the bike I was thinking, but being as tall as I am I think I would look more than comical on one. Haha...One of my friends has a 650 and would probably laugh her ass off at me on a 250...could maybe find a used 650 for the same price as a new 250 though....

 

You really can't get bent outta shape- Spending up to 20K and then jumping into a completely different and lower cash flow lifestyle just DOESN'T make sense.
I would want to see how far 300 bucks a month got me before I blew any cash on anything I didn't need. 20K will keep you living for a while while you get used to your new budget....I'd go that route.

 

Is keep your current tacoma and keep maintenance up ion it.......and hold onto that $20k,which can be used for future repairs. These trucks can run damn near forever with a lol upkeep,and mileage really ain't that bad on them.

 

X2 Keep your money for now,You never know when awill kick you in the nuts. You dont need to blow $$ on truck crap now. Hate to sound like a old fart but its all true. You know its true!!! Jim PS GOOD LUCK IN SCHOOL...

 

keep your truck and fix it up to make you happy, keep the rest of the money to help you through school, and buy a new rig when you land a good paying job. being broke though school sucks!

 

I'd take the 20k and buy a mobile home! no house/rent payment lol. Then you can rent that shit out after you move up.

 

Well, I won't be broke exactly....I will be chosing to live as THOUGH I am broke...I have money that I am sitting one, I am not blowing all I have to spend on toys. You are taking my proposal wrong. I am taking 20k, a portion of my money and allocating it to a vehicle(s) so that I don't have to deviate from my earnings and spend my stockpile. I was worried someone would start trying to explain a budget to me..oi.. Regardless, the general consensous seems to be keep the Taco I have, and maybe get a bike...I figured most people would say to keep it, proly the best decision..

 

HAHA yea, I could do that, but the living situation I have is pretty sweet already

 

Are you going to an art school?

 

x2 on all the "keep the money for later" kind of thing, but i say get a motorcycle like the 250, it will teach you how to ride right and then just upgrade to a 650, and if you get a used 650 it wont cost you much more. Its better to learn to ride right and not worry about who says what.

I know its been said a million times but its true: riding a motorcycle is dangerous. Not just because you are new at it (thats a assumption that you are new correct me if im wrong) but because of other drivers as well, and a 650 will get you into trouble much faster then a 250 will

if you really dont want to start in the 250 try looking into the sv 650. its a great bike and mildly tamed.....I still advocate the 250 tho, and they are very fun, i don't think anything beats them with that.
My 2 cents

 

and 2 cents appreciated, that would be my biggest concern. I WOULD be a new rider, and so a 250 may better serve at first. When I get back home, I will have to hop over to the powersports shop down the road and sit on a few, see what each feels like.

 

oh I missed that, sorry, nope no art schools for me. Not that kind of starving artist

 

Well then, meehbe do a couple mods on the tacoma, and I'd go with a used 650 to get going on, a 250 isn't going to get you laid

 

X2!!! invest it in something! That 20K can make you a LOT of money over a few years! buy a Real! asset. this is one of the best real-estate markets ever.