need some serious, unbias advice

I love my truck but the 5.0 is sweet

 

Easy decision. Get this...

 

I'd get a subie, but that's just my .02

 

as was said earlier, dont EVER make a budget based on what you make plus overtime. i've seen so many people get burned when, for whatever reason, OT disappears, and then so does their nice new car, house, whatever. its bad news. i always make my budget based on the minimum, guaranteed hours. any extra is just a bonus either to put down on your debts, or to have fun with.
second, trading up for the 5.0 sounds like an awesome idea to me. those cars are bitchin. and that engine just sings!!!. the only suggestion i'd have for you, is to give it another model year for ford to work out any bugs the new engine and chassis set-up may have. ford's been pretty solid lately, but i'd never buy the first release of a new redesign (i'm not sure exactly how much of the engine/mustang has been redesigned, but thats just my feeling towards it)

anywho, just my .02 whatever decision you make, will be the right one for you.

 

Another idea...If you really "need" the 5.0, wait a couple years, reevaluate your finances, and buy a used/certified one. Maybe by then your truck will be paid off. You could consider the truck your daily driver and use the mustang for fun...that way it is less important to get a new mustang.

I'm all about having fun w/ your money, but you could take a bad hit on this deal if you let the mustang take over your logical thinking.

 

OP, I'd say if you're in line for a house, I'd seriously consider keeping the Tacoma or, if you do get the Mustang, get rid of the Corolla for an old pick-up. You may not need the pick-up now but I promise you will as a home owner. Also, I agree with the OT thing, if you can't afford the car on your base pay, you can't afford the car. OT is a bonus and should be treated that way. Policies change quickly and that OT could disappear quickly and without much warning.

 

Buy a house with your savings. You will most likely never see this deals again. Sub 4% 30yr mortgages are unheard of. Plus, you are buyer and will have lots of leverage. Sports car are cool but when you are ready for a family, you will either have your home or can sell for a lot more than if you just save up. There are a lot of incentives for 1st time buyers. When you are financially secure, buy the sports car. You are looking at a $280 bump on monthly expensives. That could pay a your heating/cooling and perhaps phone at you house.

Just my two cents.

 

i wish people would stop lifting cars,its so 80s and gay

 

Never count on overtime as income.

That being said if you can truly afford it without feeling impoverished every month and you don't mind stretching out a car loan another six or so years then why not.

 

i never have and never will base my finances off OT. i was just stating what my income could be if i get OT. i live by my bare minimum paychecks.

im not sure if im in the "market" for a house. when i say id like to have my own place within the next 2 years, i mean either renting or buying. if im renting my own place thats fine. if i buy this 5.0, its not going to look good on the ole credit report when it comes to buying a house when it shows up i just bought a $30k car.

ive slept on it a couple days, still in the middle. i know the responsible thing to do is keep the truck, save my money, blada blada be conservative and all that crap your mom n dad tells you. and ive done that my whole life which is why im in the position im in today. id just like to break out and have some fun though. im just worried about the adverse effects it could have on me...

 

I tend to agree with this...

PLUS (and my financial brain always kicks in) Dont always look at it as your payment amount...take into account your total debt. I have friends that justify buying another car all the time stating their payment won't change much...yes but there is a big difference in owing 17K vs twice that.

I've always regretted getting rid of a car that was running fine, to get another car just because I wanted it...everytime I have regretted this. If it were me...I'd get fanatical in paying off truck, then get the Mustang or some other toy down the road.

 

i agree with pretty much everthing thing you and everyone else has said about keeping my truck, saving my money, and doing the smart thing. it all boils down to me having the mindset of. im 22, single, and have a good job. have some fun while i can. once im married and have a house and kids, a mustang gt wont be an option till the kids are gone and out of college. which who knows if im alive then?

 

I'm personally trying to become debt-free -- If you were debt free, you could probably afford both the truck and the car. With that being said, I'll address something that I haven't seen anybody else talk about, and that is the quality of the Mustang vs. the Taco.

My wife had a 2007 Mustang convertible, so this may be an apples-and-oranges comparison. However, here is our story anyway. We loved the way it looked and bought it (used). After driving it for a few months, it was obvious to us that the quality of the car was pretty poor. Maybe it was a lemon, but we didn't think that it was built that well -- lots of plastic on the interior and just felt "cheap" to us. Now, I know that maybe they've made improvements since then, but we felt like our Mustang was a bad choice.

Just my .02. The fact that you're on here soliciting opinions says a lot about your maturity. But do try to visualize being debt free -- a little financial conservatism right now could pay off big in the future if you didn't have any payments...

 

You could always keep the truck as your daily driver (pay it off) and get an older muscle car for a toy. You would then have the benefit of keeping your truck (because you WOULD miss it) and still have a toy to cruise around in, and this option would still be way cheaper than buying a new Mustang.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9do3kIaQuo

 

First off, the dilema as stated in the first post sounds like me arguing amongst myself at the age of 49, not when I was 22. I say live it up and go for it while you can if it's what you want. Life is a balancing act between what you have to do and what you want to do IMO. I myself would get the truck and the mustang and ditch the corolla but that's just me. I feel I need a truck and a car. As soon as you get rid of the truck, something will pop up and make you regret not having it.

 

Damn...that doesn't help my argument! Although you could easily make an older muscle car (and spend about 20K less) sound as good or better.

 

I've always loved/wanted a mustang too. But untill I have enough money to get one and have it as toy, its a no go for me. I use the truck as a truck and I need the 4x4 in the winter. One of the main reasons I got the truck was because I was tired of fighting through the snow in a front wheel drive. I can do it, but don't feel like worrying if I can make it up that snow covered hill, but knowing I can. Now if you say you have a winter car and feel comfortable that you won't need a truck nor 4x4, then go for it!

 

keeping the truck and getting a stang is my best bet. but having $900 a month in vehicle payments and $350 a month in insurance is just a little out of my range for that kind of lifestyle. id love to be able to do that though.

besides this past year when we got 8"+ of snow, our winters are usually very mild with very little accumulation of snow. its not so much losing the 4x4 of the tacoma, its the versatility of ever possibly needing to use the bed. though i never use it now, i know the minute its gone, im gonna need the bed. so is getting rid of it worth losing the need for it 3 times a year if that?

 

Life is short do what you want