Car Payment

[phEight]

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Premium fuel is definitely healthy for many cars. I also have a 1.8T engine (Audi), only difference being it's in the longitudinal configuration rather than the transverse as in the GTI, but point being is that I can tell a drastic difference in the way the engine behaves on better fuel. It feels far smoother and it is obviously far less prone to detonation. I would CERTAINLY never say that premium fuel is a WASTE of money, that's an outrageous claim from anyone who knows a thing about engines. I agree it does make a difference on what particular engine we are dealing with, but the only reason I'm replying is because of some of the claims made here and am just giving my very own personal experience. And as someone else said, the engineers that built these engines know a thing or 2 more about what's beneficial and what's not to these cars, and if they recommend 91+ octane fuel (as my car does) then it would be foolish not to listen, unless you really are that tight cash.

 

[fightingirish]

Hey all...

This might be a stupid question as everyone has a different financial situation, but I was wondering if there are any current students that are paying a car payment with their loan money (maybe somewhere around $280/month...I don't really know what the average car payment is)? In particular, do the budgets at NYCOM or PCOM offer enough extra money to afford such an expense? I have a car that is about to die and I really need to a) sink in about $1500 into a car that is 7 years old or b) trade in my car now while it is still worth something to get a used vehicle that has a warranty. I am at a loss because I don't have the financial aid package worked out yet and my car is in need of repairs now. Any info or insight into this matter would be VERY much appreciated. Thanks in advance! 🙂

To answer the original thread... I am working around a car payment using my loan money. When I came down to LECOM-B, I was driving a 96 Bonneville. Well, about 2 months into school it blew an intake, hydrolocking the engine. Went to get it fixed, and about 150 miles later found out it had also spun a bearing. So basically I had thrown $600 away on that.

I ended up buying a new car, a Chevy Aveo. Its completely basic, manual transmission, manual windows, locks, etc. But it is brand new, with a 5 year 100k mile warranty. Payments are only $190/ month with $1000 down and that is to own the car (includes tax, title, tag, dealer fees, etc). It gets up to 37mpg highway also, saving me some gas money over the Bonneville. It isn't always "easy" to work around a car payment in a living expense budget, but it is possible. I should break about even by the end of the semester without any money on my credit card (I started last semester about $3000 in credit card debt, mostly from computer, books, furniture for the new apartment, security deposits and 2 months rent prepaid).

LECOM-B gives about $26k or so for living expenses per year, so $2300/year will be going to my car paymets. My yearly rent + utilities is about $8000. Car insurance= $1500. Those are the big costs for me, and that still leaves me with $14k a year for books, gas, and other daily living expenses.

I also have a friend who is leasing a Camry for about the $280/month. I personally didn't want to lease because of mileage restrictions, increased insurance, etc. But he is doing it all with just loan money, so it can definitely be done.

My best advice would be to get a safe car, good on gas, with low insurance rates and you should be fine. My recommendations for new cars that are affordable on loan money:
-Honda Fit
-Toyota Yaris
-Nissan Versa
-Hyundai Elantra
-Honda Civic

They're all just a bit more expensive than my car, but are very safe bets.

 

[osli]

This is imho one of the generalizations that are not particularly helpful here. A 10 year old high-compression engine with some carbon buildup but no advanced engine management software wouldn't tolerate running on regular for example.

1) That's why I called it a "rule of thumb"
2) Few if any ten year old engines with normal mileage are still going to fall in the "high compression" category, which was the point of that "rule of thumb". The carbon buildup would have to be quite significant to overcome the ring and sleeve wear, especially considering the fact that engines around ten years old are very likely to have adequate engine management, and as you go back in time and the chances of rudimentary engine control increase so does the engine wear.

For every car, there is documentation such as a manual or shop manual available. Also, sources like alldata or the respective dealers information system will be able to give an answer whether the engine will be fine with RUG.

Hey, I agree with you there! My point was to stress that there are at least as many people running premium fuel when they shouldn't (and doing more harm than just spending more on gas) as there are running RUG when then shouldn't. If in doubt, always ask. 👍

 

[osli]

I would CERTAINLY never say that premium fuel is a WASTE of money, that's an outrageous claim from anyone who knows a thing about engines.

It's not an outrageous claim, and I know a thing or two about engines. If your compression ratio is low enough, then premium is more than just a waste of money, it is bad for the engine and exhaust. Premium fuel is more difficult to combust completely in that environment, and the unburned fuel can cause all sorts of undesirable problems.

 

[phEight]

It's not an outrageous claim, and I know a thing or two about engines. If your compression ratio is low enough, then premium is more than just a waste of money, it is bad for the engine and exhaust. Premium fuel is more difficult to combust completely in that environment, and the unburned fuel can cause all sorts of undesirable problems.

Completely true, but as I said.. the type of engine definitely needs to be taken into account. I'll make this my last post about this issue because it is off-topic from the OP's original concern.

Hey all...

This might be a stupid question as everyone has a different financial situation, but I was wondering if there are any current students that are paying a car payment with their loan money (maybe somewhere around $280/month...I don't really know what the average car payment is)? In particular, do the budgets at NYCOM or PCOM offer enough extra money to afford such an expense? I have a car that is about to die and I really need to a) sink in about $1500 into a car that is 7 years old or b) trade in my car now while it is still worth something to get a used vehicle that has a warranty. I am at a loss because I don't have the financial aid package worked out yet and my car is in need of repairs now. Any info or insight into this matter would be VERY much appreciated. Thanks in advance! 🙂

I really hope everything works out for you.