AKFORTY7

hey just get the Lexus IS and eat ramen noodles for the next couple years u will be just fine :-P

JDKane527

iTrader: (10)

And just have health problems haha
Just stick to rice you'll get lean!
A car though should not force you to adjust your lifestyle drastically to make ends meet. If the convenience luxury and other features and pros outweigh the cons then do it. A little sacrifice here and there only make you appreciate things more.

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

if you can afford it...why not ?

you only live 1 life....

DJSirkit13

Stick with the civic. If you are only going to have $400 bux after the payment. Not to put u down or anything but most people on here have a higher income or parents have paid for their IS.
And its not worth adjusting your lifestyle for a car.
Enjoy as much as you can now with your friends Cars will get better every year.

EJC

I use 87 in my '07 IS250 AWD

EJC

I don't know your living style or age, so how to eval the $400/month is not easy.

If this is after you've funded retirement accts (401K, IRa etc), emergency funds, investment/savings accounts, might be worth doing. Otherwise the $900/mo might be smarter to put into savings for now.

One other point, the 3.9% financing offered by Lexus could be factor in your move. Fed Interest rates are virtually 0 and can't go any lower. The Govt is spending at a pace that gives drunken sailors a good rep and printing money at a similar pace. So in the next year we may very likely be looking at higher interest rates and increased inflation. Saturday I swapped out my '07 IS (a yr and a half left on the lease) for a '10 IS for a lower monthly for the next 4 yrs.

BTW, I believe Toyota announced 0% interest for 5yrs today (not Lexus). Might be worth checking out


warranty is 4yrs so maintenance is small.
Scheduled servicing til 50K miles also is not bad. The 50K service is usually a big one.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

I feel sorry for the next owner of your car (or you if you plan to keep it long term)

And there's nothing to do at 50k miles BTW except an oil change. 60k is the nearest to "major" on the 2IS, brake fluid, spark plugs, air/ac filter, and oil change.

L-S-D

iTrader: (-1)

this is a no brainer lol

c'mon now... civic hb?

or a lexus

nuff said

sinister2c

I seen the roads, weather conditions, and drivers in DC...stick with the civic. The clean brand new Lexus won't look that way after a few months of driving in that city.

$400 left to spend on doing things isnt that much...may want to weigh in the change in life style before you jump.

edgeucated

iTrader: (4)

at your current stage in life, i wouldnt advise it. save up a little more and then make the jump. also for 500 a month thats pretty steep for a 250

syzygy

Let's say hypothetically you decided to keep your 04 civic for the next 10 years (hey, it's a honda, they last) and put that $500/month into the market.

In 10 years, conservatively, that $500/month would acquire you a liquid net worth of $80,000.

In 20 more years (30 years from now), that $80,000 alone will be worth $250,000.

You are literally giving up a liquid net worth of $250,000 30 years from now by choosing to drive the IS for the next 3 years (and a comparable car on lease for the next 7 years afterwards) over driving your honda for another 10 years.

I don't know your financials, but you have to ask yourself the following logical question - is it worth giving up a liquid net worth of +$250,000 in 30 years to drive an IS250 or comparable car on lease for the next 10 years (that's what I used for this calculation, I assumed you would pay $500/month for the next 10 years, 3 years for an IS250 lease and 7 years for presumably a comparable car - you're not going to downgrade are you?)

It very well might be worth it to you. It depends on a lot of factors, but that's the question you have to ask yourself.

Normally I'm not a stickler for bringing things like this up, but the $400/month figure you threw out made me feel obligated to bring it up.

Fizzboy7

I would look into either a used IS or a different newer car that is more affordable. You don't want to live on nuts and crackers just for the sake of having a Lexus. It's not worth it. This is along the same lines of not worrying about what others think about you, but taking care of your own life and being happy with yourself.

CRB

Keep your Honda until the wheels fall off and put your car payment in a 401k. Your life will that you for it.

NCLexi250

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like you have a loong time til you retire, plus with the miracle of compound interest I'd look into investing your money into a Roth ira if you haven't already.. I just don't enjoy the idea of paying someone else to manage my own $ with using a 401k, although some companies do offer a match.

Although I adore a well -made car, when my all-consuming, tricked-out GS400 got totaled last year, it shattered me.. But it also slowly made me realize that there are so many more important things than a super luxury car iin my life. This really allowed me to re-prioritize my life and look at the future. But.. drive what you like, it's your life!

Just my $.02

Haitwun

Do it! You know you want to! It will be totally worth it.