Are you currently driving to work or working from home? If you’re working from home, I would definitely wait.

You are too into cars. Pay attention to your job, student loans and start investing for retirement. Good car that doesn't leave you on beltway would cost you ca $5k. Get a small Japanese car and good to go.
Try to be sentimental about a retirement account and investments, but also paying down your student loans.
I invested in Tesla. Just made ca $16K in an hour with S and P inclusion. I feel just as warm and fuzzy about my investment account as you feel about a buying a new car.

No one is going to relieve you of your private loans. Keep the Stafford loans if you'd like, but start paying double every month for your private loans. And as PP have stated, buy another Civic that is coming off of lease.

OP what are your other expenses? How much do you have saved? We need more info.

Just go for the new car. You only live once.

Anonymous wrote:OP - do you have at least 3 months' cash reserve? That's what I would do with extra cash. The student loans are low interest rates. I would do cash reserves and fund IRAs or anything else you can, then inexpensive used car

x1000 At a minimum you need 3 months' cash reserves. If you have that then take it to 6. Also, I would be socking money away in retirement accounts. The more you save now the better off you will be. Wait to buy a new car until you really absolutely NEED it. Keep paying off your student loans. If you can add in an extra 2 payments every year (make sure they go to principal) then you will be really doing yourself a great favor. Keep staying where you are at the rent of $1300 a month.

And congratulations on your new job! That is so exciting!

I say get a new car. The safety features are worth it in my opinion for this area where people hard break in front of you. New cars will automatically hit the breaks for you.

But, I would do that in a year or two. Make it your goal this year to pay down the loan debt. $3k a month. Get a car a year or two from now after the debt is paid off as a reward!

If something happens on your commute just call a tow and take an Uber to work. As long as you give your boss a call or even just an IM there is no office in the world where being 30 min late a single time because your car crapped out on the side of the road will be an issue.

Anonymous wrote:-How much do you owe on your student loans?

-How much have you paid on your student loans since the no interest CARES Act happened in March? This should have been your opportunity to dump money on the loan.

Start preparing yourself for a MAJOR car repair dilemma. My old car konked out, I had it towed in and they said I needed a new engine! I was prepared to buy a new car the year before so the extra 15 months was a bonus, but I had to react fast.

I owe about $110K in student loans from my masters degree.

I paid the normal income-based payment (about $500) on my loans even though it wasn't mandatory. I just kept paying them as normal.
I have only $10K in personal savings (this does NOT include my 401k.) I never started making real money until now. I started at entry level making $60K, got a raise to $75K, then job-hopped to make $110K. And who knows, I'm not done job-hopping, because that's what we unreliable, entitled millennials do.

I'll reiterate one more time that my 05 Civic has SENTIMENTAL VALUE. I learned to drive on the car in high school, and it was my father's car until he died. Replacing it is no simple matter nor is it a vanity "want"
My concern is the Murphy's Law issue another poster brought up. I had a cascade of wear-and-tear issues all come up last winter. Battery died and needed to be replaced. Brake pads wore out, and muffler needed to be replaced, all within a few months of each other. My inclination was to bite the bullet on the car once something beyond wear-and-tear started to happen, but as cars get older, wear-and-tear becomes more frequent I guess. I also kind of want to hit the 200,000 mile mark just to say I did. But if I'm starting a new job, a big-deal job that's high stakes and high paying (for my age anyway), I don't want anything to happen. We're teleworking for another few months and then we'll be in the office, and I will need to drive (it's a suburb-to-suburb commute). So either way it's a risk.

Lease an X3!

-How much do you owe on your student loans?

-How much have you paid on your student loans since the no interest CARES Act happened in March? This should have been your opportunity to dump money on the loan.

Start preparing yourself for a MAJOR car repair dilemma. My old car konked out, I had it towed in and they said I needed a new engine! I was prepared to buy a new car the year before so the extra 15 months was a bonus, but I had to react fast.

Car emergency fund, AAA membership in case of breakdowns, general emergency fund, pay down student loans THEN new car.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg you are about to make double the average family income for the US and you want a free pass on your $50k in debt?!! Unbelievable. You save your money and get a civic.

+1. You want the rest of us (e.g. taxpayers) to pay your student loans? I paid mine off with hard work, but you want your forgiven? You sound very entitled.

OP here and where did I say I felt entitled to forgiveness? I never mentioned where I stand on the issue, but if this were on the table it's not like I wouldn't take advantage of it.

Since you asked, I'm a registered Democrat and a moderate progressive. I don't support blanket student loan forgiveness. I support medical debt forgiveness instead, because medical issues aren't your fault. I would favor more public service or community service-oriented forgiveness plans.
BUT if someone were to offer me $50K on the spot, you bet I would take it, and adjust my financial planning accordingly. What, am I just going to write extra checks to Navient because I feel bad for them? Ha!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg you are about to make double the average family income for the US and you want a free pass on your $50k in debt?!! Unbelievable. You save your money and get a civic.

+1. You want the rest of us (e.g. taxpayers) to pay your student loans? I paid mine off with hard work, but you want your forgiven? You sound very entitled.

oh gosh, if there was a loan forgiveness program readily available to you at the time you would have taken it wouldnt you? This is silly. Op was just saying if it was available that would be great. It's unlikely without the senate biden will be able to get many of those things through anyway. OP ignore these people and focus on saving and reducing your loan burden. Build an emergency fund, build a fund for your new (to your car), etc.

OP as others have said you need to be paying down our loans and saving money so that you can buy a used car in CASH. Do not take out a loan (in addition to all your student loans) for a car unless you absolutely have to, which I totally understand you're getting close to that potentially but you aren't there yet. Start putting money aside for a new car so you are prepped when your car dies or needs expensive work. Then boom, you buy yourself a new (to you) car without taking on more debt and you are good.