Need about $2500 -- are all cash advances off limits?

[Begonia]

Mustachians - 

I appreciate your help here: I have $3500 saved to buy a used car, but I can get a lot more bang for my buck if my budget goes up to $5-6K. I'm spending about $250+ per month now between public transit, Lyft, scooter rentals and a car sharing service (my job requires evening transport with quick turnaround times in different neighborhoods). I can't stand the fact that I'm giving that money away without any equity in return. My lease on a 2012 Yaris was up in March and I vowed never to lease again. I'm currently able to save only a few hundred bucks a month because I'm in transition with my job. Do you have any suggestions about how to borrow $2500 or so for cheap? Like a low fee credit card cash advance with 0% interest for the next year? Or is there some other way to do this that I have no idea of?

Thanks for weighing in.

Begonis

[MDM]

How long would it take to save the extra $2500?

Could you buy one now for $3500, thus saving $250 minus gas minus insurance minus maintenance = ___? per month, keep saving and then sell the $3500 one and buy a better one?

Buy from a dealership who would finance it for you? 

Just some thoughts.

Of course, there's always the "$3500 is more than enough to spend", but assuming you have already done your homework in that regard....

[dudde_devaru]

I applied for Amex credit card last year and had upto $7k balance transfer for 4% fee and 15month 0% interest. One awesome thing was, they wired the $ to my checking account!

You can try such an option.

[arebelspy]

How long would it take to save the extra $2500?

This is the primary question. How sure are you that you could pay off that 0% "loan" (which will be more like 3% with the balance transfer fee) without paying high interest?

[Tjat]

I don't have any ideas beyond what was already stated. However, to be "that guy", I humbly suggest that you may not be able to afford a 5-6K car if you do not have $2500 on hand. Your goal is to get to a point where $2500 is a notable, yet ultimately inconsequential outflow and it will be challenging to get to that point if you keep borrowing.

Also, please consider the added expenses of vehicle maintenance, insurance, registration, etc to counterweight your monthly savings from Lyft, etc. However, $250 a month is not bad if that is your only commute expenses and meets your needs. Could you also get a bike? If you truly need a car, I would suggest a ugly beater for a portion of the cash you have on hand. Your first urge may be to feel embarrassed, but take pride in the lack of debt and sacrifice you're willing to make.

[Begonia]

Everyone -

Thanks for your replies. I think I knew the answer going into the Forum with this one: I should just deal with the $3500 I do have and not mess around with loans or balance transfers or cash advances, etc. It feels too dangerous. I'm confident I would pay it off in time, but still, it's not how I want to roll. So, even if I am driving a beater like Kristin Wiig's in Bridesmaids, I have a mechanic friend who will check it out for me and make sure it's a solid one.

It would take me about six months to save that $2500, and I need wheels before then. Also, I do own a bike and use it whenever I can. The cost of owning would be about the same per month as what I currently pay, perhaps less. The sketchy part is the surprise repairs that could pop up. Again, it's about really vetting the car before I buy it. The rest is up to the universe.

THanks again, Mustachians. You're the best.

[Retire-Canada]

Everyone -

Thanks for your replies. I think I knew the answer going into the Forum with this one: I should just deal with the $3500 I do have and not mess around with loans or balance transfers or cash advances, etc. It feels too dangerous. I'm confident I would pay it off in time, but still, it's not how I want to roll. So, even if I am driving a beater like Kristin Wiig's in Bridesmaids, I have a mechanic friend who will check it out for me and make sure it's a solid one.

It would take me about six months to save that $2500, and I need wheels before then.

Buy the car you can afford now. Make sure it's a good value. Drive it while you save the extra $2500.

Once you have the extra cash saved you can consider how much you like the current car with some time behind the wheel. If you feel you would like to upgrade you should be able to sell for what you paid for it if you made a good choice initially. Then buy a fancier car if you want to.

[minority_finance_mo]

I'm very much of the mindset that if you don't have enough money to afford something outright, you needs to reconsider if you can afford it at all. Additionally, I wouldn't view a car as an asset - it just depreciates over time costing you more money, not to mention insurance, gas, etc. I doubt you will break even on $250-300/month if you buy a car...

[Zamboni]

I don't have any ideas beyond what was already stated. However, to be "that guy", I humbly suggest that you may not be able to afford a 5-6K car if you do not have $2500 on hand. Your goal is to get to a point where $2500 is a notable, yet ultimately inconsequential outflow and it will be challenging to get to that point if you keep borrowing.

Also, please consider the added expenses of vehicle maintenance, insurance, registration, etc to counterweight your monthly savings from Lyft, etc. However, $250 a month is not bad if that is your only commute expenses and meets your needs. Could you also get a bike? If you truly need a car, I would suggest a ugly beater for a portion of the cash you have on hand. Your first urge may be to feel embarrassed, but take pride in the lack of debt and sacrifice you're willing to make.

+1

I'm going to go a step further and say that you should spend no more than $3K on the car.  You will need the balance for registration, insurance, taxes, oil changes. Go to the library and get the consumer reports issues on reliable used cars.  Pick only from that list even if the car is 15+ years old, and then also have your mechanic friend inspect it.

Let me put any potential embarrassment in perspective for you: my current car was purchased for cash a couple of years ago for the amount we are advising you to spend.  I have hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank, and I laugh all the way there.

[dess1313]

talk to your mechanic friend and ask about which types of older cars to focus your search on.  I have a toyota corolla that's a 1998 model and still ticking away strong.  There's certain models every so often that are gems like these ones.  I see lots of my car still on the road. 

Focus on one of those thats a known reliable model, and for sure get its checked out by your mechanic friend before putting any $ down.  Also ask for a car report, make sure its not been in any horrible accidents

[Begonia]

I really appreciate the ongoing ideas and opinions. I especially like the idea of going down to $3K and giving myself the buffer for the rest that comes with buying a car. The idea of going leaner actually energizes rather than depletes me -- a sure sign that I'm on the right track. So yeah, bring on the '95 Corolla, et al, and I'll be smiling all the way to the bank (and maybe even laughing one day)!

Gracias,

Begonia

[milesdividendmd]

I am anti leverage by disposition.

That being said the skills of playing the miles game can allow you to access capital for cheap.

I wrote about one such scenario [Mod Edit: On my blog. PM poster for link.]

The PayPal to serve scenario is not doable long term, but the concepts hold....

And again I am not advocating such an approach. But it's certainly better than paying for a cash advance.

[SanDiegoAli]

I just did a quick Craigslist search of your area and it seems like there are a lot of decent option for under 3.5k.

Good luck with your search.

[Begonia]

Thanks for the encouragement!