Sexy Saver Certificate
  •  
     

I, J. Money, only claim the thoughts from my head. I am NOT a professional finance'er, banker, CPA, or anything of that sort. Please seek a professional for any "real" advice. For more info, please check out my disclosure page. That is all - enjoy!

Friday, July 18, 2008

I just bought the Caddy! AND, I slapped it on my Credit Card!

new cadillacBetcha didn't see that one coming, eh? Haha...Yes, after 5 days of test driving, researching, and thinking about it all, I decided to buy the Cadillac :)

And to be honest, I'm not even sure it was the 100% best thing to do financially at this point, but I made a decision and I took the chance. That's really the best way to learn anyways, right?

So how much did it cost? What are the deets?

The Price:
It was only $3,100! It was originally priced at $5k a month ago, then dropped to $4k, and then to $3,400 when I saw it. Guess the crazy high gas prices scared everyone away? Well I took advantage, and as much as i felt bad for the guy, I had to offer lower - $2,800 in fact. After some more bargaining, we finally settled on the $3,100.

The Car:
1993 Cadillac DeVille! Shiny maroon-red with tan leather interior, carriage top, and impeccably clean for a car it's age. Seriously, the thing is a beast. The owner was a mechanic, and car fiend, so he tweaked all the parts and made sure it was in top shape. He even loaded it with a new exhaust system to get that nice gargling sound ;) Pimp, much? OH, and he also added an alarm system, along with key-less remote (which didn't come standard) AND the best yet - A remote engine starter! haha... so i can start it from inside my house on a cold wintery day! MMmmmmmm.

The Financing:
Once I realized I was falling in love with it, it was time to figure out the financing. I checked w/ our local credit union, where my current car's financed with, and they just laughed i my face saying the car was too old. I then checked out USAA, of course, and the best they could do was 6.75% - not bad, but not all that great.

Then i had one of those "Ah-Hah!" moments and got to thinking about my credit card! The interest is variable, but $hit, it's only 5% right now! And plus, I only plan on having the "loan" until I can sell and payoff the SUV. Soooooo, I called back USAA and asked if there were any specials running and they were! If i used one of those checks they send out with the statements, I could put the entire $3,100 on it for a measly 3.4%! And it's locked in for an entire year - now THAT's more like it ;)

So now what?
Yes I found the perfect car, for a perfect price, and with perfect financing (for me, that is - i don't recommend going the c/c route if you don't work well with them), but now I have TWO cars. And that's on top of Mrs. Budgetsaresexy's car too!

Well, I now have to sell my SUV. And I have a feeling it's gonna be a tough one these days. Anything with "SUV" and "higher gas prices" involved is sure to get tricky. And worst case? I'll pay a little interest on the card, pay a little extra insurance, and drop the price a bit. I can't imagine having the car for months on end (knock on wood), but it is something to consider...just not as yet ;)

So while a plan like this isn't for everyone, i really feel like i'm on the right track and that I picked up a great opportunity. And not only for the car itself (which is totally rad), but for our financial future as well.

The day of zero car payments isn't too far away!

All I have to do now is sit and pray for some good offers to come in. Can you imagine the relief of losing $443 monthly car payments? My goodness that's sexciting :) I might have done things the other way around here, but damnit if i don't feel alive right now. That's life baby!

Labels: ,

***Thirsting for more? Click for a randomly generated post!
Digg thisStumble thisPF Buzz thisDel.icio.us thisSubscribe to feed

8 Comments:

Blogger #1HB4BD said...

Hey I had no idea USAA offered deals for using the checks that come with your credit card! I just figured those were to encourage you to spend even MORE money, so I always tear them up and throw them away.

I learned something!

July 18, 2008 2:23 PM  
Blogger J. Money said...

Oh yeah, that IS why they place those suckers on - to totally get you to use them! I just figured out they had these specials from doing my balance xfer last month :)

The offers change every month, and all you have to do is call in and ask for what it is! They have all sorts of goodies - you just have to ask.

July 18, 2008 8:09 PM  
Blogger Bailey said...

Congrats on the new car!

July 18, 2008 9:00 PM  
Blogger Canadian Saver said...

You certainly went for a luxury car! Even if it is an older model :-) Enjoy!

July 18, 2008 9:17 PM  
Anonymous Frugal Vet Tech said...

Sometimes it's okay to do things that don't make the best financial sense. While considering your current money situation is important, it's not everything. There's something to be said for occasionally doing things that you enjoy. Husband and I bought a laptop when we didn't have all the cash for it (we had a plan to pay it off within a few months). We're now looking at moving - rent will cost us more every month, but we'll be getting more and we'll like it better.

Enjoy your car!

July 20, 2008 5:49 PM  
Blogger Jerry said...

I didn't know that about USAA either. That's kinda weird. I think it would lead people to spend more but what do I know??! Did you get your insurance thru USAA? They have decent rates, btw.

Jerry
www.leads4insurance.com

July 21, 2008 2:53 PM  
Blogger J. Money said...

I get to finally pick it up tonight! I had the guy tweak it a little more for me, so it'll be home sweet home in no time ;)

AND, the best part yet, I now have a great mechanic to give my business too - and to get bargains from!

Jerry - Yup, i have all our cars insured through USAA, and have a good 10+ other accounts w/ them ;)

July 21, 2008 3:30 PM  
Blogger Mare said...

I know this is late but I just got back from vacation.....Congrats on the car!!! That's Awesome!

July 28, 2008 7:31 PM  

Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link

<< Home