If you sell it, I'll bitch slap you back to bangcock

your future is more important than your ride. The road to financial freedom is often paved with real estate, never with cars. I sold mine 2 months ago for the same reason. I've been driving a 1993 BMW 318is (sooo slooooow) since then and really haven't minded all that much. You really start to appreciate not having the car when you collect paycheck after paycheck and watch your balance grow. It's a great feeling but I was sad as hell to see the G go... especially when the new owner stalled it twice in my driveway. There is no better car in my mind but you have to get your priorities straight. House first, car second.

How about dumping over $20,000 into the G and then keep it till you need that STI

EVO's suck, Mitsubishi's are some of the most unrefined, unreliable(out side the warranty) and rickety cars on the road, you sound young, like me so you probably don't care much about refinement, and only going fast, but really, man, the Evo... It has 4 DOORS!?!?!? the STi, is a little better, but still... 4 DOORS. Girls love coupes... They do not like family sedans turned into super cars.

Plus, buying a house is the only way to go, find a couple of roommates and make them make 80% of your payment, forget the EVO and STi, keep the G and buy the house. Cut down your trips to Romano's and PF Changs, and go to IHOP in stead and you will be fine. My wife and I bought our house when we where 22 and 23 which was 1 1/2 years ago, best purchase EVER!!! I also have a small garage, perfect for our new G.

I agree. As much as we all love the G, buying a house is one of the best things you can do for your future, as long as you can handle the payments. Especially here in California, the earlier you buy the better.

In fact I am in the process of finalizing my loan for my first place, and what you have to do is look at all your expenses...do what others have been saying, cut things here and there, you will find a way! After reorganizing my expenses, I found I was able to make the mortgage and keep the G! Keep your head up!

If you are planning on buying a condo/house in Orange County, California, then you'll most likely have to sell your G and buy a Hyundai. Homes are outrageously priced there. How close are you to buying a house? Do you just need the downpayment or need a few hundred dollars extra a month for the mortgage? I agree that if you buy a place and want to keep the G, then get a roomate or two to help cover the costs of the mortgage.

And this is how I intend on getting into the real estate business. Very well put my friend.

Thanks for all the opinions guys. My dad gave me a quick lesson in finances last night and kinda took the wind out of my sails when I was adamant all day about getting rid of the car. The only way I really could keep the car in my mind was to get a better job which I am doing. Couple interviews the past week so hopefully those pan out.

Living in OC is really tough when it comes to buying a home when the median price is now $550,000!!! The house I'm looking at is a 3-BR, 3-BTH condo for around that price and it's brand new.

I'll see how the next few months turn out and make my decision then, I guess. As some of you have said the Evo might be nice 2nd car and I have considered that possibility in the future. I snowboard a lot and everytime I drive up the mountain I just fantasize about having an Evo takin those turns...hehehe...

I'm kind of in the same situation, only I leased my G, and I have the option to buy it in June for much less than blue book value. I'm buying a house in early Fall. I decided to keep the G and buy it at the end of the lease in June. If I turned it in, I would have to get something else, and if I bought another new car to replace it, it would be a much lower market car. So it became a decision like would I rather have a brand new Neon SRT-4 or Mazda 6, or my 2 year old 19k mile G35 Coupe? When looking at the decision that way (about the same cost), it became clear I want my G35 Coupe. Especially since it's a used car where I know its full history since new, and its previous driver (me). Plus, it has enough performance to keep me interested and prevent me from buying a more expensive car that I want, such as the Cadillac CTS-V for a few more years.

So my plan at this point is buy the G35 Coupe in June when my lease runs out, and keep it until June 2008 when its warranty runs out, sell it, and get my CTS-V then. With the G35 having among the lowest depreciation of any car with a predicted 50% value after 5 years, it should still fetch about $18k when 5 years old, which combined with my savings over the next 3 years will make for a nice down payment on the CTS-V (maybe even pay cash for it if I go for a 2 year old used one), all the while I've been building equity in my house and getting tax deductions from the mortgage interest.

So...guess what happened to me the day I decided NOT to get rid of the car?!?!? I frikkin scratch my Volks entering the garage!!! Little piece of metal was sticking out of the frame and I come in real close and WHAM!!!! Son of a B! It was bound to happen but of all the days for it to occur! What are the chances? Gonna have it fixed ASAP so I don't have to stare at it! Gosh! Dang! I'm such a flipping idiot!

I have to agree completely. There seem to be way too many people on this site who are car poor. My rule is I only buy vehicles I can pay cash for. I bought two houses (one rental) at about the same time I bought my first new car with cash. I could have bought a new car years before that but drove a cheap beater and waited to save more money for a good downstroke on my first house and then bought the car with no loan. As it happened I had enough for a rental property too right away so bought it also.
Real estate bought in the right area at the right time for the right price will be an appreciating asset. All of our cars aren't of course and if you have to finance it heavily that really makes it expensive over the course of the loan.

Just get a car for transportation, buy the house and 3-4 years later maybe you'll have saved more to get a better car.

you paid $700 for 18 months and still owe $29k on it? Damn, where did all your payments go? I dont want to put you down or anything, but how can you possibly pay for a $550k house if you need 60 months to pay for a 35-40k car. You definitely should not get another $30k car, you should keep the G. If you want to save money, buy a Scion or a Geo, if they still make that, and don't take out a loan for longer than 36 months.
When I went to get the financing for my car, I originally went in to get a 48 months loan, with payments of $600/month. APR for 36 months was lower, so I put down an extra 2g's and my payments is only $700/month now. You will be paying a ton of interest the longer your loan is.

How much will the mortgage be for a $550k house? If you can find a way to make the payments, more power to ya. Sorry if I busted your bubble.

let me know if ur selling it. interested in your volks . thanks

All this back and forth about car versus house.... The answer is simpler, both a house and a car are going to make you happy... deciding which one will make you happy is the greater decision?
The answer does not always revolve around money, equity, resale, etc. Nobody buys a car like this because it will get them money and because its simple, reliable transportation. This car is bought because its fun and people are happy driving it.
As far as everyones advice about paying cash for cars and huge downpayments for houses, i think that opinion is not so good. Interest rates have been low for years now, paying cash for a car when you can get 0% financing on most cars is ridiculously dumb. Money today is worth more tomorrow. A Car today is worth less tomorrow. And as far as putting down huge downpayments, your not going to lose your money like you would in a car but think about this... to mortgage every $100,000 it costs roughly 600-700 a month over 30 yrs. So even if you put down $50,000 down on a house, thats going to save you approx $350 a month or so??? I can think of many more uses for 50k. Even investing 50k somewhere is smarter than putting it in a house with a low interest rate.
Thus, my advice to you, make the decision that makes you most happy, when your comfortable to afford the things you want, ie. house & car, try not to use cash.
My 2 cents...