Ok, I just took over college payments, so my parents will probably allot me some money for a new car with the purpose of lasting a few years after college so I'm not worrying about car payments while im paying back college loans. I could either take that money and buy a new(er) car, or buy a third gen and totally rebuild it. Now, a new car sounds extremely attractive, but at the same time, I would love to take on a project and make something completely my own. So, what do u guys think, new(er) car, or rebuild a third gen?

 

Buy a used lexus....They are tops in dependability...

 

I'd pay for college with it.

 

well im only gonna have to pay for 2 - 2 and a half years of college cuz my parents have a tap account thats not finished yet. plus im not sure how much longer my car is gonna last. might as well have fun while i still have time.

 

I'd say hold it in reserve incase the max dies and then use it to pay off college when you finish.

 

where are you going to find the time for a "project" when you're in college with midterms, papers, chasing girls, drinking, etc etc?

hold on to the $. drive the 3rd gen until it won't go anymore. then re-think your question so see if you have enough $ to pay for school. you might have to struggle on a beater by then but you'll have less school debt.

 

ok, lets put it this way. my parents arent just going to give me the money. theyre either buying me a car with it or keeping it. I was just saying alloted 10 grand because im sure thats around the limit of how much they wanna spend

 

mainteance on a lexus = $$$$

 

well heres my college situation. i go to drexel in philly, and right now im on co-op. i intern in the fall and winter and go to school in the spring and summer. ill be making right around 15 g's per work term, and thats going to help me with college. since im so close to home, its not a big deal finding time for a project. and i already have a wifey, so chasing girls isnt a big deal to me either i get a car or i get nothing. so thats my sitch.

 

True,parts are more expensive for a lex,but i think in the long run you will spend less on the lexus in maintinance,and have less downtime..


Don't get me wrong,i'm not knocking maxima reliability,shoot,mine has over 300,000 on it and has pretty reliable..But imo lexus has a more reliable car...

 

if that's the case...sell the 3rd gen..get a reliable used car and call it the day.

 

Invest in a car that appreciates over time not depreciates. Get an old Muscle Car and fix it up. You can find some cheap drivable projects and fix them up to be worth lots of $$$. Im doing that with a 72 Chevelle. Trading my truck for it and once its fixed up it could easily sell for $10,000+.

 

IMO it's not a good car for a daily driver.

 

my 66 was a dependable DD for several years for me until I got scared of driving it because of idiots.

Gas will kill you but classics can be very dependable because you have no electronics. Just make sure your brakes are good and put a carburated small block chevy in it and you are good to go .

its not practical though thats for sure.

 

guy goes to drexel...it snows in philly. how well you think those muscle cars do in the snow?

 

haha, muscle cars will be for after i graduate and have money and stuff. i was also looking into getting jason's 92, the red one. think that would be a good investment? considering everything is basically new

 

great with chains ...sorry I know nothing about snow. When it snows here the city shuts down for that day (considering thats about how long it lasts before it melts).

Hey I said they werent practical...though they could be if you had a lot of money to put into them but if you put that much into them why would you want to drive it daily and risk some idiot wrecking it.

 

N34JZ's max is still for sale, one of the cleanest ones out there $7500 obo.

 

Wierd.. we probably thought this at the same time.

 

haha yea, im seriously looking into that, just gotta make sure the cash flow is right, and set up a time to look at it.

 

on the LS yes, the rest of them are typical toyota costs.
get an ES and you're good to go
of course they are lexi, so don't expect any great driving thrills.

 

yeah...i don't think the SC400 is considered "typical toyota cost" when it comes to parts.

 

Get a bike for the summer, you'll save lots in gas, pick up chicks, and spend the rest in insurance but hey if you're lookin for something fast a bike will do

 

i dont care too much about fast. i want something thats gonna last me a few years and look good doing it. i feel n34jz's car could do that for me.

 

If I was your parents a heavily modded car that is 14 years old is not what I would let you buy. Buy a sensible, reliable low mileage car that will last. I would look for a low mileage 5th gen maxima or a camry (you might have to change your name) You can get a dam n good car for 10 g's.

 

it is. they really aren't bad. it's locating the parts that's a beatch

 

I would buy an e30 BMW and mod the crap out of it.

 

If I were you I'd by slickblack94's maxima and make it the sweetest
3rd gen out there. I do have a 97 lexus es 300 and it is like floating on air
but if the tranny goes $ 3-5 g's ,timing belt every 90k $700 and everything
else costs big $$.

 

I would buy a subaru wrx drive train and put it in my blown porsche 944. Or have all the body work on my max fixed. I like the maxima alot more.

 

/thread


www.ingdirect.com

if your interested I can send you a invite that gives you $20 (or maybe it was $25, I forget -I get $10 ) when you open an account and deposite atleast $100. (I think the minimum balance is $0.01, or maybe it's nothing, but to get the $20/25 offer they want you to deposite $100 to prevent people from just signing up for a bunch of accounts or something )

$10k @4.4% monthly = $440 a year
If you do a 12 month CD @5.1% = $510 a year

There are others that offer even higher rates too. Then there are higher return (and risk) investments. If you put $10,000 into a car, you'll be lucky to get $5000 out of it in a few years. Stuff it in a measly 4.4% savings and you'll have $11,879.60 in four years. If you can pull a 13% return, in four years you'll have $16,304.73. If you can do 15%, you'll have $17490.06 in four years, and even more if say you put in $5 a week (or better, $10 a week).



cliffs: I wouldn't spend it on a car
and how would you have time to work on a car lol

 

well have to ask your self how much you love your max? if love your like i do mine i say keep it and rebuild and do whatever you think would look best on it. buying any used car you not only have to pay for it but than as time goes by you have to start putting more into to fix what ever is wrong or going wrong. at least your max is paid for and you know what is wrong with it. Your still young enough you can make some dumb decisions and pay for them later but once you get older and responsibilities take effect you find a lot of the projects you want to do end up taking a back seat to responsibilities and some things have to end up getting cancelled all together. beside chick dig custom cars and sports cars. Lexus are only cool if you want to try and act like a big baller. beside you have to be one to keep up on maintenance. beside you already6 have a great start on your ride might as well finish her off. once your done with collage and get the good job you can get the responsible persons car with all that extra crap to show your status in life

 

I'm in love with third gen... spend your money on it!!!!

 

I'd get a POS and build for the track to work out my frustrations.

Living less than 20 minutes from a good track KILLS me...

 

investing into a lexus or bmw would cost you alittle in the long run, If i were you i would get a nice depenable maxima that would be able to last me through college. I would save the remaining balance to pay for college, or use alittle to hook up the maxima.

N34JZ's maxima just made me fall in love with it. i have a 94 maxima. excellent body. its a white. the only problem is the dead shocks...

i love to hook mine up..i'm in college and currently just putting little by little into it.
I just look for N34JZ ad in the ad's forum but couldnt find it, can someone paste me a link?
I wanna hook my max up even more after seeing his..

Whatever you do with your cash, make sure u honestly deep down in your heart want it..not beacuse someone else likes it or think its best.

Thanks

 

^^^^ oooh thats deep

after thinking about it for a while, i think ill just go with a 98-01 max. i think i want a manual, but i dunno if im gonna feel like shifting all the time.

 

For those that are able to locate and do research off of online forums such as this one, maintenance price for any car can be lowered. The Lexus drivers that pay $700 for a new timing belt are one's who would rather have their car serviced by a professional. When it comes time for my t-belt, as a DIY'er it can be done for under $100. As for parts, prices vary but as someone said it's basically a Toyota.


With that said, I say do whatever makes you happy!

 

No offense to the rest(including myself) but this is the smartest suggetion I've seen so far...yea a lil boring that you cant play with your money or spend it but in the long run it'll be there with a few extra bucks as a reward. I dont know if its something I'd do as I'm kind of a spender but its something I'd like to try. I say go for it!

 

Buy the red Max! It isn't really going to depreciate, and after all the money he has put into it, he want relatively little for it. You would even have a few grand left over to turbo it!

My car obsession defies all logic, frustrates me and empties my bank account...I wouldn't have it any other way!

 

With 10G id have to convert my max to RWD using a VQ35 and 6 speed. Def have to.

Thats after I have a place to live and work on my cars.

~Alex

 

would someone give me a link to the red max's listing..plzzzzzzzzzz