Decisions...

[SaturnVUEguy]

I work at a used car lot, which is affiliated with a Ford dealer. We have an '02 Mustang GT on our lot, which with my employee discount I can get for $12k. My Saturn is worth $8k to them and my payoff is $9800. With all these numbers, I can get my payments to be $300/mo for 60mos. I'm currently at $400/mo with roughly 2yrs to go.

My wife insists we keep the Saturn. I myself love the car, but have always wanted a Mustang. I'm also tired of having a fwd auto. The Mustang is obviously rwd and is stick.

I've told her before that if she refuses to let me get the Mustang, I'll pick up a project car to work on with our 3 1/2yr old son and/or supercharge the VUE. Supercharging would require money and time, as would a project car. I have my mind set on an Opel GT. I just have to drive up to Wonder Lake to see if the car is still there. Around '01 the car was there and had been sitting since the mid 80s, guy only wanted $100 for the car. I could use my mom's Durango to pull the car home, but I'd need a trailer for it, which wouldn't be too hard to come by.


What to do? Sign the papers on the Mustang behind her back, supercharge the VUE, buy a project car?

[69LT1Nova]

Don't do anything behind the wife's back. Unless you want to be murdered or divorced...

Mustangs suck anyway, IMO. And yes, I've driven a couple of them (including a '00 GT), and they are nothing to brag about.

Keep the Saturn stock and don't rip into it. That way you have something reliable to drive around, and no down time.

The Opel sounds cool, and you sure don't see many of those driving around! Plus... with a project car you can SLOWLY put money into it instead of making a big purchase and getting reamed on payments. My $0.02.

[Jimmy Sean]

My Saturn is worth $8k to them and my payoff is $9800.

Sign the papers on the Mustang behind her back, supercharge the VUE, buy a project car?

My only advice is I would not eat the $1800 on the saturn for the mustang, essentially you would be paying another $1800 on the mustang. Another way to look at the $1800 is that you will be refinancing that amount over the 60 months. I'm sure another Mustang would come along when you and your wife can agree.

DON'T BE DISHONEST WITH YOUR WIFE IT WILL ONLY CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS FOR YOU AND SHE WILL RESENT THAT MUSTANG AS LONG AS YOU OWN IT! Just speaking from experience:injured:

[Young Gun]

keep the saturn stock...save the money, buy your wife something nice, and then save the rest of the cash for a project.

[Bow Tie 67]

keep the saturn stock...save the money, buy your wife something nice, and then save the rest of the cash for a project.

and let me know where that opel is?

[69LT1Nova]

Those Opels are the shiznit. My old man had one when I was a kid. I sure wish he had kept it.

A guy here at work drives his Opel GT to work every day. Ugly burnt orange paint, but it keeps on running!

[SaturnVUEguy]

OOPS, meant to say $330/mo for the Mustang, not $300.

I'm not saying where that Opel is, I don't want anyone else to go buy it before me, if its still there

[cheapthrillz]

Pro-touring Opel GT? HELL YEA!!!

Leave the mustang for the women to fight over... every girl I know drives a mustang... such a chick car...

[BA.]

quite the predicament. 330/mo for a saturn would make me want to get into something different.

I don't like that deal though. I think the fun will last a year or so and then you'll be like "damn, I'm upside down on a 7-8yr old Mustang with several years to go!".

I say get the project car, whether it's an opel or something else.

...and the idea of getting the wifey something when you get the Opel/whatever is a great idea!

[jerome]

Advice is often tough to stomach, but here's my take.

I love oddball builds, but the Saturn is not in buildable territory. It is a nice, new car without aftermarket support. Unless you plan on junking everything except the panels, it does not make for a good build IMO. You will spend retarded amounts of money for small gains.

Keep the Saturn, it is a good family car. Don't even think about laying a wrench on it.

Build something you love. Preferrably something you don't feel bad cutting up. Since you are considering payments and have a family, I would assume that the Mustang is a considerable expense.

I would buy a cheaper, older project that you can slowly work on with your son. Something that has cheaper, non-PCM, electronics based parts. Unless you are just adding little modifications like springs/SFC, and air intakes, new model cars don't make good, cheap projects that you can take pride in.

At one point, I really, really wanted to go all out with my 04 4wd silverado extended cab. When you're in the heat of it, you think anything is a good idea. I would have spend the same money on it that I have on my S10 so far, but I would still only have one car. New model stuff is expensive, and offers less creativity unless you are rich. Older stuff will allow you to innovate more, and spend less. I got my S10 for $200. And proceeded to dump 15k into it. All in all, it will be 20k. If you are building a ground-up project right, with decent parts, be warned it will cost at least 15k.

Rock on, oddball projects.

[SaturnVUEguy]

I'm bored with the Saturn, as I'm sure you've all picked up on so far. The Mustang wouldn't be a project car, it would be my DD. Maybe swap some parts here and there, but nothing radical.

I LOVE Opel GTs. Still kick myself almost every day for not buying the car all those years ago. Now that I have a son, I do want something to work on with him, since I never had that with my dad (he loves cars, but not to the extent I do).

There are all sorts of things to be done with an Opel GT. Targa, V8, Ecotech, the list is endless. I would love something to build from the ground up. The Opel is a small car, and not many people know what the car is. And with sites like www.opelgt.com and www.opelgtsource.com parts are not hard to come by

[69LT1Nova]

Alrighty then, it sounds like everybody is saying the same thing: keep the Saturn as your DD, don't wrench on it, pay it off. Yeah it's boring, it's a friggin' Saturn!

Leave the Mustang for a chick, because face it, real dudes don't drive Mustangs.

Find that Opel and drag it out of the weeds! Build it piece by piece, take your time, and make it bitchin'! Don't worry, there are lots of people who know what an Opel GT is, and appreciate the car.

[fastback]

Mustangs suck anyway, IMO. And yes, I've driven a couple of them (including a '00 GT), and they are nothing to brag about.



Leave the Mustang for a chick, because face it, real dudes don't drive Mustangs.


Wow dude. I sense a lot of pent up rage toward Mustang owners.

Maybe your ex-boyfriend owned one?

Did the guy who reposessed your trailer drive one?

I bet it was that damned store clerk who wouldn't let you put any more Pabst Blue Ribbon on your tab, wasn't it? Like you weren't gonna pay as soon as you find a job.

[Vegas69]

Reach down between your legs and grab onto those puppies. Get over there and buy that Mustang!:thankyou: Seriously, if your wife wears the pants get permission first.

[SaturnVUEguy]

Yeah it's boring, it's a friggin' Saturn!You'd be surprised how quick this bugger is. With the Honda V6 from the factory with 250hp and 242lb/ft, it moves! 0-60 in under 7 seconds (or in the low 7s with the average driver)

[Chevrolaine]

5 years paying on a 7 year old car? PLUS the extra you'll pay in gas and insurance per month. Walk away very fast!

[Restomod]

Saturnguy keep the Sat and wait a couple days and I may have a clean black 96 Cobra forsale VERY REASONABLE!!!!

OH and 69lt1Nova keep it to yourself,us Mustang guys dont knock lt1 Novas on here!!!! And that is from someone who has had Chevy and Ford....................

[moparnate]

keep the saturn, pay it off asap and use it as your daily driver, get a project car and have fun building it!

[jaybee]

keep the saturn, pay it off asap and use it as your daily driver, get a project car and have fun building it!

What he said...and almost everyone else. Nothing wrong with Mustangs, but you can't look both ways at an intersection without seeing a late model Mustang. How many LSx powered, Pro Touring Opel GTs are there?

[cheapthrillz]

Pro-touring Opel GT? HELL YEA!!!

Leave the mustang for the women to fight over... every girl I know drives a mustang... such a chick car...

I just want to rephrase my comment from earlier so I don't get bitched out... It should say:


Pro-touring Opel GT? HELL YEA!!!

Leave the STOCKER, LATE MODEL mustangs for the women to fight over... every girl I know drives a mustang... such a chick car...

I love mustangs, just not boring old stock ones...

[thedugan]

How much time are you going to have with a 3 1/2 year old and he's way to young to understand whats going on. Keep the Saturn wait till he's much older and then do it. Bank you money and let it grow and then do a car with all the cash you got

[SaturnVUEguy]

Even if he can't help with the build now, I'd still like to get a car my son would be able to help with in the long run. I am very bored. My wife does nothing to keep me happy, and the only hobby I really have at home is computer/video games. I'd like to have something to work on at home to pass the time. Its much better than sitting in front of a tv or computer, especially since I sit in front of a computer all day at work. :smashcomp
I also have a model railroad layout that's under construction at my parents house, but my wife is even fighting with me about bringing that home. The only space for that is the garage, and she'd rather actually use the garage :doh:

As for my earlier posts, I shouldn't necessarily say I'm bored with the Saturn (though I would MUCH rather have a stick shift again, and I hate fwd in snow), but that I'm just bored in general

[ho428]

I'm confused, $330 a month for 60 months = $19,800
WTF? Is that for just the used Mustang? or Both cars?

$400 a month for 24 months = $9600 to pay off the Saturn.

Not much decision to make there.

[barraza]

I work at a used car lot..........

I can get my payments to be $300/mo for 60mos. I'm currently at $400/mo with roughly 2yrs to go............

My wife insists we keep the Saturn......
..... our 3 1/2yr old son

..........I could use my mom's Durango ......


What to do?

Since you asked for advice, here goes:

Get off the damn video games. Pay some attention to your wife. Buy what you can afford, not what you want when you are bored. Don't get into pissing contests with the wife over stupid crap like trading cars.

[bigvegan]

Isn't $12k for a 6 year old Mustang a bit steep?

Pay off the Vue, drive it into the ground, and shop around for a project car.

It's not like 5+yr old late model V8 powered cars are going to be getting anything but cheaper.

Paying almost $20k(total) for a stock used car that your wife doesn't approve of sounds like a bad idea to me.

Like thedugan said, drive the Saturn, put some extra $ in the bank until your son gets a little older. Then when he's 14 or 15, see if that $ should go toward his college fund, or if it's enough to make a fun build with.

Barraza could have been more polite about it, but his suggestion to put down the video games and pay more attention to your wife is a sound one.

Getting bicycles for you and your wife might also be a good idea. You can find a decent used bike for $100-$150 per, and refurbishing a bicycle is almost as much fun and much cheaper than a car project, and doesn't take up anywhere near as much garage space. Plus, instead of burning expensive gas, you'd burn off extra calories.

Get your wife's buy-in, figure out what her dream bike would be, then go buy a used bike on craigslist, buy the books and tools and parts, tear it down, polish, paint, and lube as necessary, put it back together, and wow her with your new skills and her shiny restored bike. (Plus, the fact that you've been spending time turning wrenches ON HER BEHALF should buy you a few points.)

Then build a cool cruiser, mtb, or road bike for yourself, add a trail-a-bike for the kid, and go have fun.

[thedugan]

One last point of mine. I have twin 2 1/2 year olds. I want them to be car guys too. They want nothing todo with my car restoration project. They are more interested in their matchbox cars and trains. I take them to every car show there is to get them into the hobby. I get them new toy cars all the time (cheap China ones cause they break everything anyway).

If your going to spend $300 a month get a Trailblazer SS AWD so you have the hotrod and the family car all in one. You can do small mods here or there but really you can take it to car hops park it open the hood and show it while your son and you walk around or BS with people. I really cant see where your going to have any time to redo a car or as it seems your wife wants the garage. Weather its a train set in there or a car in 1000 pieces she wont be happy.
And when she's not happy your not happy

[Runamok]

$12,000 for an '02 Mustang is not a good price.

[SaturnVUEguy]

Ok, some background seems to be needed now...

She works days, I work evenings. During the evenings when I'm at work, she's at her parents' house. She stays there for a while after I get home from work. I don't see her until late in the night when she's tired and wants to go to bed, whereas I'm bored at work all night and am somewhat wrestless when I get home. What do I do to pass the time until she gets home? games. When she does get home, I stop what I'm doing to spend some time together, then she sits her ass in front of the tv, so I head back to the computer.

She's not into riding bikes. I am, but we don't have much room for that where we live, way too built up for me to be comfortable on a bike. There are trails not far from us though.

As far as the Trailblazer SS goes, I'd love one actually, though not AWD. Problem is that they are pretty expensive (to us) and won't be able to afford one for a couple years when the Saturn is paid off. When that happens, she wants a Murano or a Journey. No TB SS for me then either.

The Opel would be something to build over a long period of time, as the budget allows. Not something to just dump money in all at once.

If she is really adamant about not getting a project car, I may just bring the layout I mentioned in my last post home. My son loves the trains, and that is something he could help me with

[Chevrolaine]

You shouldn't be bored with a 3 year old in the house. Build the train as a project, forget the cars!! You don't get a do over with kids, the time is NOW!
It's all about sacrifices and priorities!

[bigvegan]

http://www.carolstream.org/ReferenceDesk/Forms/Engineering/Maps/BikePedMap.pdf - Sounds like your town is getting with the bike path program at least, which is pretty cool.

Good luck amigo.

[SaturnVUEguy]

CYA - when he's in the house, I am not bored. Its when he is with my wife at her parents' house that I get bored. Sorry if I mis-lead you. I still really want that Opel, but now I am going to make an attempt at the trains instead. It would still require the same garage space as the Opel, but less money, and it is something my son can help with too (did I mention he LOVES trains?)

[CHRIS67]

[/quote]
As for my earlier posts, I shouldn't necessarily say I'm bored with the Saturn (though I would MUCH rather have a stick shift again, and I hate fwd in snow), but that I'm just bored in general[/quote]


The fwd is WAY better in snow than a rwd mustang. I understand why you're looking for a change. I'm sure most of us on the site see something that is faster, cooler, or just different and want it. I'm also sure that at some point we've been disappointed with our selection once the honeymoon stage is over. Just make the right choice for the family/hobby.

Besides do you really want to change your user name?

[Chevrolaine]

It would still require the same garage space as the Opel, but less money, and it is something my son can help with too (did I mention he LOVES trains?)
Now your talking! My son started out on trains also, migrated to planes and is now a few weeks away from his first solo! (Cessna 152).
He also just got his Drivers license today and is chomping at the bit to cruise the 92. The 72 is off limits!
The time you spend with your kids flies and goes quickly. Save some money, buy a project when you can afford it without making the bank rich, and work with your wife slowly into what you both want.
She'll come around.

[DonTalarico]

If you made the money, spend how you please. If it is joint cash, then you have to take her point of view in the decision. Pretty simple...oh yea, and 12k for that Stang is atrocious.