<p>Have you given the issue of timing any thought on this purchase? It appears that it will be at least a year before you will be able to purchase the new instrument, possibly more if it takes longer than you anticipate to sell the old one. If you are buying a used instrument, that is a very long time to expect the seller to wait. You run the risk of having someone else buy it before you. </p>
<p>Might your parents be willing to front a larger loan with the idea that you could buy the new instrument immediately? For example, if they were able to take out a $30,000 loan over a five year period (bear with me and keep reading before you say “no way”), it would cost them something like $600 per month. You could buy the new instrument in a matter of days with the loan and put your old instrument up for sale immediately. As soon as it sells, you can use the proceeds to reimburse your parents for any loan payments they have already made on your behalf and still have more than enough left to cover the remaining payments until your summer job kicks in. Even if it takes several months to sell the old one, they will not be out more than the $4K to $6K that you would be asking them for anyway. Once your summer job starts, you will be in good shape because you will earn enough in one summer to handle the next two years worth of loan payments. (Note that you have to be REAL sure about that summer job or risk having to sell your new bass to be able to keep up with the payments. You would also want to be very sure that you have insurance on the new instrument, so you are not left with a $30K loan on a pile of firewood in the event of a catastrophic accident, G*d forbid.) The downside is that you will be paying roughly $6K in interest over five years, but you could reduce that substantially after a second summer of solid employment by repaying early or refinancing the loan.</p>
<p>It is easier if you are getting a new instrument, because it may take a year or more (if the maker has a backlog, and the good ones usually do) for the instrument to be finished. In that case, you could probably go with your plan A.</p>