<p>A car is going to cost you A LOT more than you think. You need to get insurance, and it will be even more expensive if you are on your own policy. Between insurance and other maintenance costs, the car may cost you hundreds per month above and beyond purchase cost.</p>
<p>We used swap a lease for a short term situation. It sounds too good to be true, but it is just what it says. We were fortunate to find a lease for $108 per month for 19 months remaining. We paid $30 to join swap a lease, $275 to Nissan to assume the lease and we took over a 2010 Nissan Cube with 11K miles this past year. We found the car about 2 hours from our home. It took 4-6 weeks for the paperwork to go through and we will return it to the dealer when the lease is up. We paid no down payment, no sales tax because that is paid by the original leasee. My D is on my insurance for about $800 per year with the extra vehicle and she is paying for lease plus gas. This was a perfect solution for a reliable (very safe) vehicle with low repair costs. The car is fun and was a better option than an old clunker which may need repairs. I would recommend this to anyone. You can search make, model, monthly payment and length of lease. I will be doing this again. (nope-don’t work for swap a lease) Our neighbors told us about this and they have also used swap a lease for at least 3 vehicles for their HS and college age kids. This may not work for OP, but it is a nice way to have a newer car for just the lease payment. You are negotiating with the original lease person, and no middle person is involved.</p>
<p>Alright marybee333, you almost sound like a ■■■■■. There is NO way something like that exists. If it did, that would be so ridiculously perfect. What do other posters think? Good idea/bad idea? Do you think I need a parent? Someone over 21 to cosign? What about titling and such?? Leases require credit, right??? Cause for me to get something like that with insurance and all it would cost 3000 max</p>
<p>The $108 looks like it was an unusually good deal - right now, the cheapest deal is $158 a month. You won’t get a huge number of miles a month, and there’s no resale value at the end; if the car’s not in good enough condition when you return it, it could cost you money at the end. You’ll need (much) better insurance. You’ll need some semblance of creditworthiness. It costs an undisclosed amount to sign up with them to be able to contact sellers.</p>
<p>Not necessarily a bad idea, but not necessarily a great one, either.</p>
<p>other posters–i know you have to be 21 to rent a car, but do you think i could work something out with the family friend and just ‘‘borrow’’ the car for a time? or do you think that would be out of the question?</p>
<p>^^ What do you mean by ‘borrow the car’? Do you mean rent it or just have it loaned to you? If the friend will loan you a car for free then that’s a pretty nice friend. It’d be a lot to ask of someone though. You say ‘the car’ - but I assume your friend doesn’t have a car for you - you’d have to buy one on the lot.</p>
<p>On the lease mentioned above - there’s a non-recoverable cost in the fixed down payment costs (in the example 275 + 30) and the monthly lease payment - over $1,000 in your case. This money is gone at the end of the lease whereas if you buy a car you can sell it at the end and if it’s an old car at the end of the depreciation curve it likely won’t depreciate very much. OTOH the lease car may be under warranty whereas the purchased old car could cost you in repairs. They may not qualify you for the lease though and you do need to be careful of the terms of the lease - mileage, etc.</p>
<p>You don’t have to be 21 to rent a car. Some car rental places may choose not to rent to people under a certain age, but there’s no blanket prohibition.</p>
<p>I think i mean rent it, pay a certain amount each month to use it and just give it back before i go to school. I fear that if i buy and try to sell this junky car, ill have a really hard time and wont be able to sell it for more than 1,000 if at all.</p>
<p>How do you guys feel about car auctions? What about renting a car from an official car rental place? What kind of questions should i ask my friend/ how should i approach him?</p>
<p>Renting a car from a normal rental place would be ridiculously expensive for you and they wouldn’t rent to you anyway due to your age. Those are out of consideration for you.</p>
<p>At a car auction you wouldn’t have a clue as to what you’re getting, wouldn’t be able to have a mechanic check it out, would have no warranty of any kind, not even a 3 day one, and could very well end up with a true junker. Don’t even consider getting a cheap car at an auction.</p>
<p>Leasing is basically the same thing as renting. If your friend can arrange to rent you a used car at a reasonable price then great but I’d be surprised if he could since where he works is likely in the business of selling cars unless it’s a new car dealership in which case they lease them as well although at a high cost since they’re newer cars.</p>
<p>If you’re willing to pay $3K for the car and it’s a reasonable price such that you didn’t get ripped off, then you should be able to sell it for near that amount after 8 months - it wouldn’t suddenly drop to a value of $1K (unless it was thrashed by you or you way overpaid). Your car dealer friend might even be willing to buy it back from you after 8 months at little to no depreciation for you. That might be the best deal but you’re still exposed to expensive repairs and all of the other vehicle costs (maintenance, insurance). Maybe discuss this idea of the purchase with possible buy-back with your salesman friend. Of course, nothing he says will be guaranteed and he might not even be employed there 8 months from now so that’s another risk.</p>
<p>The buy back might be a goood idea–the friend and his wife own the used car place and have for about 8 years so I’m not too worried about unemployment</p>
<p>If you can’t move back home if you move out, you can start the paperwork to become emancipated. If you are already buying your own food, clothing and personal care items, that is a start. If your Dad is so toxic, move out. It’s not worth your wellbeing to be around someone like that. Who care’s who’s fault it is. I’m curious why you took a gap year giving the living situation. Sounds like going right to college would have been a much better idea. As for his income and EFC, just because FAFSA says that is what you can pay doesn’t mean that is what you can afford. Our EFC is about 1/2 of our take home pay. If you take out our bills, etc. that doesn’t leave us even close to that much to pay for college…</p>
<p>What about starting college this spring? Sounds to me like that would be the best option for you.</p>
<p>The gap year thing started because he didn’t want to pay. I had already deposited at another university and was completing my freshman checklist and everything, but last minute he said “yea I can’t pay sorry”. This was in addition to the conflicts. I was so torn up about it but tried to make the best of it. I joined CC to gather advice and decided to apply to other universities in order to keep out of depression (my originally selected university was a poor fit anyway, only reason I deposited there was scholarship) and ended up getting accepted with a scholarship to another university that I love. Now I’m working and trying to save a little for school. I don’t make enough to save a lot, however. But the scariest thing to me is not going to college. I’ve looked into getting emancipated before, but I heard it was a lot harder than it seems. Also, i used to be understanding of the EFC and bills and mortgage thing, but with 150k a year i dont know. Also he bought a 35k car last August after he announced i wasn’t going to school. So there’s that. I mean I’m 1 of 4 kids and we live in a big house and I get it. But I still think he could contribute SOMETHING and I feel like he’s being stingy and bending the truth. That’s why I’m skeptical.</p>
<p>Some parents help with college, some do not. It’s just not worth dwelling on. I paid 100% of my own college through scholarships, loans and summer jobs. My parents could afford to help, they chose not to help. Life goes on. I think if you work with the financial aid office and be honest with them, they can help you a lot more than you think. You aren’t going to get as much help at a state university as you will at a private school so consider that as well.</p>
<p>SteveMA, please elaborate on this “help” thing because i dont think i understand. You mean to say finaid at my private school wont just say “tough luck”? I have always been under the impression that fin aid offices were pretty rigid when it comes to aid and what is considered “need based”. I thought that unless you had legitimate dire needs (had a kid, were an orphan, got married) then you were out of luck, and that “parental problems”, no matter how big or how poor your relationship was with your parents, they still had to help got the bill, and if they didn’t you were screwed. </p>
<p>Id love to work full time, even at a low end job with minimum wage. Im a hard worker and am very far from lazy. I’m self sufficient and averse to dependency. But in this day an age working full time as a teen is still not enough to go to school. Like I said, if there was a way out right now that still gave me a caveat to go to school where I didn’t have to rely on my dads money, Id take it. But for me, after scholarships id have to pay around 18k a semester for school.</p>
<p>Yes, they will help you as much as they can. They do have some limitations but most are good people that will want to see you get ahead. It isn’t a given but they can probably help you get the paperwork started for emancipation. Any chance you have any documentation that you have been buying all your own food, etc. for however long? Start saving receipts for the food and supplies you buy. Who buys food for your siblings? Who takes care of them? Leaving a bad situation now might be the best financial decision you can make for college. </p>
<p>Also, what other schools have you looked into. $36,000/year is still a hefty price tag for college–more than most state schools cost. It’s more than the price tag for our kids’ private school even. Give them a call, set up an appointment to meet with them, bring in whatever documentation you can and see what help they can give.</p>
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<p>IMHO it would be wise of you to assume that this same thing will happen this coming year.</p>
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<p>I’d consider rephrasing this as, “If I show my willingness to be strung along by staying, he’s more likely to continue to string me along with promises of financing my education, but there will always be an excuse in the end.”</p>
<p>^^I have to agree based on the OP’s side of the story. The funds aren’t coming no matter what you do, plan accordingly.</p>
<p>How about getting a job that provides room and board, like nanny/au pair, hospitality industry or disney? Clear out of home. Agree with emancipation. Solve a lot of problems.</p>
<p>But i heard it was extremely difficult to emancipate. How do i do it? I can start keeping my receipts but whay else? Can i still emancipate at 18?</p>
<p>It’s not easy but it’s not impossible either. Call the financial aid officer at the school you are attending and see if they can help you with this. It’s a busy, busy time of year for them so call sooner rather than later. There is a question on the FAFSA asking about being homeless or at risk of being homeless. A big test for emancipation is living on your own and supporting yourself. You also need to prepare yourself emotionally for not having contact with your Dad or siblings should he take offense to you doing this. Can you contact a guidance counselor from your high school for help?</p>