Vader13

AHAHAHAHHA stupid ricers

MB_Forever

I've actually seen a couple of E55s (not too long ago) that sold much cheaper than that: one sold for $18.5k and the other for $17k. One had 88,000 miles and the other 102,000 miles It's hard to believe, but we're talking about prices that are cheaper than a brand new honda civic (actually, in some cases, cheaper than even a 2-year used honda civic).

bigswin

$300??? WTF??? Are you forgetting tax and interest?

Actual payment on 20K over 5 years would still be $428.00

I know of no college student under 25 that is going to get off with 90 bucks a month on an E55.

This whole scenario is ridiculous.

amdeutsch

Add cut that down to a minimum wage job, add maintenance and taxes (some states do this on a yearly basis), assuming normal driving with a couple of tickets for insurance purposes, pay for tuition, etc and your optimistic numbers will make this nearly impossible.
Remember that you are the one with the optimism and believe. Very, very few will fall into that category

Quadcammer

Minimum wage certainly hurts that. But a decently intelligent college student with some drive should be able to earn more. Clearly that effects the affordability.

Maintenance is once a year, and is maybe $150 if they do it themselves (stupid easy as you know).

Taxes every year? Maybe in California.

I fully stated that tuition was being paid one way or another.

the bottom line is that with a part time job, some college students can afford an e55, and a nice one at that (not a bottom of market one). I never suggested EVERY college kid could do this.

Quadcammer

You have trouble with mathematics?

$24k e55
$5k down
that equals $19k.
Then we have $4k trade in (hardly earth shattering)
That puts us at $15k.

If you have such a hard on to add taxes, we'll do so.

7% tax on $20k is $1400.

So, that puts the loan amount at $16,400. 60 months at 7% interest.

$324 is the monthly payment.

I don't see what is so complicated about that.

Make it $200 a month for insurance if you feel the need. Either way, it can be done.

bigswin

Don't be a ***** just because you disagree with me. I have no problem with math but apparently you can't remember what you wrote previously...

YOU: Lets say he buys a $24k E55, has a trade worth $4k, and keeps the $5k down payment.

I'm still laughing at the $150 maintenance per year comment as well.

c32AMG-DTM

Gotta agree with Oliverk on this one - a college student with a part-time job could afford a w211 E55 these days, given what they're selling for. Those who think it's impossible, are wrong IMHO. Improbable is a different story, and it might not be the most fiscally prudent decision, but for some it would certainly be possible.

Had friends who bartended while we were in school. On a busy night (Thurs - Sat), it wasn't unheard of for them to make $700-1,000 in one night. Mostly cash tips, so very little of that (if any) was being claimed for tax purposes. Work 8-10 shifts per month... well, do the math. Those waiting tables at a nice restaurant weren't making quite that, but weren't too far behind.

amdeutsch

Well if they were tips and not claimed for tax purposes then you can't legally claim that as income when you apply for a car loan.

fortlaudsummer

I suppose the numbers on could work out but you are forgetting the general conservative take on loans that banks and underwriters are have right now. This kid working part time while in school and paying his own way barely making enough to survive and slim to no credit history would have a hell of a time securing a loan especially with a single digit APR

c32AMG-DTM

Hadn't thought of that. I guess one could work 3-4 months and just pay cash instead.

amdeutsch

And in the mean time this teenager would do without: trojans, girls, partying, etc. Yea right.

MB_Forever

I have to agree with you and Oliver on this as well: it is possible (and probable) that a disciplined student could pull those numbers off; not to mention, that he/she can actually improve those numbers a bit by finding a $6k to $7 cheaper car, and finding a longer-term loan with same interest or less. Not saying that all student could do it, but a few could definitely pull it off.

Wow..... we're as badly off topic here as they are in the original thread

Quadcammer

I remember perfectly.

$24k car minus $4k trade in, minus $5k down payment, is $15k.

$15k loan for 5 years at 7% is about $300 per month.

Add taxes of $1400, and you have $320 per month.

Where is the confusion?


$150 for maintenance. That assumes 10,000 miles driven, and a service A/b.

Air filters are $45, oil is about $50, oil filter about $15. Thats $110. Add $40 for things like cabin filters, belts, or whatever. Labor is free when you do it yourself (very easy).

Now mind you, I didn't touch REPAIRS. This is maintenance only.

ATL_MB

Wow. You start a thread about how infantile the C63 forum is (and it is usually very infantile) and you end up with this? A debate on Consumer Finance? Maybe next you can debate the impact the creation of public markets in standardized credit default swaps might have on the long-term stability of commercial credit markets (I think that the signalling effects would increase transparency and be advantageous to the market as a whole, but could increase pricing pressure on marginal borrowers, perhaps slightly reducing GDP growth but with the possible advantage of limiting the severity of future financial crises).

BTW - I think this debate is kind of what the Audi commercial was hinting at.

And lastly, IMO, no college student is going to spend whatever on an E55 when he could be buying booze and partying. He is getting the car to get chicks, right? And now he is working all the time to afford the car, so he can't go out, so his girl is partying with his frat brothers and now she is pregnant by his roommate, but he doesn't know it and now has to drop out of school to support someone else's kid and he has to sell the car and get a real job and 8 years later he is working as a warehouse night supervisor, driving an 11 year old minivan and finds out that the kid is not his. Moral of the story: if you are in college, the E55 is not worth it.

LADY_AMG

amdeutsch

bigben320e

Excellent post.

LB63

[edited]

I wish most people in this country took this advice so we wouldn't have been in this deep of a financial mess.

Back to the topic:

bigswin

the confusion lies with you not remembering what you said. I even cut and pasted it for you so you could read it.

Here you go once again... 24-4 = 20 It does not and never will equal 15. You said "KEEP the 5K down payment".

Next time you try to argue a point try to keep your stuff straight.

+1 if you can't "afford" something don't buy it.

SANDOVAL

You guys keep saying the word "Afford" like you're taking everything into consideration. Also using a high mile auction car from crazy larry's Bargain basement $20K and under lot... I'm assuming all of these bargain E55's a college kid could "afford" do not have a warranty at this point. I just came home with a $3400 bill from the dealer, two of the parts looked like they should cost $100 tops... Not MB, $2500 of the $3400 turned out to be parts. Last summer I spent $2200 replacing a single strut and some other bits. Paying a car payment, Insurance, Gas yeah maybe a college kid could scrape by to make it work but they definitely can not "afford" to own this car. What happens when the kid blows a $9,000 Super Charger and still has to come up with a $600 monthly nut to keep payments & Insurance on that co-signed inoperable E55. Right it's really "affordable".

Quadcammer

yes, "keep" as in do not remove, as in, continue to put $5k down.

Quadcammer

Its a risk, obviously. Hell, I'd argue half the people on this forum would struggle to afford to replace the $9,000 supercharger out of the blue.

Owning high end cars is far easier with a good parts connection and some mechanical know how.

or, they could roll a $2800 third party warranty into the loan and have most of it covered.

Air Marshall Eldritch

Bartenders are taxed on the assumption of 15% of gross receipts, not zero.

And anyone claiming to rake in a grand in tips in one shift either works in a thong at Scores, or is full of baloney.

220S

fwiw, 300-400 a shift at the good places in West LA, West Hollywood, Santa Monica. The only way one can get into doing 1k plus a night is at the killer places where celebs drop major tips. Those jobs are a rarity, esp for a college student.

A college student could possibly swing an E55, but the bigger question is why? And anyway, most college students wouldn't be looking for a Mercedes E Class; more like an E46 BMW or VW or something. MBs still have the old man stereotype for the majority of college aged kids. For college kids, how they're seen by their peers is important.