At the end of that time you’ll know if you can realistically make that paymen each montht. You’ll also have started saving for the car if you decide not to finance it (which is really what you should do).

You should also figure out how much that $2500 car will actually cost you if you get a loan. Paying $3,000+ may not make sense in the long run.

If there are other people in your town who travel to work, maybe you could get a ride with them, at least to start off with.

Is it possible to get the bus to a better paid job, that is same/similar hours and more money? That might work out better from a financial situation - you’d have to run the figures to find out.

One thing to keep in mind, a $2500 car may not last until it’s paid for which will make you “upside down” when you are in a position to buy another car. It’s not a good position to be in so make sure you buy something that will last until it’s paid for.

Once you have the car, ask some of those other kids in your town if they want to carpool to the nearest place with more job opportunities. Whatever money you can make from them should be used to pay down your car loan.

Good luck to you.

Get extra jobs.

Yes, thats plural. Work at Taco Time, construction, grocery store, etc. If you’re only making $220 / week I assume you live at home with the parents and don’t have living expenses to speak of. Save every penny you can for both your first vehicle and for school. Don’t borrow money. Building credit (ie, your credit score) just means you want to be able to borrow more money.

Yes, you’ll work a lot. No, you won’t have time for “fun”. But you won’t be a slave to a bank, and you’ll appreciate your car that much more when you buy one.

Also buy the book Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, and listen to his radio show. It will CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

Take it from me, you don’t want a car loan at 19 years old making less than $1k take home pay. I think you know the answer to your own question. You just need to suck it up for another year, and save that $2500. If you start thinking of creative ways to make money, then you’ll have that $2500 in a year.

So if you can figure out a job/business you can do from home/without a car, by all means do it. Now it’s very likely that’s not something you can come up with. But if you can, you’ll be better off in the long haul.

Most bus routes operate for people working early in the morning to mid afternoon or early in the morning to mid-evening. Most 19 year olds would much prefer a job in the evening, but you *can* get a good 10 hour day in while using a bus to get to work if you just get a job that starts that early.

Also: If you’re not getting free rent, MOVE. An apt with a roomate will be cheap enough in a city that has multiple in walking distance jobs.

As for car loans: Don’t get one from capital one. If you can get a parent/relative to cosign, many banks will provide you a loan, including E-loan, B of A, etc

*DON’T* take the 7500 and pay a dude and get a check back. While probably not fraudulent, you could get screwed if the guy writes you a bad check, if the bank calls the loan because it figures out you did this, or any number of reasons.

Get a different lender if you have to get a car.

Oh, an a great way to keep the money you earn from a second job rather than spending it: Have it direct deposited into a hard to get to bank account, like an ING orange.

Tips on car buying for the cash strapped:
1> Look for cars that have cosmetic damage They will (usually) be lower priced for the amount of maintenence you need to do.
2> Craiglist Craigslist Craiglist. Your local amtrack station can get you to the destination to pick up your new to you car.

Oh, with regard to banks and minimum income: If your net check is 220, your pretax income (which is what the bank cares about) *is* greater than 1K a month.

–Michael

*This is the amount companies can reimburse employees per mileage driven in their car.

The Canadian Automobile Association publishes a brochure called “Driving Costs” that shows how to calculate the total cost of owning a vehicle, including things like depreciation, loan interest, gasoline, insurance, repairs, registration, and so on. The brochure is available at:
http://www.caa.ca/temp/pdf/3708-en-2005.pdf

If you had a much better job lined up that required a car (instead of a bike or a bus or carpooling with a coworker or friend), and the increase in pay would be substantially more than the overall cost of a car, then I would say it would be worth it.

But even then, if you can continue to avoid debt, at this early stage in your adult life, then I would do so. Save up the money and buy it with cash. Then you’re not saddled with debt payments, and can save the money instead. It would take awhile to save that kind of money, but as your expenses are probably not too high right now, you could probably do it within a year to 18 months. That’s a year of sacrificing, but during that time you’d be learning a habit that will pay off in gold for the rest of your life.

If your pay is only $220 every couple of weeks, you simply aren’t earning enough money to make a car payment, pay for car insurance (which is always higher if you’re younger), gas, repairs, etc etc etc.

Right now your best bet is to use any money you have to improve your situation so that you can get a better job. If you’re at a Taco Time, without any other education or experience, the highest aspiration you’re likely to reach is to be the manager of a Taco Time. Improving your education, or seeking out a job that will give you better experience, will help you in the long run.

Now if it’s just an unsecured loan (cash advance), then there’s probably no problem. Take the $7,500 and pay back the $5,000 instantly (you can probably just write the check to yourself or your mom). Just realize that the payments on the credit card will likely go to the lower (8%) rate first, so anything you charge on the account will sit at your normal interest rate until the $7,500 gets paid back completely. So don’t charge anything!!!

Credit cards are a tool, but you’ve got to know how to use them properly. CC companies make their money off stupid people. But smart people can make money (or pay less interest) if you understand the rules.

Another suggestions would be to see about an unsecured loan from your bank. I had a credit line set up when I was your age for overdraft protection. They offered it to me when I set up my checking account and I presumably had no credit history. But the interest rate might be closer to that of a normal CC; not sure, I never used it.

I personally do not have any experience with their service, but I have been watching them for some time.

They may be more forgiving than a bank…

But really - check out your credit union. I bet you’ll be suprised at the perks!

So, now you’re in an awkward situation of giving the seller $7,500 and hoping they’ll write you a check for $5,000 (the difference) and that they won’t pocket the money or run into problems cashing their check. Even worse, this is remarkably similar to the classic over-pay scam, which will make the seller of the car very frightened to deal with you.

I sold a car for $6,500 to a buyer using a $7,500 Capital One check, and wrote him a check for the difference, and everything went fine. But I was extra cautious because of the possible scam angle, and I’d understand if someone flat out didn’t want to do it.