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Originally Posted by Redlemon
What I meant was, the answers so far (wdevauld's included) are generic to "should I get a car loan". But that isn't the whole story for you. For you, it seems to be "if necessary, I could purchase this car outright. But, I haven't been able to get a credit card, because I have no credit history. Should I use a car loan to establish my credit?"
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Thanks for clearing that up, Redlemon.
Actually, no, I would not be able to purchase a Honda with cash. W/o a loan or financing, I could probably go for a car that cost around 2,000. My concern in buying a car this cheap is that they typically have mileage of 150,000+ or more, at which point I might be looking at all sorts of problems, including having to replace vital parts of the transmission or the engine, or the engine in its entirety, depending on how the previous owner treated the car.
I've had cheap cars before. I used to have a '83 Opel Kadett 1.3S, and I loved it to bits, aside from its constant engine problems. I lived in Europe at the time, and had access to my uncle's car shop and his technical expertise, so all maintenance was done with him or under his supervision, at minimal cost. I had access to all kinds of professional tools, and spare parts were cheap to buy through the company. The car was like a project of mine, I loved it. Anyways...
On the other hand, the advice given to me in this thread has been very good and very wise. Not having the pressure of the monthly payments would be a good thing too, as gas and insurance can cost a bunch too.
I guess in the end I just got carried away with the thought of having a 'decent' car. Being almost 30, I feel like I should've gotten past the "Kadett & Fiat 127" stage by now. The '96 Maxima we have is nice and all, but I can't even put a soda can in the center console w/o getting bitched at, pretty much.
A piece of shit car just might be the way to go.