u/bbyskullfxr13

I am trying to buy my first car. I found a used 2009 Mercedes for $6999. The pre purchase inspection went well and the out the door price I received went from $9400 to $8000. My bank won’t approve my financing application due to lack of credit history. (Perfect payment history but few months short of a year of history). I’d like to finance to get some good credit history and up my credit score while also retaining my savings but..

I could very well pay off this car in full but I don’t want to deplete my savings by 80%. I’m still living at home in a sense and pay minimal for rent. My car insurance quotes are high, to be expected. Getting quotes from $280 and higher. (I am currently looking for a broker to figure out a good deal here)

The dealership had one option for me to finance. One bank only, one plan term only. Because of the year of the car and my wanting to put $4500 down the financing was something like $210/mo for 27 months at 12.99% APR. sales dude said I could not put more down, that they were “working with me by letting me put $4500 down because they can’t finance that little… you don’t really see financing under $7k..” I’m attempting to see about financing with Capital One.

With my income I decided I didn’t want to HAVE to afford more than $400/mo on a payments and insurance. I’m wondering, would it be worth paying the car in full and only worrying about the insurance and maintenance costs? Is this even a good deal- are they BSing me with the “you can’t put more down”?

TLDR; finance car ($8000) with $4500 down at $210/mo for 27mo at 12.99% APR or buy in full (depleting savings by 80%- but still sort of living at home)?

Blazer going for almost $13k at dealership. Am trying to negotiate down told em I’d consider it at $9-10k and I could potentially put half down cash. Very mint condition aesthetically and has less than 50k miles and verified one owner its whole life (car enthusiasts btw). Was serviced throughout its life per their service manual. I like old cars and my husband fixes the ones we have (94’ Chevy k1500 and 07’ Pontiac torrent just replaced the Pontiacs lower intake manifold gasket). So we appreciate the serviceability on the older cars. This blazer potentially has a brake line leak, feels like it loses pressure while stopped.

I need a daily driver and while I’m nervous about debt and car payments I could get something 15-20 years younger at a similar price if I looked hard enough.

One thing I didn’t like so much was the size of the Blazer, it felt compact and was a bit uncomfortable. My husband’s 6’4” and the roof felt low even to me (5’3”). But it would be similar in any sedan, no?

So do I wade thru the civics, accords, and Malibus? Or do I consider this unicorn of a Blazer?