So an opportunity has arisen to get a 2012 XV

essfoz

Forum Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2015
Messages
103
Location
Bendigo
Car Year
1999
Car Model
Forester GT Lux
Transmission
Auto
My partners mother made an offer to take out a loan for us, so that we can get a decent, new car covered by warranty, after my Foz became a financial write-off a few weeks ago.

As she is a student and I am waiting to get into the Police Academy, we don't have enough of an income at this stage to take out a loan our selves. We're both 20.

SOs mother proposed that we put $5k (the money I got for the forester) into an account which will drip feed her loan. She'll top it up, paying off another 5k. The other ~$10k will be upto us, hopefully in 3-4 years.

I guess I'm after some advice on what I should do. I'd come up with a formal contract outlining what would happen if my partner and I split, and that I have partial ownership, so that her mother wouldn't try repo it etc, not that she would, but taking precautions.

It's either that, or something like a Suzuki Vitara, which will cost me around $5k, and have off road mods. I would love a forester, but nothing will replace my 1999 GT so that's off the books.

Cheers,
Sam.
 
Gidday SF

Yeah. An unwritten contract is not worth the paper it's not written on ...

If you can get a good series II SG, it has much the same 0-100 times as your 1999 GT, and a hugely better torque curve. Really is chalk and cheese. Lots more creature comforts. In almost every way a better car than any XV ...

We paid $18,750 for mine in December 2011. XS, low mileage, and some very expensive extras. Less $2,000 trade in for my 93 Impreza. Loved my Impreza. Love Roo2 even more ... :iconwink: :poke:

Really, don't let your feelings for your sadly departed Forester put you off getting another one!

All the best with your decision/s and your hunt for a replacement vehicle.
 
That's very nice of her to offer to help you out. What warranty does a 2012 XV have? We have a couple of XVs in the club and they seem to perform quite well.
 
Thanks for the responses!

Ratbag, just don't want to be let down! SO isn't as big on the new foresters though, as she is quite in love with the XVs. It's very difficult finding a car we can agree on, but I guess we need to be picky, it's alot of money and we'll be stuck with it 5 years or so.

Kevin, it seems that they cone with 3-5 dealership warranty, depending. That's a big selling point for me, I like the security of not having to worry too much about forking out for unexpected incidents.

Quite well? How do they compare to the older foresters capability wise? I was going to have a look at possible lift kits, etc, but I imagine something like that might void any kind of warranty.
 
We've got a 2012 XV. Had it since new, 80k km on the clock now.
Very good car for what it is. If you get one go for the auto, much more suited to the engine than the 6 speed manual.
800km to the tank on average.
It'll be a good reliable upgrade over the forester however the boot size is tiny. Depends on your needs and asks of the vehicle.
 
whatever car you get, don't buy something you can't afford.
I don't know about your personal relationship with your potential mother -in-law but it looks like a way she can have leverage over you.
Personally, I would stick to a cheaper car that you can afford without 3rd party involvement.
Get something better once you earn more.
 
watch out for the used car dealership warranties, you will find that you need to get it serviced by them exclusively or it will be void. And they will weasel their way out of any warranty any way they can. Read the fine print, don't trust the salesman
 
Don't do it. Get a good used car with the cash you have. You'll thank me in 4 years time when you don't have a loan over your head and you still need a house deposit. In fact you'll thank me next week when you don't have a loan over your head.

The brutal truth is that you are 20 years old, unemployed and can't afford a $20,000 car. Sorry to be so blunt but it's a typical dumb financial move made by generation Y who need to have everything now. Pay cash for a newer car once you both have steady jobs and have saved the full amount.

Once you have cash in the bank you will find that 'Opportunities' of a life time come around every day.
 
^ as a retired CPA, I can only agree with Lefty, LV and JF.

It is excellent advice. Debt is always crippling, unless you can afford not to have it, in which case debt can work for you.
Otherwise, you work for the debt - except that you don't have any work ... :poke:.

Given all that, you would be better off with a 1980s Volvo ... They are a surprisingly nice car to drive. I drove one for a week a few years ago in Adelaide. A friend lent me one when I had to fly over there for a funeral. Volvo 144 wagon with a 2.4L donk, IIRC.
 
Ratbag said:
you would be better off with a 1980s Volvo ...
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^ Banned! Well, you should be with advice like that :poke:

I agree with the other mob about buying a car you can afford. Warranty is great and all, but it only covers the manufacturing faults/breakages - don't depend on it for accident repairs!

Also, it's in your best interest to have any loans in your and your partner's names as this builds in your credit rating for the day you apply for a home loan.

For the money you got for the GT you could get a brumby. Or if you're patient enough another GT might come up at the right price for you. I don't see how you can offroad one of these unless it's an auto anyway, then being a turbo I don't know why you'd want an auto either :shrug:

There are many Subaru related options out there from mid to late 90's Liberties or Imprezas as well as NA foresters.

Personally a new car looks nice and all, but nothing really tickles my fancy that's new these days. Plus I look at the cost of the purchase followed quickly by the cost of log book approved maintenance (aka, not in my back shed) and thus I don't consider new vehicles in general.

So, other than in your title, where does the 2012 XV fit in it all? There's not a lot of detail about it in your post.

Or you could get this, but not for offroading!

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/roxburgh-park/cars-vans-utes/subaru-rs-liberty-1992/1079858730

Or if you prefer a wagon:

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/south-morang/cars-vans-utes/subaru-liberty-rs-turbo-/1082638236

There are many other options out there that are non turbo and within your 5K budget that would also allow you to have change left over. Take one of those for a drive with your girl and you'll both want one ;)

Come to think of it these might not be exactly P plate legal... could be an issue there.

My 20c worth. I hope you make a decision that works for you.

Cheers

Bennie
 
Get a beater like an L series. It's transport, buy it cheap and put aside some money for emergency repairs if required. Wait 12 months or so until you are in a secure position to aquire it yourself. Don't mix family and money if you can avoid it, people do strange things when it comes to money.

Last thing you want is a $20,000 car that's dropping in value and a loan that is accumulating interest. **** idea unless you can pay it off in a couple of years.
 
Thanks for all the 20c everyone, quite a heavy pocket now. ;)

For the record, a loan wouldn't affect our reputation for potential future loans such as a home loan, as it would be in SOs mothers name an she'd "be the one paying it off" cough cough.

I don't know, i don't like the idea of it all really, it's a huge money commitment that we can't be sure we'll meet. I'm thinking my final decision will be to get a $5k car until we can afford it, but i don't think my partner is looking at it the right way, she just sees it as get a $5k car, or a $20k car, obviously the $20k car will be better because it's newer.

Thanks all, for the input,
Sam.
 
If your gut's telling you 'no deal' and you're not comfortable with it, then you have your answer...

Your partner and her mother can be the absolute best people in the world, but at the end of the day, you must be comfortable with the decision whichever way. It sounds like you don't really want to go into this loan, so you probably shouldn't...
 
Needed a car when I was 20 as my old one kicked the bucket. Almost got a new ford on finance, ended up getting the foz with cash and a small credit card loan I paid off in a couple months. Out right car and no finances at your age is a god send, doesn't have to be expensive.
 
Venom said:
Get a beater like an L series. It's transport, buy it cheap and put aside some money for emergency repairs if required.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. Just be aware that a beater like this can turn into another (much much better) beast that's a weapon offroad. Trust me on this one!

pezimm said:
If your gut's telling you 'no deal' and you're not comfortable with it, then you have your answer...
Click to expand...

Yep that is too true. If you're not happy with it now chances are you'll never be.

I wish you all the best in this and I hope you'll end up in a subi of some sort. Keep emotion out of it and you'll be sweet ;)

And do check out a brumby! You currently only need two seats plus they're an awesome little machine that should appreciate if looked after. Very simple to work on but also is no turbo powerhouse!

Cheers

Bennie
 
Stick with your gut feeling at all cost.

Wife & I were going to go overseas on a holiday but every time she went to book the airfares her gut told her No!.
We recently got a couple of quotes to re-grout the ensuite, result was we needed to renovate the ensuite as the shower was leaking under the floor tiles .... goodbye holiday!

A gut feeling is your 6th sense telling you what to do. :iconwink:
 
For 3-5k you can get some pretty good cars. Deffinitely buy what you can afford in your position imo. Ive gone through the tight uni life and believe me a debt to worry about is the last thing you need
 
lefty said:
whatever car you get, don't buy something you can't afford.
I don't know about your personal relationship with your potential mother -in-law but it looks like a way she can have leverage over you.
Personally, I would stick to a cheaper car that you can afford without 3rd party involvement.
Get something better once you earn more.
Click to expand...

this.

Some financial advice for the young - don't borrow money on depreciating assets like a new car.

Family entanglements just make it trickier.

Go find a reliable $5k beater.
 
I'm going to echo the advice above. Having been tempted, fallen into, worked stupidly hard and beaten the debt monster in my early 20s I can tell you it is so much easier to just not get into it.

$5k for a car means you will be able to get a very reliable car, it might just not be the car you want. The perceived savings that you get for not having to deal with warranty issues will be more than offset by depreciation of the car, i.e. you will still owe $10k on a car that is now only worth $8k.

You can get a good clean forester for that money, but there are also heaps of other options. Also, as you point out, the second you modify the new car, warranty is most likely void. I missed a service interval by 2000kms and that voided my warranty :(
 
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