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Body Style: Luxury Coupe
Year: 1996
Mileage: 82,000
Transmission: Automatic
Engine: 3.8L
Drivetrain: N/A
Color: White
Condition: Used
VIN: Ask Seller
Luxury Coupe For Sale By: Owner
Stock: 367909173

To purchase a car, there would be dozens of other cars someone would normally fantasize about, dreaming that they could afford such a ride such as a Porsche 911 Turbo with a meager sum of money. For a student working $7.50 an hour at McDonald's a car costing six thousand or higher would not be a viable approach for many, or anyone not making the sort of income of someone flipping burgers down at a fast food place. If you want to wait a long time or pay off an arm and a leg just for the loan itself for the years to come then that would be on you, resulting in an ocean of possible debt.

So, it was time to look for a car if I was put in the shoes of such a person, a student working at Mcdonald's and not even full time. Price would be the biggest concern, as the loan would come to mind and having too much debt or too many loan payments would just kill the point of it. Loans often have interest rates, and those add up over a course of time in which you pay for them. It's like asking the devil for a deal sometimes, they'll give you what you want or need with a smile but you'll have to pay for it and that loan can wind up making you pay more for it than the car itself, or whatever it is that you're spending it on.

Being the cheapskate I am, and yes I'm not afraid to admit it (money is a very stubborn thing for me to spend loosely), there have been only three or four different cars I looked at. Truthfully it was the price tag at $1,800 that drew me in to a '96 Buick Riviera Supercharged Coupe. I looked at mostly cost and the value of the car itself, and from experience in the family (we had a Buick Skylark for about five years, ran like angels singing a choir), a Buick is a good type of car to roll with. No pun intended.

So for $1,800, it would be a hefty cost for a student, so the mentioned loan comes to mind to get the car if I am really desperate. Assuming that there are five types of loans offered to me in regards to the cash needed to pay off the car itself, there would have to be a choice to make. As a student and being the cheapskate that I am, I instantly try to find the most cheapest route as I don't want to overpay too much for the vehicle. So, Loan Types 3 through 5 were instantly scratched off my list, leaving only Loan types 1 and 2. Reason for the former to be scratched from the list was Types 3 and 5 had an insane interest rate and spanned a course 4 to 4 and a half years and Loan type 2 had a monthly cost of $74.95! Yikes.

Loan Types 1 and 2 were much more reasonable for me, 1 had appealed to me more than type 2 was that it only had a monthly payment of 36.50 a month. The downside was that it lasted 5 years. Now, I don't know about other people, but I don't like the idea of paying off a lone over such a long time, especially if it concerns something big as a car. I'm cheap at heart, yes, but I'm also paranoid. Anything can happen in those five years; the car can suddenly break down, get wrecked, or stolen. If the car is gone, does the loan payments mysteriously stop? No. You'd still be paying off that loan in the years to come. Loan Type 2 on the other hand, while roughly $57 dollars a month as a monthly payment, it would only last about 3 years, and in addition to the less time of actually having the loan, it is also the cheapest result of all the loan types, resulting in only $2,083.32 compared to its original cost. Less time for the car's value to go down or up, less chance of having a serious accident (wreck, stolen, etc) and it is the cheapest offer of the 5. That, to me, is a sealed deal for the actual car itself was cheap, Buicks are reliable and cutting back on the usual things and keep payment to the usual bills, essentials and car payments will help me afford this vehicle.

Having the car itself and having the monthly payment would be one problem. Through the Edmunds.com and through previously learned information, a maintenance schedule isn't too complicated to come up with. Fortunately, despite being an old car, the total cost for the whole car maintenance would only be about $110.79, give or take actual costs. A recommended schedule would be about... between every three thousand to six thousand miles, or roughly six months, for the relatively minor things. Really major things like brakes or transmission would occur every 20k miles, these would be a bit more... expensive if memory serves correct. Oil and Filter change should occur every three thousand miles, that much is for certain while things such as spark plugs and coolants should be every six thousand miles in addition to the regular maintenance such as the inspections. If someone does not keep up with the usual schedule of the car, it can lead to the car having some possible problems in the future to where it may even break down due to neglect.

From this project, there had been much to learn and what to expect. I'm actually almost ready to purchase my own car in the coming month or so and seeing this Buick for sale in Warren is a definite plus. From learning how to properly fill out a Loan application to the details of car maintenance and the truth of the cost, I won't exactly be caught be surprise by all of this in the real world. I feel as though I actually gained valuable knowledge, something I can relate to and use later. Of some of the things I learned, this is one of the few things that stuck to me.

Source: http://www.autopten.com/cheap-cars-for-sale-4490-used-Buick-Riviera.htm