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sephiroth3650 t1_iy3mfii wrote

Whether or not this is a wise purchase will depend on your income and current budget. Like.....if you make $20-30k/year, this is probably too much. If you make $60k with no other big expenses, this is probably affordable.

Also, you list a pretty wide number for the repair of your current car. Who is estimating the cost to be $500-2000? The dealer? Did you get any other quotes? Why is the current quote such a large range?

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Silly_willy__ OP t1_iy3nm2z wrote

I have other expenses so I wanted to keep my monthly payment to about $250 max. I pay way less than that now for my monthly payment.

Yes, the dealership I got it from. I texted my friend who is a mechanic (their shop doesn’t do catalytic converters) for recommendations so I can call around.

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sephiroth3650 t1_iy3q7mr wrote

Right. So without knowing what your income is, and what your budget otherwise looks like, it's impossible to say if this is a smart purchase or not.

Generally speaking, most recommendations are to try to keep your car purchase price at 20-30% of your gross annual income (conservatively), and to not exceed 50% of your gross annual income. So if you're looking at a $26k car, you'd ideally make $87-130k, and at a minimum, at least $52k annually. But those are general guidelines, and will depend on what else you have going on.

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