# Hey young VW'ers



## sentinel223 (Sep 28, 2012)

How did you pay for your car? Cash? Or finance? I'm curious because I see a lot of young guys on here, from ~18-22. Just wondering how you went about purchasing your car. I'm 19 and just making a bit over minimum wage... I have a couple thousand saved up, but saving up to pay in cash is taking sooo long and I don't have credit established... just wondering what you guys did, or what do you think is the best way to go in my situation.


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## JUS_GT_EYEZ (Nov 12, 2001)

can an older vw guy respond? :laugh:

use your money you saved on an older vw and dont waste your whole check on a car payment. There are tons of better ways to spend your income. 

no established credit is a much better situation than bad credit... do your homework, establish credit and use it wisely and you will have a new car in due time if thats your goal. 

Cars are bad investments... invest in your future and cars will follow..

/end rant. 

:beer:


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## eudorrra (Jun 20, 2006)

^ what he said, I've always bought used. IMO it's less stressful to start out with. you get to have a car that's truly yours, but at least every nick and scratch on it ISN'T yours. 

With a new car, on top of that you can count on a big chunk of your paycheck missing each month, plus car insurance (I'll let someone else chime in on insurance rates for new vs. older cars). 

Parts for newer cars are more expensive than for older cars, so the "new cars will require less maintenance" addage could still mean that the maint they DO need will cost more.


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## EMagic (Jul 18, 2008)

My first was a 2003 2Slow Jetta in 2005-ish. Financed it and was always broke.

Second was a 99.5 2Slow Golf. Had it until April of last year when some dick in an old ass pickup ran a redlight behind an ambulance and totaled it.

Took the insurance money (which was WAY more than the car was worth) and got a 98 VR6 GTI Drivers Edition. 

Parts are cheaper than either of the other cars ever were. I don't worry about scratches because it's a 98 but still looks pretty good for a daily. 

The parts are less than half the price of newer cars, or even cheaper, however some are pricey because you can't get used or after market. 

Also, the insurance is a lot cheaper on an older car. When I went from the 99.5 2Slow to the 98 VR6, the insurance went down a dollar. That was a win for me. 

I'm all about going older, but you also need to realize that with an older car comes maintenance. It will rack up in the first year or two because regardless of who you get the car from, they're getting rid of it for a reason.

Sorry about all the words. :beer:


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## ilikecolons (Aug 12, 2012)

i bought used after i saved up. my parents wanted to pay half but i had too much pride where i bought the entire thing. im now in a 2003 1.8t gti. i love it!


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## Skimmy290 (Aug 19, 2012)

got to agree with everyone here
my first car i bought was $3500 cause it's all i had 

i'm 24 now, still young but with a good job that allowed me to buy a car i wanted but i still went with cpo over new 

plus insurance for a new car when your 19 can't be fun 

hunt around
there are a lot of good deals if you search 

financing a car can be good for your credit, but there are other options too 
but having $0 at the end of the month in your account after car payments and such...
different story 

just a thought


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## Dehren2010 (Jan 15, 2012)

JUS_GT_EYEZ said:


> can an older vw guy respond? :laugh:
> 
> use your money you saved on an older vw and dont waste your whole check on a car payment. There are tons of better ways to spend your income.
> 
> ...


Young dubber here... i totally agree. i'm making just 9 dollars an hour and i was in the same situation as OP. i decided to finance an 03 gti, which was 5700 dollars... but in the end i'm paying 240 a month, and i will be paying 8,000 if i don't pay my car off earlier than 3 years... don't finance with how young you are, and how minimal your credit is. they'll get you with a real ****ty APR. take the money you have save up, get an Mk2 or 3 jetta, or a diesel rabbit (50+ MPG ) if you want to build credit get a phone line in your name, that's the first think they look for when they do a credit check.


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## path0s (Oct 6, 2010)

Personally it just all depends on what you make... have a good future lined up and the cars will come... I went to the military... got ahold of a new 08 GTI... then I went to Boeing and now I own two.(I'm about to be 24)

Its all in due time. Create your future first and make sure you can support your lifestyle.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


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## djstarscr3am (Aug 16, 2012)

Bought my 91 GTI for $500. Mortgage payment before a car payment. id rather have my house than a new car.


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## MK5golf (Jun 30, 2012)

Im 20 years old, I bought a brand new 2009 Rabbit in march of 09 with my own money. Well, I financed it. I have been a car fanatic since 4 years of age, I saved, for my entire life (literally!) about 12k by the time I was 17. So that , coupled with one summer of having two jobs (cafe in the day, bussing tables at night...NEVER AGAIN) and ive gotten to where I am now. If I can go back in time, id probably have bought used and not have had this head ache lol. And im currently back in school, unemployed, so I think im gona have to ask mommy and daddy soon for some $, but I have enough in the bank for at least 3 more months.


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## dubbed42 (Jul 21, 2009)

I saved every dollar I ever had growing up with the plan being to buy a nice car when I was old enough.

Looking back, there is much better things to spend your money on. I'm 19 now, most of the time I wonder why I even have a car, i only use it to take me places I could bike or take the bus. The expenses are never over once you buy the car anyways, every dollar I make usually goes towards insurance, gas, maintenance, and mods you will inevitably want.


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## JUS_GT_EYEZ (Nov 12, 2001)

This thread is restoring my faith in people.. well except the OP... he never came back so I will assume his parents just bought him a bimmer. :laugh:


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## mk4_Jti (Oct 10, 2012)

Saved up and bought it!


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## Skimmy290 (Aug 19, 2012)

JUS_GT_EYEZ said:


> This thread is restoring my faith in people.. well except the OP... he never came back so I will assume his parents just bought him a bimmer. :laugh:




ahaha be nice 
you never know

maybe they got him an audi instead


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## C Jayhawker (Apr 6, 2012)

I'm 25. Financed my 2012 Tiguan SE because the interest rates were so low (at or near 0% interest), which is below inflation. I'm not going to give an entire finance lesson, but when the inflation rate is higher than your interest rate, you actually end up paying LESS for your car by financing it.
If you pay cash when interest rates are that low, you are not financially savvy. Basic math tells you to put your cash where it will either earn the most interest or pay down principal that gets charged the highest interest rates.
In my case, I use the extra cash I earn to pay down student loans which are at 6.8% interest. You can also finance a used car at around 3% interest (sometimes lower if you catch a financing special), and even then you are breaking even with inflation. 
Hope that helps! :thumbup:


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## TCDUBS (Sep 17, 2012)

Go used! As far as acquiring your first Vw, I personally sold my '95 s10 and threw down a couple hundred I had saved on my B4 passat vr6. Best decision I ever made. I like the older models anyways why spend extra THOUSANDS on going just as fast. If you already have a vehicle try trading. And try finding someone that just had there car for the purpose of transportation. I got lucky with mine, the guy had just bought a new car and lived downtown and didn't have the room for two cars. Scooped it up for 900 with 155k just needed rear struts (went with coilovers). If you can find anything with a vr6 under a grand, get it!



MINNESOTA DUBERS........

http://m.facebook.com/groups/49412354060702


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## HavokRuels (Jan 9, 2011)

More than likely mommy and daddy bought many young scenester cars :laugh:


Sent while sitting on my ass VIA my iPad


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## john prusinski (Jan 29, 2011)

well my first car i bought for myself. 800 bucks for a car with a heater. as soon as that started dying on me my parental units gave me a graduation gift that would last me untill i was on my feet and out of college.


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## Zyoid (Feb 25, 2008)




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## ajnardo (Aug 29, 2012)

21 year old guy here, I wrecked my other car (which my grandma sold to me for a few hundred dollars because she upgraded to a newer version of the same car) and got insurance money and used it to pay for my new car, since they ended up totaling my other car. 

I unfortunately overpaid because I was in a rush to get a car, since I didn't start looking until about 1 week left on my rental and the insurance company was nice enough to send me a check on the next to last day so I pretty much had to make a hasty decision. Went safe and went for the car with low miles figuring it wouldn't have a lot of problems. Paid 5,9 for a 03 Jetta with shot CV joints and minor interior blemishes (which luckily are fairly easy to fix since I'm better at interior **** than exterior) and a damaged side mirror (only aesthetically, still works fine). If I could do it over again I would start looking sooner and get a much less expensive car and pay a lot more attention to detail when purchasing but I wanted an MK4 jetta and I went blind when I saw it. Live and learn though. 

Also, if you find a private seller like my friend from work is doing, he is just making payments on it to the guy, interest free and doing payments he can (something like 150 a month). I don't know how well your relationship is with your parents but maybe see if they can help you out a little bit? Either way, good luck.

Edit: also since money seems to be an issue with OP, go for a car that doesn't ever die, get a Toyota pickup.


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## GliGirlDriver (Dec 15, 2009)

-financed my first 2001 golf through my credit union
-drunk driver totalled it
-got a nice check :laugh:
-financed my current 2005 to build some credit
-im 24..its now paid off and I will be selling or trading her

:wave:


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## Rockerchick (May 10, 2005)

I was lucky enough that my parents got me my New Beetle before I went to college since I got a full scholarship. I ended up making the payments on it for the last year or so of ownership. But I also payed for insurance, gas, and repairs the whole time I had it. Worked part time on campus to make money for it. 

Last year, I was hit on my way home from work. Totaled my NB. Had full coverage and got insurance money for it. Let insurance keep it. Took the money I got from insurance plus a little extra of my own to buy my 20th. 

I would definitely go used. I have a full time job and I still don't want to take on a car payment. Used is the way to go. Its so nice to own something outright. All 3 of our cars are that way. :thumbup:


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## younganimater35 (Apr 29, 2008)

Got my .:R at 18 as a graduation/do good in college gift, my father is a wholesale car dealer so we got a sweet deal, I start paying my insurance at 25, its around 300 on my parents :thumbdown: so hopefully it wont kill me. I've taken care of the maintenance and gas. Its probably just an R32 thing, but even when I took time off from school and was working full time that car was still expensive for parts and even an oil change ($100 with filter) I do my own oil and anything I can tackle with bymyself of with help. I don't ever plan on selling it so I don't mind spending money on it, but the R is not cheap!

Tapatalk 2


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## GLI Turner (Oct 17, 2007)

I'm 20 and I financed my 04.5 GLI, I always had a dream to get a mk4 GLI since I was like 14. I make $10 an hour and yeah my money is tight between all my debts to society :thumbdown: but I gotta tell you man I LOVE my car and this community, so my advice would be just do what you can handle, map out all your finances and hopefully everything will work out, good luck! :thumbup:


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## resilientsoma (Jun 1, 2011)

I got the college grad deal. They accepted me with no real credit history (I have good credit, but no credit-line history). They paid the first payment too.


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## Nimyad (Oct 8, 2012)

I'm 18. Just saved up money from a summer of work and bought used and I have some money left over to mod it how I want so it was a win win for me


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## JUS_GT_EYEZ (Nov 12, 2001)

resilientsoma said:


> I got the college grad deal. They accepted me with no real credit history (I have good credit, but no credit-line history). They paid the first payment too.


Those credit folks are such swell guys. :laugh: To think they help folks out without asking for anything in return.


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## resilientsoma (Jun 1, 2011)

JUS_GT_EYEZ said:


> Those credit folks are such swell guys. :laugh: To think they help folks out without asking for anything in return.


Haha I know, right. VWoA is whack let alone their credit dept.


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## J2G (Aug 9, 2012)

Had an Accord which I LOVED, got sandwiched in highway traffic and it was totaled. 

Picked up my MKIV for about half of what insurance gave me for the Accord, the rest is helping pay for school. Nowhere near what the Accord was, but it was worth every dollar and gets the job done.


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## MrCypherr (Jul 26, 2011)

*FV-QR*

Bought my 99 GL from my parents. Yep, they made me buy the car for $1000 to get me ready for real life and not have anything handed down to me like that. I was 18 when I got it.


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## younganimater35 (Apr 29, 2008)

J2G said:


> Had an Accord which I LOVED...
> Picked up my MKIV...
> Nowhere near what the Accord was...


Can't tell if serious or just trolling LOL!?!?!?

Tapatalk 2


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## HavokRuels (Jan 9, 2011)

younganimater35 said:


> Can't tell if serious or just trolling LOL!?!?!?
> 
> Tapatalk 2


Keep in mind, if he is talking newer accords, the are very nice cars. Unfortunately when I hear civic or accord, like most of you, I think of old 90's and early 00' ricers lol.


Sent while sitting on my ass VIA my iPad


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## shedtearsforwisconsin (Nov 1, 2009)

i dropped 10 Gs cash on a 20th ae GTi.:screwy: i bought a mk3 2.slow jetta a couple years back which now becomes my winter daily. cause my 20th is too clean still. just save your money and pinch pennies. cut expenses that arent needed. just be careful when buying used and make sure to do some research as to what to look for when buying that mk. sometimes when you buy a car and it needs a certain part some of them arent available OEM, and youll have to settle with aftermarket stuff which isnt always the best of quality. sometimes the parts these cars need arent worth the fix either so just make sure you know what your getting into. my mk3 i bought for 2000 2 years ago and obviously its not worth that much anymore. but its worth more to me for i have gone over it and replaced the whole suspension and steering components. 

good luck!eace:

PS. im 22 going on 23.


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## JessiebarnesVR6 (Oct 1, 2012)

I got a jeep wrangle for my 16th birthday then instantly fell in love with volkswagen, so i sold my jeep for 2800$ and by the time i was 17 i found a mk4 gli 24v for 7400 at a local german dealership. My dad knew the guy so he did a landscaping job for him and dropped the jetta price down to $5000. I'm 18 now and my car is paid off, it's a good feeling... i would love to take out a loan and get a mk6 gli but after reading this thread i'm kind of nervous. So maybe ill keep it for a few more years


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## JUS_GT_EYEZ (Nov 12, 2001)

JessiebarnesVR6 said:


> ...reading this thread i'm kind of nervous. So maybe ill keep it for a few more years


 
my job here is done... :laugh:


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## 87vr6 (Jan 17, 2002)

Starting in 1999 when I was 18 I bought a MK3 2.0 GTI via finance. Car was 11.5, I had 5g down. Sold it a little over two years later once I wasn't upside down. 

Bought a MK2 VR6 after that. Did the stupid thing and used a personal loan, paid too much for it, was dumb dumb dumb... 

Sold that after about a year or so, still paying on a loan for a car I didn't own... Bought a Chevy truck. Sold that when I joined the USMC (late 2002).

Bought a CPO 2000 jetta in Sept '03, 15g. Nothing down. I was a low rank in the military, but I had a twice monthly guaranteed paycheck for 5 years, so why not? 5 year loan, payment was 320 bucks, it was rough at first, but I paid it, and paid more when I could. I paid that loan off about 4-5 months early. Car was totalled by a flood Aug 2009.

Late 2008 I paid 1200 cash for another MK2 for a beater so I could start keeping miles off of the jetta above...

After the jetta was totalled (I received 5500 for the car), I went and found a 20th with 55k on it for 8500 bucks. Flew to Detroit, drove it back to NC. I got a loan for the total amount. Nice easy payments too. Paid that off in 2.5 years (earlier this year). 

The last MK2 I bought literally fell apart, so I stripped it, and bought another MK2, a jetta coupe in AL cash, for 2500, november 2009. Sold that 2 years later after putting some miles on it to keep them off my 20th. 

I still have the 20th (check sig), and I bought a EVO IV for 3g cash here in Japan :laugh:

So that's my vehicle history.


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## Choubacca (Sep 18, 2012)

My 1st car was a 99 beetle, got it used from a friend for $2k, then sold it after 2 years ago for $5k and got a 01 RX300 from another friend for $7k, sold it 3 months ago for $7.5k and bought my 1st new car 12 GTI with 0% apr. My mom is letting me get it with her as my primary so I can get that 0% since I don't have a credit history (didn't get my 1st credit card until a month prior haha) But I'm financing it with my parttime job at my university and my parents are helping me pay for the insurance until I get a job after college (thanks mom and dad!). Looking back, I could've gotten other things, but I love this car, so I would stick with it even if I had a chance to choose otherwise, I wouldn't. Absolutely love this car, planning on modding it after my warranty is up and getting a job after college.

Oh yes, and I'm 21


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## slampig_dub (Aug 14, 2012)

when i started working i was 13. worked my butt off and bought a car. sold it for more than i paid. did that will 12 or 13 cars and now i own an 03 gti. i tore it all apart and am working on the full motor build, body is getting redone new wheels new front fenders, cuz vw. but while flipping cars i worked 60 hours a week on a decent income. im 18 and dont regret any of my car decisions


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## Capella (Oct 30, 2012)

hey, I'm a 21 year old guy and my first car was a 1989 lincoln town car and I payed 1000 for it cash and then the transmission was starting to go on that so I decided to buy a vw. So then I bought a 1997 Jetta GLS for 2200, cash. Now I'm kind of glad the lincoln broke haha.


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## numlock44 (Nov 1, 2012)

I currently own a mk6 GTI and it's my 2nd car that I had. The first one was a ford focus zx4 06 that I got from my parents and I payed for it. They bought their first VW which was a Jetta, VW runs in this family. Anyways around 80000 miles on the Focus, I decided it was time for a new car so I bought an mk6.
My parents have good credit so they co-signed for me and I made a $2800 down payment. The car was ~ $29000 and after my trade in and my downpayment I had around 22000 left to pay on it. I have an apr of 0.8% which is really good. 
I'm lovin' my MK6 GTI! :heart:


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## GLIheretic (Sep 18, 2012)

JUS_GT_EYEZ said:


> This thread is restoring my faith in people.. well except the OP... he never came back so I will assume his parents just bought him a bimmer. :laugh:


Hey hey watch it lol
my fun car is a BMW and my daily is a 2012 gli
I restored the bmw myself and bought the gli myself and im 23 with no credit. 
Coulda bought the GLI in cash but decided to get myself credit so i can work on getting a house sometime soon.


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## CE-13 (Feb 10, 2008)

My turboed Mk3 i bought with grad money ($3000) , sold it about 6 months later and bought a 20th anniversary GTi for $6500 with money from the mk3 and money id saved from working a job where i grill all day (18 years old)...


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## VWBruce (Jul 20, 2012)

My mk3 vr6 cost me 3150. Got a low intrest rate loan from my bank.I didn't have credit.my monthly payments were a hundred bucks. Just start with a cheaper Vw and check Craigs list. Check back every month until the site has a car you want. by the time you find the right one. you will have a decent amount saved.









Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2


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## Sgtkabukifox (Nov 2, 2012)

I actually got my glx for 800 bucks 230g on the odometer but she runs like a champ had to replace maintenance stuff but nuthin serious so far!


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## BMP_3918 (Jun 21, 2011)

I bought my first car in cash (01 Audi A4 Quattro). I started building credit as soon as I started at 18 with a secured credit card, got an unsecured one 6 months later, and financed my first car at 19 (2010 VW GTI) with 2.89%. I just turned 20 btw.

Advice for you, if you plan on financing a car in the future, start building credit now with a credit card. Use it wisely and pay it off in full at the end of each month. By the time you're ready to buy a car, your credit will be better and have better financing rates.


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## mkivgolfball (Feb 5, 2012)

Got the "good luck were sending you off to college" gift of my mk4 2.sl0w. 
Working job at the school I saved up and bought the corrado slc.
I treat my mk4 like **** (although I've grown up a little and am starting to plan things out instead of instant gratifications.) and baby my corrado. 
I think if you work hard for something the chances of you keeping it nice are higher. 
Although doing all maintenance yourself can be stressful, in finding time with that and school work, but well worth the money saved. & the knowledge gained. 

Also, if you live in the city. If you're going to park in parking garages, always park in the corner, with only 1 other car on your side. And don't park where the openways bend. Got swiped and ran too many times with my mk4  You'll just go out to get in your car one day and you'll see a blue streak across your bumper. No note or anything.


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## lkveggie (Nov 10, 2011)

*Audis and VWs*

Since my dad is a mechanic, I was lucky enough to be able to buy cheap cars, fix them up, sell them, and make money off them. For my 16th birthday I was given a moped, so when winter rolled around, I sold it, saved the money and bought a maroon 1998 Audi A4. After crashing that one, I sold it and took the insurance money and bought a nicer pearlescent 1998 Audi A4. I kept that for about 20,000 miles. Then I bought a 2000 green Jetta VR6 for $3500. After the engine crapped out on me, I bought two other VR6s (one totalled and one silver wagon) for $3000 combined to use for parts. Switched out the engines and had two working VR6s. Drove those for about 3 months until I sold them both. Just recently bought a 1990 yellow Karmann Cabriolet that I can't wait to get! (Waiting on it to get shipped.) I'd say for being 20 I have an impressive car history! :laugh: I paid in cash for all of my cars, which helped because sometimes they would knock the price down. My suggestion is to start small and work your way up to something nicer. Makes you appreciate the cars more too!


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## T_martin23 (Oct 5, 2012)

i bought a 99 mitsubishi eclipse that needed a tranny for 600 fixed it up sold it for $2,000 bought a 97 vw jetta 2.0 for 950 needed a tranny droped a tranny in it and sold it for $2,300 and finally bought my 99.5 vr6 jetta for 1,500 that had a hole in the tranny he gave us the old tranny i switched the parts that were broke from the one with the hole in it to the old one to make it work fine im only 16


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