Save for car or Ski trip?

Cincher

Cincher

Active member
I'll try to keep to keep this short, but I can't guarantee it..

So through the traditional ski bum job of cutting grass for the 2nd year, I managed to save $2500 over the course of last summer before I went back to school in September; it's purpose was to buy a car. Specifically, I wanted to import a 1999 Subaru Legacy Touring wagon; the end goal being ~$5000 est. after all necessary costs are taken care of. I'm Canadian so it's legal as of this year. But suddenly, my shit HP laptop went into a permanent death-sleep, so my hand was forced to blow $1000 on a new, better, desktop PC. Double edged sword deal, I mourned the loss of cash, but I got a much wanted upgrade.

So now I only have $1000; I blew through the extra $500 for christmas gifts for myself and friends/family...but mostly me.

Studded bike tires, YEEYYUUH.

However, I'm considering possibly going on my local university's annual ski trip, occurring this February for $640. That includes bus transport to and from the resort, a room in a hostel, and 4 days of skiing.

I took the trip last year, the destination being Fernie, and as my first time skiing at a real mountain resort, it was easily the happiest time period of my life. When it was all over, I was super depressed for a couple days, having to go back to literally skiing a ditch.

This year, they're going to Kicking Horse, and it's sure to be another awesome time. But I'm at a financial crossroads here...wondering if I should stick with my initial goal of saving for a car, or take the trip, and recuperate the lost funds afterwards for which I can save for that Legacy.
 
Go to the resort, if its that fun for you it will be worth it, thenn youll have almost enough for the trip next year, and you can keep money for the car.
 
The more responsible thing to do would be to save for a car...

But I say fuck if. Go on the trip.
 
I went through the car thing for a period...

Honestly, $5,000 seems like a lot of cash for what is essentially a second-hand (or more) 15+ year old Subaru Legacy with a complicated (read: PITA or expensive to fix when broken) twin turbo motor. If that is truly where your passion lives, then go for it, but in my case, it was a passing fad that I regret looking back on and wish I had spent the money on wiser things.
 
13286985:JahJahBinks said:
Car all day
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I'm going to have to go with car as well.

Sure the trip would be unreal... but its 4 days. When you've got wheels the world opens up. You can go to any resorts around you and ski as much as your job will allow. This will lead to acquiring more skills to enjoy the goods.

Then, lets say you're in Winnipeg - you could go to all kinds of midwest events with ease, and then you're within a 20 hour drive to Banff, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, etc. Treat that car right (I had a '98 legacy that made it to almost 400,000 km) and she'll be the ticket to the universe.

Love her, change her oil, drive her gentle and slow and she'll last a fucking long-ass time.

Sure 20 hour drives suck, but in a subaru legacy with a roofbox you can easy get you and three of your buddies to CO for pretty darn cheap.

My buddies and I used to drive my legacy out to the US Open at Vail every year, and stay to ski. From Collingwood that was like 30 hours, so you're mellow.

I vote car.
 
As long as you aren't chained down where you are (if you can get around by taking a bus, bike, get rides etc.) I say go on the trip.

Once you get the car you will still need to register it. Winter tires. Inevitable repairs/maintenance. Insurance. Gas. You're probably gonna need a bit more cash than you might think. If you can pool up all that cash this coming summer, great. Do that. But at this point you don't have a ton of money and won't have the car for a while anyway by the sound of it. Have fun this winter, bust your ass this coming summer and drive yourself somewhere worthwhile next winter. Just my 2 cents. Good luck!
 
Go for the trip. $1000 won't even last you the winter with the car.

Get a better job once ski season is over and buy a car once you have the cash and an income. If you buy it now, you'll be shit out of luck once you run out of money from gas and repair costs, let alone other non-car related expenses.

Besides, going for the trip will leave you some money to hold onto so you won't be broke.
 
Having a car also opens up job opportunities. You can drive somewhere to work vs. needing a ride, or you could deliver pizzas.

Bonus double up - get a job at the ski hill working park crew or something... so you can ski and get a discounted pass.

Cars definitely need repairs as others have said, so you will need to plan for having some cash around to handle this when it happens.
 
13287053:SkierX said:
I went through the car thing for a period...

Honestly, $5,000 seems like a lot of cash for what is essentially a second-hand (or more) 15+ year old Subaru Legacy with a complicated (read: PITA or expensive to fix when broken) twin turbo motor. If that is truly where your passion lives, then go for it, but in my case, it was a passing fad that I regret looking back on and wish I had spent the money on wiser things.
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I can understand your POV, I know that subarus are a pain in the ass to work on, because lesbian scissor motor. But I don't mind, as it'll be a learning ground for car maintenance and repair. Right now I'm going through an automotive apprenticeship program so if need be I have a suitabe shop environment I can work on it.

The reason I'm even looking at getting a Legacy is because of what it offers: it's 4 door, it's a Wagon so I can haul a bunch of shit plus whatever a roof rack can carry, it's 4WD and since it's a Subaru it has good perfomance potential. If I was ambitious I could STI swap it with relative ease.

13287056:Mr.Bishop said:
I'm going to have to go with car as well.

Sure the trip would be unreal... but its 4 days. When you've got wheels the world opens up. You can go to any resorts around you and ski as much as your job will allow. This will lead to acquiring more skills to enjoy the goods.

Then, lets say you're in Winnipeg - you could go to all kinds of midwest events with ease, and then you're within a 20 hour drive to Banff, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, etc. Treat that car right (I had a '98 legacy that made it to almost 400,000 km) and she'll be the ticket to the universe.

Love her, change her oil, drive her gentle and slow and she'll last a fucking long-ass time.

Sure 20 hour drives suck, but in a subaru legacy with a roofbox you can easy get you and three of your buddies to CO for pretty darn cheap.

My buddies and I used to drive my legacy out to the US Open at Vail every year, and stay to ski. From Collingwood that was like 30 hours, so you're mellow.

I vote car.
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This is true; from 2012-2014 my brother and I Co-owned a '94 Chrysler New Yorker. I nicknamed it the Mobile Couch because that's what it was, a '90s sofa on wheels. But due to fuel costs (big V6) and some serious engine issues we had to scrap it. But when we had it we could at least go anywhere in the province, and take a break from our standard riding. Plus in the summer I could go trail biking outside the city.

Either you looked at my profile, or you're familiar with the ditch that is Springhill.

Anyways...

I've seriously considered checking out some of Minnesota's ski hills, surely they have better Parks than what's around here, as well as more vertical than Asessippi.

And you're right, 4 days was nowhere near enough for me to enjoy all the terrain Fernie had to offer. Plus it's much more comfortable to sit in your own car as opposed to a bus packed with drunk university students for 21 hours, especially when that bus breaks down and leaves you stranded in Swift Current's mall for 8 hours (true story). So while I'm happy I had the experience last year, I could honestly take or leave this year's trip.

Again, my goal was to lean to maintain it as I progress through my apprenticeship. I'd baby it a lot so if I ever decide to flip it'll hold it's value.

Wow, 400,000km? Impressive. Did it run into mechanical problems or was it just time to part ways?

Thanks for the elaborated response, I think you've convinced me.
 
As hard as it is to be financially responsible but I say you get the car maybe take out a small loan and pay it off to build better credit?
 
13287184:Cincher said:
Again, my goal was to lean to maintain it as I progress through my apprenticeship. I'd baby it a lot so if I ever decide to flip it'll hold it's value.

Wow, 400,000km? Impressive. Did it run into mechanical problems or was it just time to part ways?

Thanks for the elaborated response, I think you've convinced me.
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Repair bills got too high and was eventually time to give up. If you are actually going to be able to do some maintenance on your car then holy fuck you'll go a long way in saving dough. I didn't know shit about cars, and my '85 Tercel, '78 Ford E150 and '98 Legacy took me many, many places. Repairs suck, and especially subes are expensive to repair... but a little mechanic knowledge and you'll be good.
 
+1 car. youre only 1/5 of the way there but you know how tough it is to save and not touch that much money

the trip would be amazing but it's only 4 days of bliss, best case scenario. get the car and youre not only making the responsible decision (assuming you make a smart purchase and take care of it) but also opening your world up a ton by having a car

good luck have fun
 
13287184:Cincher said:
I can understand your POV, I know that subarus are a pain in the ass to work on, because lesbian scissor motor. But I don't mind, as it'll be a learning ground for car maintenance and repair. Right now I'm going through an automotive apprenticeship program so if need be I have a suitabe shop environment I can work on it.

The reason I'm even looking at getting a Legacy is because of what it offers: it's 4 door, it's a Wagon so I can haul a bunch of shit plus whatever a roof rack can carry, it's 4WD and since it's a Subaru it has good perfomance potential. If I was ambitious I could STI swap it with relative ease.
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I'm not saying no to a $5k car per se, I just question the economics of what amounts to a 15+ year Subaru Legacy that with any other motor than the EJ20TT would be half the cost.

My best decision was getting out of the money pits that are "sporty" cars (Had both a DSM and a MR2 Turbo - maintenence, upgrades, tickets for speeding, higher insurance costs added up) and getting into a very vanilla 1996 Subaru Outback with the 2.2l engine. It was slow as shit but dependable and I logged 20-25k on that for years with not a trouble until her life was ended at 180k by someone pulling out of a driveway in front of me. The other driver's insurance company gave me a whole $1,600 for it (and only after I fought tooth and nail about the actual street value of the car versus book value.

Fun cars are great to get into when you have a bunch of discretionary income and no other time and money sucking hobbies but they tend to be terrible ideas when both time and money are tight.
 
I'd say go for a car dude, you're complaining about skiing in a ditch.

If you had a car you'd be able to take ski trips whenever the fuck ya want.

CAR ALL THE WAY!

(wish i had a car now...)
 
13287239:SkierX said:
I'm not saying no to a $5k car per se, I just question the economics of what amounts to a 15+ year Subaru Legacy that with any other motor than the EJ20TT would be half the cost.

My best decision was getting out of the money pits that are "sporty" cars (Had both a DSM and a MR2 Turbo - maintenence, upgrades, tickets for speeding, higher insurance costs added up) and getting into a very vanilla 1996 Subaru Outback with the 2.2l engine. It was slow as shit but dependable and I logged 20-25k on that for years with not a trouble until her life was ended at 180k by someone pulling out of a driveway in front of me. The other driver's insurance company gave me a whole $1,600 for it (and only after I fought tooth and nail about the actual street value of the car versus book value.

Fun cars are great to get into when you have a bunch of discretionary income and no other time and money sucking hobbies but they tend to be terrible ideas when both time and money are tight.
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Ok I understand now. You're not saying not to get that particular car, just not the JDM version of it because it would cost more, correct?

Well right now my money is a little tight, I'm basically just a part time ski instructor right now who barely gets 20hrs/week. Even if the machine shop I work at hires me on full time around March - which I figure is highly likely - I'd probably start at minimum wage ($11) and wouldn't earn good money for a while. This was why I was wondering if it is even financially sound in my position. I wanna be able to pay for my car, not be in debt to it for several years...
 
13287102:CheddarJack said:
Go for the trip. $1000 won't even last you the winter with the car.

Get a better job once ski season is over and buy a car once you have the cash and an income. If you buy it now, you'll be shit out of luck once you run out of money from gas and repair costs, let alone other non-car related expenses.

Besides, going for the trip will leave you some money to hold onto so you won't be broke.
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I had no plans to buy it right away, I'm only 1/5th the way there as someone else said. But I see your point.

13287119:Mr.Bishop said:
Having a car also opens up job opportunities. You can drive somewhere to work vs. needing a ride, or you could deliver pizzas.

Bonus double up - get a job at the ski hill working park crew or something... so you can ski and get a discounted pass.

Cars definitely need repairs as others have said, so you will need to plan for having some cash around to handle this when it happens.
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I'm already a ski instructor and that don't pay anywhere near enough, at least in this area.

Park crews are a figment of your imagination around here; it's basically you and your buddy with a rake pissing the snowboarders off for having to wait while you fix the massive rut they created.
 
13287497:Cincher said:
I had no plans to buy it right away, I'm only 1/5th the way there as someone else said. But I see your point.

I'm already a ski instructor and that don't pay anywhere near enough, at least in this area.

Park crews are a figment of your imagination around here; it's basically you and your buddy with a rake pissing the snowboarders off for having to wait while you fix the massive rut they created.
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Dude get an even shittier car.

I bought my '78 Ford E150 for like $800. The thing was an absolutely rusted-to-shit mess, but it had a sketchily re-built engine, two captains chairs in the front, a fouton in the back, padded blue voleur walls and white shag carpet ceilings. It was cheaper than shit to fix up, because junk yards had absolutely everything. Bitch on gas for sure, but you get the idea. Butch was her name.

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Wheels are freedom. I drove dogshit cars my whole life, and when they died I just fucking junked 'em. Spending like $800-$3,000 on a car is perfectly fine. Sure it'll suck, it'll break down and it'll fuck you in the ass... but you're mobile as shit. If you do your homework, you might just end up with something that gives you the freedom you need to get to that next stage of life.
 
1/2 of me doesn't want to settle, that I should stay the course and get what I truly want as a vehicle. Impatience gets the better of me too often.

I owned a pontiac firefly as my first car, bought off my cousin for $400. The brake pulsed, the driver window didn't roll down properly, and the rear tires were bald. On first snow, I crashed it into an Exit sign. It resulted in a huge dent, a broken rear window, and a flat tire. It rolled on a donut until I scrapped it. Was good on gas though, $40 would fill the tank.

I also miss my New Yorker; bad on gas but comfortable as hell. Never felt the need to get anywhere in a hurry.

The only thing I'd settle for would be a Toyota Matrix. I know they're mechanically bomb proof, they're a hatchback and they came in a manual.

The one thing I haven't mentioned yet is that my brother is also saving with me; we planned on buying this Legacy together.

I think I've made my decision now..

I'm going to go on the trip. I don't have the income to support a car right now, so until I do, it's probably best to not think about it. 4 days of heaven is better than another shitty Manitoba-Only winter. I'm not giving up on it, I just want to be making money before I buy a money pit.
 
13288209:Mr.Bishop said:
Dude get an even shittier car.

I bought my '78 Ford E150 for like $800. The thing was an absolutely rusted-to-shit mess, but it had a sketchily re-built engine, two captains chairs in the front, a fouton in the back, padded blue voleur walls and white shag carpet ceilings. It was cheaper than shit to fix up, because junk yards had absolutely everything. Bitch on gas for sure, but you get the idea. Butch was her name.

View attachment 55251

Wheels are freedom. I drove dogshit cars my whole life, and when they died I just fucking junked 'em. Spending like $800-$3,000 on a car is perfectly fine. Sure it'll suck, it'll break down and it'll fuck you in the ass... but you're mobile as shit. If you do your homework, you might just end up with something that gives you the freedom you need to get to that next stage of life.
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Reminds me of my grandpa's 1981 Ford pick-up. He has the best stories about that thing.
 
If you get a car you can drive to the trip next time and you won't have to pay a fortune. Plus you will have a car so you can go whereever you want.
 
13288561:Eastern.Skier said:
If you get a car you can drive to the trip next time and you won't have to pay a fortune. Plus you will have a car so you can go whereever you want.
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That's my plan; I'll go on the trip this year so my winter doesn't totally blow. Then once I start working for pay I'll save again and consider my vehicular options then.
 
if you save for a station wagon or pickup like thing you can bum out of the back when you go skiing so in the long run the car would be a better pick. but fuck logic and go skiing if you can
 
Live for experiences, not possessions. If the car will allow you to take more ski trips in the future it might be a good idea, but you are probably better off doing the ski trip now and have an awesome experience and save money for a car after that.
 
13289043:Cats. said:
Live for experiences, not possessions. If the car will allow you to take more ski trips in the future it might be a good idea, but you are probably better off doing the ski trip now and have an awesome experience and save money for a car after that.
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This was my thinking. $640 isn't much for an experience I'll remember for the rest of my life. A car - even a basic one - could financially drain me at this stage of my life, and it has in the past. I'm only 21; most of these guys with fast built cars are in their 30s at the earliest.
 
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