Advice on buying first car

[Chappii]

I guess this is the right place to post.
Please yell at me if it's not.
This might be long.

To give some context, me and my girlfriend of 3+ years have the opportunity to move out of our parents house to a small flat 1st of May. Everything is going to plan, we still need some essentials but we worked out a budget, asked for help and such so we are on track. One problem is transport from that flat to our work. It's on the other side of town from where my/her parents commute to so cannot carpool with them, it would be too much of a round trip, especially with the petrol prices.

What I actually want advice on, is to buy a car. I cannot buy one cash because I don't have that much saved and we have some expenses still need to be paid. I cannot apply for financing because my salary is below R7000 which most places require you to earn in a month before you can apply. I understand why it is this high, I have spoken to a few people about it. My dad has agreed to help with financing, so he's going to apply then I pay him back. Problem is he can only help November. I can afford R1500 per month for a car so not looking for anything grand.

I have seen Wesbank has a graduate financing program but they still require R7500 gross salary.

Point being, I want to arrange for a car but cannot apply for finance. I don't want to take out a loan and be blasted with an insane interest rate.
I have one last resort which is to ask a coworker (who lives close by) to help us up until November but I don't want to be that guy.

I would appreciate any advice.

 

[TheJudge]

I guess this is the right place to post.
Please yell at me if it's not.
This might be long.

To give some context, me and my girlfriend of 3+ years have the opportunity to move out of our parents house to a small flat 1st of May. Everything is going to plan, we still need some essentials but we worked out a budget, asked for help and such so we are on track. One problem is transport from that flat to our work. It's on the other side of town from where my/her parents commute to so cannot carpool with them, it would be too much of a round trip, especially with the petrol prices.

What I actually want advice on, is to buy a car. I cannot buy one cash because I don't have that much saved and we have some expenses still need to be paid. I cannot apply for financing because my salary is below R7000 which most places require you to earn in a month before you can apply. I understand why it is this high, I have spoken to a few people about it. My dad has agreed to help with financing, so he's going to apply then I pay him back. Problem is he can only help November. I can afford R1500 per month for a car so not looking for anything grand.

I have seen Wesbank has a graduate financing program but they still require R7500 gross salary.

Point being, I want to arrange for a car but cannot apply for finance. I don't want to take out a loan and be blasted with an insane interest rate.
I have one last resort which is to ask a coworker (who lives close by) to help us up until November but I don't want to be that guy.

I would appreciate any advice.

I don't think you're being 'that guy' if you offer to pay part of the petrol costs. Those are also the costs you have to consider over and above purchase cost (fuel, maintenance and insurance). I have lots of colleagues that car pool because it makes sense and is cheaper for everyone and they're all older adults with houses and families.

EDIT: My wife commutes to Stellenbosch and back to Claremont. Lockdown was a godsend because of the travel costs. I think we were spending R3k on fuel, Qashqai services aren't that cheap and a set of tyres a few years back cost us around R7k.

 

[Chappii]

Ok bump/update

Turns out the coworker is moving today.

 

[Nyt Ryda]

So you say you have a budget to move and furnish a new flat, but in the next part you say you can't afford petrol/can't afford a car cash/can't afford an installment more than R1500/still have expenses to pay first/earn less than R7000/can't get finance.

I'd suggest staying with your parents longer until you can move more comfortably. Your parents seem nice (willing to finance on your behalf and sit with the drama if you don't pay) so I don't see an urgent reason to move out right away unless I'm missing something.

 

[10bucchr]

I agree, don't move out until you can afford it!

How far is the commute, maybe you can cycle? I know it sounds tough but it's actually very doable and you'll save thousands a year. I'd save about R8k/year if I cycled every day and I wouldn't lose any time because the traffic is as slow as cycling (with some shortcuts)

 

[ovisser1]

While I am not directly contributing to your question, please don't look past buying a motorcycle.
There are definitely downsides, but you can easily get a reliable bike for much less than a basic reliable car (Riding gear included)

You will save a lot on fuel as well.
Small 300cc is good enough for taking a passenger as well.

 

[Antioxide]

That is a tough one.

Does the R1500 include insurance and the installments?

You also need to ensure that you have enough money incase the car breaks down.

The fuel costs are also high so buying and older car with a heavy engine can also be a bad idea.

You can post on local groups on Facebook. I'm sure there are many people car pooling in your surrounding area.

I also agree with some of these guys. The hardest times in my life were because I moved out when I truly couldn't afford it. I moved out at 19/20 when I was still a waiter. It was a huge struggle and I would have been able to save a lot more and live a more fulfilling life at that stage if I decided to stay with my parents for a year or two longer.