If I were you I would decline the job, and go back to school full time. The sooner you graduate, the sooner you will be making a lot more than 14 an hour.

Financially it's a horrible idea. I mean no disrespect, but if you have to second guess yourself when buying a car then you really can't afford it. Same thing with any other purchase.

But if you were to buy one do it now. The 08 X's need to be moved since the 2010 models are rolling in in a month or two. The incentives are great. 60 month 0% financing and you can get a very very generous amount taken off the sticker price. The problem is not many are left and the ones that are left are fully loaded GSR's which MSRP between $38,000-$40,000.

+1 if i hadnt of dicked around when i was younger id be driving that BMW i posted about in my other thread... I mean i have a decent STi but its **** compared to that beamer.

+1 don't you put yourself in a hole you can get out of. a sweet ride can do this to you very quickly.

get your degree and have fun w/ the cobalt!

$14 an hour full time is less than $30k a year before taxes. And you want to buy a car that costs $40k. Am I reading this correctly? And you have debt already? America has a credit issue big time...

also look at it this way.

0% financing if you get approved for that is $16.67 per $1,000 financed.
$16.67 * $35k = $583.45 (35k based on a GSR out the door w/ taxes) this is if you don't put any money down and when/if you trade your cobalt in that you don't loose money.

your pulling in $14.18/hr, even if you were working full time, that's 567.20 a week -25% for taxes....- approximately $425 you bring home... your talking over a paycheck just to pay for the car not including insurance... which is going to be 200+ a month... two paychecks to struggle for a car.... CleanNeon is right, you can't afford it. not to mention what if you lost your job at lowes....

I wish that rule of thumb was true lol! But OP, save up, go to school, get a sweet degree, and get yourself a nice present. Your car is already nice!

Thanks everyone else for all the other comments, they are helpful.

OP, like most of the others are saying, keep with the 'Balt. Both of my cars have 140K+ on them and althought I'd really, really like to get something nice, new, and shiny, I'm in my senior year of college and even though I can definately afford a car payment, I'd also like to move out, and get stable before getting a new whip. I suggest banking as much as possible, and seeing where you're at a year from now, then reconsider your options.

Honestly if you want to buy a 40k car on a 30k salary, you need a wake-up call. Even if you do somehow afford the payments, what about maintenance, insurance, gas, and I know it won't stay stock for long.

Come on dude, really?

and a brand new sti is like 32 grand, no where near 40000, my cobalt was 25 grand brand new when i bought it. If I save up enouch money to put a decent down payment on one, it wouldn;t be that bad. I would do my own maintenance on it like i do with my car now. Your right about insurance though it would kill me, and yea it won't stay stock for long if i bought one lol.

Maintenance I mean parts themselves...know how much brakes are for example? Look em up. And I know who you meant, I still agree with him.

Been there done that. Would not have done it again.

pay off your car and wait till your done school. I jumped into an evo a little to fast and i cannot wait for the day until it is finally paid off. having no car payments is amazing, trust me.

lol. Dude, move out. I make 17/hour and could never afford a 20k car. Trust me, you'll like yourself alot more if you move out. nice cars are awesome, and sure they're impressive. But whats not impressive is when your roomates are your parents.

why not get a used 04 sti or an 03-04 evo8? or keep your car. You dont want to buy a money pit but making payments sucks too

Hmm.

My rule of thumb was to be able to afford 2 tanks of gas, insurance, and a car payment in 1 weekly paycheck.

I've still got money to spend after all is said and done with my new car that is 28k off the lot.

If you REALLY want another car, find something that's cheap to insure. Example: something that's not involved in a bunch of accidents because kids are irresponsible with them. Also you need to fit your price range. I'm not making big bucks, I'm only in the 40k range (after taxes), however, in the next 2 years, I'm due for 4 raises. I have insane job security, so I know I'm alright. Plus, I love luxury cars.

Honest opinion, keep the cobalt, finish school, get a better job, get job security, get benefits. Lowes is horrible.

My 2 cents.

haha lowes is horrible lol but we'll see if this loss prevention job makes it more exciting

If you get more education now, in the long run you'll end up making hundreds of thousands or even millions more in your lifetime. $14 an hour is nothing to work the rest of your life around, its moving up from kid jobs but lets hope that we all make a lot more than that in our chosen fields.
And although not always worded so nicely, many of the others saying how ridiculous it would be for you to buy an STi (which does cost about $40k out the door) were absolutely right. Slow down, make some responsibile decisions now, and you'll be thanking yourself for the next 40 years.

i agree, thanks for the input, and i am not gonna quit school at all, i am gonna keep moving forward with my education, it may take me a little bit long, but it will get done, and i will get that degree and eventually get to a good point in my life.