Is buying a motor scooter a good idea?

Question

I just finished my education. Not surprisingly I have no money at all and unfortunately i have no car (and i dont even have a drivers license as yet). I am thinking about getting a motor scooter instead of a car. Please take the following into account

1. There is a social angle. I just joined as a junior professor. i have to present a certain image to students and senior faculty.

2. The money issue: As a starting postdoctoral faculty member, I have a pretty meagre income of $48K and no raises are expected in the next 3 years at least. And after 3 years, i will have to find a real professorial job...so thats a big uncertain tossup.

4. I am not sure pledging abt $20,000 for a car is such a good idea with my kind of means and future. I don't want to buy a used car, because I have a little dream about a new car...I don't want to strangle my dream by buying an old one. Having lived as a grad student, desperate poverty, old clothes, old books, broken houses are all so familiar...I want a departure from those horrible years...i want to buy something new.

4. Considering that this would be my first car and first license ever and I am a young single male, the insurance rates are bound to be insane.

5. As such, I have considered getting a motor scooter that costs only about $2000. But I have concerns about safety and professional image.

what do you say?

Answer 1

Get one. They are fun, very economical, some are kind of stylish. Just be sure to buy a Honda, Yamaha or Suzuki. I'm sure you're aware of the "quality" of Chinese products. As far as safety, I had two classmates that were hit by a car as they walked home from school. One died and the other lost a leg. Goes to show you that even walking is unsafe.

Answer 2

Can you say 100 MPG

Answer 3

I just graduated as well, and I am in kind of in the same boat as you are. If you buy a scooter you will save a ton of money on insurance and car payments. The scooter could get over 100MPG. I have an older bike that gets around 50MPG and my insurance is $75 per year.  You could even find a cheaper scooter maybe one that is slightly used.

You have to consider weather conditions because you may not always want to drive it as you will most likely be wearing nice clothes. It also takes longer to get ready, deal with helmet hair, take off a rain suit, and cover up the scooter. Parking is much easier, and you could take a rider safety course, offered free in my state, to lower your insurance.

Chevy makes the Aveo, which is around 10k, gets decent fuel economy, and will allow you to be less concerned about the weather. Chevy was offering 0% interest on the Aveo. I am not sure if that offer is still out there. Hyundai and Kia make small cars that are around the same price and fuel economy with a better warranty, but some parts are unavailable and most are expensive. Reliability is also an issue with those cars. Insurance shouldn't be too bad with a small car.

Student loans are another concern because you will pay around the same amount you owe in interest over the course of the loan so it is a great idea to pay as much as possible now to avoid interest charges. I wouldn’t worry about not finding a job because you will have three years of experience and plenty of time to look.

I looked at it this way: you only live once so you might as well get what you want so that you are happy driving it every day. You just have to decide what you can afford, and what tradeoffs you are willing to make because there are pros and cons either way.

Answer 4

Forget professional image. you could get a Kawasaki Ninja 250R or something. it costs 3500 dollars it gets around 50 miles per gallon. it is one of the safest motorcycles ever, it is extremely safe because most first time beginners get a Ninja. since it's one of the safest motorcycles you can bet your insurance won't be very high. It's a two seat-er just in case your no single much longer. it also won't bring down your professional image down much. in fact it is pretty cool check it out. look at the 2008 model it looks way cooler even though its 500 more dollars. Seriously i'm 17, i pay bills go to school have college classes to pay off, i work only 25 hours a week for 7 an hour and i can still pay it off and have some extra. just go to the site go to motorcycles, on the top left go to motorcycles, sport, Ninja 250R, click on it. after your on it look through the info. without scrolling down or up look at the bottom right hand corner and find calculate payment. type in the plan you want like 2,3,4,5 year (it goes by months) and interest rate for you would be 10% because you probably don't have very good credit with a college dept, and how much you could give as a down payment and your done.