[dibxna]

i work in mortgages... notice the problem we have right now with that market? its because people who made just barely enough to afford the loan they had then no longer can afford it now. the bottom line is that your income is stable at 70k and one would love to know it will only go up from there but as we continue to weather this economic storm there is still that slight possibility you may find yourself between jobs or getting a chopped amount of income.

i am 26 and bought my car when i was 25. out the door including tax/title/etc it was 61k even. i put down 18k and had a 43k loan at a 2.59% apr. my car payment is just under 800 monthly. what you may think to yourself is that affording 800 monthly is easy enough, however, as you will find with this car you have to fill up twice as much as you would have in your 330 so gas now costs you double (also in part because its more fun to drive than the old one!). insurance will not jump too terribly much assuming you have a clean record... i pay 1300 yearly for mine.

my family taught me at a young age that its not just affording the cost of the car at the dealership but affording the maintenance that goes with it. if you were to buy replacement tires (plan on once a year to once every year and a half) and do this at the dealership (do yourself a favor and dont) you would spend 1600 a pop for a fresh set of tires. factor in all things considered and you arent just looking at a car payment of 800 in my case it actually comes out to closer to 1100 including the full break down.

my thoughts would be to keep doing what you are and save that 1500 dollars a month for another year. then get in to a CPO 2012 or 2011 after you have some more to offset that 14k loss on your existing whip!