Help Yi Buy a Car

[viper37]

Do I save $995 and pretend to be a badass by getting manual, or concede defeat and go automatic?

I have a semi-automatic transmission.  At first, I missed the clutch and used the manual mode very often during summer.   Then I got headaches, stopped driving by myself for a while and the few times I drove, I drove like an old lady, very slow and on automatic.  So I don't miss it that much anymore.

but yeah, manual is great for all the reasons CdM invoked.  They may get tiresome when stopped in traffic though.

[Berkut]

Nah, I owned one briefly though, that was bad enough.

Mostly I just like Yi and don't want him to buy the most unreliable car made in America. He doesn't strike me as someone who can really not worry about vehicle reliability.

Ah, gotcha.   I thought maybe it was a bad memory over some long ago pussy in college or something. 

Mine's a 2008 with 80K on it and with nothing more dramatic than brakes as a problem, so you must've just been a fucking asshole with yours.

Hey, I am not the one who rated it 29th out of 20 in reliability. Take your whining up with Consumer Reports.

[CountDeMoney]

Hey, I am not the one who rated it 29th out of 20 in reliability. Take your whining up with Consumer Reports.

She was a Wildcat too, wasn't she. Hair flowing in the desert wind as she pulls it away from her face, smile bright enough to blind you. Feels like it was just yesterday, sitting in that Jeep in the Tucson sunset. I know, buddy. I know.

[dps]

this thread might help explain it, yi

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/59o2z5/you_are_never_going_to_pay_a_gift_tax/

I assume that is about Federal taxes, and there might be state gift taxes in some states?

[DGuller]

Hey, I am not the one who rated it 29th out of 20 in reliability.

Holy shit that's unreliable.

[Zanza]

Manual transmissions get better gas mileage, better acceleration

That was the case in the past, but with modern automatic transmissions that's not true anymore. You get better acceleration and gas mileage from a well programmed automatic.

[grumbler]

nah, it's talking about both.

So take that down payment from your parents, no one is going to tax anyone on it.

That's not a conclusion nor a rule, that's an unsupported statement.

In general, I'd advise even students at South Dakota Community College, Law School, and Haberdashery not to take their tax advice from reddit.  I'd advise Yi the same.

[LaCroix]

the whole post is an unsupported statement, grumbler. it's a reddit thread that doesn't contain citation. I had seen it a few months back and thought it might be helpful. your post doesn't refute what I said, that it does refer to both giver and receiver

[sbr]

Jesus people it's not that hard.  First everything in the opening post of that reddit thread is correct.

You can give/receive $14,000 a year and no one cares.  A married couple can give $28,000 if it is shared money.  A spouse can also receive another $28,000, so a married couple can give any other married couple $56,000 a year with no strings or questions.

If you go above the yearly limit the giver has to report it to the IRS, not as income but a gift.  This then comes out of your lifetime limit of $5.45 million (again doubled if joint property of a married couple, so mom and dad could give a kid $28k per year and then an additional $10.9 million without anyone ever paying any taxes on it.)  If it goes over that then the donor pays the taxes, though if they didn't for some reason the receiver could be liable.

As of Sept 2016 the only states with gift taxes were Connecticut and Minnesota.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/frequently-asked-questions-on-gift-taxes

http://blog.taxact.com/gift-tax-do-i-have-to-pay-gift-tax-when-someone-gives-me-money/

[viper37]

That was the case in the past, but with modern automatic transmissions that's not true anymore. You get better acceleration and gas mileage from a well programmed automatic.

My 2008 Mercedes consumes roughly the same as my 1998 manual Camaro.  Acceleration is a word that must not exist in German, I guess.   Damn, I miss my old car in summer

[Grey Fox]

Whats a program car

Get a GMC Terrain. Cheap and as unreliable.

[CountDeMoney]

Whats a program car?

Dealership demo.  Sometimes the sales force gets to tool around in it for a few weeks or months of a new model year, or it's used as a loaner or demo for potential fleet customers.

[Grey Fox]

I see. Didn't know that was a thing.

[Admiral Yi]

Jesus people it's not that hard.  First everything in the opening post of that reddit thread is correct.

You can give/receive $14,000 a year and no one cares.  A married couple can give $28,000 if it is shared money.  A spouse can also receive another $28,000, so a married couple can give any other married couple $56,000 a year with no strings or questions.

If you go above the yearly limit the giver has to report it to the IRS, not as income but a gift.  This then comes out of your lifetime limit of $5.45 million (again doubled if joint property of a married couple, so mom and dad could give a kid $28k per year and then an additional $10.9 million without anyone ever paying any taxes on it.)  If it goes over that then the donor pays the taxes, though if they didn't for some reason the receiver could be liable.

As of Sept 2016 the only states with gift taxes were Connecticut and Minnesota.

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/frequently-asked-questions-on-gift-taxes

http://blog.taxact.com/gift-tax-do-i-have-to-pay-gift-tax-when-someone-gives-me-money/

If my (and The Dark One's) reading is correct, the recipient has to pay income tax on any gift above $14K.  That contradicts the language of the reddit post.

[alfred russel]

Yi, I don't think that is correct, I think no one will pay any taxes ever. Unless your mom is loaded or you fuck up somehow.