Line of credit for flight training?

[Shiny Side Up]

Not sure I agree with that. This is a recent photo of
a very reliable, quiet car with AC that gets 38 US mpg
on the tank:

That usually depends on who had it the previous bunch of km though. While I'm expecting to get more than 400,000 km out of a truck that I've cared for and drove (only owner) I wouldn't count on getting another say 200,000 km out of a car that someone else put the first 200,000 km on. At the very least its a gamble. You might be lucky and win the lottery and find a good used vehicle, but only if you know what to look for - and knowing which models are more likely to last longer. A majority of the population doesn't know a lot about cars - its a bit of knowledge you and I probably take for granted.

Of course a camp job goes nowhere. It's like being a lifeguard -
ok at 20, weird at 40. But while he is 20, he can use it to finance
the training he wants, for the job he wants in 5 yrs.

It certainly is a money tree! Until the price of oil drops, anyways.

No, see my wage above, which I now realise that I forgot how old I am and that was actually closer to twenty years ago. Notice something wrong? The price of oil doesn't change that wage. Curious huh? Who do you think is getting screwed by doing that type of work? You're right, its good to do something like that for a couple of years to get sort of a leg up, but you can't do it for the length of time required to fully fund an education - pilot's license or otherwise - you'll discover it will take too much time. You'll be working that job and be in your thirties before that's the case. I guess you'll be debt free - but you've already lost the thing that you have that's most valuable - your time.

That's just financial sleight-of-hand. Those terms mean that
the car is substantially overpriced - a common problem in
Canada. Buy a used car in the USA, btw.

Not disagreeing there, but two can play the game. For example when I did buy my newest truck, I did it under said deal. The salesman tries really hard to upsale you - a few options that sound really nice substantially increase the cost of the vehicle. I got mine for $16,000, but its pretty bare bones. The same truck with the full options package is around $30,000 (options in most cases are just stuff to go wrong). That's what they're hoping to sell. The other trick is to get you into it and the interest of course is going to be more later on. If you're prepared though, then you just buy it out when the free time is up. Anyhow, you got to do your research regardless. In the end if this vehicle lasts me as long as I expect it to, it will have had approximately the same total cost as any used vehicle I previously have owned.

I will admit that I think one could always find a better deal used if one knows what to look for - and you're right going stateside is preferable if one has the time to do so. That's the real penalty of buying used is that it takes a lot of time to do it right. Fine if you're planning ahead and have the luxery of time, not so great if you don't. For example if you need a vehicle, and don't have one, your search becomes a lot more onerus assuming you're riding the bus or bumming rides to shop.

[iflyforpie]

The best cheap cars to get are ones that were driven by seniors. Usually low km, garage kept, not abused, well-maintained, and low price. Maybe you don't want to be rocking the Buick Century or the Lincoln Towncar... but money in the pocket is much cooler than the type of car you drive IMHO.

The next thing is to try and keep your vehicle for as long as possible. Lots of people 'flip' cars thinking that they are avoiding large maintenance bills but what they are paying in depreciation when they sell it and taxes when they buy their next car (12% here in BC every time a used vehicle is sold!! ) more than eats up maintenance costs.... even if you had to replace a transmission or engine.

And half a million klicks is nothing for a car anymore. Heck, my 1982 Volvo 240 has nearly that and it is basically a 1960s technology car (points and condensers, side-draught carburetor, no computers or sensors) that is by no means in perfect shape. My truck has over 300K on it and it runs like new.

[Shiny Side Up]

The best cheap cars to get are ones that were driven by seniors. Usually low km, garage kept, not abused, well-maintained, and low price. Maybe you don't want to be rocking the Buick Century or the Lincoln Towncar... but money in the pocket is much cooler than the type of car you drive IMHO.

You wouldn't think that if you saw the way my grandma drives.

The next thing is to try and keep your vehicle for as long as possible.

Sound advice, you should get at least 10 years of use out of a vehicle if not more. Depends on make and model though.

And half a million klicks is nothing for a car anymore. Heck, my 1982 Volvo 240 has nearly that and it is basically a 1960s technology car (points and condensers, side-draught carburetor, no computers or sensors) that is by no means in perfect shape. My truck has over 300K on it and it runs like new.

Depends again on year make and model. My last truck had the straight six which was probably the best engine I ever had. I think somewhere after 300,000 km it broke one of its pistons on the way home from Yellowknife, and it still managed highway speed on 4 cylinders. Made a terrible noise, but still went, rebuilt the engine after that and got another 200,000 km out of the beast before it was tragically lost to a drunk driver. OT, did you write to Volvo when your vehicle passed 500,000 km? My sister had an old one, and they sent her this "excellent vehicle award" thing to put on her car. One of those strange euro things. It died shortly after. Wait, I mean had a malfunction that was beyond economical repair.

[Colonel Sanders]

rebuilt the engine

I used to do that when I was a kid - pulled heads to do valve
jobs, replace pistons - but I don't bother any more. When a
high-km engine caves, get a low-km engine out of a junker
and simply swap it. Fast and cheap.

I view the engine, clutch and manual transmission as moving
parts that you replace, just like tires, brake pads and bearings.

I don't get rid of a car because it needs a clutch, which should
be good for at least 200,000 km, depending how you drive.

[Shiny Side Up]

I wouldn't do it again either, way too time consuming, though it was also one of those things I could get assistance from Dad for since he has all the stuff to do that sitting around. I think it was the only time I've ever seen that valve grinder he has used, and of course we had to bore out the cylinders and put some oversized pistons in. It was a lot of work, and he could never pass up the chance to tell me how I was doing it wrong.

[taxiway_matthew]

Read Dave Chilton's, "The Wealthy Barber Returns," (I haven't even read the Wealthy Barber) and you'll see how stupid Lines of Credit are. Really man, debt is retarded. Like many have said in this thread, work! Save! I'm serious, read that book. You'll be much better off down the road than if you take out a huge line of credit. You're going to be making peanuts in your first flying job anyways, why make life any more miserable with piles of debt?
I'll tell you what I did - I joined the military. Not necessarily $32/hr, and I had to put off the flying dream for 4 years, but the benefits are huge. Unlike the "me" generation I live with, I was perfectly fine deferring my dream to a later date. The military gives me a ton of money, a vast expanse of personal and technical skills, experiences you wouldn't even begin to imagine possible, and at the end of it all, a debt free way to do my flight training when I get out. Ya, I'll be 25 when I start flight training, not 18 like I would've liked to have been. But in the end, I'll be far better off (for the most part) than those who piled debt on themselves at such a young age.

That's just my $0.02