Sit at any stoplight in Gainesville beside a fellow student who's in a newer, flashier car in the next lane, and you may feel pangs of jealousy.

Above the chugging of your 14-year-old car's engine, you may think aloud, "Why can't I have a new car too?"

After all, you deserve one, don't you? You've driven your car, or bike, for too long now. You've worked hard through college and will graduate soon.

But no one will finance a car loan to a college student, right?

Wrong.

"Of all the cars we sell, over 20 percent of them are bought by college students," says Dan Schmidt, sales manager at Wade Raulerson Honda in Gainesville.

This may explain why jealousy pangs can be sparked  driving onto campus, where on an average day you can pass at least 50 new cars.
 
"The Civic is the most popular among college students," Schmidt says. One reason is the Civic's price. The other is because most students want a good, reliable car.

Many students with new cars know that it is relatively easy for college students to get financing. Schmidt says if you have a degree, a job or promise of one and some credit, most companies will be able to find financing for you. Of course, if you don't have a job, you'll probably need a cosigner.

UF psychology senior Lindsay Lassman needed a cosigner when she purchased her 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier in August. Lassman's previous car, a 1986 Mercedes diesel, died on the Florida Turnpike, and she was desperate to find a new car.

"I got some money for 'the beast,'" she says, "but when it was all said and done, I couldn't get a new car on my own." Lassman had her parents cosign her car loan, and she pays her monthly car payments.

Melanie Shore, vice president of marketing at Barnett Bank of Alachua County, says most parents cosign a student's loan. Shore also recommends that students should have established credit before applying for a new car loan.

"Establishing credit gives you a better chance [for loan approval]. The creditors can verify past work and income," she says.
The best time to buy a car is after graduation, when most car dealers offer student graduation packages. Usually these packages are good from four months to a year after graduation, but the amount of time they are available differs with every dealer. These packages can also save students a lot of money, Schmidt says.

So how do you
get these offers?

Many automakers send out bulk mailings to soon-to-be or recent graduates. And most likely, you'll receive brochures from Chrysler Corp., Ford Motor Corp. and Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. Many local dealerships will have brochures on hand. Just because you don't get a brochure in the mail doesn't mean that the car company doesn't offer a graduate incentive program. Most companies want to have students inquire about them because students help boost sales.

If graduate incentives aren't for you, try these other recommendations for financing help. Shop around first to find the best loan rate. Call banks to get different quotes on loan rates. If you are a credit union member, you can get lower rates. Credit unions charge an estimated 13 percent interest while consumer banks charge around 18 percent.

But if you don't have enough money for a down payment or can't afford the high monthly payments, Schmidt recommends leasing.

"You get more car for less money, and a two- or three-year commitment is all the student is obligated to," Schmidt says. "With a car payment, you could be looking at a five-year loan. with leasing, in those two or three years, your income will probably rise and you will be able to buy or lease a more expensive car."

Today, leases account for about 25 percent of new car sales, according to the Consumer Guide Auto '97. Most students would rather lease than buy a new car. That's exactly why UF CIS senior John Camerin decided to lease his Ford F-150 pickup. "I didn't want to get stuck driving something I didn't want. I figured out that after the two-year lease, it was only going to cost me $6,000 to $7,000 to lease."

Camerin says he was impressed with leasing because he will be able to walk away from his lease when it expires.

Hunting on the Internet

Leasing may not be the best option if you plan on driving a car for five years or longer, Schmidt says. In this case, it may be better to own the car because once you're finished paying off the loan, you will only have to pay for gas and repairs until you trade the car in. And, you'll have the car as an asset to use as a future down payment. With a lease, you'll have to take on another car payment when you're ready to trade in the car, Schmidt says.

For those who don't want the hassle of going to car lots for fear of pushy car salesmen, you can shop for a car and decide what you want before you even talk to a salesman when you visit various car-shopping sites on the Web. Wow, technology is great, isn't it?

At www.kbb.com, you can price any car through the Kelly Blue Book's Web site. This site has the prices and destination charges and shows the options available, including the colors. It also shows the standard features and sizes of each car.

Another recommended site is www.intellichoice.com. This site is the mother of car shopping. Complete with pictures and cute graphics, this site will let you print out a price sticker of your car after you choose the options you want.

Intellichoice will also tell you how much money you should set aside for gas, repairs and even oil changes. There's also a link to help you compute how much your monthly car payments will be.

Pricing the Honda Accord LX four-door sedan, a midline Accord with power windows and locks, www.intellichoice.com lists a base price of roughly $18,000. After choosing two-thousand-something-dollars worth of options, the total is about $21,000.
But these cars cannot be purchased on-line, Schmidt says. "The Web sites give shoppers an idea of a comparison price. It gives dealers leads on who wants to buy a car and what type of car they want, but you still have to go to a franchised dealer's lot." Schmidt says, adding that his dealership gets leads every day.

Schmidt also explains that shoppers should use the Web as a resource guide for car shopping. He says the prices are close, so that when you make an offer on a car, you shouldn't make an offer that's unreasonably lower than the dealer's. "You don't want to offer half of what they are selling the car for," he says.

Although dealer options and prices vary, it is a good idea to know what options you want and what you can afford before talking to a salesperson.

 No kids, the homework never stops, but after shopping for a new car, you might not be seeing green the next time you drive around Gainesville. After all, everyone knows the best car is the one that's already paid for.