Mark, my man.... I was in your shoes once bro. In the summer of 1994 I took out a loan for $3500 to buy a 72 Rallye 340 4 speed and paid it off a little at a time over 3 years. Within the first year I dropped the motor and was paying on a car that didn't run for another year. My Dad and everybody in my life shook their heads and just could not understand why I would not get a nice Nissan or a Toyota? Well, the truth is, I got more satisfaction just sitting in my Challenger listening to Iron Maiden than anything else in my life at the time. But at that time I was not married, had not found the Lord yet, and worked in the parts dept of a Dodge dealership in CA. I was riding a bike to work with a Challenger sitting in the driveway broken. Since then, the car has been painted three times, moved allover the country and now is sitting in a garage again. Only thing is, now the car is worth $20,000 and that Toyota would be a crap pile. So, I do not regret what I did. I had hard times because of it but all worth it. It is a love and appreciation for what Challenger means man, TO CHALLENGE! TO SPIT IN THE FACE OF THOSE WHO SAY BOOOOO! It is the perverbial bird to THE MAN, and for that matter, THE WOMAN too! My advise is two fold, going into big debt right out of the gate will hurt you. But, life is short man, you will never be 22 again. You won't have to worry about buying one for another two years anyway, unless your Dad owns a dealership. They are already spoken for my man, maybe for the next 3-4 years. But if you want it bad enough, and you work hard enough, you will get it. And it is worth it if it costs you blood, sweat and tears. The love just grows that much stronger. That is the core difference between a Challenger and a Corvette, attitude. The stiff upper lip, and the mullet waiving in the breeze! Just watch the 1970 Challenger commercial with Old Sheriff Buford whats his nuts, that is where this all started, then watch Vanishing Point. Maybe you already have, those things say more about Challenger than I ever could.