Can People Really Afford These Luxury Cars?

[Demo24]

If I made 100k+ I'd sure as hell be driving some nice vehicles. Not because I care what the others think, but because I enjoy driving and would rather have fun in the car than go to sleep cause its so boring. Course this all depends on where that 100k is being made where I am that gets me quite far, somewhere like NYC, not so much.

And if you think a 99 camry is still considered 'safe' by today's standards, well I've got a bridge to sell you.

 

[z1ggy]

Everybody spends their money differently. At 136k a year, maybe you like to spend your money on your property, whether it be the outright purchase of it, or things that go in it (nice TV, couches, bed, "mancave things" , etc). Others might chose to invest their money in stocks, or back into their business (if they owned one obviously). Some people might buy collectables, or have expensive hobbies and tastes.

Having an expensive/nice car is just a transparent way of attempting to show your social status and income level. It's really not much different than owning a very nice home, or having lots of toys like jet skis or boats.

And for the record I agree with Jules in that you most certainly did not suceed in not coming off as a douche.

 

[Sidekicknichola]

... to piggy back on the OP's original idea here is something that blows my mind-

I live in Minneapolis, we get snow and lots of salt on the roads... 4-5 months a year RWD "sports" cars are next to worthless. I see TONS of people driving cars that are by no means cheap $40k+ "sports" cars all year round (lot more that are $65k+)

.... my thought is, if you've got the money to afford that car, why not pick up a used civic for $5k for the winter (or some other winter commuter)?!


At where I work there are 5 cars I see almost every day in our outdoor lot....
(All newer)
Camaro SS
CTS-V coupe
Z06
M6
Porsche 911s (not the 4s)
... they drive them all year. I could see some of them being leases and they don't give a shit, but honestly I don't think I would want a 500+ hp RWD car during these months, and don't get me wrong, come spring I would drive the shit out of any of them (very jealous of these cars).

That blows my mind.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I drive what I can afford. A 10 year old basic truck. Handed the guy a one time payment in cash in full and drive it from point a to point b. I will not sign away 5 years of my ass for any vehicle ever again. Call me cheap/poor/whatever. Just making the payments is not enough anymore for me. Get me off the debt train... next stop please.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I scored 1.49% apr and had my credit union lower our other vehicle loan to the same rate. Money is so cheap and we need a good family car, we can justify the purchases. My daily driver is a 2003 Buick with 139k miles on it. I'm not planning on replacing that until I must.

I think being excessive with vehicles is a huge waste. I typically look at the yearly depreciation as an expense and then expand that out over the expected life of the vehicle. (typically years after the loan terms are over) When compared with other vehicle costs, you can really see the true cost of ownership....as long as you don't have to replace it sooner for some reason.

 

[JackBurton]

I scored 1.49% apr and had my credit union lower our other vehicle loan to the same rate. Money is so cheap and we need a good family car, we can justify the purchases. My daily driver is a 2003 Buick with 139k miles on it. I'm not planning on replacing that until I must.

I think being excessive with vehicles is a huge waste. I typically look at the yearly depreciation as an expense and then expand that out over the expected life of the vehicle. (typically years after the loan terms are over) When compared with other vehicle costs, you can really see the true cost of ownership....as long as you don't have to replace it sooner for some reason.

139K miles?!! Man, that's like a new car. I have 250K on my truck...and still going strong.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I'd find your judgmentalism here easier to swallow if you hadn't started out by telling us how much money you make.

He's insecure. He has numerous posts about his salary and career position.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I'm around 30 yo and make over 136K a yr. I don't give a shit what anyone thinks about me based on what I drive.

Anyway tend to see people who drive luxury vehicles. My suspicion is....

1. Vanity issue, insecurity, stroke myself, status seeker, "emulator". (Probably 80 to 90% of the owners)
2. VP, Director, CEO (C class), Some MDs, Excess of 200K a yr (usually more) (5 to 10%).

Then why do you give a shit what other's drive?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

The average car price is 31k. Average median income is 45k.

Yep nothing wrong with this picture.

 

[JackBurton]

The average car price is 31k. Average median income is 45k.

Yep nothing wrong with this picture.

That's what renting...I mean "leasing" is for.

 

[Kroze]

Also life is too short. You could spend your whole life making $136k a year and save every penny of it because it's the financially smart thing to do. Never take an extravagant vacation, dinner, car purchase, drive a 1999 camry your whole life, etc...only to die in a horrific accident at the age of 35. :/

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Also life is too short. You could spend your whole life making $136k a year and save every penny of it because it's the financially smart thing to do. Never take an extravagant vacation, dinner, car purchase, drive a 1999 camry your whole life, etc...only to die in a horrific accident at the age of 35. :/

Statistics show that he is likely going to live into his 70's or 80's. It's much more realistic that someone in your mindset is going to be dirt broke and going to the soup line in their old age. Just don't cry because you had your fun when the payment comes a knocking.

 

[Scarpozzi]

139K miles?!! Man, that's like a new car. I have 250K on my truck...and still going strong.

I agree with you. My only gripes are that I had to replace my upper intake manifold gasket and some heater hoses last winter. (which meant draining the cooling system) I'm due to change out the hoses now, so I'm going to have to do that again probably this summer.

I've also had ignition switch issues with the car....which I fixed.

Next maintenance is a full brake job with new rotors/pads on all 4 wheels and a power steering pump replacement and degreasing the engine....

Hopefully with those changes @ about $250 I can get it to last another 60k without having to do much else.

 

[Zenmervolt]

... to piggy back on the OP's original idea here is something that blows my mind-

I live in Minneapolis, we get snow and lots of salt on the roads... 4-5 months a year RWD "sports" cars are next to worthless. I see TONS of people driving cars that are by no means cheap $40k+ "sports" cars all year round (lot more that are $65k+)

.... my thought is, if you've got the money to afford that car, why not pick up a used civic for $5k for the winter (or some other winter commuter)?!


At where I work there are 5 cars I see almost every day in our outdoor lot....
(All newer)
Camaro SS
CTS-V coupe
Z06
M6
Porsche 911s (not the 4s)
... they drive them all year. I could see some of them being leases and they don't give a shit, but honestly I don't think I would want a 500+ hp RWD car during these months, and don't get me wrong, come spring I would drive the shit out of any of them (very jealous of these cars).

That blows my mind.

With decent tires, RWD is just fine in the snow. People managed just fine with RWD in the snow for decades.

As for the 911s, with the rear engine, they're actually very, very good in the snow and since Porsche has been using full galvanization for more than 30 years now, they are also almost impervious to rust.

Sometimes I worry about today's generation of drivers who think that they can't handle an inch of snow without computer-controlled AWD. It's a sad commentary on how piss-poor the driver training is in this country anymore.

ZV

 

[pauldun170]

Sometimes I worry about today's generation of drivers who think that they can't handle an inch of snow without computer-controlled AWD. It's a sad commentary on how piss-poor the driver training is in this country anymore.

ZV

Many winters in POS 82 Monte Carlo and a set of of used snow tires @20 bucks a pop. When snow season ended, off came the snow tires and back to all season. Sister had a 81 Cutlass and that didn't even have snow tires. the rust flaking off would provide traction in the snow.
Since this was back in the days of "young people drove $800 POS and liked it" tires were mismatched and bald for the rest of the year.

When I moved up to 85 Tempo, I never even bothered with snow tires. did alright in the snow.
Car didn't make it to spring because an idiot pulling out of their driveway didn't think there should be oncoming traffic. Either that or they felt bad for me driving a Tempo.

 

[JulesMaximus]

With decent tires, RWD is just fine in the snow. People managed just fine with RWD in the snow for decades.

As for the 911s, with the rear engine, they're actually very, very good in the snow and since Porsche has been using full galvanization for more than 30 years now, they are also almost impervious to rust.

Sometimes I worry about today's generation of drivers who think that they can't handle an inch of snow without computer-controlled AWD. It's a sad commentary on how piss-poor the driver training is in this country anymore.

ZV

:thumbsup: I couldn't agree more.

I grew up in upstate NY and learned to drive in the snow. I never owned an AWD or 4WD vehicle when I lived there and I never had any trouble getting around when it snowed. My first car was a FWD 1971 SAAB with seat heaters and a 4spd manual gearbox. That car was a tank and would go through anything. I loved driving it in the snow.

 

[exdeath]

... to piggy back on the OP's original idea here is something that blows my mind-

I live in Minneapolis, we get snow and lots of salt on the roads... 4-5 months a year RWD "sports" cars are next to worthless. I see TONS of people driving cars that are by no means cheap $40k+ "sports" cars all year round (lot more that are $65k+)

.... my thought is, if you've got the money to afford that car, why not pick up a used civic for $5k for the winter (or some other winter commuter)?!


At where I work there are 5 cars I see almost every day in our outdoor lot....
(All newer)
Camaro SS
CTS-V coupe
Z06
M6
Porsche 911s (not the 4s)
... they drive them all year. I could see some of them being leases and they don't give a shit, but honestly I don't think I would want a 500+ hp RWD car during these months, and don't get me wrong, come spring I would drive the shit out of any of them (very jealous of these cars).

That blows my mind.

Likely that's just it, they can't afford it. They have all their eggs in one basket, rain or shine, garage or no garage, its their one vehicle and they can't afford a second car.

I love when I'm in my beater and some douchebag feels the need to show off. So your ONLY car is slightly better than my beater that I drive when its too wet for drag slicks, grats!

 

[hans007]

i make slightly less than you. that said im probably one of those people you speak of.

everyone spends their money on things they like. for many people a car is just an appliance like a dishwasher or whatever.

i mean my microwave is the cheapest ass microwave i could find. some people buy $300 microwaves. or $500 dyson vacs. why?

maybe they really like heating food up , and tons of options on their microwave, or that giant ball on the dyson vac just makes their vacuuming better enough that they think its worth $500.

some people take vacations to say italy to tour around and see as one of my cousins told me yesterday "a bunch of old buildings it was really boring". i went to london when i was a kid, it was a vacation that cost some money. but in the end we toured around looking at what effectively were a bunch of old buildings.


i mean just because you make a lot of money (which tends to inflate the value people assign to their own opinions) doesn't mean what you value is correct.

i personally have no kids. kids are expensive. im fairly certain if i really wanted kids and i had to find some woman to have kids with and this was a really big deal to me i could do it. and it would cost more than the Anandtech favorite M3 to raise a kid a month than continually lease an m3. some of you may have differing ideas of to the value of kids. good for you spend your money on that. i think i want maybe 1. maybe. so should it happen ill spend money on it. if i have 1 kid and 3 M3s and you have 4 kids and 1 corolla you keep to pay for your kids who is to judge either of us for spending our money on what we want?

anyway the OP is wondering basically why other people do not have the same values as he does which kind of brings up the notion that people who make $136k a year aren't necessarily very bright . i think the only thing we ever agree on on anands is that if you have a bunch of money and you go broke because you buy a lot of stuff that you cant afford that that is fucking stupid. but other than that if it makes you happy go for it.

personally i save up a lot of money, i buy better cars than camrys generally, and i go out drinking and partying a lot. thats what makes it worthwhile for me. its not because it is to show off, is it not ok to actaully like spending money on things you like? if all i could do with money is spend it on other peoples dreams and values, well i wouldn't bother trying to make any more money right?

some people say you should invest your money. i invest some of mine. but guess what , the money you invest is gonna eventually be spent. the entire point of money is to spend it eventaully. the entire point of earning money over your lifetime is figuring out where you want to apply it to necessities and luxuries and to optimize your spending to optimize what you get over your projected lifetime.

as the other guy said you could die in 5 years. you have to factor in that. which is why when people do nothing but save well i guess they are betting they are gonna live long enough to eventually spend that money. its just like investing in everything. you gotta diversify your spending across your lifetime.

 

[hans007]

The average car price is 31k. Average median income is 45k.

Yep nothing wrong with this picture.

its not that bad, cars last a lot longer than they used so you can spread that out longer. if it was something like average yearly expenditure on autos vs income it would be a much more valuable metric.

 

[hans007]

Then why do you give a shit what other's drive?

i've seen this with friends of mine who are well cheapskates.

generally they really do want to get that car, but they are trying to talk themselves out of it because it seems to go against all their ingrained beliefs.

but in the end they want it. and its really in their heads this battle between their beliefs and this "illogical" choice.

its kind of like when religious people start questioning themselves and start bashing non religious people. or the guy in american beauty.

 

[Fenixgoon]

The average car price is 31k. Average median income is 45k.

Yep nothing wrong with this picture.

and what is the median price of a new vehicle?

what are the median and average ages and prices of all registered, road-going vehicles?

the average salary in the US is 70k. the median salary is your 45k. those are two very different numbers.

similarly, the average car price, the median car price, and the average age/median age of cars will be vastly different.

you need to use the proper statistics before making a proper analysis.

that said, i know quite a few people who suck with finances. i also know quite a few who are cheap bastards and won't pay a penny more for anything than they have to.

 

[AdamK47]

I don't understand how someone who is 30 years old and makes 136K doesn't understand.

 

[jlee]

I don't understand how someone who is 30 years old and makes 136K doesn't understand.

lol, this.

 

[Mursilis]

Statistics show that he is likely going to live into his 70's or 80's. It's much more realistic that someone in your mindset is going to be dirt broke and going to the soup line in their old age. Just don't cry because you had your fun when the payment comes a knocking.

No, he'll just vote for some politician to take the money you saved and give it to him. The spenders generally outnumber the savers in the US these days.

 

[Doppel]

I'm around 30 yo and make over 136K a yr. I drive a 1999 Toyota Camry with around 104K on it right now. Just a few weeks ago I did (by myself) a timing belt change along with oil pump seal, crank seal, cam seal. I have excellent credit and can walk into a Jag, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo dealership and finance/purchase any of their mainstream vehicles. If there is any issue on if I could afford it, I probably have enough liquid to purchase it outright. My philosophy is I drive a vehicle to get from point A to point B. As long as it's safe, reliable and efficient that is good enough for me. I will likely drive my Camry until the wheels fall off and it is beyond mechanical repair. I don't give a shit what anyone thinks about me based on what I drive.

Anyway tend to see people who drive luxury vehicles. My suspicion is....

1. Vanity issue, insecurity, stroke myself, status seeker, "emulator". (Probably 80 to 90% of the owners)
2. VP, Director, CEO (C class), Some MDs, Excess of 200K a yr (usually more) (5 to 10%).

Simply, you don't care about how nice your car is, which is why you drive a 1999 Camry. Do you spend your money on nice furniture? I guess you're a furniture guy then. Or a nice house or whatever other material possession you have that you spend beyond its functional purpose and move into a "luxury good".

I will say I honestly do have a problem with owners of luxury cars. Something does seem a bit just too desperate about it. I know that contradicts my previous point a little, but considering how nice some of the loaded "non-luxury" lines are, I do see some vanity insecurity peeking out among a person driving a mercedes or BMW or whatever. There is a huge amount of money paid just for the badge. I can afford one of these now and just won't buy one and have a hard time envisioning ever driving one, because it's so attention whorish.

This doesn't apply if you are a genuine car guy but most people are buying a luxury car just to show others how awesome they are.