Can People Really Afford These Luxury Cars?

[thedarkwolf]

"Experian says the average length of a new car auto loan climbed one month in the second quarter and now stands at 64 months. The fact, the average auto loan now stretches out 5.3 years isn’t surprising when you see the shift in the length of auto loans.

4-5 years (down) 19.6%

5-6 years (up) 7.6%

6-7 years (up) 26.4%"

http://www.cnbc.com/id/48844052

I just can't see having car payments on car for 7 years. I guess if you get one of those crazy low interest loans it wouldn't be a big deal but aren't those usually limited to the shorter loans?

 

[halik]

It all depends on what you spend your money on. I make well above what a normal 27 year old makes and my daily driver is still my first car a Scion tC. I've always wanted a sports car to drive and enjoy on the weekends. I'm a very frugal person all my life.. Last year I bought a Porsche. None of my coworkers or anyone other than my mom, dad and significant other knew. I don't have cable tv, I don't drink and do much shopping

This. I make more than o/p, 29 and drive a 911 4s. (Also paid about as much as a loaded Camry) and a Ducati 916.

It's really all about what you want to spend your money on - most people on these forums spend stupid (imo) money on computer stuff im guessing, so it's just a matter of perspective.

 

[pauldun170]

This. I make more than o/p, 29 and drive a 911 4s. (Also paid about as much as a loaded Camry) and a Ducati 916.

It's really all about what you want to spend your money on - most people on these forums spend stupid (imo) money on computer stuff im guessing, so it's just a matter of perspective.

How many miles on the Duc?

 

[halik]

How many miles on the Duc?

~9500, gotta change out the timing belt once the weather gets little less ridiculous here.

 

[JulesMaximus]

~9500, gotta change out the timing belt once the weather gets little less ridiculous here.

I have 11,000 miles on mine. Belts are due to be changed around 15,000 miles along with the next valve adjustment.

I'm doing them myself with a little help of a friend of mine who just did a valve adjustment on his Ducati himself.

 

[ViviTheMage]

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

Yes, and hopefully those people stay away from Minnesota...and other snowy regions!

 

[fstime]

I disagree completely the theory that snow tires will make any RWD vehicle "just fine."

I have driven RWD, FWD, and AWD with snow tires all in the snow and AWD is still vastly superior to both other options.

Snow tires will make RWD or FWD DECENT, but not GOOD in deep snow and getting stuck is much easier with RWD/FWD even with snow tires (from a dead stop). AWD makes getting off the line much easier and uphill feels much more stable.

In a very light snow storm, say 1-4 inches, then I can agree snow tires on any drive train configuration is fine.

 

[Naeeldar]

"Experian says the average length of a new car auto loan climbed one month in the second quarter and now stands at 64 months. The fact, the average auto loan now stretches out 5.3 years isn’t surprising when you see the shift in the length of auto loans.

4-5 years (down) 19.6%

5-6 years (up) 7.6%

6-7 years (up) 26.4%"

http://www.cnbc.com/id/48844052

I just can't see having car payments on car for 7 years. I guess if you get one of those crazy low interest loans it wouldn't be a big deal but aren't those usually limited to the shorter loans?

It's all relative. My first new car I purchased at 24 was for $25k and 5 years at 2.9 apr. I however paid it off in 2 years. Just because car loans are getting longer doesn't mean that people pay for longer we would need more detail than those studies give. That said I'm sure people are paying longer these days.

Interests are at an all time low on 5 year deals (pretty much no diff in rates between 3-5 years). IN face I just purchased a new car a month ago. 5 year loan with 1.9 apr. I'll probably pay off in 2-3 years but maybe not because interest is so low. Will have to decide in a few years.

 

[MustISO]

I prefer to pay under $20,000 or close to it for a new car. We both buy a new car every 5-12 years but I just don't see the point in spending a ton of money on something that depreciates so fast.

I prefer to save the money to put into house upgrades, investments or towards retirement.

 

[Gillbot]

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

Check

If you don't care what other people think about you, why is 90% of your post spent defending your decision? Seems to me that you care deeply about what people think of you.

ZV

Mate

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

Icing.....

 

[JulesMaximus]

I disagree completely the theory that snow tires will make any RWD vehicle "just fine."

I have driven RWD, FWD, and AWD with snow tires all in the snow and AWD is still vastly superior to both other options.

Snow tires will make RWD or FWD DECENT, but not GOOD in deep snow and getting stuck is much easier with RWD/FWD even with snow tires (from a dead stop). AWD makes getting off the line much easier and uphill feels much more stable.

In a very light snow storm, say 1-4 inches, then I can agree snow tires on any drive train configuration is fine.

Don't they plow the roads where you people live? Never once did I get stuck in my 1971 SAAB with radials in upstate NY and I drove that car through a few winters. The '73 Pontiac I had after that was horrible in the snow though. It NEEDED snow tires.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Don't they plow the roads where you people live? Never once did I get stuck in my 1971 SAAB with radials in upstate NY and I drove that car through a few winters. The '73 Pontiac I had after that was horrible in the snow though. It NEEDED snow tires.

Never drive during a storm or on roads that haven't been plowed before? I love having AWD.

I remember driving down a road with a foot of snow to get to a parking lot where we could go snow shoeing. Try that with your 71 SAAB.

I also love being able to parallel park into spots that haven't been plowed or barely plowed. And coming back to just pull right out when behind me, I see folks having to dig and even have other's push them out.

Like rice cookers, gotta love convenience. Heck, handling is improved even on dry pavement or when you hit a slick spot when you're turning.

 

[Zenmervolt]

I disagree completely the theory that snow tires will make any RWD vehicle "just fine."

I have driven RWD, FWD, and AWD with snow tires all in the snow and AWD is still vastly superior to both other options.

Snow tires will make RWD or FWD DECENT, but not GOOD in deep snow and getting stuck is much easier with RWD/FWD even with snow tires (from a dead stop). AWD makes getting off the line much easier and uphill feels much more stable.

In a very light snow storm, say 1-4 inches, then I can agree snow tires on any drive train configuration is fine.

What is "DECENT" if not equivalent to "just fine"?

Seriously. No-one has suggested that AWD wasn't better, only that there's no reason why a RWD car can't do just fine in the snow when you consider that we have these things called snow plows.

I drove my 924S through Pittsburgh winters for a couple years and it did fine. I drove my Mark VIII year-round for several years and it did just fine too. Were they as sure-footed as an AWD or even FWD car would have been? No. Were they "dangerous" or otherwise inadequate? Absolutely not. Both cars did just fine in conditions where people with AWD vehicles were sliding off the road and getting stuck because I don't drive like a dipshit.

AWD is always better in bad weather, but that doesn't mean that RWD or FWD is somehow inadequate.

ZV

 

[PricklyPete]

What is "DECENT" if not equivalent to "just fine"?

Seriously. No-one has suggested that AWD wasn't better, only that there's no reason why a RWD car can't do just fine in the snow when you consider that we have these things called snow plows.

I drove my 924S through Pittsburgh winters for a couple years and it did fine. I drove my Mark VIII year-round for several years and it did just fine too. Were they as sure-footed as an AWD or even FWD car would have been? No. Were they "dangerous" or otherwise inadequate? Absolutely not. Both cars did just fine in conditions where people with AWD vehicles were sliding off the road and getting stuck because I don't drive like a dipshit.

AWD is always better in bad weather, but that doesn't mean that RWD or FWD is somehow inadequate.

ZV

I completely agree that AWD is not necessary. You can even throw some chains on if needed to get through the hairy stuff. That being said, I've been plenty happy to have AWD when I've headed up early to the mountains when it is coming down hard ( will likely be that way on the road to Vail this Saturday).

 

[AdamK47]

Just looked through this guys posting history. He seems to like to talk about how much he makes or how much other people make.

 

[pauldun170]

Just looked through this guys posting history. He seems to like to talk about how much he makes or how much other people make.

He's similar to this guy I used to ride the train with.
Constantly yapping about working at Sach's and how much money he made and is CTS-v and Z06 and whatever escalade\MB his wife had.
Definitely one of those types who tried to hard to fit in.

We all felt bad for him.
No real friends.
Kinda dumpy looking and it was apparent his wife didn't like him.

 

[halik]

Heh:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2223868&highlight=

I'm guessing he's made 130K once and the reason why he's got a 99 camry is because that's what on par with his previous income.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Never drive during a storm or on roads that haven't been plowed before? I love having AWD.

I remember driving down a road with a foot of snow to get to a parking lot where we could go snow shoeing. Try that with your 71 SAAB.

I also love being able to parallel park into spots that haven't been plowed or barely plowed. And coming back to just pull right out when behind me, I see folks having to dig and even have other's push them out.

Like rice cookers, gotta love convenience. Heck, handling is improved even on dry pavement or when you hit a slick spot when you're turning.

Many times. I've driven down roads with so much snow on them that the underbody of my car was leaving a track in the road behind me.

Edit-Guess it's too much to expect someone who can't even cook rice to know how to drive.

 

[JCH13]

This winter I parallel parked in a spot that had a snow bank across it (from plowing) with my FWD car. It's not that difficult. Drove out just fine an hour later.

 

[datalink7]

I notice the OP hasn't returned to this thread

 

[nerp]

Maybe his Camry broke down. Ha ha.

 

[JCH13]

Maybe his Camry broke down. Ha ha.

I lol'd

Maybe the timing belt broke >.>

 

[Gillbot]

I notice the OP hasn't returned to this thread

Typical troll....

 

[soulcougher73]

Oh yeah? I make 200k/year and i drive a 1988 Corolla. I win...

 

[exdeath]

Oh yeah? I make 200k/year and i drive a 1988 Corolla. I win...

Oh yeah? I make 200,000.01 and take the bus!