How are there so many $60, $70, $80+ thousand dollar cars on the road??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Literally everyone who leases a car is dumb.

Actually, anyone who believes this is the one lacking financial acumen. We leased a car last summer and prepaid the 36 month lease. It is a luxury electric vehicle that was under a manufacturer subsidized lease, plus the dealer matched the federal tax deduction being offered for other electric care but not the one we bought. So - we saved roughly 10k on the price we would have paid had we bought the vehicle outright, leaving that money for us to invest. We will buy the car at the end of the lease but kept 50% of the cost and the use of our cash for an extra three years.

Is this common for a leasing plan?
What are the mileage restrictions?

I like to swap out to a new car every 2-3 years.
Trying to convince spouse that leasing is the smarter way to go.

[Anonymous]

Regular people. I like to be comfortable. We can easily afford it. So can you, but sounds like you don’t value a nice car and that’s fine too. Fwiw, I lease my $80k car for $1100 a month. Also lease a $90k car for $1300 a month. Those amounts aren’t that much more than a monthly payment on a 5 year loan would be on a $60k car. We just always have car payments, but it’s a trade off for never having to pay for repairs except oil and tires.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Breaking news at 11! People are just bad with money. They have it so they spend it. They don’t think long term.

Breaking news some people make a lot more than you do and still save more than enough and like to buy nice cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regular people. I like to be comfortable. We can easily afford it. So can you, but sounds like you don’t value a nice car and that’s fine too. Fwiw, I lease my $80k car for $1100 a month. Also lease a $90k car for $1300 a month. Those amounts aren’t that much more than a monthly payment on a 5 year loan would be on a $60k car. We just always have car payments, but it’s a trade off for never having to pay for repairs except oil and tires.

Paying 2400$ a month to rent is smart yall! Easy to make those when you bring in 30k/mo net of tax and deferrals! Just stop being poor!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - appreciate all the comments. Sounds like I'm just on the cautious-side with money.

I don’t think so. It probably has nothing to do with being cautious.
You are probably spending money on other things, hobbies, etc
You don’t just like cars enough to be willing to spend on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people out there willing to spend all their money on a nice car and Versace shirt while living with roommates in Manassas.

This is an extreme example, but yes many people love their lives with varying degrees of this. It’s amazing how many people will drive a luxury car and live in a $hithole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people out there willing to spend all their money on a nice car and Versace shirt while living with roommates in Manassas.

This is an extreme example, but yes many people love their lives with varying degrees of this. It’s amazing how many people will drive a luxury car and live in a $hithole.

This made me chuckle because I do see these luxury cars in front of houses that don't equate. I always figured they bought their cars of Craigslist and they all have salvage titles.

[Anonymous]

What I consider expensive when it comes to car prices froze somewhere a little less than ten years ago. Even if I could afford it the idea of infinite 1k+ payments for leasing luxury cars is not something I could do. I just immediately start thinking of what else I could do with that money and all the possibilities, knowing that whatever car I'd get would just become a familiar appliance I'd have to fret over once the newness faded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Disappointing that all this money translates into the driving of luxury cars for personal satisfaction as opposed to the opening of charitable foundations for the betterment of society. DH and I have an HHI of $3.6M, yet $2.8M of that goes right out the door and into our own foundation to fund scholarships for kids (girls and minorities, especially) pursuing STEM fields in college. We drive a 2021 Hyundai Elantra and a 2017 Toyota Corolla. Guess we’re just cut from a different cloth.

Please explain how your HHI is 3.6 and you have 2.8 to donate. I would love to know how you aren’t paying federal and state taxes/SS/insurances, etc. that would total closer to 50% of your income, and then you would still have living expenses, college savings/tuition, health care, etc.

It’s called making sacrifices. We don’t all need to live in suburban McMansions, take flashy vacations, or wear designer clothing. For some of us, the thrill in life is knowing that we’re one of the select few responsible for driving society forward in a positive way.

Taxes are a thing. You cannot deduct 2.8M in "donations"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - appreciate all the comments. Sounds like I'm just on the cautious-side with money.

OP, I'm with you. We have roughly same HHI at $650K. Kids in public. Modest home (not new construction, built in the 80s) and would never spend on a $70K car. It's absurd to me. I drive a minivan. DHs car - when purchased - was 35K. I have friends who I know make way less than us and splurged on a Tesla. Yes, some people have high wealth but lower incomes but I don't think that's the case for the majority of the big car spenders. I think Americans splurge on cars to keep up with the Joneses. Cars are an easy luxury becuase they can be financed and paid out monthly for a relatively low rate. Houses not so much. Or you can try to get a used luxury car.

some people get flashy cars because they can afford it, and good for them. But I know a ton who are overspending and fail to save. I think the latter make up the bigger portion of the lux car market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people out there willing to spend all their money on a nice car and Versace shirt while living with roommates in Manassas.

This is an extreme example, but yes many people love their lives with varying degrees of this. It’s amazing how many people will drive a luxury car and live in a $hithole.

This made me chuckle because I do see these luxury cars in front of houses that don't equate. I always figured they bought their cars of Craigslist and they all have salvage titles.

I observe a lot of people driving old luxury vehicles. One woman in another parenting forum was looking for an affordable mom car and asking about a decade old Audi SUV. I try not to judge because in a way I do the same thing because I hold on to old vehicles until they die. But it took a bit of restraint to not let her know that buying a decade old used German luxury vehicle was maybe not the best choice financially for an “affordable mom car”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Literally everyone who leases a car is dumb.

Actually, anyone who believes this is the one lacking financial acumen. We leased a car last summer and prepaid the 36 month lease. It is a luxury electric vehicle that was under a manufacturer subsidized lease, plus the dealer matched the federal tax deduction being offered for other electric care but not the one we bought. So - we saved roughly 10k on the price we would have paid had we bought the vehicle outright, leaving that money for us to invest. We will buy the car at the end of the lease but kept 50% of the cost and the use of our cash for an extra three years.

Is this common for a leasing plan?
What are the mileage restrictions?

I like to swap out to a new car every 2-3 years.
Trying to convince spouse that leasing is the smarter way to go.

Does anyone worry about the environmental toll by getting a new vehicle every 3 years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally fancy and new cars are a waste of money. To each their own.

OP, I feel the same way. The other day, I saw a Bentley SUV parked in front of the little convenience store in my neighorhood. I would have assume it was just a normal high-end SUV, like and Audi or BWM, but a freakin' Bentley? WHY????? Some people have more money than sense I guess.

[Anonymous]

Us!! HHI 350k. Traded in a 20 year old car for a 58k ev we paid cash for.

We have 120k left of a 450k mortgage on a house now valued at 750k. Fully funded 529’s for 2 kids (for oos publics), 2.5 million in investments and retirement accounts and 40k in savings/checking. Also will have a fed pension.

We don’t splurge much but after 20 years with one non-luxury car, figured we could this time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regular people. I like to be comfortable. We can easily afford it. So can you, but sounds like you don’t value a nice car and that’s fine too. Fwiw, I lease my $80k car for $1100 a month. Also lease a $90k car for $1300 a month. Those amounts aren’t that much more than a monthly payment on a 5 year loan would be on a $60k car. We just always have car payments, but it’s a trade off for never having to pay for repairs except oil and tires.

I certainly hope you aren’t needing to purchase tires on a leased car!