Cost of a car and HHI/NW
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Anonymous
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I am shocked how many expensive cars I see, and that's not really luxury euro vehicles, but your regular 3 row Japanese and American SUVs are all over 50K now even for used, unless it's VERY used.
What percentage of your networth should the car be in general? Are people overextending or they are simply rich? |
Anonymous
| Before pandemic the rule of thumb is total car value less than 20% of your HHI. Obviously it varies a lot by individual situations. |
Anonymous
I want to buy a car that would be satisfying this condition for sure, but my husband is having a serious freak out. He thinks it's foolish. |
Anonymous
I don’t know, it also seems very high to me but I guess your overall financial picture is important. If low mortgage and no other debt, I guess it could work? |
Anonymous
Total value of all cars should be less than 20% is one rule. But most people who have kids need to have it be less than that due to other obligations (childcare, college) |
Anonymous
Car value should be less than 20% of HHI? And you think this is too much? 
The median HHI in the us is 70k. The average American should buy a 14k car or less? Good luck finding a decent car for this price. Even with a HHI of 150k, you are looking at a 30k car. That's the price of a basic car these days. |
Anonymous
| Our HHI is 400K and our cars were both under $30K (Mazda, VW). DH fantasies, but we need to ensure we can swing college painlessly before we get a nicer car and that's several years off. |
Anonymous
The fact that cars are expensive does not lessen the negative financial impact of buying one that you cannot afford. Honestly a family making 70k should not be spending 30k on a call, and 30k is probably about where someone making 150k should be. What's wrong with a basic car? You can buy a Camry or Accord for 30k. |
Anonymous
This means that 60% of DC metro must be making close to 400-500K HHI 
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Anonymous
Yes, low mtg and no other debt. But he is cheap, doesn't value comforts or luxuries. if you think car is just from point A to B, then it's tough to convince you to spend on luxury features. I care though, I think it makes a difference if you drive every day. In the city not so much, we didn't care and didn't use the car. But in suburbia you use it all the time, and if you also start taking more driving vacations, I think, it matters. |
Anonymous
Depends if you need a 3 row, some people do. If you have 3 kids and also carpool, do sports, take driving vacations, a sedan won't do. SUVs are obscenely expensive of that size, and compact ones too, but those are useless, might as well get a cheaper hatchback, wagon or a sedan. |
Anonymous
If the good features are what you want, buy a used car loaded with features for a little less money. That way you can both be happy. That's what I did. I bought a Lexus with a great sound system and backup camera, used for about half of what it was originally priced at three years earlier with all of the features. |
Anonymous
| Two cars around $90,000 each. That’s about 20% of HHI. |
Anonymous
F that. I make $180K and I’m not sticking to a $36K car. I’m single and have no expenses. I’ll be buying a $55K Audi and paying cash. |
Anonymous
| OMG we're at 4% and our HHI is low for DCUM. I suppose keeping cars until they literally fall apart isn’t the norm in the DMV. |