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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Audi A3 is $35k. Audi A4 is $45k.

OP here - I wasn't thinking the low end models like A3 or A4. FWIW, I'd much rather get a Rav4 than either of those. My general comment was that I see so many VERY expensive cars on the road and don't quite fathom how there are that many people buying such cars.

It’s pretty easy to lease a car, OP.

And leasing is 99% of time, a really dumb financial decision. But then again, plenty of people buy homes with 5% down that they really cannot afford (and definately don't need), take fancy vacations that they can't afford and don't save enough for college/retirement. Most Americans don't know how to budget and plan

PP here. Of course leasing is a stupid financial decision. But the kinds of vapid morons who drive cars they can’t afford are already financially illiterate so of course they lease.

Literally everyone who leases a car is dumb.

Yup! There is no scenario where it makes financial sense. Some say "its the way to get a new car every 2 years". Well that in and of itself is not smart. Nobody needs a new car every 2 years. Buy and drive for at least 4-5 years minimum.

And yes, many in America are financially illiterate. Most don't get "wants" vs "needs" and how to delay gratification. Kids start in their 20s and want to live just like mom and dad, but don't realize M&D didn't live in that 3K+ luxury home and drive luxury cars when they were 22. We lived in cheap apartments and drove basic cars while we paid off our student loans and saved for our first home.

There are many instances where leasing is the absolute best choice. You have to find the lease deals that make sense.
I have been leasing cars for the past 10 years. My monthly payments on leases are never more than $350. I lease for 3 years then rinse and repeat.
If you do the math on a $350 lease payment, that’s $4200 per year, $42k over 10 years.
I just started a lease on the Polestar 2 LR. Great deal for $299 a month. MSRP for the car is $56k
https://www.polestar.com/us/offers/new/polestar-2-2024-lrdm-lease/

Could I just buy a Camry or Accord for $35k and drive it for 10 years? Yes. But I would spend another $10k on service and maintenance over that time.
My leases come with maintenance included and warranty. Not spending a penny on maintenance.

Even if after running all numbers it would cost me $5k more over 10 years to lease vs buy. It’s totally worth it. Wouldn’t you pay $500 every year to drive a brand new car every three years and not have to deal with maintenance headaches ever?
That’s what I’m doing. It works with the right lease deal.

[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.

Regular people cannot afford that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Audi A3 is $35k. Audi A4 is $45k.

OP here - I wasn't thinking the low end models like A3 or A4. FWIW, I'd much rather get a Rav4 than either of those. My general comment was that I see so many VERY expensive cars on the road and don't quite fathom how there are that many people buying such cars.

It’s pretty easy to lease a car, OP.

And leasing is 99% of time, a really dumb financial decision. But then again, plenty of people buy homes with 5% down that they really cannot afford (and definately don't need), take fancy vacations that they can't afford and don't save enough for college/retirement. Most Americans don't know how to budget and plan

PP here. Of course leasing is a stupid financial decision. But the kinds of vapid morons who drive cars they can’t afford are already financially illiterate so of course they lease.

Literally everyone who leases a car is dumb.

Yup! There is no scenario where it makes financial sense. Some say "its the way to get a new car every 2 years". Well that in and of itself is not smart. Nobody needs a new car every 2 years. Buy and drive for at least 4-5 years minimum.

And yes, many in America are financially illiterate. Most don't get "wants" vs "needs" and how to delay gratification. Kids start in their 20s and want to live just like mom and dad, but don't realize M&D didn't live in that 3K+ luxury home and drive luxury cars when they were 22. We lived in cheap apartments and drove basic cars while we paid off our student loans and saved for our first home.

There are many instances where leasing is the absolute best choice. You have to find the lease deals that make sense.
I have been leasing cars for the past 10 years. My monthly payments on leases are never more than $350. I lease for 3 years then rinse and repeat.
If you do the math on a $350 lease payment, that’s $4200 per year, $42k over 10 years.
I just started a lease on the Polestar 2 LR. Great deal for $299 a month. MSRP for the car is $56k
https://www.polestar.com/us/offers/new/polestar-2-2024-lrdm-lease/

Could I just buy a Camry or Accord for $35k and drive it for 10 years? Yes. But I would spend another $10k on service and maintenance over that time.
My leases come with maintenance included and warranty. Not spending a penny on maintenance.

Even if after running all numbers it would cost me $5k more over 10 years to lease vs buy. It’s totally worth it. Wouldn’t you pay $500 every year to drive a brand new car every three years and not have to deal with maintenance headaches ever?
That’s what I’m doing. It works with the right lease deal.

I can assure you will not spend $10k in service in a Toyo/honda in ten years. Signed - car mechanic

[Anonymous]

To answer OP’s question- they are 20% of Americans. Average vehicle sale price is now $47K and 20% of Americans have a monthly payment over $1000 with average loan length of 70 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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!

Or $50k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Regular people cannot afford that.

It’s regular where I live. All is relative.

[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.

I leased a car recently for the first time and I don’t get this. I asked about pre-paying the lease and there was no advantage. You don’t get any discount. So why wouldn’t you keep the money earning until you have to make the payments?

Then I did end up buying the car at the end with cash, because I like it fine and it was a good deal. But when I did the math, even though the money factor (interest rate basically) had been low, I would have had to make a very high return on the money to come out ahead vs just buying the car with cash in the first place. The only reason I came out okay is that used car prices stayed so high.

[Anonymous]

I make $250K and drive a Z4. It's leased not owned and it's a splurge after a lifetime of driving Toyotas and Hondas.

[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.

That and not actively save for the future. The same people complain "I can't afford to buy a home, or send my kids to college or save for retirement"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Yes, hence why we keep our cars 7-8 years+
Yes you can sell them and they will get used by others, but in reality, it's not environmentally sound to keep buying new cars every 2-3 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Well if the owner is worth 10M+ and makes $800K/year, they can afford it easily. So they might actually have some "sense". Just like to spend their extras on cars

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Well if the owner is worth 10M+ and makes $800K/year, they can afford it easily. So they might actually have some "sense". Just like to spend their extras on cars

I can also afford to buy thousands of pounds of salt, spread it over my neighbors’ yards, and destroy everyone else’s curb appeal except for mine. Just because one can afford to do something doesn’t mean one should do it. Take the high ground for a change.

[Anonymous]

I work in the auto industry. Everything, and I mean everything, revolves around the monthly payment. People actually have no idea what they're paying for their luxury cars. Only what it costs them per month. And sales folks are very very good at getting that number to where it needs to be. Basically, people are dumb.

[Anonymous]

My sister’s kitted out Honda minivan was more than our BMW, Mercedes, and Volvo. The difference is she bought new and we bought used.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Well if the owner is worth 10M+ and makes $800K/year, they can afford it easily. So they might actually have some "sense". Just like to spend their extras on cars

I can also afford to buy thousands of pounds of salt, spread it over my neighbors’ yards, and destroy everyone else’s curb appeal except for mine. Just because one can afford to do something doesn’t mean one should do it. Take the high ground for a change.

Don't be stupid. A car can be driven. Some people like having luxury cars. Others are indifferent. I don't judge.

-- happily drives a Subaru Outback and doesn't think twice about cars.