Where does this notion come from that wealthy people don't drive nice cars?

[Anonymous]

Obviously not 100% true, but I know examples who fit this trope. We make $2M/year. We drive an old and basic model VW Atlas and a minivan. My neighbors and my best friend are both super extended (money stress has come up multiple times in multiple ways with them). They have huge mortgages and private school but lease new luxury cars. So my sample size of 3 fits!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree. I think DMV is very different than anywhere else in the country. There is a very real “millionaire next door” attitude, dating back to waspy ambitions.

Nearly everywhere else in the country, affluent Americans are driving nice cars.

+1 DC money is not showy and is more likely to be expressed in private school tuition and fancy vacations. This is not Miami or LA where people like to show off their expensive sports cars.

[Anonymous]

I live in Cap Hill. I bumped into a guy who was visiting from India for work and was looking around the neighborhood on behalf of a friend who planned to move to DC. He asked about housing prices, and I told him - mostly in the $1-$1.5 million range in our area. He looked at me, looked at the cars parked on the street - mostly Hondas and such - and said, "In India, people who pay that much for a house would all have much fancier cars."

So yes, especially in certain neighborhoods, there are people who spend a much lower percentage of income on cars than they could afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The humble millionaire next door seems like nonsense to me; rich people are not driving 25 year old Volvo station wagons. And everyone with a nice new luxury car obviously isn't broke and overextended. I'm currently in a swank town and every car is a new Range Rover, Porsche crossover, Tesla, or Audi-BMW-Mercedes (they all look alike). The worst car I see are new Chevrolet Tahoes, which are like 80 grand. If that humble old money thing ever existed, it certainly doesn't anymore.

I would kill for a 25 year old Volvo station wagon.

Rich folks can afford anything. But the car manufacturers all produce indistinguishable crap today. If you have a decent vehicle now, there is zero reason to buy something new today. And don't even get me started on the people that choose Range Rovers or Jeeps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you even read the millionaire next door? Most drive honda's. The poorest people I know drive "nicer" cars, the multimillionaires myself included drive honda's, toyota's, nissan's. Poorer people tend to fake the funk and think that they're fooling people.

This is definitely not my experience. The multimillionaires I know don’t drive Ferraris, but they do drive a lot of BMW, Mercedes, Audi and nice three row SUVs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you even read the millionaire next door? Most drive honda's. The poorest people I know drive "nicer" cars, the multimillionaires myself included drive honda's, toyota's, nissan's. Poorer people tend to fake the funk and think that they're fooling people.

Oy vey. Nothing screams midwit prole Dave Ramsay listener like citing a conman’s book.

[Anonymous]

Drive to the rough areas around here. Go to a cheap apartment complex and note the cars you see. Even better if you find a complex that takes section 8 housing vouchers. FYI You will not see old beat up cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you even read the millionaire next door? Most drive honda's. The poorest people I know drive "nicer" cars, the multimillionaires myself included drive honda's, toyota's, nissan's. Poorer people tend to fake the funk and think that they're fooling people.

Oy vey. Nothing screams midwit prole Dave Ramsay listener like citing a conman’s book.

OOPS You're jealousy is showing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. I think DMV is very different than anywhere else in the country. There is a very real “millionaire next door” attitude, dating back to waspy ambitions.

Nearly everywhere else in the country, affluent Americans are driving nice cars.

+1 DC money is not showy and is more likely to be expressed in private school tuition and fancy vacations. This is not Miami or LA where people like to show off their expensive sports cars.

Agree. DC money is very quiet compared to other areas of the country. You won't ever know money here out on the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Drive to the rough areas around here. Go to a cheap apartment complex and note the cars you see. Even better if you find a complex that takes section 8 housing vouchers. FYI You will not see old beat up cars.

This. I used to work for a public housing agency and you wouldn't believe the cars that drove up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Drive to the rough areas around here. Go to a cheap apartment complex and note the cars you see. Even better if you find a complex that takes section 8 housing vouchers. FYI You will not see old beat up cars.

Can you even name a "rough area"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I don't exist then. I am sure I am not the only person to drive a 20 year old entry-point Japanese sedan while my stock portfolio has ballooned to 20M. I think it depends on what sort of wealth you're talking about: if it comes from salary, and people are surrounded by others with the same salary, that's going to lead to visible signs of wealth. But if they made their money in a more discreet way and do not socialize with others who have that level of wealth (or who like them chose not to display it)... then it leads to driving a dinged up Corolla.

Can you even access that money without major tax implications?

I spend the dividends, and have occasionally paid taxes to sell a bit of capital. You're right that I'm careful about selling stocks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you even read the millionaire next door? Most drive honda's. The poorest people I know drive "nicer" cars, the multimillionaires myself included drive honda's, toyota's, nissan's. Poorer people tend to fake the funk and think that they're fooling people.

This is definitely not my experience. The multimillionaires I know don’t drive Ferraris, but they do drive a lot of BMW, Mercedes, Audi and nice three row SUVs.

Same. And these are not that expensive anyway. It's not like paying 65k v. 35k makes any difference at that level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you even read the millionaire next door? Most drive honda's. The poorest people I know drive "nicer" cars, the multimillionaires myself included drive honda's, toyota's, nissan's. Poorer people tend to fake the funk and think that they're fooling people.

Oy vey. Nothing screams midwit prole Dave Ramsay listener like citing a conman’s book.

Dave Ramsey didn’t write that book

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Drive to the rough areas around here. Go to a cheap apartment complex and note the cars you see. Even better if you find a complex that takes section 8 housing vouchers. FYI You will not see old beat up cars.

This is not true at all. There are exceptions of course but luxury vehicles are quite rare in low income communities.