Do you know any wealthy people who actually drive low-key cheap cars?

[Anonymous]

We're middle class edu admins driving boring middle class cars. I'm not just a schmuck who pretends moneyed class are driving old beaters or that all the folks in $75k cars are over-extended ( ). Rich couldn't care less about an $800 to 1300 month lease payment. To the average surgeon, that's all of 15 minutes of work. To a business owner, it's not even a blip on the books. To an executive, it's probably paid by the company with a car stipend. Most rich wouldn't be caught dead in something old, cheap and plastic. And I'm not just talking about showy rich either. Rich, in general. Even the "low-key" rich no-makeup SAHM with a BA from Trinity who wears sneakers and Patagonia everywhere typically drives a new Tesla, Audi Q7 or GLS Mercedes...or loaded Tahoe or Volvo XC90 at the lower-end.

[Anonymous]

Toyota has a special place among A certain group of rich, especially in my hometown (SF area). I know a lot rich people who are just “being practical and buying this year’s Camry” which is a way of showing how low key you are when they’re buying the top trim Camry which has over 300 hp, costs more than some Lexus models when all is said and done, etc. There’s also The ubiquitous priuses zipping around.

[Anonymous]

ok ...i will admit, i am a terrible driver. Parking is my weakness. Every car I have ever bought has front and rear bumper scratches, dents, etc. I drive a 2017 Kia Sorrento. That car was great looking before it met me. Now it drives great, but is scratched and dented in many places. I could afford any car but why would I? I know my limitations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ok ...i will admit, i am a terrible driver. Parking is my weakness. Every car I have ever bought has front and rear bumper scratches, dents, etc. I drive a 2017 Kia Sorrento. That car was great looking before it met me. Now it drives great, but is scratched and dented in many places. I could afford any car but why would I? I know my limitations.

I like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So for all the people calling BMW/Audi/Mercedes "striver" cars, please tell me what brand of car I should be driving if I want 0-60 in 4 seconds or less and need 5 seats. And don't say Tesla because that's a nerd car. The reality is, there basically ARE no cars with more than 2 usable seats and 2 barely usable seats (e.g. porsche 911) that hit 0-60 in sub 4 seconds that are not either a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes. Maserati and Jaguar do not have any such cars. Although there is a Maserati SUV and lambo SUV but those are SUVs, not cars.

Panamera fits your criteria. I don't think the type of people being discussed here would drive an M550i/M5 or E53/E63.

It is the people who think their mass-market X3/X5 makes them part of an elite group known as "rich". And then anyone who prefers a top-trim Chevy Suburban over a plasticky 4-cylinder X3 must be middle-class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So for all the people calling BMW/Audi/Mercedes "striver" cars, please tell me what brand of car I should be driving if I want 0-60 in 4 seconds or less and need 5 seats. And don't say Tesla because that's a nerd car. The reality is, there basically ARE no cars with more than 2 usable seats and 2 barely usable seats (e.g. porsche 911) that hit 0-60 in sub 4 seconds that are not either a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes. Maserati and Jaguar do not have any such cars. Although there is a Maserati SUV and lambo SUV but those are SUVs, not cars.

Panamera fits your criteria. I don't think the type of people being discussed here would drive an M550i/M5 or E53/E63.

It is the people who think their mass-market X3/X5 makes them part of an elite group known as "rich". And then anyone who prefers a top-trim Chevy Suburban over a plasticky 4-cylinder X3 must be middle-class.

Ah ok I get it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're middle class edu admins driving boring middle class cars. I'm not just a schmuck who pretends moneyed class are driving old beaters or that all the folks in $75k cars are over-extended ( ). Rich couldn't care less about an $800 to 1300 month lease payment. To the average surgeon, that's all of 15 minutes of work. To a business owner, it's not even a blip on the books. To an executive, it's probably paid by the company with a car stipend. Most rich wouldn't be caught dead in something old, cheap and plastic. And I'm not just talking about showy rich either. Rich, in general. Even the "low-key" rich no-makeup SAHM with a BA from Trinity who wears sneakers and Patagonia everywhere typically drives a new Tesla, Audi Q7 or GLS Mercedes...or loaded Tahoe or Volvo XC90 at the lower-end.

If they are that rich, they should be paying cash. We are middle class for DC and just paid cash no issue for a $40K car. We saved for years and kept our old car going as long as we could till I wasn't feeling safe driving it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're middle class edu admins driving boring middle class cars. I'm not just a schmuck who pretends moneyed class are driving old beaters or that all the folks in $75k cars are over-extended ( ). Rich couldn't care less about an $800 to 1300 month lease payment. To the average surgeon, that's all of 15 minutes of work. To a business owner, it's not even a blip on the books. To an executive, it's probably paid by the company with a car stipend. Most rich wouldn't be caught dead in something old, cheap and plastic. And I'm not just talking about showy rich either. Rich, in general. Even the "low-key" rich no-makeup SAHM with a BA from Trinity who wears sneakers and Patagonia everywhere typically drives a new Tesla, Audi Q7 or GLS Mercedes...or loaded Tahoe or Volvo XC90 at the lower-end.

And what if a surgeon or small business owner doesn't drive one of these 3 cars? Does your head explode?

[Anonymous]

My late father. Over 1.5 million net worth, loved working and bought himself a base model Camry that he used as a commuter car. Drove that thing for a decade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole post is nuts and full of delusional people. If rich people aren't buying expensive cars then who is buying them? Manufacturers aren't making these cars to look at, they make them to SELL. SOMEONE is buying and driving these cars and it's not Joe or Jane Blow middle class because they can't afford a six-figure car, they can barely afford a six-figure house.

The vast majority are lease. There are people who have a ton of money and $1300/month to lease a new RR is a rounding error, but there are many more who drive cars they can’t afford and wealthy people who don’t give a crap about cars and drive their F150/Silverado/highlander into the ground. The OP’s hypothesis that there is some sort of automatic correlation between driving a mass-produced middle class striver car like Audi/BMW/Mercedes and wealth is tenuous at best.

A lot of the newer F150s and Silverados being sold are being marketed as 70,000 dollar family haulers (competing with Land Rover, etc) and as haulers for expensive toys like boats and horses.

Don't forget fifth wheel campers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're middle class edu admins driving boring middle class cars. I'm not just a schmuck who pretends moneyed class are driving old beaters or that all the folks in $75k cars are over-extended ( ). Rich couldn't care less about an $800 to 1300 month lease payment. To the average surgeon, that's all of 15 minutes of work. To a business owner, it's not even a blip on the books. To an executive, it's probably paid by the company with a car stipend. Most rich wouldn't be caught dead in something old, cheap and plastic. And I'm not just talking about showy rich either. Rich, in general. Even the "low-key" rich no-makeup SAHM with a BA from Trinity who wears sneakers and Patagonia everywhere typically drives a new Tesla, Audi Q7 or GLS Mercedes...or loaded Tahoe or Volvo XC90 at the lower-end.

And what if a surgeon or small business owner doesn't drive one of these 3 cars? Does your head explode?

+1

Nailed it. So clueless.

[Anonymous]

People buy cars they can’t afford and people buy cars that are cheap for them.

A lot of people also segment by brand/Model with income. Dc has a fair amount of conformist behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole post is nuts and full of delusional people. If rich people aren't buying expensive cars then who is buying them? Manufacturers aren't making these cars to look at, they make them to SELL. SOMEONE is buying and driving these cars and it's not Joe or Jane Blow middle class because they can't afford a six-figure car, they can barely afford a six-figure house.

The vast majority are lease. There are people who have a ton of money and $1300/month to lease a new RR is a rounding error, but there are many more who drive cars they can’t afford and wealthy people who don’t give a crap about cars and drive their F150/Silverado/highlander into the ground. The OP’s hypothesis that there is some sort of automatic correlation between driving a mass-produced middle class striver car like Audi/BMW/Mercedes and wealth is tenuous at best.

A lot of the newer F150s and Silverados being sold are being marketed as 70,000 dollar family haulers (competing with Land Rover, etc) and as haulers for expensive toys like boats and horses.

Don't forget fifth wheel campers.

The expensive toys are endless. I’ve heard execs at my company with trucks say things like “our boat is too big to haul with anything besides a truck, it’s too big for a SUV” and “the truck is a godsend now that we have lacrosse and riding gear to transport for the kids! And if Larla gets her own horse, we’re covered!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're middle class edu admins driving boring middle class cars. I'm not just a schmuck who pretends moneyed class are driving old beaters or that all the folks in $75k cars are over-extended ( ). Rich couldn't care less about an $800 to 1300 month lease payment. To the average surgeon, that's all of 15 minutes of work. To a business owner, it's not even a blip on the books. To an executive, it's probably paid by the company with a car stipend. Most rich wouldn't be caught dead in something old, cheap and plastic. And I'm not just talking about showy rich either. Rich, in general. Even the "low-key" rich no-makeup SAHM with a BA from Trinity who wears sneakers and Patagonia everywhere typically drives a new Tesla, Audi Q7 or GLS Mercedes...or loaded Tahoe or Volvo XC90 at the lower-end.

And what if a surgeon or small business owner doesn't drive one of these 3 cars? Does your head explode?

Surgeons -- especially dental surgeons -- are incredibly pretentious. New Audi A5 sedan is the cheapest car I see surgeons in our nabe driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're middle class edu admins driving boring middle class cars. I'm not just a schmuck who pretends moneyed class are driving old beaters or that all the folks in $75k cars are over-extended ( ). Rich couldn't care less about an $800 to 1300 month lease payment. To the average surgeon, that's all of 15 minutes of work. To a business owner, it's not even a blip on the books. To an executive, it's probably paid by the company with a car stipend. Most rich wouldn't be caught dead in something old, cheap and plastic. And I'm not just talking about showy rich either. Rich, in general. Even the "low-key" rich no-makeup SAHM with a BA from Trinity who wears sneakers and Patagonia everywhere typically drives a new Tesla, Audi Q7 or GLS Mercedes...or loaded Tahoe or Volvo XC90 at the lower-end.

And what if a surgeon or small business owner doesn't drive one of these 3 cars? Does your head explode?

Surgeons -- especially dental surgeons -- are incredibly pretentious. New Audi A5 sedan is the cheapest car I see surgeons in our nabe driving.

Well the A5 is a coupe but maybe the surgeons you work with are so rich they can commission one-off cars from VW group and have them put run of the mill badges on the hood?