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

[Anonymous]

This thread feels like it’s being fed by an insecure luxury brand car salesman who is desperately trying to convince the more frugal UMC and Lower/Moderate Upper Class DCUMers to abandon their Toyotas, Hondas, and Subarus to something fancier (hopefully at his dealership).

Definitely hasn’t convinced me - not even close - but have fun carrying on. Meanwhile, I’ll keep enjoying funneling funds into additional investments, while I’m planning my early retirement. (While driving a car that comfortably and reliably gets me where I need to go.)

[Anonymous]

If my driving a Honda makes others think I am not actually well off (because if I were of course I’d drive a luxury car!) then that is a feature not a bug.

Some people simply cannot fathom that not all of us need to display our wealth for others. If you think I’m lying, I don’t care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If my driving a Honda makes others think I am not actually well off (because if I were of course I’d drive a luxury car!) then that is a feature not a bug.

Some people simply cannot fathom that not all of us need to display our wealth for others. If you think I’m lying, I don’t care.

Nobody cares about you displaying wealth or not, but you - the Japanese car crowd on this thread that is - do care about other people displaying wealth, and about pointing out that people driving certain cars are faking wealth or making bad financial decisions. I don't think anyone has disputed that buying a Honda or Toyota is a fine financial decision, but it's silly to affirm that not driving these cars means anything about a person's situation.

[Anonymous]

If you’re fine driving an economy vehicle, do you man. But stop acting like you’re better for it. Loser behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread feels like it’s being fed by an insecure luxury brand car salesman who is desperately trying to convince the more frugal UMC and Lower/Moderate Upper Class DCUMers to abandon their Toyotas, Hondas, and Subarus to something fancier (hopefully at his dealership).

Definitely hasn’t convinced me - not even close - but have fun carrying on. Meanwhile, I’ll keep enjoying funneling funds into additional investments, while I’m planning my early retirement. (While driving a car that comfortably and reliably gets me where I need to go.)

This

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a boomer-ism and very much an 80s and 90s-ism to drive a crummy car. Look at movies like "Something About Mary" (1998). Mary drove a new Dodge Durango; a fine SUV but certainly not flashy or luxury. The male characters all drove crummy old Chrysler, Chevy, and Ford economy cars. It was normal to drive crummy cars when the cost of living was cheap. Now-a-days it's unheard of for a successful family to have any clunkers in the driveway.

Source:
https://www.imcdb.org/m129387.html

I went down a rabbit hole. 2000s pop culture seemed to help make new luxury cars more mainstream.

Final season of The Sopranos (2007) the dad is driving a new Cadillac Escalade, mom is driving a new Porsche Cayenne, son is driving a new BMW M3, and daughter is driving a new Lexus IS.

Mean Girls (2004) the wealthy cool mom drives a new BMW X5, one of the girls drives a new Cadillac Escalade, and Regina drives a new Lexus SC convertible.

Keeping up with the Kardashians (2007-2021) famously made the Land Rover Range Rover and especially the Mercedes G-Wagon their unofficial cars.

The OC (2003-2007) Seth’s parents drove a new Land Rover Range Rover and BMW 7-Series, the main girls drove new BMWs and a new Ford Mustang convertible, Seth's grandpa drove new Aston Martins and Bentleys.

This is because around 2000 car companies started really getting in on sponsorship of tv shows, both regular and reality. All of those wb tv shows and mtv reality shows started getting car brand and dealership sponsors, along with sponsors for everything else.

[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.

The Millionaire Next Door drives an F-150.

Have you priced an F-150 at a higher trim level? Not cheap at the top trim levels or trim packages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re fine driving an economy vehicle, do you man. But stop acting like you’re better for it. Loser behavior.

Everyone I know who claimed to be like this went out and bought nice new cars when they got a major promotion or inherited a large sum. It's impossible to live in an UMC area and not want a nice vehicle. Even if the man of the house remains low-key, the wife and kids won't be. When a wife spends hundreds of days in the drop off and pickup line seeing all of the other mums in Land Rovers, Audis, and Rivians, she's going to want one too. Nobody wants to stick out like they're some hick from the other side of the tracks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re fine driving an economy vehicle, do you man. But stop acting like you’re better for it. Loser behavior.

Everyone I know who claimed to be like this went out and bought nice new cars when they got a major promotion or inherited a large sum. It's impossible to live in an UMC area and not want a nice vehicle. Even if the man of the house remains low-key, the wife and kids won't be. When a wife spends hundreds of days in the drop off and pickup line seeing all of the other mums in Land Rovers, Audis, and Rivians, she's going to want one too. Nobody wants to stick out like they're some hick from the other side of the tracks.

This thread is really off base. First -- everyone should just do what they want. But the first question is what do you mean by wealthy? Do you mean the millionaire next door? Someone who is UMC but does not make 250k plus a year but lives modestly and builds a lot of money by investing wisely. If yes then I think these people do buy nice cars -- not overly expensive and practical and they keep them until the car dies. They buy the Japanese cars people list above. If by wealthy you mean the professionals in the 250-500k zone --- most buy nice and more expensive cars and they do not keep them until they die. If by wealthy do you mean the higher end doctor, big law partner, PE firm partner, investment firm partner. then the answer is that they buy nicer cars -- not all but most. Some pretend to be frugal and drive a Toyota. But most do not. Even the ones with the cheaper cars, their partners drive a BMW or Mercedes and their kids have jeeps or broncos. Wealthy is not one thing. The big law partner buying the Mercedes is also saving 150k plus a year for retirement plus other savings and buys the car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re fine driving an economy vehicle, do you man. But stop acting like you’re better for it. Loser behavior.

Everyone I know who claimed to be like this went out and bought nice new cars when they got a major promotion or inherited a large sum. It's impossible to live in an UMC area and not want a nice vehicle. Even if the man of the house remains low-key, the wife and kids won't be. When a wife spends hundreds of days in the drop off and pickup line seeing all of the other mums in Land Rovers, Audis, and Rivians, she's going to want one too. Nobody wants to stick out like they're some hick from the other side of the tracks.

Correlation not causation. We’ve already explained to you the private school crowd are a self-selecting bunch. It doesn’t make them richer, just snobbier.

[Anonymous]

In our 20s we always had one nice car and one on its last legs. The tax account told us that was pretty common and the women had the nice car and the men had the old beater. So funny.

[Anonymous]

For sure wealthy people drive nice cars... I have my nice car that I use on weekends or outings... and I have a regular car that I use for commuting to take the wear and tear and mileage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread feels like it’s being fed by an insecure luxury brand car salesman who is desperately trying to convince the more frugal UMC and Lower/Moderate Upper Class DCUMers to abandon their Toyotas, Hondas, and Subarus to something fancier (hopefully at his dealership).

Definitely hasn’t convinced me - not even close - but have fun carrying on. Meanwhile, I’ll keep enjoying funneling funds into additional investments, while I’m planning my early retirement. (While driving a car that comfortably and reliably gets me where I need to go.)

+1. And Hondas and Toyotas with a reasonable trim level are plenty comfortable. No need for Acura or Lexus or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re fine driving an economy vehicle, do you man. But stop acting like you’re better for it. Loser behavior.

Everyone I know who claimed to be like this went out and bought nice new cars when they got a major promotion or inherited a large sum. It's impossible to live in an UMC area and not want a nice vehicle. Even if the man of the house remains low-key, the wife and kids won't be. When a wife spends hundreds of days in the drop off and pickup line seeing all of the other mums in Land Rovers, Audis, and Rivians, she's going to want one too. Nobody wants to stick out like they're some hick from the other side of the tracks.

My parents live in an enviable nice house in a neighborhood that usually makes the top 20 list of neighborhoods in the country. The country, not NoVa. Dad drives a 1990s era pick up truck. Mom has a decade old Dodge. Then again, mom has a science degree and doesn't care what the neighbors think because she doesn't think they are capable of thinking. She does make an effort to be mildly polite. Some people really have a radical disinterest in fitting in. Then again, that is hard for the fit-in crowd to understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread feels like it’s being fed by an insecure luxury brand car salesman who is desperately trying to convince the more frugal UMC and Lower/Moderate Upper Class DCUMers to abandon their Toyotas, Hondas, and Subarus to something fancier (hopefully at his dealership).

Definitely hasn’t convinced me - not even close - but have fun carrying on. Meanwhile, I’ll keep enjoying funneling funds into additional investments, while I’m planning my early retirement. (While driving a car that comfortably and reliably gets me where I need to go.)

You just admitted you aren’t wealthy…not sure why you commented.