If you like cars, what is a reasonable car price based on income

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So cars these days are really about status symbols. Cars are so much better and more reliable that when you choose to spend more say over 40K for a new car you are choosing to make a statement rather than anything to do with longevity or performance. In this area, even a Ferrari will be stuck in traffic most of the time, so it becomes your call. Does 10K to 20K matter to you for a better brand? If so, and you can afford, it, why not, as you are basically just trading that brand for a vacation, your call. But if you think there is a strong correlation between how much you pay for a car and whaty ou will get out of it, well that seems totally wrong.

Totally true that all cars are great.

I don’t buy fancy brands anymore. Just not a priority for me at this time.

But, I can understand that someone wants a car they feel good in- particularly if they commute a decent amount.

If you spend two hours of your working day somewhere, it’s not the craziest idea to make it someplace you want to be

[Anonymous]

OP, 8 years is not very old. Why are you replacing them? Are you near 200k miles?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We cars for transportation but we like to drive nice cars not clunkers.
Our current cars are 8 years old and it is time for a replacement.
Our HHI is $300k and we have no debt.
We are looking to replace both cars. We would pay up to $50k for each.
DH thinks that this is reasonable for people in our income range.
Based on most answers here, that doesn’t sound crazy. That’s only 33% of our annual income.

My DH and I both like cars and ours are approx 33% of annual income. But we replace alternately (every 5-6 years) and put a lot down to have a minimal car payment.

Our most recent purchase was a $90k vehicle. $60k down and financed the rest over 2 years. Loan rates are crazy low so not paying a ton of interest.

Anyway, 33% is definitely not crazy. But I’d try to stagger the purchases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So cars these days are really about status symbols. Cars are so much better and more reliable that when you choose to spend more say over 40K for a new car you are choosing to make a statement rather than anything to do with longevity or performance. In this area, even a Ferrari will be stuck in traffic most of the time, so it becomes your call. Does 10K to 20K matter to you for a better brand? If so, and you can afford, it, why not, as you are basically just trading that brand for a vacation, your call. But if you think there is a strong correlation between how much you pay for a car and whaty ou will get out of it, well that seems totally wrong.

Totally true that all cars are great.

I don’t buy fancy brands anymore. Just not a priority for me at this time.

But, I can understand that someone wants a car they feel good in- particularly if they commute a decent amount.

If you spend two hours of your working day somewhere, it’s not the craziest idea to make it someplace you want to be

Not all cars are great. They feel differently, they drive differently. Little things like menus and controls matter too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We cars for transportation but we like to drive nice cars not clunkers.
Our current cars are 8 years old and it is time for a replacement.
Our HHI is $300k and we have no debt.
We are looking to replace both cars. We would pay up to $50k for each.
DH thinks that this is reasonable for people in our income range.
Based on most answers here, that doesn’t sound crazy. That’s only 33% of our annual income.

Please point to the answer that told you 33% of your annual income on cars wasn't crazy. I'll wait.

The correct answer is to stagger your replacements so you don't buy 2 new cars in one year and get cheaper cars -- or at least one fun car/ one reliable unexciting transport car as a compromise.

See Dave Ramsey link. He’s pretty clear about the value if your cars bot exceeding 50% of your income.
This is a good default rule of thumb for starters.

The same link states the car should be purchased in CASH and should never be brand new until assets exceed $1M. Does that describe you OP? You want to spend $100k IN CASH on these two new cars and have at least $1M in assets?

We could pay cash for one car. But we will put $25k down on each.
Cars won’t be brand new. DH likes to buy 1 yo used cars that have already taken the depreciation hit.
Maybe it will make sense to stagger the purchase as others have suggested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So cars these days are really about status symbols. Cars are so much better and more reliable that when you choose to spend more say over 40K for a new car you are choosing to make a statement rather than anything to do with longevity or performance. In this area, even a Ferrari will be stuck in traffic most of the time, so it becomes your call. Does 10K to 20K matter to you for a better brand? If so, and you can afford, it, why not, as you are basically just trading that brand for a vacation, your call. But if you think there is a strong correlation between how much you pay for a car and whaty ou will get out of it, well that seems totally wrong.

Perhaps, but when you factor in the difference over the years of ownership its sometimes easier to swallow. Example, we're looking for an SUV now. My wife wants a Toyota Highlander which would run around $45K. If I wanted something a little higher-end and spent $57K, the extra $12K would be a vacation for a our family of 4. But we also drive our cars for 8 years minimum (SUV we are replacing is 11 yrs old). So $12K over 8 years is $1,500 a year more, which really doesn't put a dent in our budget. Does it cost more, sure, could we have gone on a nice vacation, yes. But we're still going to go on vacation anyway. You may not get more out of the car in terms of transportation and basic comfort, but for some the sportier acceleration/handling, upgraded leather seats, higher quality materials are enjoyable.

[Anonymous]

OP, we have a similar income and have two cars around $50k each that we drive for 8 years. We stagger their purchase so we never have more than one car payment (but could swing two if needed).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We cars for transportation but we like to drive nice cars not clunkers.
Our current cars are 8 years old and it is time for a replacement.
Our HHI is $300k and we have no debt.
We are looking to replace both cars. We would pay up to $50k for each.
DH thinks that this is reasonable for people in our income range.
Based on most answers here, that doesn’t sound crazy. That’s only 33% of our annual income.

Please point to the answer that told you 33% of your annual income on cars wasn't crazy. I'll wait.

The correct answer is to stagger your replacements so you don't buy 2 new cars in one year and get cheaper cars -- or at least one fun car/ one reliable unexciting transport car as a compromise.

See Dave Ramsey link. He’s pretty clear about the value if your cars bot exceeding 50% of your income.
This is a good default rule of thumb for starters.

The same link states the car should be purchased in CASH and should never be brand new until assets exceed $1M. Does that describe you OP? You want to spend $100k IN CASH on these two new cars and have at least $1M in assets?

We could pay cash for one car. But we will put $25k down on each.
Cars won’t be brand new. DH likes to buy 1 yo used cars that have already taken the depreciation hit.
Maybe it will make sense to stagger the purchase as others have suggested.

This is a terrible strategy for some brands. Which ones are you looking at?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Silly premise.

If you like cars, then it is no longer transportation; it is a hobby. You spend on it whatever disposable income you have available to support your hobbies. For some, that might be travel/vacations, for others it might be expensive photography equipment, for others it might be a horse, for others it might be fine art, for others it might be a boat. If I spend $30k a year on vacations, and you spend $30k a year on an exotic automobile, does it really matter? We could both be making $200k - I'll be in Europe for a month, and you'll be driving around in a leased Lamborghini.

This is exactly right. I am firmly in the "spend no more money than basic transportation" camp, but I also know that everyone has different priorities. That $12,000 I spent going to Italy, and the $8000 we'll spend on a ski vacation easily could have gone towards nice cars. As long as you are (and I am) making sould financial decisions in other areas of our lives - savings, limited debt, retirement, 529s, etc. - what business is it of anyone's how we spend our disposable income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silly premise.

If you like cars, then it is no longer transportation; it is a hobby. You spend on it whatever disposable income you have available to support your hobbies. For some, that might be travel/vacations, for others it might be expensive photography equipment, for others it might be a horse, for others it might be fine art, for others it might be a boat. If I spend $30k a year on vacations, and you spend $30k a year on an exotic automobile, does it really matter? We could both be making $200k - I'll be in Europe for a month, and you'll be driving around in a leased Lamborghini.

This is exactly right. I am firmly in the "spend no more money than basic transportation" camp, but I also know that everyone has different priorities. That $12,000 I spent going to Italy, and the $8000 we'll spend on a ski vacation easily could have gone towards nice cars. As long as you are (and I am) making sould financial decisions in other areas of our lives - savings, limited debt, retirement, 529s, etc. - what business is it of anyone's how we spend our disposable income.

Interesting that you omit charity from your list of "sound financial decisions."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Silly premise.

If you like cars, then it is no longer transportation; it is a hobby. You spend on it whatever disposable income you have available to support your hobbies. For some, that might be travel/vacations, for others it might be expensive photography equipment, for others it might be a horse, for others it might be fine art, for others it might be a boat. If I spend $30k a year on vacations, and you spend $30k a year on an exotic automobile, does it really matter? We could both be making $200k - I'll be in Europe for a month, and you'll be driving around in a leased Lamborghini.

This is exactly right. I am firmly in the "spend no more money than basic transportation" camp, but I also know that everyone has different priorities. That $12,000 I spent going to Italy, and the $8000 we'll spend on a ski vacation easily could have gone towards nice cars. As long as you are (and I am) making sould financial decisions in other areas of our lives - savings, limited debt, retirement, 529s, etc. - what business is it of anyone's how we spend our disposable income.

Interesting that you omit charity from your list of "sound financial decisions."

Is it interesting, really? In this context? That is your criticism with my point?

Are you suggesting that it is irresponsible to buy a more expensive car if you don't contribute an equivalent amount to charity?

Or are you a nudge who just likes beating this drum, on (what I am sure are) repeated occasions?

[Anonymous]

No more than 10% of household income before taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No more than 10% of household income before taxes.

+1. Just because there are a lot of poors running around this area putting on airs with their luxury cars doesn't make it a smart thing to do. Where the poors really shoot themselves in the foot is when they buy 2 luxury cars and then a mcmansion for more than 3x HHI.

[Anonymous]

My new neighbor just paid 600K for a house. They have two BMW. I would think 2 BMWs would mean they can buy more expensive house, but maybe they just like cars and bought less of a house? Or had money saved? Or they can't afford more of a house because their car payments are a lot? Who knows, people who like cars find excuses to get the cars they like, I suppose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My new neighbor just paid 600K for a house. They have two BMW. I would think 2 BMWs would mean they can buy more expensive house, but maybe they just like cars and bought less of a house? Or had money saved? Or they can't afford more of a house because their car payments are a lot? Who knows, people who like cars find excuses to get the cars they like, I suppose.

Agree. IMHO, that's a priority problem and probably an outward sign that you are dealing with a poor trying to put on airs. I'd rather have a Honda and a Toyota and not live in a shit shack. Is this in Ashburn? Sounds typical for Ashburn. Almost a requirement to move there.