Reply to how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Funny, I have a similar dilemma. I have an 11-year old Mazda Protege5 and $35K in cash (after emergency fund, college savings, 401K etc) to spend on a car. I thought I'd buy Lexus CT - efficient and reliable hatchback with a little bit of a status. And then I saw Mazda3 hatchback and totally fell in love. The design, the sporty handling, the stick! And it's half the price of Lexus. Or... is the price really a positive? That's my dilemma.  Should I buy the more expensive car for status (I'm pushing forty and we do have a 200+ HHI) or stick with the car I love and have some money left over?  I never even thought I would be in this position, but here it goes - status is an important factor in buying a car, even for people like myself who have long managed to disregard it. [/quote]

On the road, nobody cares if you drive a Mazda or Lexus. Your friends or families might talk about it for 5 min, then forget about it and go on with their lives. Buy whatever you like to please yourself.[/quote]
But it isn't just family or friends. When you pull into the parking lot at Balducci's/dentist/school parking lot people look at your vehicle and draw conclusions regarding your financial status. It's immediate and instinctive.  People assume you have more money if they see you drive a  luxury car than a cheap efficient one - they'll never know whether you leased your car or bought it for cash. And they take you more seriously if they think you have more money.  Question is - what kind of impression do I want to make on people I don't even know and is it important enough to sacrifice my true preference (and 15K!) for it?[/quote]

True.  When I see the luxury cars I think to myself-they are broke, when I see a beater I think-I bet you they are sitting on a bunch of cash and are in a great financial position.[/quote]

Really, I think the opposite. Lol.[/quote]
Agree. Hence the dilemma.[/quote]

What is the dilemma? Who cares WTF anyone thinks of the car you drive? and even if you do care, you obviously can't control what message people are receiving, as the two totally different reactions above indicate. So there is no point to worrying about it. Which means, there is no dilemma.[/quote]

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