Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make less than third and have a pricy car. OP, I doubt you will return to respond to follow up questions despite asking.

How old are ou guys and what’s your net worth?

OP here - We are early/mid 40s. I haven't calculated net worth before, but if you include 401ks, Id say over 1M.

At that age and with that income trajectory, you should have much more than $1M NW. So it would seem you have a spending issue. You spend on lots of other things, but could easily budget/save and afford a nicer car if it mattered to you

For us, we like driving nice cars. We can afford it, so we do it. We also keep them at least 7-8 years (sometimes 10+) and we pay cash.

Anonymous wrote:Leasing can offer some pretty good deals. Then the cars come off lease and are sold for 50% of the cost. Luxury cars don’t have to be super expensive if you play the system.

There are a lot of “car guys” in this area, particularly if they come from part of the world where wealthy only drive BMWs and Mercedes.

This is satire, right? Please tell me this is satire.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Audi A3 is $35k. Audi A4 is $45k.

OP here - I wasn't thinking the low end models like A3 or A4. FWIW, I'd much rather get a Rav4 than either of those. My general comment was that I see so many VERY expensive cars on the road and don't quite fathom how there are that many people buying such cars.

Many are probably stretching themselves thin, like many do for everything in life, to "keep up with the joneses"

Some are probably just fiscally smart. We were making only $250K and bought our first vehicle with cash for $40K at age 30. Once we did that, it was easy in 8 years for us to pay cash for a $55K vehicle (got $18K for the 8 yo car at CarMax)---you just keep saving $400-500/month in your "car fund" So basically budgeting and living within your means for everything and including savings for retirement, college and other stuff in your functioning budget

Anonymous wrote:I live in the city and there are no pricey cars here. The rich don't need to flex and the poor take a bus or drive old Japanese cars.
There are people who feel warm and fuzzy driving luxury cars and there are people who don't really care what they drive. I have other things to make me feel warm and fuzzy.
Luxury car would not add to my happiness, quite the opposite. If one believes it adds to their happiness, it's money well spent.

This is very well put. I feel the same way as you, and OP, but there also are plenty of things I spend frivolously on that make me happy. As long as they fit within the budget, to each their own.

OP has 600K+ HHI, kids in public school, and can’t bear to spend 60K on a car?

You can afford these cars though. You just don't want to, and that's fine. There are plenty of other people who can afford them and do want them, and then there are people who can't afford them and still want them. That's why you see so many.

^ this

Leased

Anonymous wrote:If you cannot afford it you have a spending issue. I doubt your house is modest. We make less than a third you do and I have a pricy car I paid cash for.

+1. You could buy an expensive car in cash and still have my entire HHI leftover (which is plenty to live on).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Audi A3 is $35k. Audi A4 is $45k.

OP here - I wasn't thinking the low end models like A3 or A4. FWIW, I'd much rather get a Rav4 than either of those. My general comment was that I see so many VERY expensive cars on the road and don't quite fathom how there are that many people buying such cars.

It’s pretty easy to lease a car, OP.

OP is worrying about spending 10% of his annual income on a nice new car? Which he can drive for 10 years without a problem?

A lot of cars are financed, too. And, there are also defaults.

The short answer is that Americans spend a ton of money on cars. The average household spends 33% of their take home income on housing, 17% on cars, and 13% on food.

So overall, people spend more on cars than FOOD each month. Seems messed up to me, but that's how folks craft their budgets.

Breaking news at 11! People are just bad with money. They have it so they spend it. They don’t think long term.

Leasing can offer some pretty good deals. Then the cars come off lease and are sold for 50% of the cost. Luxury cars don’t have to be super expensive if you play the system.

There are a lot of “car guys” in this area, particularly if they come from part of the world where wealthy only drive BMWs and Mercedes.