Anonymous
Post 01/08/2014 06:44     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
How do you think rich people stay rich? It's not by purchasing expensive depreciating assets.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2014 05:53     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
Not a fan of buying used, although I know that's smarter financially. But I'm not a fan of being left stranded either. If it's new, I know it's maintenance and repair history for sure.

I bought a two year old car once, and even though I was religious about changing oil every 3,000 miles, the car died at 90,000 miles. The prior owner had "never" changed the oil. The engine was history. Dumbest purchase of my life ever.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2014 05:46     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I would never buy a $40K car. You can get a great car for half that.


I wouldn't either but then I only want to impress myself. My last vehicle I bought for cash. Paid off beats any brand or status.

+1!


I wouldn't either but I think its obnoxious to assume that the sole reason to buy an expensive car is to impress others. They are also on average more fun to drive, have more amenities, and are safer.


They aren't safer.
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2014 05:37     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I would never buy a $40K car. You can get a great car for half that.


I wouldn't either but then I only want to impress myself. My last vehicle I bought for cash. Paid off beats any brand or status.

+1!


+1. People should ONLY buy cars in cash. If you can't afford it, you can't afford a new car.


Why? If it's 0% interest why not invest the money elsewhere?
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2014 01:57     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
Anonymous wrote:Our HHI is probably in the $400Ks, but until I catch up on college savings, put a bit more away in other savings and as long as my old cars still run, just cannot see it. It would save me a good deal in gas if I bought a car with 30+mpg though ...

It's more like your HHI is 40k to ask this kind of silly question (don't mean to knock on those with low HHI).
Anonymous
Post 01/08/2014 00:16     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We are at 250k and I am never buying a new car again. DH bought a used car at my urging this year and I can't get over how he paid 17k to essentially have the same car his sister paid 45k+ for just by getting it a few years older.


Biut wouldn't market prices already reflect that? We looked at slightly used cars many times and they were always very expensive. As a potential buyer, I really never saw that precipitous drop in price that supposedly happens the moment you buy a new car.


The market probably does partially account for this, but I think that there's a near-universal overvaluing of brand new things, so the price drop from brand new to one year old is larger than the decrease in intrinsic value of the object, so I think the market would behave somewhat irrationally here.

But honestly, the primary reason the "buy a slightly old car and drive it into the ground" advice works is the second half of that advice. Driving a car into the ground saves a lot of money, even accounting the increasing cost of repair. That savings is larger than the price difference between "brand new" and "slightly used."

That is to say, if your only two options were:

1. Buy a brand new car and drive it into the ground; or
2. Finance a used car and replace it after a few years,

then the more economical choice is option #1.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2014 22:06     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
under no circumstances would i buy a 40k car. it is not about how much i can spend on a car, but on how much value a car inherently has.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2014 21:55     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We are at 250k and I am never buying a new car again. DH bought a used car at my urging this year and I can't get over how he paid 17k to essentially have the same car his sister paid 45k+ for just by getting it a few years older.


this just dawned on you????


But he lost years of driving it?
How many miles when he bought?
He lost all that drivability.
Plus, his years of ownership will have more years of repairs.

You urged him to guy the same car as his sister, competitive much?
Oh, wait, you lose. You bought the OLD car.


The research is pretty overwhelming that if your sole goal is to minimize cost, buying a slightly used car and driving it into the ground is the most economical.


Oh I agree slightly used, but what she describes is likely not.
A car that is 45K plus, doesn't go for 17K after 2 years lol.


Its not the identical make / model but both are SUVs with near identical specs. and its not 2 years - try closer to 5/6. But for a car with low mileage that we'll drive into the ground, a good call IMO. And sure, we know there will be more repairs, etc. The point is I'm not willing to pay 30k more to avoid the potential pitfalls PP describes.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2014 21:38     Subject: Re:how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
Anonymous wrote:If you supposedly can't afford 40k on your income, I am wondering who drives all those expensive cars?

This thread, like so many others (making 500k while living paycheck to paycheck and wearing hand me downs) is just so much BS. People are like counting every penny while getting ready to spend 5 million dollars in tuition for some worthless degree 15 years down the road.

We make 150k and will be buying BMW X5 when our old car dies. We can buy it for cash several times over but we would never do it, certainly not with these interest rates. Our old car is 10 yo audi A4, which cost maybe 35k when we bought it. At the time we made like 90k or something, though we lived in a much cheaper area. We have no debt. I find this whole forum crazy.


Agree! So sick of these whiny ass people acting like paupers making $500k. Give me a break!!
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2014 21:34     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
One hundred billion dollars.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2014 21:21     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
One million dollars
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2014 20:47     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
You make $400k. Assuming you are in good financial shape with the rest of your commitments, you can easily afford a $40k car.

Good for everyone who is going to work in their cheaper cars, but there are a lot of Mercedes, BMW's and Lexus' on the streets too. If you want it, go get it.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2014 20:30     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
Anonymous wrote:I would never buy a $40K car. You can get a great car for half that.


+1 only exception: no mortgage and and kids were through college. So, perhaps my answer will change in 20 years.

I don't even think I would do it on your HHI. (We make $225 and max we paid was $21k for a car.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2014 20:16     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We are at 250k and I am never buying a new car again. DH bought a used car at my urging this year and I can't get over how he paid 17k to essentially have the same car his sister paid 45k+ for just by getting it a few years older.


this just dawned on you????


But he lost years of driving it?
How many miles when he bought?
He lost all that drivability.
Plus, his years of ownership will have more years of repairs.

You urged him to guy the same car as his sister, competitive much?
Oh, wait, you lose. You bought the OLD car.


The research is pretty overwhelming that if your sole goal is to minimize cost, buying a slightly used car and driving it into the ground is the most economical.


Oh I agree slightly used, but what she describes is likely not.
A car that is 45K plus, doesn't go for 17K after 2 years lol.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2014 19:50     Subject: how much income or how much savings would you need before buying a $40K car?
Anonymous wrote:Buy the less expensive car. Then you can be smug when you talk about it, and act all millionaire next door.

Win. Win.