Anonymous wrote:$300K+ is top 5% HHI bucket in the U.S. Sorry, don't care where you live, you're not driving crappy old cars if you're pulling in $300K+ a year.

That's not even factoring in that it's extremely likely two Gen X professionals making $300K+ have inherited cash from dead in-laws, grandparents and/or parents.

PLUS monthly car allowances (or company car) are an incredibly common fringe among mid-level management and bureaucrats AND the tax loopholes of driving a new vehicle all make it illogical to NOT drive decent new car when you're two white collar professionals.

This forum is full of WASP-obsessed striver dorks who watched too many 80s movies, so they pepper threads with stale stereotypes in an effort to circle jerk each other that driving a crummy car doesn't look as bad as it does.

I suspect it's more Takoma Park progressives who are trying to virtue signal how environmentally friendly and disinterested in materialism they are.

I live in WASPdom. Not wannabe wasps but the genuine articles. Range Rovers are common. As are Subaru Outbacks. Sometimes there's even both in the garage. But not Fits.

I do know a few of the genuine articles who do drive very old Hondas. But they are also very old. Not young families with children.

Residential real estate rose like 25% YOY ... Dow is up 35% in 15 months, trillions if free PPE just funneled to the rich... and schmucks get in here and act like rich are all driving rust buckets. lol

Yeah, all the brand spanking new Range Rovers, Teslas, Audis, BMWs, Volvos, Porsches in you see in every posh town and at every youth soccer game are a figment of your imagination.

The "crummiest" cars you see in rich neighborhoods are brand new Subarus, Mini Coopers, and Jeep Wranglers.

$300K+ is top 5% HHI bucket in the U.S. Sorry, don't care where you live, you're not driving crappy old cars if you're pulling in $300K+ a year.

That's not even factoring in that it's extremely likely two Gen X professionals making $300K+ have inherited cash from dead in-laws, grandparents and/or parents.

PLUS monthly car allowances (or company car) are an incredibly common fringe among mid-level management and bureaucrats AND the tax loopholes of driving a new vehicle all make it illogical to NOT drive decent new car when you're two white collar professionals.

This forum is full of WASP-obsessed striver dorks who watched too many 80s movies, so they pepper threads with stale stereotypes in an effort to circle jerk each other that driving a crummy car doesn't look as bad as it does.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg another wealthy person bragging about their “frugal” habits. Sigh..

This thread is obviously full of liars trying to perpetuate old money urban legends as a cope for not being able to afford nicer household cars.

My husband is in private wealth management. Nobody making $300k, 400k, 500k hhi is driving an old s***box. Nobody. All of the execs and business owners in this income bracket get car allowances (upwards of $1,000/month) and/or it's basically free to upgrade a new truck every year due to tax laws. And of course they care about their perception. That's not to say they have to drive a tacky flashy new car, but they're not going to be caught dead in some decade old Nissan, Honda or Subaru.

Further, with newest safety features and efficiency gains, old cars are obsolete and unsafe. And the last thing rich want to do is carry AAA and deal with tow trucks, rental cars, and maintenance.

I'd slightly disagree for the 300k HHI level. It's reasonable that a family at that level could have grad school debts or paying private school tuition and living in a closer in area with a big mortgage could be fine with a Fit for errands and rarely driving more than that. But I do agree it's unlikely that someone making 500k HHI is fine driving around in a seven year old Fit for a family of four. The gap between 300k and 500k is significant. They would be going out of their way to put up with the inconveniences of an old Fit and the more money you have, the less likely are you to go out of your way to suffer inconveniences and discomfort to make a point.

The old money people cliche do drive non-flashy cars, but it's still newer, nicer cars like a loaded Subaru Outback. They're not driving Fits to their summer houses in Maine.

Anonymous wrote:Omg another wealthy person bragging about their “frugal” habits. Sigh..

This thread is obviously full of liars trying to perpetuate old money urban legends as a cope for not being able to afford nicer household cars.

My husband is in private wealth management. Nobody making $300k, 400k, 500k hhi is driving an old s***box. Nobody. All of the execs and business owners in this income bracket get car allowances (upwards of $1,000/month) and/or it's basically free to upgrade a new truck every year due to tax laws. And of course they care about their perception. That's not to say they have to drive a tacky flashy new car, but they're not going to be caught dead in some decade old Nissan, Honda or Subaru.

Further, with newest safety features and efficiency gains, old cars are obsolete and unsafe. And the last thing rich want to do is carry AAA and deal with tow trucks, rental cars, and maintenance.

It is peculiar only because you have plenty of disposable income that you won't even upgrade to a Subaru Outback for Forester. The Fit is cramped for a family of four.

I don't care what car you drive but having more money means access to more comforts and that you won't get a more comfortable car is a bit bizarre. But some people clearly aren't into comforts, so yes, I'd find you a bit weird.

By contrast, saying we're happy with our Odyssey or Outback and don't need a Cayenne or Merc or Land Rover despite making more than half a million a year is understandable as the comfort threshold has been met. Beyond that it's strictly personal preference.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know I shouldn’t care, but I can’t help but be curious. Our HHI is 575 and we have one car: a 2014 Honda Fit. I just love it. It’s in good condition as far as mechanics go and I can parallel park really easily. We have two kids, no pets, so with the bike rack we have it works well for our lifestyle. And I suppose I’m also just used to it. It does have some scratches and some of the interior is getting worn, but I don’t care about those things that much.

A friend of mine teased DH and I for our car (it truly was good-natured, she is a genuine friend), and it got me wondering if this is just really weird. I won’t buy a new car until we need one but I am just curious if people who have an idea of what our HHI is because of job titles and our zip code kind of scratch their heads when they see our car.

High-end Audi driver here: I doubt there is much judgment. A lot of "car people" have fond memories of the peppy little Hondas we used to drive, and I, for one, would view that particular choice as reflecting good judgment about cars from a performance perspective. It's better than seeing yet another Jeep Rubicon in the carpool line. lol Anyone judging you for this is not worth worrying about anyway.

Yet here you are judging Jeep drivers.

Oh good grief, get a sense of humor.

Anonymous wrote:Until DH retired, we drove a Honda Civic - it was 22 yrs old when it died with nearly 300k miles. We could have gotten it fixed but why spend 2k on a repair for a car worth $300 for parts basically.

Lots of people looking at old Civy and shook their heads. Usually entry level luxury car drivers. LoL! Don’t care.

We bought a Tesla Model S, P100D and then a Ferrari. We may buy a Lamborghini…. Although I am lobbying for a McClaren 720s and the Tesla Roadster if it ever comes out: DH (and DS) have a new hobby, supercar road rallies.

But I loved our old Civic. I could park it anywhere without worry and never had a repair bill above 300 until the very end. People who judge others by the car they drive are assholes.

Cool story, I find it hard to believe. It's tough to reconcile someone who is so not into cars as to drive a 22 year old civic into retirement, and then goes to the other extreme of super car rallies. If you are not into the Cara, you are doing it for, what, the attention?

Anonymous wrote:I don't know and I don't care-- I drive a Prius and it's the best thing ever.

This I judge.

The same people who would judge you for your Honda Fit would also judge you for your McClaren.

Because they're judgy. That's what they do.

My wife and I have a HHI of about 1.5 to 1.7. We have one car, a 2019 Honda CRV. We live in a nice neighborhood in Bethesda, and most of our neighbors have much nicer cars. We frankly just don't care; we're perfectly happy with our car.

Anonymous wrote:I know I shouldn’t care, but I can’t help but be curious. Our HHI is 575 and we have one car: a 2014 Honda Fit. I just love it. It’s in good condition as far as mechanics go and I can parallel park really easily. We have two kids, no pets, so with the bike rack we have it works well for our lifestyle. And I suppose I’m also just used to it. It does have some scratches and some of the interior is getting worn, but I don’t care about those things that much.

A friend of mine teased DH and I for our car (it truly was good-natured, she is a genuine friend), and it got me wondering if this is just really weird. I won’t buy a new car until we need one but I am just curious if people who have an idea of what our HHI is because of job titles and our zip code kind of scratch their heads when they see our car.

Mine is a 2005 Hundai Tucsan. It runs great, has many safety features. Why get a new one? Yep, I am constantly teased.

Other than the Pearl Harbor thing

Anonymous wrote:I know I shouldn’t care, but I can’t help but be curious. Our HHI is 575 and we have one car: a 2014 Honda Fit. I just love it. It’s in good condition as far as mechanics go and I can parallel park really easily. We have two kids, no pets, so with the bike rack we have it works well for our lifestyle. And I suppose I’m also just used to it. It does have some scratches and some of the interior is getting worn, but I don’t care about those things that much.

A friend of mine teased DH and I for our car (it truly was good-natured, she is a genuine friend), and it got me wondering if this is just really weird. I won’t buy a new car until we need one but I am just curious if people who have an idea of what our HHI is because of job titles and our zip code kind of scratch their heads when they see our car.

I worked at a law firm and they judged the hell out of my 12 year old CRV. Whatever.

Until DH retired, we drove a Honda Civic - it was 22 yrs old when it died with nearly 300k miles. We could have gotten it fixed but why spend 2k on a repair for a car worth $300 for parts basically.

Lots of people looking at old Civy and shook their heads. Usually entry level luxury car drivers. LoL! Don’t care.

We bought a Tesla Model S, P100D and then a Ferrari. We may buy a Lamborghini…. Although I am lobbying for a McClaren 720s and the Tesla Roadster if it ever comes out: DH (and DS) have a new hobby, supercar road rallies.

But I loved our old Civic. I could park it anywhere without worry and never had a repair bill above 300 until the very end. People who judge others by the car they drive are assholes.