How are people this bad with money?

[gorcorps]

another problem is that he's looking at a car as an investment when it's just a tool to get you from point a to point b. pretty much everything you purchase, other than a house and stuff for retirement, depreciates.

and he also says "it wont give a return" but for many many people, the joy of having a nice car is "the return" that they are looking for.

Bingo on the last part.

I'm going to blow some minds here and admit that not only do I have a large car payment, I'm only LEASING it. That's right... I'm just dumping money down the drain until I can give the car back, and I like it. Why would I do this? Well, it's a new thing really but I'm finding I get bored of cars really quickly. I get a certain amount of satisfaction by having bleeding edge technology, and that includes my car. Honestly I might actually find a car I want to own forever and drive into the ground, but until then I'm going to switch cars every 3 years until I find one I like.

Plus, I'm a young guy with hobbies that change all the time. The type of car I need currently might not be the best car for me in a few years. It's just more useful and enjoyable for me to have a new car right now.

 

[tHa ShIzNiT]

On the other hand, I prefer to sink [see what I did there] the saved money into other things, like boats.

aha! And here I was thinking you were some kinda genius! You do have your vices!

 

[Svnla]

It does not matter how much you make, whether it is $5K, $50K, or $5 million, but spend more than what you make = not good/substainable.

 

[tHa ShIzNiT]

Bingo on the last part.

I'm going to blow some minds here and admit that not only do I have a large car payment, I'm only LEASING it. That's right... I'm just dumping money down the drain until I can give the car back, and I like it. Why would I do this? Well, it's a new thing really but I'm finding I get bored of cars really quickly. I get a certain amount of satisfaction by having bleeding edge technology, and that includes my car. Honestly I might actually find a car I want to own forever and drive into the ground, but until then I'm going to switch cars every 3 years until I find one I like.

Plus, I'm a young guy with hobbies that change all the time. The type of car I need currently might not be the best car for me in a few years. It's just more useful and enjoyable for me to have a new car right now.

More power to ya, if you can afford it. Driving a nice, fast car is an amazing feeling that just cant be duplicated. So what's this mean machine you're leasing?

 

[CurseTheSky]

It isn't so much a problem with money as it is a problem with self control.

I don't have any money left to buy food! Next paycheck: OMG this-awesome-band-that-I've-only-seen-five-times is going to be within 100 miles of here and tickets are only $150 each!

I wish I didn't weigh so much! I'll have a #2 large with an extra order of fries... and a diet soda.

My 1997 Camry with 250k miles is old and getting too expensive to maintain. Let me buy a 2003 350Z with 150k miles to save money in the long run.

I was so tired at work today, I hate getting up early. Get home - screw around on the Internet until 2 in the morning.

 

[TridenT]

Granted, you can get a lemon off the lot with a new car but there's a lot more recourse if you do... but you most definitely can't say a $5,000 Civic won't cost you more than oil changes, tires/breaks and maybe a tuneup. You're putting inherently a LOT more risk on that $5,000 car than you are on a new car.

Will you break even over the long run? Maybe.

Mine was $4,000. Most damage that it suffered over the past 40k miles was that the catalytic converter melted and I had to replace the muffler. You can replace the cat for <$300 and a stock muffler replacement was about $80 (brand new replacement).

I got new tires on it after 10k miles or so. (<$300 for 4. About $300 after balancing and putting on the rims at Walmart.)

Less than a quarter of the cost for a new civic still (EX Coupe starts at $20k; what I have)... And I'm not contributing to the production of more non-environmentally friendly cars. (I want more electric cars already! (That you can charge via solar/wind/friendly-renewables at charging stations))

 

[JM Aggie08]

Please try and fit my 6'8" ass in a civic

 

[makken]

I'm sick of hearing about 'not financing a car.' Fuck off - if I can get a 1.9% interest rate over the course of 3-5 years with a low payment, why not?

Nope. Instead, I'll drive a beater and fork out cash monthly for repair costs.

Seriously this. A few months ago my parents were looking for a new car for my mom. My dad got a great loan and was set on financing it. My mom refused to let him, and wanted it paid in full. We spent an entire night arguing with her, running the numbers showing that it would've been profitable to just take the loan and put the money in a CD. She refused to budge. Eventually my dad wrote a 60k check to the dealer, said it wasn't worth the grief that she would give him. I'm still facepalming over that.

Its the same story with CCs. I get so many wtf looks when I mention that I put absolutely everything on credit cards and only carry emergency cash. Seriously, fuck off. I get 2% cash back average on every single CC purchase, why the fuck wouldn't I take advantage of that?

 

[Ksyder]

Please try and fit my 6'8" ass in a civic

wow thats one big ass

 

[PenguinPower]

Please try and fit my 6'8" ass in a civic

Ok...but it may require some body modification. I assume you're alright with that since there were no stipulations to your request. :twisted:

 

[JM Aggie08]

Seriously this. A few months ago my parents were looking for a new car for my mom. My dad got a great loan and was set on financing it. My mom refused to let him, and wanted it paid in full. We spent an entire night arguing with her, running the numbers showing that it would've been profitable to just take the loan and put the money in a CD. She refused to budge. Eventually my dad wrote a 60k check to the dealer, said it wasn't worth the grief that she would give him. I'm still facepalming over that.

Its the same story with CCs. I get so many wtf looks when I mention that I put absolutely everything on credit cards and only carry emergency cash. Seriously, fuck off. I get 2% cash back average on every single CC purchase, why the fuck wouldn't I take advantage of that?

Sounds like my sister's in-laws. The MIL is trying to convince my sister and her fiancee that renting is just throwing money down the drain, and that they should just buy a house from the get-go...even though the both of them will be graduating only months prior to their wedding.

I just don't understand some people.

 

[Train]

Seriously this. A few months ago my parents were looking for a new car for my mom. My dad got a great loan and was set on financing it. My mom refused to let him, and wanted it paid in full. We spent an entire night arguing with her, running the numbers showing that it would've been profitable to just take the loan and put the money in a CD. She refused to budge. Eventually my dad wrote a 60k check to the dealer, said it wasn't worth the grief that she would give him. I'm still facepalming over that.

Its the same story with CCs. I get so many wtf looks when I mention that I put absolutely everything on credit cards and only carry emergency cash. Seriously, fuck off. I get 2% cash back average on every single CC purchase, why the fuck wouldn't I take advantage of that?

The "never use CC's, EVER!" rule is another one people will take a hard line with. It's popped up more than a few times right here in ATOT.

 

[TridenT]

Please try and fit my 6'8" ass in a civic

Get an accord or... move your seat back and lower it?

Also, you're a very uncommon case that no one gives a shit about.

 

[TridenT]

The "never use CC's, EVER!" rule is another one people will take a hard line with. It's popped up more than a few times right here in ATOT.

Well, if they pay with cash then that's cool. It's better for businesses because they don't have to pay all the fees.

I wish debit didn't have the fees associated with it too.

 

[sourceninja]

The "never use CC's, EVER!" rule is another one people will take a hard line with. It's popped up more than a few times right here in ATOT.

I actually changed my stance on this. I now ONLY use CC's. Though discipline I was able to keep a 0 balance and leverage cash back bonuses to save myself a good chunk of change each month. As a bonus I get improved fraud protection compared to my debit card.

On the car side, you need to look at the TCO. I bought my 09 corrola used in 09 (dealer car). I think I paid like 15k for it with very little interest (like 1.9 I think). I recently traded it in for 9k when I got my new car (audi a4 2013 also used). So I basically paid a few grand (without doing the numbers, lets call it 6k) to drive for 4 years. That's not a bad deal at all to drive a basically brand new car with a full warranty and the security of knowing I only had to worry about standard maintenance.

With my new car I expect this to cost even less. My maintenance is included for the next 2 years and I already have the major depreciation hit taken by the dealer + 14k in equity from the trade and down payment.

Will I ever make money on the car? Nope. But I'm getting my value out of the car and that is what is important. I could have gotten another toyota and been fine, but I wanted a bit more from my car. I know I'll get a new car in 5 years so I do a 5 year loan at .9 and I know I'll get a good chunk of that as a trade for the new car.

 

[IronWing]

I once had $1.29. I bought a candy bar. I'm terrible with money but I'm most excellent with chocolate.

 

[SlitheryDee]

The "never use CC's, EVER!" rule is another one people will take a hard line with. It's popped up more than a few times right here in ATOT.

The people who say that are usually the ones who got into trouble with CC companies at some point in the past. In a way they're right. They should never use credit cards. It's kinda narcissistic to assume that just because you can't do something no one else can either. Recovering alcoholics are the same way with booze. If they can't drink alcohol, then it must be bad for everyone else too right?

 

[JM Aggie08]

I actually changed my stance on this. I now ONLY use CC's. Though discipline I was able to keep a 0 balance and leverage cash back bonuses to save myself a good chunk of change each month. As a bonus I get improved fraud protection compared to my debit card.

On the car side, you need to look at the TCO. I bought my 09 corrola used in 09 (dealer car). I think I paid like 15k for it with very little interest (like 1.9 I think). I recently traded it in for 9k when I got my new car (audi a4 2013 also used). So I basically paid a few grand (without doing the numbers, lets call it 6k) to drive for 4 years. That's not a bad deal at all to drive a basically brand new car with a full warranty and the security of knowing I only had to worry about standard maintenance.

With my new car I expect this to cost even less. My maintenance is included for the next 2 years and I already have the major depreciation hit taken by the dealer + 14k in equity from the trade and down payment.

Will I ever make money on the car? Nope. But I'm getting my value out of the car and that is what is important. I could have gotten another toyota and been fine, but I wanted a bit more from my car. I know I'll get a new car in 5 years so I do a 5 year loan at .9 and I know I'll get a good chunk of that as a trade for the new car.

I locked in 1.95% on my car. Full coverage warranty for 6 years, and GAP coverage. Those two reasons alone make it worth the investment.

 

[gorcorps]

More power to ya, if you can afford it. Driving a nice, fast car is an amazing feeling that just cant be duplicated. So what's this mean machine you're leasing?

Right now I like big and comfortable cars vs. speed I can't legally use, so I got a 2014 Grand Cherokee Limited.

 

[Train]

Those '14 Grand Cherokees are pretty dope, what kid of mileage is it getting?

 

[SunnyD]

Some of you guys must have the shittiest luck in the world with cars. I've driven "beaters" for 25 years. The *only* "major" repair beyond routine maintenance has been a blown head gasket. Oh, and a pita to change out leaking oil pan. The last vehicle I drove into the ground was $1k; and I got 80k miles out of it with zero repairs other than oil changes, tire changes, and brakes (did the brakes myself). So, my cost worked out to be about 12 1/2 cents per mile, plus routine maintenance. If you purchase a new car, you're going to need to drive it a million miles to catch up to me.

The only reason to get a new car is if you prefer to drive newer vehicles. Financially, it really isn't a wise "investment." On the other hand, I prefer to sink [see what I did there] the saved money into other things, like goats.

FTFY.

I'm not saying it's NOT possible, especially if you're more mechanically inclined and know your way around cars. My personal experience with used cars hasn't been quite as good as yours. My last car I probably put a total of about 15,000 miles on it before it died. But then again, I got it for free and all I put into it was a new battery, tire and an oil change. Not too bad. But none of my "used" cars have really given me much over 20k miles without needing some sort of significant repair. All things considered, I'd have probably saved about 25% the cost of a new vehicle in the same timespan between the cost of various repairs and/or jumping from car to car.

On the other side, time is money. I'm also not going to scour the country looking for the car that granny bought to drive back and forth around the block to Sunday service and was otherwise stashed in her garage for the last 2 years of her life before it was forgotten to be stored while the kids waited years to determine what to do with the estate.

It's what purbeast said. Sometimes there's more to the economics of a car than just dollars and cents.

 

[Tweak155]

Even if you bought a new $30k car every 5 years that's about 14 cars if you buy them for 70 years, you spend $420k total and that is neglecting any trade in value you would get for each car (you'd get SOMETHING for a $30k car after 5 years...). Let's just assume 50% for easy numbers and reach $210k but tack some onto that and make it $250k total cost.

$250k is not a lot of money in the grand scheme of working for 40-50 years. Lower that number by half if you only get a $15k vehicle each time. Why not enjoy life? Your car is probably top 5 (probably 3rd) in places you spend the most time in throughout your life.

If you couldn't care less about your vehicle then spend the money elsewhere, that's cool too.

That said I currently drive a $10k used vehicle, have a $9k family vehicle and my wife's car was $25k new

I traded in my $30k pickup after a little over 3 yrs for $22k and bought my vehicle and family vehicle.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

Generally when I've had steady work & income & haven't had much problem keeping up on bills. But when there's no steady work or income, it's all shit.
Currently I generally prioritize my spending on if it has the possibility to make me money.

 

[Slew Foot]

mo money, mo taxes

 

[Doppel]

Mo' money mo' problems