New car prices are out of control

[hans007]

the whole you can use your money for something else argument is stupid anyway. everything in the end outside of like basic shelter or food is a luxury.

when i buy a new car, some people are like, wow thats expensive.

and im like, so are your kids, dogs, the restauarnts you go to , the trips you take whatever. but no one ever tells someone who has say 4 kids, that maybe you should have less kids so you can afford the cars that the people who have nicer cars have.

i once told a coworker, that the difference between driving say a camry and a bimmer or something was probably about what it costs to own a larger dog a month. or say cable tv with lots of premium channels or what have you.

a dog is a luxury. so is a kid. everyone spend money on what you want, but somehow having a nice car gets the justification of "well i just need a car to get from A to B". well its the same with children, thers billions of people on the earth, why do you need X number of kids right? or hey you bought a really nice house , but its an "investment" even though it costs money to maintain a house and people buy more than the minimum amount of shelter you need.

 

[Exterous]

So if I'm never to enjoy my money in the present, when the hell am I supposed to use it?

I am not aware of anyone in this thread that made any claim even remotely close to that

some people are like,

and im like

Like totally!

 

[vi edit]

a dog is a luxury. so is a kid. everyone spend money on what you want, but somehow having a nice car gets the justification of "well i just need a car to get from A to B". well its the same with children, thers billions of people on the earth, why do you need X number of kids right? or hey you bought a really nice house , but its an "investment" even though it costs money to maintain a house and people buy more than the minimum amount of shelter you need.

Sadly I could probably lease two different BMW 7 series a month for what I pay in daycare. You are exactly right. People do choose to put their money into different things.

 

[Oldgamer]

It boggles my mind how people are willing to take on a payment for 5 years with total prices of cars being close to half of their homes value sometimes. I just bought a cheap cash truck to replace a high dollar truck that I had sold. Just never felt right having so much money in transportation. I really feel like 30k vehicles should be driven by people that make 150k a year or more.
Looking for the off topic perspective please.

I agree with you. Unless you make 100k or more and have a pretty healthy savings portfolio, better to invest in a house, or savings for the future or for retirement.

Most people now a days hang on to their cars a lot longer. I seem to recall an old news article where they said American's are hanging on to their vehicles between 7-10 years.

I always laugh at those who try to "keep up with the Joneses" and then when a financial crisis hits they have "0" savings, because they stretched themselves so thin financially on cars, gadgets and little luxuries they really couldn't afford.

 

[CountZero]

Just for kicks run some numbers. Take a ballpark estimate of what it would cost you to repair/maintain your current vehicle and drive it over the next few years vs buying a new vehicle and compare the two. I imagine getting your vehicle fixed and a new CD player would be less than the tax, title, license you'd pay on a new one. Also factor in that you lost a few k soon as you drive it off the lot. It's really no contest numbers wise. It just matters what's important to you.

I wasn't saying a new car made financial sense but was replying to the idea that a new car can't improve your commute, especially if it is a long commute. That just isn't true. Even if I fixed everything (which would be more than the value of the car, already ran the numbers hence why they aren't fixed) the road noise would remain which is maybe the biggest factor of annoyance on a long commute. For me I don't care much, my new commute is six miles and all surface streets in a temperate climate so I plan on staying in the car a while longer, at least until I get near the next timing belt change point.

There are numerous things you will do with your money that don't make you money on the other side. A car is just one of those, definitely on the high end money wise, but that's all it is. It isn't an investment, it is a purchase. Nobody expects to make money on buying a car. I don't expect to make money on my PC habit, gaming habit, AV habit, traveling habit, etc. I save cash, have a retirement fund and enjoy myself with the remainder. If I was more of a car guy maybe that is how I'd spend my money, I'm not so I spend it elsewhere. I could live more frugally but then again I could get t-boned by a truck on my short commute home so you have to balance it.

 

[eldorado99]

Now that Maybach has gone out of business what is the average ATOT'er to buy for their daily commute car?

 

[Vic Vega]

We only ever bought the Maybach so the nannies could drive to Sharper Image for groceries. I take the Space Shuttle to work.

 

[LegendKiller]

I doubt you are poor, but you are a seriously insecure person as you have demonstrated with your need to belittle others who you feel spend money unwisely. Same with the OP. Your prudence with money in no way makes you a better person. Stop judging others and get over yourself.

Yeah, I am the "insecure" one that has to rely on my car to impress people (pho) or dismiss/belittle anybody who debates my car "poor". Yeah, I'm the one with the problem...


It's these guys' mindset that is laughable and easily provoked. Why? Because they feel the need to justify everything about their cars. Now doesn't that sound like somebody who is insecure?

 

[LegendKiller]

Or you can work your ass off and get a career that allows you to do all of that.


What a thought.

Or you can stop lying about how you are really just an insecure person around your peers/superiors and need to compensate for your lack of confidence by buying a car to impress doctors. Ohh wait, you were initially just "trolling"...rofl.

Or how about you just wake up and realize that many BMWs are engineered and have utter shit reliability and shit fit and finish compared to other cars at cheaper prices.

There's a sucker born every minute and you seem like the mega blowpop of car buyers.

 

[hans007]

So, let's spend our discretionary income on a car, right?

If you ask some people, "list the top 50 most things that are most enjoyable in life," I personally find it pathetic if "driving my car to work" is put on that list. But, to each their own. It's just my opinion, and everyone has their own opinion, that if "driving my car" registers on your list of enjoyable experiences, you're doing that whole life thing wrong.

the problem with this statement is you have to drive to work anyway.

maybe its not in your top 50, but most of your top 50 is probably stuff you aren't going to do everyday. if you like driving even a little, or like having a nice car while doing your required driving to work it might as well be nicer or more fun than it otherwise would have been.

otherwise why not just take the bus. hell i suppose if i tried i could take the bus to work. but i really dont want to. so i bought a nice car.

 

[hans007]

I can agree that maybe a new expensive car would not be worth it for some people, but I don't understand this mindset of "I'll work my ass off now, and save everything I can, that way I can have a nice retirement. Sacrifice everything now for when I am 60. Then I can chill." I prefer to make the most of things now, not when I'm a decrepit old man. I would prepare for retirement, but only as an unfortunate necessity, I wouldn't make it the goal of my grand life plan..

yeah i dont get this mindset either, but the vast majority of americans lack the talent to actually do anything that they actually enjoy for work.

i suppose if i did all day was dig ditches and had no other options for work i'd want to save as much as i could as fast i could so i could retire.

i on the other hand figure i will just work or stay involved with working until i cant, and then retire then. that probably wont be 55. so i might as well enjoy my working life while working, because i plan to be working anyway. i like the idea of being productive. but it seems most people love the idea of just sitting on their ass all day doing nothing. which is what retirement seems to be. then again what do i know everyone calls me a workaholic. i like building things, and i like spending money. guess its not for everyone, but then they tell you , why do you work so hard, and spend so much , when instead you could just retire early and live the lifestyle they want.

 

[LegendKiller]

yeah i dont get this mindset either, but the vast majority of americans lack the talent to actually do anything that they actually enjoy for work.

i suppose if i did all day was dig ditches and had no other options for work i'd want to save as much as i could as fast i could so i could retire.

i on the other hand figure i will just work or stay involved with working until i cant, and then retire then. that probably wont be 55. so i might as well enjoy my working life while working, because i plan to be working anyway. i like the idea of being productive. but it seems most people love the idea of just sitting on their ass all day doing nothing. which is what retirement seems to be. then again what do i know everyone calls me a workaholic. i like building things, and i like spending money. guess its not for everyone, but then they tell you , why do you work so hard, and spend so much , when instead you could just retire early and live the lifestyle they want.

The problem with the "life for today" attitude is that the vast majority of Americans that are buying these cars aren't saving nearly enough. They are also not even planning on helping their kids in education, or planning on helping parents if they need it or any number of other contingencies. What happens if by then the average of Americans is 90, are you sure you have enough then? Would you regret something so pithy as a marginal "luxury" vehicle? Again, it's a small thing to give up, especially when the marginal gain is so low.

Americans, overall, have become far more gratuitous and selfish and unable to delay any sort of gratification. It's why our savings rate is so low and why our debt is so high even among the upper class.

You can tell the attitude that pervades those who are so insecure that they think the only way to keep up with the Jones' is to buy these cars by how they responded in this thread. Their only way of rebuttal is calling those who are debating "poor". It's because they lack anything but the most pathetic strawman as a counter to their logical fallacies and misplaced notions of wealth or "engineering" or self worth.

If they were truly comfortable you wouldn't see them denigrating intelligence based upon jobs or assumed wealth. This is why I have garnered so much amusement from this thread and hope Pho and pure keep posting.

 

[purbeast0]

yeah i dont get this mindset either, but the vast majority of americans lack the talent to actually do anything that they actually enjoy for work.

i suppose if i did all day was dig ditches and had no other options for work i'd want to save as much as i could as fast i could so i could retire.

i on the other hand figure i will just work or stay involved with working until i cant, and then retire then. that probably wont be 55. so i might as well enjoy my working life while working, because i plan to be working anyway. i like the idea of being productive. but it seems most people love the idea of just sitting on their ass all day doing nothing. which is what retirement seems to be. then again what do i know everyone calls me a workaholic. i like building things, and i like spending money. guess its not for everyone, but then they tell you , why do you work so hard, and spend so much , when instead you could just retire early and live the lifestyle they want.

agreed. i am a software developer and enjoy what i do and don't plan on saving as much as i can while not enjoying my youth just so i can retire as soon as i can. i'm hoping when i do retire that i can still keep busy doing software on the side. i already do it with mobile apps (well haven't in a year or so) and who knows the direction that is going to be in 30 or so years.

it is pretty funny that this legendkiller guy thinks the only reason that one could possibly want a nice car is due to insecurity and trying to impress people.

i watched a repeat of west coast customs last night and saw the car that justin beiber got. it was a cadillac that they totally redid. definitely had to cost over $100k. man i bet he is so insecure and what a waste of money. he could have saved that money for retirement instead.

 

[LegendKiller]

agreed. i am a software developer and enjoy what i do and don't plan on saving as much as i can while not enjoying my youth just so i can retire as soon as i can. i'm hoping when i do retire that i can still keep busy doing software on the side. i already do it with mobile apps (well haven't in a year or so) and who knows the direction that is going to be in 30 or so years.

it is pretty funny that this legendkiller guy thinks the only reason that one could possibly want a nice car is due to insecurity and trying to impress people.

i watched a repeat of west coast customs last night and saw the car that justin beiber got. it was a cadillac that they totally redid. definitely had to cost over $100k. man i bet he is so insecure and what a waste of money. he could have saved that money for retirement instead.

But I wonder if Bieber didn't know who Warren Buffett was and Buffett walked up to Bieber and said "That car is a utter waste of money and is actually less reliable, impractical, not engineered well and frivolous" whether Bieber would say...

1. Shut the fuck up old man, this car is a DRIVING MACHINE and you know nothing about reliability

2. Shut the fuck up old man, it's the only way I can impress Selina Gomez back into a relationship

3. Shut the fuck up old man, you know nothing and are a poor piece of shit who could never afford this

4. I know, but I am also worth a few tens of millions and this isn't even a basis point rounding error in my total net worth

Because I've seen the first 3 here but none of the last out of you and your little buddy.

 

[SSSnail]

I like to find empty twisted mountain roads to drive on, so that I can impress... myself. I almost got a chubby just thinking about it, almost.

 

[LegendKiller]

I like to find empty twisted mountain roads to drive on, so that I can impress... myself. I almost got a chubby just thinking about it, almost.

I can see it, I drove an Italia a couple weeks ago on a road track...now that is a driving machine. Completely ridiculous car in so many ways. Also drove a Diablo in Germany on the autobahn back in the late 90s.

 

[purbeast0]

But I wonder if Bieber didn't know who Warren Buffett was and Buffett walked up to Bieber and said "That car is a utter waste of money and is actually less reliable, impractical, not engineered well and frivolous" whether Bieber would say...

1. Shut the fuck up old man, this car is a DRIVING MACHINE and you know nothing about reliability

2. Shut the fuck up old man, it's the only way I can impress Selina Gomez back into a relationship

3. Shut the fuck up old man, you know nothing and are a poor piece of shit who could never afford this

4. I know, but I am also worth a few tens of millions and this isn't even a basis point rounding error in my total net worth

Because I've seen the first 3 here but none of the last out of you and your little buddy.

you've seen #4 numerous times in this thread, where people state they can comfortably afford to purchase a nice toy all while keeping their net worth increasing at a steady rate.

i also haven't seen 1 through 3 once in this thread. but keep trying to exaggerate to push your agenda.

EDIT:

and why would it matter what a strangers opinion (warren buffet) on the subject of purchasing a car? or are you now saying that if he impressed warren buffet with #4 answer, it would make things okay?

 

[hans007]

agreed. i am a software developer and enjoy what i do and don't plan on saving as much as i can while not enjoying my youth just so i can retire as soon as i can. i'm hoping when i do retire that i can still keep busy doing software on the side. i already do it with mobile apps (well haven't in a year or so) and who knows the direction that is going to be in 30 or so years.

it is pretty funny that this legendkiller guy thinks the only reason that one could possibly want a nice car is due to insecurity and trying to impress people.

i watched a repeat of west coast customs last night and saw the car that justin beiber got. it was a cadillac that they totally redid. definitely had to cost over $100k. man i bet he is so insecure and what a waste of money. he could have saved that money for retirement instead.

yeah granted this is anandtech so probably more likely to happen but im also a software developer.

i think in the end, you need to figure out what you want and if you can afford it do it.

i dont necessarily agree with buying a car just to impress people, but hell if that is what gets your rocks off and you can afford it, screw it get the car and rub it in peoples faces. in the end money is all about optimizing total happiness over time. if you stupidly waste your money now and live destitute for the rest of your life, than ok you better be stupid happy right now. you need to be able to project how much money you'll have in the future and figure that out. if you can't well i guess you'll be bad at optimizing that equation.

but hell if you make more money than people and can spend money on everything that makes you enjoy life , well dont stop enjoying yourself. its not fair that for whatever reason talent or connections you got that money. but you have it. you can afford nice things be it cars, houses, clothes, whatever you like. so go for it right?

my dad told me maybe it was not the best idea to buy 2 german sedans in the last 3 years brand new while lots of people in the country are struggling. but i figured well i'm only going to be this age these 3 years, im going to enjoy it the way i want and i like german sports sedans, and i can afford it. did i buy the cars to show off? no i like them they were awesome to drive. i dont even have very expensive other things. are people who cant have them going to be envious anyway? probably. can i control that, not really, but in the end why hold off enjoying your life just because other people cant have it?

 

[PricklyPete]

Yeah, I am the "insecure" one that has to rely on my car to impress people (pho) or dismiss/belittle anybody who debates my car "poor". Yeah, I'm the one with the problem...


It's these guys' mindset that is laughable and easily provoked. Why? Because they feel the need to justify everything about their cars. Now doesn't that sound like somebody who is insecure?

That may be true, but your behavior is no better and just as insecure. This thread was started on the basis of attacking their mindset. They just retorted. You and the OP both feel you the need to belittle them. They didn't start a thread stating that all people who don't spend a lot of money on their car are poor. I'm not saying that their response was admirable...but you and the OP are just as much at fault.

It only gets better that you felt the need to explain to use your expensive watch/shoe purchasing habits. Think to yourself why you feel the need to belittle them. You are insecure. Get over yourself. You are acting immature at best.

 

[purbeast0]

That may be true, but your behavior is no better and just as insecure. This thread was started on the basis of attacking their mindset. They just retorted. You and the OP both feel you the need to belittle them. They didn't start a thread stating that all people who don't spend a lot of money on their car are poor. I'm not saying that their response was admirable...but you and the OP are just as much at fault.

It only gets better that you felt the need to explain to use your expensive watch/shoe purchasing habits. Think to yourself why you feel the need to belittle them. You are insecure. Get over yourself. You are acting immature at best.

i've already admitted that i used the word "poor people" out of the actual context of what it means, and then explained what i actually meant by those words in the context i used them. he is just getting his rocks off by trying to keep provoking pho and myself.

 

[OverVolt]

And so a lesson on class vs status has been learned.

Class is determined by money and status can be faked with a BMW loan and saving nothing for your children's college.

But no really, you can fake status above your class. There are plenty of rich with a "help me I'm poor" attitude. Status is meh. So many are trying to fake above their real status or aren't at peace with their current class that it is a little lulzy to see Corvettes parked at trailer parks and the like. If everybody is fakin the status and you actually are upper middle class why bother trying to keep up with all the fakers who drive up the prices.

 

[videogames101]

But I wonder if Bieber didn't know who Warren Buffett was and Buffett walked up to Bieber and said "That car is a utter waste of money and is actually less reliable, impractical, not engineered well and frivolous" whether Bieber would say...

1. Shut the fuck up old man, this car is a DRIVING MACHINE and you know nothing about reliability

2. Shut the fuck up old man, it's the only way I can impress Selina Gomez back into a relationship

3. Shut the fuck up old man, you know nothing and are a poor piece of shit who could never afford this

4. I know, but I am also worth a few tens of millions and this isn't even a basis point rounding error in my total net worth

Because I've seen the first 3 here but none of the last out of you and your little buddy.

you have issues dude :|

 

[Capt Caveman]

you have issues dude :|

Well, he does drive a Honda Accord.

 

[MarkXIX]

I just don't understand the pick-up truck market. How can anyone pay $30k+ for a pick-up truck when for the most part, the fuel mileage sucks, and it's essentially half a car or SUV when you consider that big, empty bed in the back.

I'm not talking about the people that buy them and use them for their business or because they haul gear in the back all the time. I'm talking about those people that buy them and worry about scratching the bed and spend even more on a bedliner to protect it.

Also, where the hell did all the small to mid-sized pick-ups go in the US market? I don't want a mini-Mac truck that takes half the monthly payment in fuel costs every month.

 

[TallBill]

I don't get it. $10k is my upper upper limit.