Our car costs are about 3400 a month, but we make about 670k a year. We will just pay cash for every other car we get for the rest of our lives. We only have under 150k spent on things with motors and wheels.
"when you look at life in general, the car you drive is actually not that important" respect for saying this. your average American cares way too much about the car they drive, even what their neighbors and friends drive lmao. its silly. look at Europe and Asia: the cars are smaller, cheaper, and generally there is good public transportation. and way less road rage imo. driving brings out the worst in people.
I got a 7 year old used car and completely got scammed but I was in a desperate situation. I'm now paying $16k with a 24.99% loan. I want to get rid of the car but I'm $9k under water on the loan and my credit is too bad to get a loan to cover the rest. I'm essentially stuck with this car for a good few years
Don’t forget other phantom costs in owning a car that are outside the monthly payments and insurances. The type of fuel or recharging cost, additional maintenances that are not part of the dealership warranty, and cleaning care, etc. I have friends who took the higher end car to look good by extending the loan to 6 years to meet the monthly payments but failed to realize the car takes premium gas. They can’t afford the price of gas and the car sleeps in their garage most of the time. 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️ To put things into perspective, an average car like a new Toyota Corolla will cost about 9000.00 CDN per year (using 20/4/10 rule) to own and drive.... when everything is taken into consideration (finance, interests, insurances, fuel, accidental maintenances, and other phantom costs). Taking the bus/subways, esp in a city with traffic doesn’t look too bad.
I did some math because I anticipated a ridiculous result. I wasn’t disappointed. Using the US averages for car related expenses of just fuel and insurance, I calculated the average monthly cost to be about $345. Gas and insurance. Not sure what your source was for the $77k annual income; according to both the St. Louis Fed and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the median income of the USA is $40,480. Or $3373 a month. Ten percent would be $337. Using the 10% rule, the average person cannot afford just gas and insurance on a car, let alone financing one.
careful talking about cars. the car industry might end you lol. having to own a car, and/or car payments in America is why so many Americans are struggling. we need better trains, buses, and safe bike infrastructure. our car centric country sucks. spending so much money on cars is normalized by car manufacturers and it makes them money. ask yourself why sedans and hatchbacks and station wagons disappeared...its so you buy an SUV and therefore pay for more car. many manufacturers don't even sell a sedan anymore.
I feel I see this topic so much. It’s such a tough topic because there’s just two extremes to this. There’s one side of people who thinks you have to buy the nicest, highest tech, newest machine even if you’re likely never gonna use even 10% of that tech and get the most you can afford. Then on the other hand, there’s the extremist folks like those in the comments who think monthly payments are poison to your system and are after the cheapest car, full cash, even small repairs frequently are better than monthly payments, and just torture yourself. I feel the #1 rule with car buying is analyze your needs, how often you drive, and buy according to your needs. There’s also this trinity of high reliability, high technology, and relatively low price and you just have to pick between 2/3. From there you can look at things like seat comfort or driving dynamics if you drive a lot. Car buying and how much you can afford doesn’t always mean you have to torture yourself with the cheapest, most uncomfortable, and unreliable car just for the sake of no monthly payment. If you’re also willing to cut down in other areas that you don’t care for, you could maybe go a little more on the car budget if it means you’ll get something better that’ll last longer. I feel car buying is such a nuanced topic that isn’t as simple as “get the cheapest car even, full cash, no monthly payment, even 5k in repairs is better than new payment, etc.” That’s just fear finance, straight up.
The smarts to see we have the humble brags thinking they have holy 💩 because “they are somehow smart with their 39 year old car” that they bought for 2k 39 years ago Yet they don’t tell you it has no radio even. Wise post
If you can pay for it in cash then don't take out a loan lol. And if you can't pay for it in cash and have to get a car then all you're trying to do is get the cheapest thing you can find to get you from point a to point b.
We didn’t want to pay with cash. We put 50% down, got a 2.49% interest rate, invested the money that we didn’t use and then used that money plus other money as a down payment for a second house a year later.
Don't buy a car because it looks cool or is fun to drive. Frame a picture. The vast majority of your driving will be to or from work, the grocery store, or your kid's school. You will be forgotten within a minute by every person who "oooh"s and "ahhh"s.
You can buy a car because it’s comfortable, soft, and luxurious though. There are many people that drive and spend a lot of time in their cars and comfort matters. You want seats that are soft, supportive, don’t torture your back, and don’t lose support over long trips. Unfortunately, comfort doesn’t come cheap. Not everyone who spends more on a car buys they just because it’s cool or fun, fyi. Some people have a reason to spend a little more on a car, particularly if they drive a lot and need something comfortable or good on gas to avoid filling up every 250-300 miles.
As someone that had a cbr600rr I was the one ooohing and aaahing every day. That was worth it, and I looked forward to getting back to that stage of life.
Yeah. When I get groceries. I love the massage seats and heated steering wheel in cold wtf would I not want a cocoon of luxury when I have to drive places I’m autistic. I have no care what people think about me.
