S2020

chicks dig the car.

sahtt

You are starting to catch on. 'Why?' is a very powerful question we don't ask ourselves enough. Who are we trying to impress and why? Who is really "winning" by us buying cars instead of paying ourselves first? How much of the work that we do actually goes towards our net worth, and how much goes to someone else, and why is that the case? A lot of it is very simple, many people have been "tricked" to an extent they can't even fathom.

You can enjoy cars without wasting significant amounts of money, but few people do it. Once you start doing modifications, paying huge insurance premiums, buying a newer one then necessary, etc. that's when you get killed.

I typically buy my sports cars and sport bikes during winter and wait until I find a very good deal. The color, miles, location, etc. are all second in priority to getting a low price, it's a sacrifice. I also typically refuse to pay more than about 15k, as the taxes become too substantial and I can't stand throwing money down the drain like that. I sell them within a couple years and typically lose no money due to appreciation, on motorcycles I usually profit enough to cover all the sales tax as well.

I limit the actual money I waste to a couple grand on cars, taking in to consideration a certain amount of insurance, fuel, and maint. costs are sunk because I can't walk to work. Other people turn 22, buy a new s2k out of school, spend 5k a year on insurance and suffer 3-4k annually due to depreciation. Now that's dumb unless you have a large amount of investments.

dombey

man that is a tough question. I'm always going back and forth between what I should be spending money on. We put away like $40k a year for retirement because that is our #1 priority. But we're also remodeling our house, carrying a buttload of grad school debt, and I love cars... then I am constantly asking myself if I'd rather retire 5 years later and drive a nicer car my entire life...or if I'd rather pay off the school debt first, etc...

cdelena

People spend to fill a percieved need... and each is different.

I drive an 8 year old S2000 and my wife drives a 10 year old Maxima even though we can afford new cars.

Managing or understanding someone else's motivation is seldom sucessful.

rai

me too

pay off the debt first cars are secondary.

Chris Stack

PEOPLE do, but I don't think that "we," the dwellers of this forum, do. We all are here because of an 8y/o $30k Japanese car. There are many people out there making $35k/yr, leasing a 325i, yapping on their iPhone trying to look "the part," but I think us, as enthusiasts and hobbyists are a little different.

trainwreck

why!?!?!? do it for the chix!!!!

actually, sports cars enthusiam in general is a dibilitating mental disorder. you cannot reason with those that have it bad. Hell, the US government should start giving us subsidies to help us cope.

Costly to maintain -- yup
Costly Tires that wear out fast -- yup
Uncomfortable relative to non-sports cars -- yup
Drinks premium gas -- yup
High purchase price -- yup
Mods that dont do jack shit and cost a lot -- yup
High Insurance -- yup

so why on earth would someone with any sense go out and buy one??? its a mental disorder lol. u know its really bad when you are perfectly consicious of all this, yet keeping throwing money into the black hole that is sports cars.

Whitedeon8

To cut straight to the point and plainly say what many are avoiding... we are a rich nation and we splurge on anything and everything. Whereas other family units in third world countries don't even make (annually) the amount of money we pay per month on a car note, we are continually taking on more and more debt and polluting the air with said debt.

I also think this county has wants and needs mixed up. We want it... but we don't NEED it. Really, is it any surprise? We run on Capitalism... but nowadays, instead of hoarding wealth, we are hoarding debt... yuck!

I lump myself into the group of consumers that just have it in their blood to have a nice car... Why not settle for a $12,000 car? Because I don't want to. Just because I have the means to do this (which I should not, because I have to finance the car in the first place) doesn't make it financially sound. We can try to justify our behaviors as much as we want; however, when it comes down to it, consumers are for the most part ignorant, and the only item I can think of that makes the most financial sense to have to finance is a house.

QuickAg brings up a noble point... one which is all too often shoved in the back of our minds and dismissed as an afterthought. Too many clothes to buy... besides, gotta have a nice car to go with the nice clothes.

Chris Stack

But, on the flip side, the desire for a nicer car, clothes, etc etc etc is what pushes us to go work those crazy hours, bust our butts to come up with newer, better, bigger ideas, and overall improve this country of ours. Let me tell you, if I was satisfied driving a $10k used car and wearing $15 Wal-Mart shirts, I wouldn't have put in 60 hours last week. But I want more and better stuff, so I bust my hump to get it.

GT_2003

If I can't pay cash, I don't buy it. Exceptions are made for housing and once in a great while, a car. The car itself, not the mods.

Why is that so hard for people to deal with? I have far too much crap, but it's all paid for. Why would I want to spend money I don't have?