Associate
Fair enough, I can accept that quite a few people get cars on credit etc, but still, people who drive nice cars, often do because they are minted..
How do people afford nice cars?
- Thread starter dougguk
- Start date
That is true, and thats the time to buy a nice car IMO. Its very hard to become minted when you are paying hundreds of pounds towards a nice car first. If I had £100K in the bank (and I dont mean on paper house values) I'd take a nice chunk out and buy a new Merc.
But you shouldnt judge a persons wealth by the car they drive. I have a couple of friends that illustrate this. One couple earn what I consider to be a lot of money - he earns about £60k a year, she's on about £30k i'd guess. They drive a nice little second hand A3, must have cost them about £5k. Another couple, also good friends, earn what I'd consider to be not a lot, he earns £15k and she's on about the same. They drive a brand new 407 and can barely make their mortgage payments - go figure :/
But you shouldnt judge a persons wealth by the car they drive. I have a couple of friends that illustrate this. One couple earn what I consider to be a lot of money - he earns about £60k a year, she's on about £30k i'd guess. They drive a nice little second hand A3, must have cost them about £5k. Another couple, also good friends, earn what I'd consider to be not a lot, he earns £15k and she's on about the same. They drive a brand new 407 and can barely make their mortgage payments - go figure :/
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Don
I can see what you are saying mate, so don't feel like my post was a criticism or in no way having a go at you cause it wasn't. I can see what you're saying in terms of job security. But really, i'm 22, if I make any mistakes i've still got plenty of time to make up for them,
If I had any other outgoings then I wouldn't but due to the position i'm in I can afford to finance a car without any worries about losing my house as I live with the rents. House is the next logical step, but not for now.
But thanks for the advice.
If I had any other outgoings then I wouldn't but due to the position i'm in I can afford to finance a car without any worries about losing my house as I live with the rents. House is the next logical step, but not for now.
But thanks for the advice.
Soldato
Noxis said:No offence but I am pretty sure your brother is laughing behind his hand much harder at you than you are at him
Actually, I don't think so. His wife is driving a 1999 Dodge Neon, only 4 years newer than my wife's. He's driving around a ratted out 1956 Land Rover that he's trying to do a full restoration on, while also using it as his daily driver. I've got the choice of either the truck or the Yoda to drive......
His house was only about 200 square feet bigger than mine is until last year when he took out a SECOND mortgage to pay for an addition. I do believe he's into that house now for somewhere around $145,000 and it will only ever be worth about $135,000 (in a GOOD year) because of the neighborhood. My house cost me a raging $18,000. I wrote a check for it. I've done about $6,000 worth of upgrades to it and am probably going to end up spending about $4,000 wrangling the other house onto the side of this one to expand into. That will take my house up to 1,988 sq ft. I've already had my house appraised at $54,000 as it sits now. With the addition the appraiser said it would exceed $75,000.
So to say I'm laughing a little louder than my (older and wiser
) brother is an understatement.... 
Both he and his wife HAVE to work two jobs each to pay for the house and thier credit cards (yes, they did the ultimate stupid thing and bought the Neon on a credit card
). My wife and I could run on just one of our salaries if we absolutely HAD to. It wouldn't be comfortable, but we could do it. With some fat trimming here and there, we could ALMOST live on one of us working part time at McDonalds. But I'm a greedy so-and-so. I like my sattelite TV, my DSL internet, and my once-every-two-weeks Domino's pizza for dinner!! 
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Mickey_D said:Actually, I don't think so. His wife is driving a 1999 Dodge Neon, only 4 years newer than my wife's. He's driving around a ratted out 1956 Land Rover that he's trying to do a full restoration on, while also using it as his daily driver. I've got the choice of either the truck or the Yoda to drive......
His house was only about 200 square feet bigger than mine is until last year when he took out a SECOND mortgage to pay for an addition. I do believe he's into that house now for somewhere around $145,000 and it will only ever be worth about $135,000 (in a GOOD year) because of the neighborhood. My house cost me a raging $18,000. I wrote a check for it. I've done about $6,000 worth of upgrades to it and am probably going to end up spending about $4,000 wrangling the other house onto the side of this one to expand into. That will take my house up to 1,988 sq ft. I've already had my house appraised at $54,000 as it sits now. With the addition the appraiser said it would exceed $75,000.
So to say I'm laughing a little louder than my (older and wiser
Both he and his wife HAVE to work two jobs each to pay for the house and thier credit cards (yes, they did the ultimate stupid thing and bought the Neon on a credit card
I wondered if it was something like that - which is why there is such a massive dependance of credit in the UK unfortunately.
Soldato
Earn more money....spend more money on expensive cars.
Mickey_D said:Actually, I don't think so. His wife is driving a 1999 Dodge Neon, only 4 years newer than my wife's. He's driving around a ratted out 1956 Land Rover that he's trying to do a full restoration on, while also using it as his daily driver. I've got the choice of either the truck or the Yoda to drive......
His house was only about 200 square feet bigger than mine is until last year when he took out a SECOND mortgage to pay for an addition. I do believe he's into that house now for somewhere around $145,000 and it will only ever be worth about $135,000 (in a GOOD year) because of the neighborhood. My house cost me a raging $18,000. I wrote a check for it. I've done about $6,000 worth of upgrades to it and am probably going to end up spending about $4,000 wrangling the other house onto the side of this one to expand into. That will take my house up to 1,988 sq ft. I've already had my house appraised at $54,000 as it sits now. With the addition the appraiser said it would exceed $75,000.
So to say I'm laughing a little louder than my (older and wiser
Both he and his wife HAVE to work two jobs each to pay for the house and thier credit cards (yes, they did the ultimate stupid thing and bought the Neon on a credit card
But that just screams poor financial management. I would go as far as saying most people under the age of 50 here have mortgages on their houses, and a fair few would also have finance on their cars.
As long as you aren't taking on repayments that you can't afford under a comfortable level of work, then I don't see any problem in it. You get to live in a nicer house and get to drive a nicer car.
I spent most of my first year working after Uni accumulating a house deposit. The choices were to blow the lot on a flash car, or just keep it in the bank and drive a shed. So instead I financed a car over a short period of time with big repayments. This meant extremely low finance costs. Even if I did have no work for the next two years, I'd still be able to afford to keep and run my car.
It's all about borrowing what you can afford.
I think getting any car on finance is ok as long as you earn enough to cover the payments and you are comfortable with the risks of losing your job (for whatever reason) and running into problems. Although most companies offer payment protection anyway I think...
I had some inheritance last year, my uncle was saying get the newest car I could on finance, it'd be under warranty and being newer I'd have less problems. Which in theory is true.
Instead I bought my car which I own outright, and paid off two credit cards which cut my outgoings considerably. As it was I had two months out of work, where finance payments would have crippled me.
As it stands I don't earn a lot, but I can afford to run/maintain the car. Just.
I had some inheritance last year, my uncle was saying get the newest car I could on finance, it'd be under warranty and being newer I'd have less problems. Which in theory is true.
Instead I bought my car which I own outright, and paid off two credit cards which cut my outgoings considerably. As it was I had two months out of work, where finance payments would have crippled me.
As it stands I don't earn a lot, but I can afford to run/maintain the car. Just.
Associate
I often wonder about this. I've also come to the conclusion that most of it comes from borrowing money in one way or another. I think the last several years has seen a massive upsurge in MEW because people see their house has increased in value.
We live in a OK area, nothing fancy. It's all 3 bed semi detached around here. Not big houses by any means but fairly good area.
I remember when we moved in 7 years ago the cars on the driveways looked how you would expect. Plenty of escorts, mundanos etc. Occasionally something a bit more flamboyant like a Triumph Stag. Exactly what you would expect for this area.
Fast forward to today and there are 2 Porsches and one Ferarri within a 50 yard radius of our front door. Then there are literally dozens of new Mercedes, luxury Audis and expensive BMWs. All probably £30,000 plus.
Now I know about the whole company car thing, but for me that's only part of the picture. It does seem that it's the norm nowadays to just get whatever you want and stick it on finance. Whether that be a loan, mortgage extension, or car finance etc. It doesn't seem to worry people that they have zero savings, £10,000+ of debt (non mortgage) and everything is dependent on being able to afford the monthly repayments.
Don't even get me started on mortgages. I've got friends who are living with partners / wives, and they openly admit that if either one of them lost their job they could not afford to pay the monthly repayment for even one month.
That's just financial suicide in my book, but to others it's perfectly acceptable. One thing's for sure though, all this cheap borrowing to finance overpriced houses and flash cars / holidays is going to come back and bite a lot of people very hard one of these days - the sooner the better if you ask me because the longer it goes on the worse it will be.
We live in a OK area, nothing fancy. It's all 3 bed semi detached around here. Not big houses by any means but fairly good area.
I remember when we moved in 7 years ago the cars on the driveways looked how you would expect. Plenty of escorts, mundanos etc. Occasionally something a bit more flamboyant like a Triumph Stag. Exactly what you would expect for this area.
Fast forward to today and there are 2 Porsches and one Ferarri within a 50 yard radius of our front door. Then there are literally dozens of new Mercedes, luxury Audis and expensive BMWs. All probably £30,000 plus.
Now I know about the whole company car thing, but for me that's only part of the picture. It does seem that it's the norm nowadays to just get whatever you want and stick it on finance. Whether that be a loan, mortgage extension, or car finance etc. It doesn't seem to worry people that they have zero savings, £10,000+ of debt (non mortgage) and everything is dependent on being able to afford the monthly repayments.
Don't even get me started on mortgages. I've got friends who are living with partners / wives, and they openly admit that if either one of them lost their job they could not afford to pay the monthly repayment for even one month.
That's just financial suicide in my book, but to others it's perfectly acceptable. One thing's for sure though, all this cheap borrowing to finance overpriced houses and flash cars / holidays is going to come back and bite a lot of people very hard one of these days - the sooner the better if you ask me because the longer it goes on the worse it will be.
hilly said:
I could go out right now and buy a 20k in with my own cash.
I wont do it, they are a waste of money, cars are the last thing i would spend 20k on, even on tick.
Most expensive car i've had is 8k and that was my legacy many many years ago.
I hope that last bit was tongue-in-cheek?NickXX said:
It's an individual choice. Some people want the best standard of living they can get, even if it means barely supportable debt. Others aren't that bothered about standard of living, in terms of toys, and would rather have quality of life. An adequate house, in a rural area well off the beaten track, may not provide the consumerist dream, but does provide for debt-free (and hence stress-free) living, as well as beautiful surroundings, clean air, probably low crime rates, and so on. Quality of life and standard of living aren't the same thing, and the choice of which to pursue is an individual value judgement.
Personally, I totally disagree that Mickey_D's stance is poor financial management. It strikes me more as different social priorities .... and I agree with him.
As for affording flash cars, well, some people can comfortably afford it, in which case, why not? Others have them as company cars. Some people take out finance that is well within their means to service, and as with the first case, why not, if that's what they want? Others get into debt up to the eyebrows, and might then be in deep poop if someone unexpected happens.
Personally, I doubt the wisdom of the latter, debt-ridden option, and wouldn't do it myself, but again, it's a personal choice. If someone wants the car badly enough and is prepared to take the risk and accept the implications, it's their choice.
Noxis said:
I hate to rain on your wonderful RX8 parade but you do realise how heavily interwoven both Ford and Mazda are?
. The Mazda 3 and Focus are basically the same car, same build etc etc.I'm sure your RX8 probably contains some generic ford components somewhere.
dougguk said:
Some people do earn silly money and can afford flash cars outright, others don't mind living with large debts - I have friends at both ends of the spectrum - one with a £50k car which he bought with cash, who lives on his own in a nice 4 bed detached house. Another has a £35k car, wife + two kids but has some absolutely monster loans - however he doesn't seem to worry about the debt.
Personally I don't like being in debt (mortgage aside). I'm lucky to be fairly well paid, with a spouse who earns more than I do, but still I have never bought a car new (although I have bought two motorbikes new). Current car cost £10k, which is the most I've ever spent on a car - half was financed by a personal loan - not out of necessity, but out of convenience.
Biggest cost in our lives is our house, car is very affordable (about £150/month on the loan for another year) with insurance only being about £400/year.
Having a 'nice' looking car is of zero importance to me - my criteria for buying are reliability, comfort and practicality, with a touch of performance thrown in. I tend to hang onto cars for a fairly long time - had the last one for over 5 years, which makes it easier to justify the initial outlay for something slightly pricier than I'd normally buy.
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Arc said:I hate to rain on your wonderful RX8 parade but you do realise how heavily interwoven both Ford and Mazda are?
I'm sure your RX8 probably contains some generic ford components somewhere.
It doesnt matter what the rx8 is made of, the fact is that its not a kev'd shopping trolley but a purpose built sports car that revs high, handles great and suits any keen driver. Im not knocking any other cars mentioned here but the rx8 really is a1 great sports car, shame about the runnign costs.
Caporegime
teaboy5 said:
Very true!
Godfrey Hall (owner of the BMW dealership group of the same name) used to run about in an old e30 325i! - Not sure what he's driving these days though.
I don't appear to like you any more Mickey.Mickey_D said: