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It's all relative. If you can afford to do so, there is no issue with spending $40k, $60k or $100k+. People need to realize that $30k to one person doesn't carry the same weight to a wealthier person. A person whose financial situation allows them to afford a home for $200k often can't understand why someone would buy a home for $2,000,000. To a person who can easily afford that $2 million dollar home it doesn't make sense to buy something significantly cheaper, smaller, with less amenities and in an area with higher crime, lower quality schools, etc.
As someone that personally spent more than $30K on a vehicle,
I purchased a Lexus RX for $39K brand new. I drive around 8 to 10K miles per year. I don't live in an area where rust is an issue generally. I will easily be able to get 10-15+ years out of the car given the RX's reputation.
I looked at the Toyota Highlander too. For similarly equipped, I was looking at $36K.
I was happy to pay a $3K premium since I didn't need the third row, the Lexus dealership is considerably closer, and I could take advantage of the benefits easily (free car wash, loaner cars, come pick up my car from the office, etc). Being a single woman, that outweighed the $3K difference for sure.
Resale value remains great, so my options to trade for a newer one are relatively decent as well, which I would like to do once there is another revolution in terms of safety a vehicle can offer.
When money doesn't matter, price doesn't matter. When you have to ask, you re not there yet.
Price matters even on highend cars people will negotiate to get the best deal possible if they did not they would not be wealthy long or get taken advantage of by a car dealer.
I think the people that would negotiate the hardest would be wealthier well off people discounting inheritance or Lotto winners but self made wealthy people would be a dealerships worse nightmare when it comes to striking a deal.
It all depends. A new car can actually cost you less to own it, in the long run, depending on how long you keep a car.
As for whether a car costing over $30k is worth it, it depends on your priorities. Do you mean strictly money-wise? Or do you mean value for the money? For example, a large new quality SUV is going to cost more than $30k. You can get one for less than that, but it might cost you more in the long run because of increased gas mileage, more repairs, or whatever.
There are too many variables to make a blanket statement about what is the best cost of a car. First would be...which car? It goes by what you need and how long you intend on keeping it, as well as a number of other things. Do you want a quality sound system? A sunroof? A certain size? GPS?
When you pay over $30k for a car, you're paying for something. It's not $ thrown away. So it depends on whether you really need or want what you're paying for.
As for me, I see no need for ME to pay over $30k, but that's because of my needs and wants and frugality.
I am one of those who purchased a $30,000 car. Of course, the dealership allowed $15,000 on the trade in of my Mustang, but I still owed $5,000 on it, which brought my net total finance to $20,000. Why did I trade? Well, I needed a car that I could get a little better gas mileage in since I was commuting 2 hours a day to and from work. Also, I wasn't about to trade in my baby (Mustang GT) for an eco-box - so part of that is ego on my behalf. I figured if I had to give up the 'stang, I wanted something that still had power and a bit of luxury, but a bit easier on gas. But the last reason is the most important reason of all: I was dumb as a box of rocks!
Back when I traded for the Honda Accord, my wife and I had no plans for her quitting her job, even if we were going to have children. So, as long as both of us were working, we could afford it. Nevermind the idea of maybe sitting down and figuring out that possibly it was better to keep the Mustang and pay it off, despite the cost of gas. Anyway, fast forward to my wife backing into one of our brick columns and scraping the side, and then having a little fender bender last year, and also fast forward to having almost 75,000 miles on the thing and still owing $12,000. $12,000 Skinsguy? After four years of ownership? Yes, after refinancing the stupid thing a couple times to get the monthly payment down. And now, my wife is going to have to drop down to part time because of our kid, so...yeah...why do we buy $30,000 cars?
I can tell you that through this experience, I will never, never, never, ever purchase a car over budget ever again! I have regretted the purchase almost ever since I drove the car off the lot. And I know I got screwed royally in the deal! Now, I love the Honda, don't get me wrong. It's been a great car, but I should have never bought it. It is very true that you lose all the affection for your car when you've owned it nearly five years, and you're still paying on it. To think that the car will hit 100,000 miles before it's paid off is ridiculous. But, the upside to all of this is that I have learned such a valuable lesson through all of this, and it has gotten me into researching and learning more about car buying and cars in general. I've made it my mission that the next time I'm ready to purchase a vehicle, I am not getting screwed in the deal. Right now, I'm like a sponge soaking up any and all info I can possibly gather as ammo when i go to negotiate my next car deal. But most importantly, that next vehicle is not going to be over budget.
Take it from me, all the luxuries in the world doesn't make that sick, sunk feeling you have when you know you're paying on something you really can't afford.
Seriously. I don't get why people do it. Would it make more sense to buy a new car that costs less than $30,000 dollars or even better a used car?��
It's all relative. What's expensive for one making $30k annually is cheap for someone making 5-10 times that amount. If someone can easily afford it and it is more valuable to them than other things they might buy, why not? As has been pointed out, a $20k car doesn't have the same features as a $40k car, it just doesn't. Buying used doesn't give the latest features. For some this is less important, for others more.
It's no different than any other consumer good (or service) - it's like asking why does anyone pay more than $50 for a dinner, why does anyone pay more than $800 for airfare, or why does anyone pay more than $1800/month for rent?
I just noticed our CEO has a new E350 Mercedes. He has been here for almost 10 years. He had been driving the same Infinity the entire time he was here. According to the local paper our CEO makes $1,200,000 a year. Chances are he will drive this car around for the next 10 years. Who knows. I am thinking that the cost of the car (E class ranges between $53,000 and $100,000.) is very affordable for him.
Rant coming; I never understood this question? Yes you can, if it is worth it to you. Some people prefer to buy a beater and drive it into the ground others will buy a Cadillac or Mercedes Benz. Why is this question of worth never ask of the person who purchases a $30,00 plus on a truck, boat. Is it worth it To spend thousands on a motorcycle, jet skis and other recreational toys? I had a coworker actually criticized another for him purchasing a luxury car. He went on and on how it was a stupid way to spend money At the same time that person had a large boat parked in there driveway. His criticism was he didn't waste money on a depreciating asseat like a new car. People who spend their money traveling or or some other lifestyle hobby aren't criticize based on the cost of traveling. Should you spend more than $5000 on a cruise or should you spend more than $100 on dinner? Which is perfectly fine to me it's your money do what you want with it. But to criticize another person for what they purchase is being a hypocrite. You should try to accumulate wealth for your later years to live a comfortable lifestyle. But I never understood being so frugal that during your most productive years you couldn't do the thing's you enjoyed. Only because you had to save half of the money you made. I never understood why someone should save money for old age , that has no correlation with the way they live their life. It was if they were going to suddenly go on a spending spree @70. Your lifestyle and spending pattern is pretty much baked into the cake when you retire. If you hadn't done it before retirement what makes you think you'll suddenly start doing it in retirement. "Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver." Ann Ryand.
Last edited by biggiE48; 07-28-2015 at 07:25 PM..
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