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Amazing how many 50k+ vehicles I see parked in middle class neighborhoods, and Q7s parked in the lot at Target. Never saw that 25 years ago. Back then if you saw someone driving a new Mercedes you knew they were well off!
Do all these people finance everything to the hilt? I would think the last thing you would want to own if you had any sort of debt whatsoever would be a luxury car.
$50K is not that expensive for a car. Middle class people can easily afford a $50K car if it is important to them. It is not important to everyone. Plus-when I looked to replace my GMC Yukon with a different SUV I was able to find luxury nameplates that cost less than the GMCs. A luxury nameplate isn't always a fortune.
I'm not sure why you think everyone who shops at Target is middle class. Rich people shop there also.
$50K is not that expensive for a car. Middle class people can easily afford a $50K car if it is important to them. It is not important to everyone. Plus-when I looked to replace my GMC Yukon with a different SUV I was able to find luxury nameplates that cost less than the GMCs. A luxury nameplate isn't always a fortune.
I'm not sure why you think everyone who shops at Target is middle class. Rich people shop there also.
50K is extremely expensive for a car. The problem is most people have been brainwashed by consumerism, and actually think that the vehicle you drive matters. Anyone who listens to mass media is bombarded by this filth everyday.
Your kitchen is outdated, you need to spend 35k on a new kitchen. Don't look at those old counter tops any longer.
Your fridge is outdated, you need to spend 2k on a brand new smart fridge that will text you to let you know when there is a problem.
Your oven is outdated, you need the new 3k oven with a built in fridge, that way you can load it in the morning and text it to tell it when to turn on.
Your perfectly functional car is outdated, you need to trade it in for the new 50k car that will park itself, text you to let you know when to change the oil, and track everywhere it has been driven.
Your 2 year old smart phone is outdated, you need to spend 1k on the newest smart phone model.
What has happened is people have become the new age slaves. They spend their entire life working and buying worthless junk, that has no lasting value. The result is most people die heavily in debt, stressed, and never get to enjoy the little things.
That's because it's Whole Foods where you can drop $400-$500 on just a week's worth of groceries lol.
I see a lot of Teslas, Porsche SUVs and such at my local WF.
It's mostly less frugal people who like to splurge who are middle class and buy luxury vehicles. They usually just look at the price & then don't factor in things like maintenance costs, extra costs for gasoline (premium fuel), and the big one...property taxes.
I could probably comfortably afford something like a new 3 series BMW or a C Class Benz, but I just continue to drive my almost 8 year old Mazda because it runs fine on regular unleaded, is fairly cheap to maintain, and property tax isn't bad on it. One of my uncle's who lives back in MO got a 550i BMW back in 2013 and his wife said he practically cried when he saw his first personal property tax bill lol.
Given that everyone is stuck in traffic most of the time, I'd say it's for comfort and/or status. It's certainly not for the driving experience.
Going by our income/investments/net wealth I guess we should be driving around in expensive luxury cars. But my 11 year old base model truck with 170K miles has manual crank windows, a cracked dash and the AC hasn't worked in years.
Nobody seems to get all crazy if you spend $25k on a new Camry but spend half that on a used luxosled and the financial gurus come out to tell you how stupid you are. But really, how many folks real enjoy driving a Toyota?
I was at a thrift store looking for items for some sideline ebay stock, and a woman approached me and asked me why I was shopping there with a car like that. I told her I can drive a car like this because I shop here.
Agreed. Leasing is very common. New car every 2-3 years, but nothing to show for it after the lease ends. It's part of the "immediate gratification" mentality. I'm not a fan myself.
And the people who buy a used car for cash and run it into the ground and pay thousands in maintenance also have nothing to show for it when they junk it.
And we all die, with nothing to show for it on the other side. Live a little while it is still an option.
And again, for the clueless, there is nothing wrong with leasing. Cars are not an investment. Minimizing your financial outlay is not a bad decision.
Leasing is the most expensive way to drive a vehicle, but hey I understand that some peopel have short attention spans and are really busy try to impress people they don't like.
And the people who buy a used car for cash and run it into the ground and pay thousands in maintenance also have nothing to show for it when they junk it.
And we all die, with nothing to show for it on the other side. Live a little while it is still an option.
When I had my Toyota truck the average up keep cost was under a $800 a year or about three lease payments. The keyword is upkeep since I was not running the truck into the ground.
Your 2 year old smart phone is outdated, you need to spend 1k on the newest smart phone model.
What has happened is people have become the new age slaves. They spend their entire life working and buying worthless junk, that has no lasting value. The result is most people die heavily in debt, stressed, and never get to enjoy the little things.
Bravo. Thanks for articulating this.
early retirement should be everyone's goal not debt payments in perpetuity.
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