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Old 03-04-2014, 10:27 PM
 
Location: Lansing, MI
2,948 posts, read 6,997,362 times
Reputation: 3271

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Quote:
Originally Posted by belleislerunner View Post
Considering a car is probably the worst investment you can make in terms of depreciation etc (as contrasted with appreciating assets) - feel free to buy whatever you can afford - but recognize the financial stewards of the world (e.g. bosses) will be judging your financial intelligence. Or lack thereof.
I agree with this.


If it were me, and I were making good money with minimal responsibilities, I would be more worried about a vehicle that was comfortable and functional as the lowest cost so I could stash away a nest egg. Early retirement, anyone? H**L YES!

It's all about priorities.

Would I rather spend that good paycheck all at once, or would I rather reserve some of it back, invest it wisely on an asset that will give me a return, so that I could probably cut my must be employed working life down by a significant margin?
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Old 03-05-2014, 04:49 AM
 
Location: Rural Michigan
6,343 posts, read 14,604,395 times
Reputation: 10548
Quote:
Originally Posted by belleislerunner View Post
Considering a car is probably the worst investment you can make in terms of depreciation etc (as contrasted with appreciating assets) - feel free to buy whatever you can afford - but recognize the financial stewards of the world (e.g. bosses) will be judging your financial intelligence. Or lack thereof.

Lol.. my *tenants* all drive newer, nicer cars than me. They have bigger TV's, fancier phones, faster internet, etc. As long as they pay the rent, I think it's awesome. As a landlord, I'm in favor of people buying expensive cars on credit & carrying balances on their credit cards. On the first of the month, I collect two rent checks, and write three mortgage checks, and there's usually a little "change" leftover for a nice prime steak (or two!) at Costco..

Enjoy the car, but realize there's a different side of life that's kinda nice too..
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Old 03-05-2014, 11:16 AM
 
25 posts, read 40,735 times
Reputation: 15
Wow, thanks for all the input guys. I would definitely rather have more spending money than driving a super nice car so I think I'm going to reconsider buying an Audi and start looking into cars in the 20-30k range. If I get a FWD car, would snow tires suffice in the winters? I know subarus are good AWD cars but they don't really appeal to me.

Btw...love the early retirement idea that one user suggested haha.
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Old 03-05-2014, 11:46 AM
 
2,045 posts, read 1,835,817 times
Reputation: 3499
If it's going to give you more joy than stress (for whatever reason-financial, worrying about what someone else thinks or doesn't think, etc.), buy it. Otherwise, don't.
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Old 03-05-2014, 04:09 PM
 
Location: Central Mass
4,550 posts, read 4,798,534 times
Reputation: 5262
Quote:
Originally Posted by YAZ View Post
My father used to say:

"Wait until you're at least 30 before you buy a sports car".

I hit 30 and bought a truck. I need comfort, man.

LOL, by the time I was born, and my dad turned 30, he had already owned 2 sports cars (only 2 he ever owned though). A MG Midget that wouldn't go over 40 if you had the top up and a Lotus Europa. I've still got the Europa 36 years later.
The Midget was his only car before the Lotus, so imagine driving in the mid 70s, in the winter, in a midget with the top down lol.
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Old 03-05-2014, 05:12 PM
 
Location: Lansing, MI
2,948 posts, read 6,997,362 times
Reputation: 3271
Quote:
Originally Posted by collegegrad92 View Post
Wow, thanks for all the input guys. I would definitely rather have more spending money than driving a super nice car so I think I'm going to reconsider buying an Audi and start looking into cars in the 20-30k range. If I get a FWD car, would snow tires suffice in the winters? I know subarus are good AWD cars but they don't really appeal to me.

Btw...love the early retirement idea that one user suggested haha.

Yes, FWD with good all season or snow tires will do you just fine.
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Old 03-06-2014, 08:40 AM
 
Location: NW Michigan
265 posts, read 798,602 times
Reputation: 412
Quote:
Originally Posted by belleislerunner View Post
Considering a car is probably the worst investment you can make in terms of depreciation etc (as contrasted with appreciating assets) - feel free to buy whatever you can afford - but recognize the financial stewards of the world (e.g. bosses) will be judging your financial intelligence. Or lack thereof.
A car is not an investment for most people. It's a consumer item like a TV, mobile phone or a computer, unless you make your living using your vehicle.

Some people buy cars because they just need transportation and want a reliable appliance. Others buy cars because they like them and want a piece of automotive beauty, technology, performance and style that makes them happy. What's wrong with that?

Appreciating assets? Yeah, the housing and stock market proved to be a reliable source of investment in the last 10 years..
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Old 03-07-2014, 11:37 PM
 
111 posts, read 241,209 times
Reputation: 147
Let me just share a story...

I'm a college student, working part time and getting small student loans. Not enormous ones, small ones.

I've owned a total of 4 cars. My first one was a 92 Chevy Caprice. Cost; $500 off of my grandma's friend. Ran perfectly, but where did it go? Stolen. I read that Caprice's were some of the most common models of cars that get jacked.

92 Toyota Celica. Cost; Free off of a friend that felt really bad for me because I didn't have the insurance to replace it. It had 290,000 miles on it, lasted me only 4 months, but I was still really great full for it.

98 Mercury Mystique. Cost; $2,000 off of a used car dealership. That's all I could afford, being someone that supports myself, meaning no help from mom and dad. This one was a mistake, I should of brought a friend that knew cars pretty well because this car was horrible. It seemed to be fine for the first 6 months but it only lasted me a year, after finding out I needed to replace the engine. No way. Sold it to someone on craigslist for $400. Got a call from him 3 hours later pissed off because it broke down. Not my problem XD

08 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder. Cost; $12,000 from a used car dealership. First car under 100,000 miles that I've owned. Have had it for 6 months, and it has not had 1 problem with it. Would you rather take a car to the shop once a month because somethings wrong, or be late for work or school because your car doesn't want to work in the cold weather? Or would you pay affordable monthly bills for 4 years, and not have to worry about it breaking down on you?

My point is that having ****ty cars has caused me a lot of stress in the past and has created a lot of conflicts with work and some of my professors that you couldn't even imagine. Not as many people in this world are as understanding as you might think. It's unfortunate, really.

But this car is the best decision I've made in my life. I had no money before because I was always replacing brakes, or paying for engine maintenance, and I have no money now because I'm paying off car loans. XD But the difference is that my car now is getting me from point a to point b consistently for 6 months and there's no reason to believe that it won't do that for me throughout my last year of college. Not to mention, it's a beautiful car.

Therefore, I'm all in favor of buying a more expensive car for those reasons. I'm not in favor of buying a rediculously expensive car though but there are PLENTY of nice cars between $10,000 and $15,000. I almost bought a 06 Mustang GT convertable for the same price instead of the Eclipse.
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Old 03-09-2014, 01:06 PM
 
50 posts, read 79,237 times
Reputation: 44
It depends on your boss, of course, but he might look at you and think you're wasting your money since cars wear out. That would be a strike against promotion. He might think that since you have such a nice car that you certainly aren't being paid too little. Since you can't control what he might think, or feel, then it's a roll of the dice so buy what you want and stop worrying about what the boss is driving.
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Old 03-10-2014, 09:42 AM
 
123 posts, read 223,087 times
Reputation: 102
Drive whatever makes you happy, is reliable and you can afford!
As far as winter driving is concerned here are my recommendations:
Urban/metro driving - FWD all season tires
Urban/metro and rural/up north winter driving - FWD ice/snow tires in the winter
Up north and UP driving - all wheel drive and get ice tires if you really want to be safe
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