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I *want* to believe that anyone who drives such a car bought it with their hard earned money but you really gotta wonder when you look at the parking lot of local college campuses and see *more* BMWs, Lexus, Inifinities, etc. than an office parking lot in the same city.
I *want* to believe that anyone who drives such a car bought it with their hard earned money but you really gotta wonder when you look at the parking lot of local college campuses and see *more* BMWs, Lexus, Inifinities, etc. than an office parking lot in the same city.
You could lease one, just like the vast majority of people who you see driving those luxo-barges.
Then, when their leases are up after a few years, others swoop in to buy those nice-looking cars at vastly reduced prices. Unfortunately, what the 2nd & 3rd owners don't realize is that the cost of maintenance and repair on these luxury cars is also in the luxury category.
Being that leasing mainly lends itself to credit consumers who are "creme de la creme", I doubt the OP with this.her situation is in that spot.
A used Camry it is! (Nothing wrong with a Camry, since it's just a lower trim Lexus-whatever depending on POV, anyway...and beggars can't be choosy.)
When I was a first year ASE certified mechanic I drove a BMW 325is. I caught a lot of hell for driving that car. I don’t think anyone realized that it cost me less than a new base model Corolla at the time.
It did not seem like much of a choice at the time considering I can work on my own cars. The choice between a pre-owned 3 series or a new Corolla is not much of a choice at all if you like "drivers" cars.
My GF has a rich mom and a brand new E350, as well as a slick loft in downtown LA.
Other ways that I've seen from having worked for Lexus, Audi, Porsche, et al:
1. Have stellar credit - entirely possible on a 25/30k income as long as you've lived within your means up to that point. If you have a credit score in the 720+ range, you'll likely be able to get financed on an entry-level model as long as you have an income.
2. Have a good down payment - I recall having a woman who bought a year old GS330 from me for a little over $40k who only made about $30k/year, but she had $20k down: her parents had bought her a Jetta, cash, earlier that year and she had about $5k saved up. Her monthly payments on the car were in the $400 range (I would not condone this sort of behaviour, even as a car nut).
3. Plain, simple overextension of one's finances - this isn't limited to cars like Lexuses... if you make $25k/year and live like you make $35k/year, you'll have a hard time managing to hold down payments on a new Kia. If you make $30k/year, and are financing a car that costs more than you make in a year and doing it with a crap APR on average-to-whatever credit, then I can bet that this isn't the only situation in which you've bitten off more than you can chew financially. We all love to have nice things, but what's the point in having a slick car when you live in a hole and have bill collectors and the IRS coming after you at every turn?
4. Used, first or earlier-year late model car - Range Rover hasn't done a major update to the design of the Range Rover in damn near a decade, or the Range Rover Sport in about half that. I can pick up a Rangie in LA for under 20k from a dealer that carries in-house financing:
4. Used, first or earlier-year late model car - Range Rover hasn't done a major update to the design of the Range Rover in damn near a decade, or the Range Rover Sport in about half that. I can pick up a Rangie in LA for under 20k from a dealer that carries in-house financing:
As a former tech when I see Land/Ranger Rover I see dollar signs, but not in the way most people think. I see eight page work orders. These things were junk when they were new. i think you would have to be crazy to finance a used one in-house.
As a former tech when I see Land/Ranger Rover I see dollar signs, but not in the way most people think. I see eight page work orders. These things were junk when they were new. i think you would have to be crazy to finance a used one in-house.
No, it's true. I love the Rangie Sport, but I know how problematic they are, so I don't know if I'd ever actually get one. And getting one used, outside of warranty... oh man. Unless the owner kept that thing up 100% immaculate and only drove it to the store and back, I wouldn't trust it.
At least with a classic Rangie, Defender, or Discovery, you can pull the engine and replace it with a Chevy small block, and redo the electricals properly. These new ones? It'd be way, way more trouble than it'd be worth and half the vehicle wouldn't actually work.
Many people in England do this, even with more expensive fuel.
They only tend to drive them in circles up and down their high streets to get attention though, so dont do many miles a year. And probably lie a lot on their insurance documents.
But it certainly not rare to see newish Range Rovers and BMW x5s outside of really crappy houses in really crappy areas where i live.
I remember reading a stupid amount of Bentley Continentals (something like 80-90%) are bought almost entirely on credit in the UK too.
I was just wondering if a CNA certified nursing assistant could drive a late model luxury car.
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