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But all of those same "nice options" are available on a vehicle that's a couple years old, too…
I have all of this in a 12 year old Focus. lol
It's a reliable daily driver, requires nothing but occasional oil changes and basics like brakes or tires, and costs me nowhere near $260 month!!
And if something IS going to cost me that much every month, I'd dang well better own that sucker after 3 or 4 years!
(But then my cell phone bill is $50 month for unlimited everything.)
I've made other financial adjustments in my life to be able to afford to always have a new car and swap them out every 3yrs without breaking a sweat. I guess not having children nor planning on having any children frees up a lot of disposable income.
Actually it still doesn't make your point, because Warren Buffet is not a car guy so he NATURALLY would not buy cool or interesting cars, as he's not interested in them, whether he's an investor or not. He also does not buy INVESTOR qualty cars that earn their owners millions of dollars. So using HIM as the "reason" you shouldn't buy cool or interesting or new cars is not a valid point, no matter how many times you say it.
I'm not sure how this is going over your head...
I wasn't using Buffet as the reason other people should or shouldn't buy something. He was my example of someone who HAS the money, but doesn't want to waste it on buying new.
I'll repeat---But the vast majority of us are trying to either squeeze as much out of our limited income as possible, or have the money but don't see the logic in tying up that much in a depreciable asset. (There's a reason Warren Buffet drives used cars)
See how I tacked that on to that specific part of my point?
Or, if you're talking about "cool" or "interesting", then that would be this part of my post: New cars almost never make financial sense. If you have that much disposable income to blow, go for it. Be happy. Everyone likes new toys.
I'm not understanding which part you're actually disagreeing with...
I have an '09 Toyota Matrix with 50k I plan on keeping it for at least the next 5 years, so hopefully I'll be able to pay cash for my next car.
I am planning on buying a motorcycle in the spring though, so that should fill my need for excitement while being much cheaper than a fancy car
I'm not sure how this is going over your head...
I wasn't using Buffet as the reason other people should or shouldn't buy something. He was my example of someone who HAS the money, but doesn't want to waste it on buying new.
I'll repeat---But the vast majority of us are trying to either squeeze as much out of our limited income as possible, or have the money but don't see the logic in tying up that much in a depreciable asset. (There's a reason Warren Buffet drives used cars)
See how I tacked that on to that specific part of my point?
Or, if you're talking about "cool" or "interesting", then that would be this part of my post: New cars almost never make financial sense. If you have that much disposable income to blow, go for it. Be happy. Everyone likes new toys.
I'm not understanding which part you're actually disagreeing with...
I'm disagreeing with you using Warren ****ing Buffet as an example of why buying new is a waste. Which is why I singled that part of the quote out. HE thinks it's a waste because HE doesn't care for cars. Of course HE doesn't see the "logic" in it. Jay Leno, however, as a rich person, DOES see the logic in it and is why he owns things like new MacLarens and Porsches that are ALSO depreciating.
"have the money but don't see the logic in tying up that much in a depreciable asset"
The logic is simply that you want that ****ing car and can afford it. Like any other hobby or passion that there's no goddamn ROI for. Or vacation. Warren takes vacations and makes no money off them, so where's the logic in THAT? Huh? ROI is not the be-all and end-all of why we buy cars. I couldn't care less if Warren Buffet things buying a depreciating asset is illogical. Hell, he has a godamn Gulfstream IV private jet that is ALSO depreciating.
If YOU don't want to buy a new car, that's fine. but using Warren Buffet as the example of why we shouldn't is BS.
You cut off the relevant part of my quote. I'll put it here so I can make my point again.
Warren Buffet is one of those people who HAS the money, but doesn't see the sense in tying it up in a depreciating asset. It has nothing to do with car people, or rich people who blow money on cars or anything. My point was simply that new cars are not a good investment. As well as being horrendously wealthy, Buffet is first and foremost an investor.
I don't think anyone here thinks they are. They buy them for enjoyment or because they want full warranty and want to drive without fear of breaking down on them (yes, a 1-2 year old model would work, but lets face it many of those are more expensive than new cars especially with incentives and 0% financing)
As a car guy, who like all kinds of cars and can't own all of them at once, I'll own them sequentially . Sometimes that's a cool used car, sometimes it's a new car. And frankly I went from growing up below the poverty line to making 6 figures all the while owning over 130 different cars in the span of 37 years of driving. And I still spent time with family (in fact, having my family be part of my hobby has been quite rewarding: working on project cars with my wife and son, racing cars with my wife, etc). And we still have time to travel, go RVing, have nice dinners, etc.
So how did I afford having a new MINI Cooper, and new Volt, a Suburban, and the '79 Chevy hot rod pickup and my '63 Mercury Comet all at the same time? I worked for it. I'm going to get rid of the Volt and probably get a Jag convertible next year. Why? I haven't had one yet and I really like them.
But all of those same "nice options" are available on a vehicle that's a couple years old, too…
I have all of this in a 12 year old Focus. lol
It's a reliable daily driver, requires nothing but occasional oil changes and basics like brakes or tires, and costs me nowhere near $260 month!!
And if something IS going to cost me that much every month, I'd dang well better own that sucker after 3 or 4 years!
(But then my cell phone bill is $50 month for unlimited everything.)
Now the last time I was actively looking for a vehicle was during the summer, and sure there were plenty of nice pre-owned models. Here is the thing, at two years old I would still have to finance a portion (year or two), at a higher interest rate than a new one for something with 30-40k miles on it. Two years of my commuting and now that car has 50-60k miles, at that point you will be needing some maintence items , tires for sure. So screw it , start fresh start new. Is it going to cost me ? Sure , it is what it is. I haven't had a car payment in years , and maybe must maybe I would like a new car. It isn't about eating the depreciation or saving a dollar I don't care. If I did I'd be buying some little budget econobox and just pay cash for it.
This is a logical fallacy. Warren Buffet is not a car fanatic, like, say, Ralph Lauren (who has a ton of money and a huge car collection) or Jay Leno, or Ron Pratte. Rich people buy expensive cars (and infact, are the only ones that buy them new) as well as spending money on multiple large houses, yachts, aircraft and private islands. They, like any of us, buy what they like and are into. If they are into planes, then they have planes. If they are into cars, then they have cars. Warren Buffet, and a number of other financiers, are NOT into cars, so they don't BUY the cool cars or expensive cars or race cars or classic cars. But other equally rich folk, like Bill Gates, DO buy expensive cars and have collections thereof.
What would be a smart buy for you, like your old Focus, would NOT be for me, as I actualy LIKE cars and like fast cars or cool cars or technologically interesting cars. A new Focus ST would fit that bill. My '63 Mercury Comet hot rod project would be a bad choice for YOU because YOU couldn't maintain it, and you'd have to have some one else do the restortion work on it, so it would cost you way more than it does for me to own.
So can we stop telling others that buying something other than what YOU would buy is a dumb idea? I lease a MINI Cooper for my wife and she writes the lease off on our taxes as she uses it for her home business. We may not "own" it, but we get to use it and when the lease is up, we can write of another new car or move on to something else, new OR used that's fun, stylish, or just pushes the right buttons at the time. And since I get enjoyment out of that, then it's a perfectly reasonable thing to spend MY money on, just like for any other hobby or passion.
That's just it. For my wife and I we've spent the last 10 years changing our lifestyle, saving , maxing out 401k's every year etc. We live in a very modest house and have zero bills other than the mortgage , property taxes and living expenses. All our toys...snowmobiles, ATV's, boat etc are paid for. Our cars are paid for. We have no kids and both make a very nice living. Earlier this year my wife replaced her 135k mile Dodge Caliber with a leased Cadillac ATS. We plan on keeping our 13 year old 117k mile Ford Excursion since we use that to haul the toys around and within the year I will replace my 14 year old 210k mile car. I'm going new and I'm going to buy what I want within my commuting restraints (would love an SRT8 Challenger) but will most likely be some sort of a sport sedan. Since I keep my vehicles 10+ years I'm going to buy what I enjoy driving.
I bought a 2013 Hyndai Elantra with 23,000 miles on it from the dealer in Garden Grove, Calif. for $16,000 out the door last week on Black Friday. It was 150 points inspected and certified and is still under warrenty. We picked it up for $2,200 under Kelly Blue Book dealers retail cost.
My wife found it on Cars.com and talked to the salesperson who is solely dedicated to internent sales. It's at the end of the year and they are trying to get rid of all the used cars on their lot so they are very willing to wheel and deal.
There are deals out there if you go looking for them, have done your research about the car and don't act desperate when dealing with the primaries.
Always be prepared to just walk away if you don't like what's going down as another deal will come along and be prepared to move fast if everything is going your wat
You cut off the relevant part of my quote. I'll put it here so I can make my point again.
Warren Buffet is one of those people who HAS the money, but doesn't see the sense in tying it up in a depreciating asset. It has nothing to do with car people, or rich people who blow money on cars or anything. My point was simply that new cars are not a good investment. As well as being horrendously wealthy, Buffet is first and foremost an investor.
And again, you missed the relevant part of my statement. I'll put it here so I can re-make my point.
I think pretty much everyone understands that. And know one buys new cars (except for certain rare models) as an investment. They are a neccessary evil that most of us need, and for some we can afford to enjoy what we drive vs just using it as a means to get from one point to another.
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