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What I seen frequently is some single mom with 3-4 kids in a Porsche Cayenne SUV. That thing costs around $60-75k but are driven a lot by middle or lower income folks that are probably paying $600-800/month to lease.
I'm not a fan of the new gen 3 series, mostly because they grew too big and "comfortable", but a base 320 is not much different in price than a loaded camry.
In terms of performance, 328i does 0-60 in 5.8s, which is anything but slow.
But a Camry is in the next-size up (more like a 5-series) and has a 0-60 time right at 6 seconds as well. I find my Fusion to be more roomy and comfortable than the 3 Series I test drove. It was tiny and I'm not a big guy.
When you equip a BMW with the same content as a loaded Camry, Fusion, or whatever, and get down to the real transaction price, it is close to a $10,000 difference in price. I did this a couple years ago when I bought my 2013 Fusion - and I know the BMW or Audi's are worth more money for various reasons, but not THAT much more. The Euro cars absolutely kill you on option pricing so when comparably equipped there just isn't THAT much more content in the BMW. The mainstream sedans have come a long way.
Now for my next car I'm looking at a BMW 550, Audi A6 or Jag XFR. I'm waiting for the next gen versions that'll come out next year. (For BMW and Jag, anyway.) Now these are considerably more than the Fusions & Camrys of the world but you are getting performance and options that you just can't get in a Ford or Toyota so you're talking apples-to-oranges in that case.
You're right which is why all luxury cars now comes with standard routine maintenance covered for 36 months or 5 years. The dealerships will call you and tell you that you are supposed to come in for maintenance because it's technically the dealerships' car.
Its optional though. They offer free maintenance but you're not required to bring it to them. I tell him that and he tells me that he doesnt have the time to drop the car off and have them hold it for 2hrs just for an oil change.
I must say he's right. I drive a Civic and he drives a Pilot. I take full advantage of the free oil changes they offer as Honda now uses a 0w-20 oil that runs anywhere $60-$70 for an oil change at a quick lube spot. When I drop my car off at Honda it takes about 2hrs for a basic oil change.
What I seen frequently is some single mom with 3-4 kids in a Porsche Cayenne SUV. That thing costs around $60-75k but are driven a lot by middle or lower income folks that are probably paying $600-800/month to lease.
How do you know it's a single mom driving?
And if it was, how do you know she wasn't married to some rich guy and took half his money in the divorce?
What's worse is when you see someone who lives in low income public housing and drives a high end vehicle. Hey to each their own but if you're more concerned with having a flashy car rather than bettering your living conditions then it says a lot about you.
But a Camry is in the next-size up (more like a 5-series) and has a 0-60 time right at 6 seconds as well. I find my Fusion to be more roomy and comfortable than the 3 Series I test drove. It was tiny and I'm not a big guy.
When you equip a BMW with the same content as a loaded Camry, Fusion, or whatever, and get down to the real transaction price, it is close to a $10,000 difference in price. I did this a couple years ago when I bought my 2013 Fusion - and I know the BMW or Audi's are worth more money for various reasons, but not THAT much more. The Euro cars absolutely kill you on option pricing so when comparably equipped there just isn't THAT much more content in the BMW. The mainstream sedans have come a long way.
Now for my next car I'm looking at a BMW 550, Audi A6 or Jag XFR. I'm waiting for the next gen versions that'll come out next year. (For BMW and Jag, anyway.) Now these are considerably more than the Fusions & Camrys of the world but you are getting performance and options that you just can't get in a Ford or Toyota so you're talking apples-to-oranges in that case.
A Camry to a 3-series is an apples and oranges comparison. The 3-series is a small, rear-wheel drive sports sedan (or coupe) that is designed to be small and agile. The Camry is a mid-size, front-wheel drive family touring car.
What I seen frequently is some single mom with 3-4 kids in a Porsche Cayenne SUV. That thing costs around $60-75k but are driven a lot by middle or lower income folks that are probably paying $600-800/month to lease.
How do you know it's brand new, or that they bought them new?
The model debuted in 2004 and you could get a base model for around $40K or so. Nowadays, you can buy a used one for under $10K.
A lot of people wouldn't be able to tell a 10-year old Porsche from a brand new one. They just see the badge and thing $$$$$
(My parents watch Duck Dynasty. My mother has an S550 and my father drives an older Chrysler Town and Country. They make over 200k a year though, so in their case, they just have really bad taste when it comes to television!)
Back on topic... most luxury cars are marketed towards the middle class, believe it or not. The middle class is defined several ways, but taking average incomes from the 20% to 80% tax bracket means that people who are making $47k up $142k.
Some people define middle class as making up to $250k... but all the people I know who think that are multi millionaires LOL.
At any rate, if you're making between $100-150k, and your financial house is in order, buying a $80-$100k automobile is not difficult.
Yeah. I'd disagree that someone at the 40% percentile for household income is really middle-class. That's more working class. There's no real definition of middle-class though. I'd use 60% to 90% personally. You're above working class, although working class blends in there, and not really wealthy. Eg, take median truck driver and secretary. If both are working full-time they're making around $80,000/yr, top 31% for income. Middle-class? I'd say no. Combined they have similar income to what an assistant district attorney with some years under his belt would make. Middle-class? I'd say yes. It's more than just income alone. In some cases there the working class is better off. Less peer pressure to do things like play golf and drive Audis. Middle-class pay doesn't exactly cover middle-class ego, so if appearing to be successfully middle-class is important to someone that can put them in the bind of keeping up with Joneses whereas a working-class family without the baggage is pretty comfortable once the kids are old enough not to need daycare anyway. Also you have regional income bias. $250k just is middle-class in the Bay Area. RNs make around $120k/yr in the Bay Area. Doesn't get more middle-class than nurses.
The other thing is luxury cars really don't cost that much. The big sellers aren't the $80,000 and up loaded V8 5/E-Class with every option box ticked. Especially if leasing, the payments aren't really anymore than what I pay for my $20,000 Toyota. Difference being of course I pocketed the $6,000 from selling my last car and had a lot of years without any payments at all as I kept if or about 7 1/2 years. But if you're just looking at it as in can I make the payments on it versus should I be paying this much, not that different between leasing a luxury car and buying a $20,000 Toyota. You have the same should I be paying this much arguments though in both cases. I can do the new Toyota rather than drive a jalopy but the jalopy would be cheaper. I just don't want to drive a jalopy, and certainly part of the reason is vanity.
Lux cars are very cheap today. My BMW dealer for instance "re-leases" cars cheap.
So a 3 series is leased new for 36 months takes a big hit on deprecation which is what lease payment is made on and returned in perfect shape. As 100% of maint is included. He then re-leases for 36 months and this time ties in a 36 month extended warranty at a much lower cost. BMWs don't change style too often.
Then at year 6. He gets it back and most go right to auction, the few good ones after 6 years he sells now fully depreciated and gives the standard 90 day used car warranty.
Leasing made a ton of late model well maint BMWs available for sale. In my case I bought at Auction a 3 year old mint 5 series BMW with low miles still under warranty for 29K that brand new was 52k. Same price as a Camry brand new after you pay freight, tax etc. It got totaled in Sandy as I did not move it and I got 18K for insurance. I had it four years. So it cost me 11k to drive a 5 series for four years. Well worth it.
Lux cars are very cheap today. My BMW dealer for instance "re-leases" cars cheap.
So a 3 series is leased new for 36 months takes a big hit on deprecation which is what lease payment is made on and returned in perfect shape. As 100% of maint is included. He then re-leases for 36 months and this time ties in a 36 month extended warranty at a much lower cost. BMWs don't change style too often.
Then at year 6. He gets it back and most go right to auction, the few good ones after 6 years he sells now fully depreciated and gives the standard 90 day used car warranty.
Leasing made a ton of late model well maint BMWs available for sale. In my case I bought at Auction a 3 year old mint 5 series BMW with low miles still under warranty for 29K that brand new was 52k. Same price as a Camry brand new after you pay freight, tax etc. It got totaled in Sandy as I did not move it and I got 18K for insurance. I had it four years. So it cost me 11k to drive a 5 series for four years. Well worth it.
"re-leases"? Is this something new because I've never heard of it.
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