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My wife and I each have 2 cars - a sedan and an SUV. Then there is the Pickup truck used to haul the Trailers.
I can understand your BIL's complaint about the A/C - especially during the summer!
So, I don't understand why you seem to be complaining about your BIL's choice of cars?
I think you need to re-read my post.
He got "tired" of his 2 year old BMW, and purchased a brand new Mercedes he couldn't afford. He felt that the BMW was not "in style" any longer. He did this for image reasons--not necessity. I understand the A/C issue as well, but I would have opted to sell that car rather than just buying another. He's a very social person, and even admits to enjoying having nicer things than his friends.
Trust me, he doesn't have multiple vehicles for functional reasons like you seem to.
I wouldn't exactly call what I'm doing "complaining," because in reality I couldn't care less about what he does with his money, and was just "chiming in" because I felt that I had a relevant comment for the thread's topic.
If you can't pay cash for it, then you are just nuts to buy it...if girls won't date you, it is NOT because of your car. It IS because either 1) you are weird, or 2) they are shallow gold diggers.
Many people base thier sense of how well they are doing on how other people react to how they look or display their wealth. I look at the car a person is driving and if it is a brand new luxury toten of wealth I say to my self that would mean something if he actually owned it.
The last car I purchased cost $1500 and has lasted 12 years and 80,000 miles. I never did care what people though of me because of my cars. I don't bother with folks that shallow.
You know, for a guy that can pay cash for a new top of the line BMW or Merc, and it's chump change to them, well, bravo, well done. But most people who buy them are chumps, over-extending their credit.
Like I posted before, if you want a really nice car, get something that will go UP in value, not down - you only miss out on the latest "toys" like an in-dash GPS (which will become obsolete and impossible to update when the car is 5 to 7 years old, typically...) E 30 M3, 1st gen Mustang, Camaro, Alfa 2-seater, MG-B, TR -3, 4, 5, 6, or even 7...you get the picture. Get one of these, take decent care of it, keep it as long as you want, you should at worst lose very little money.
Allowing the whims of "what's in fashion" to dictate what you spend serious coin on in a car is beyond retarded.
Allowing the whims of "what's in fashion" to dictate what you spend serious coin on in a car is beyond retarded.
Yes, indeed it is. But it's also an epidemic. When I was a teenager, my parents bought a house in the suburbs. All those people who'd lived their entire lives in the city underwent a strange metamorphosis: all of a sudden, it was not only necessary to have a car, but it had to be the latest model. (If you were caught driving around in a three-year-old car, why, you were practically a pariah on the block!)
And it even went beyond that. These people in their pasteboard suburban mansionettes with the two-car garages would leave their cars sitting outside on the driveway. Because, of course, that was the only way you could show them off to the neighbors--who in turn would be envious enough so that they'd have to go out and buy an even newer and more expensive car. Talk about one-upmanship!
P.S. I couldn't stand it. I moved back to the city, where it's been a case of happily ever after.
Yes, indeed it is. But it's also an epidemic. When I was a teenager, my parents bought a house in the suburbs. All those people who'd lived their entire lives in the city underwent a strange metamorphosis: all of a sudden, it was not only necessary to have a car, but it had to be the latest model. (If you were caught driving around in a three-year-old car, why, you were practically a pariah on the block!)
And it even went beyond that. These people in their pasteboard suburban mansionettes with the two-car garages would leave their cars sitting outside on the driveway. Because, of course, that was the only way you could show them off to the neighbors--who in turn would be envious enough so that they'd have to go out and buy an even newer and more expensive car. Talk about one-upmanship!
P.S. I couldn't stand it. I moved back to the city, where it's been a case of happily ever after.
And, to piggyback your point, they can drive to the grocery store, the mall, or the soccer game and show off their "toys". How many "soccer moms" have you seen driving big ol' brand new Excursions by themselves?
Yes, indeed it is. But it's also an epidemic. When I was a teenager, my parents bought a house in the suburbs. All those people who'd lived their entire lives in the city underwent a strange metamorphosis: all of a sudden, it was not only necessary to have a car, but it had to be the latest model. (If you were caught driving around in a three-year-old car, why, you were practically a pariah on the block!)
And it even went beyond that. These people in their pasteboard suburban mansionettes with the two-car garages would leave their cars sitting outside on the driveway. Because, of course, that was the only way you could show them off to the neighbors--who in turn would be envious enough so that they'd have to go out and buy an even newer and more expensive car. Talk about one-upmanship!
P.S. I couldn't stand it. I moved back to the city, where it's been a case of happily ever after.
An alternative is to be discriminating about whose opinions you take seriously.
The first house I ever owned was in such a subdivision. It never occured to me to care what these people thought, I mean, they are consumerite philistines, I'm not, so why would I care what they think? I kept my old GMC pickup, a gift from my Dad, in the garage, along with my motorcycle, and kept my old '69 "Ragged Bug" aircooled VW parked along the street. The work situation was such that I commuted to work on a bus, but generally drove the Bug around town.
The neighborhood busybody took note one time when said Bug didn't move for something like 7 days. The CC&R's of this suburban mecca decreed that any street parked car must move weekly...so...
This car has a "Baha" setup to include a fairly loud muffler. Anyway, being the good citizen that I was, early the next morning I cranked 'er up, warmed up good and proper for several minutes, then took off for a few quick laps around the block, taking note of the idea that extremism in RPM's is no vice, and moderation in applying the loud pedal is no virtue... Busybody found someone else to bother.
A few years later I sold the house for a tidy profit, and moved on, the money I didn't spend on bland late model cars in my bank account...
Like I posted before, if you want a really nice car, get something that will go UP in value, not down - you only miss out on the latest "toys" like an in-dash GPS (which will become obsolete and impossible to update when the car is 5 to 7 years old, typically...) E 30 M3, 1st gen Mustang, Camaro, Alfa 2-seater, MG-B, TR -3, 4, 5, 6, or even 7...you get the picture. Get one of these, take decent care of it, keep it as long as you want, you should at worst lose very little money.
this is bias towards men. I don't know many women who would think of a car being an investment. All these cool old sporty cars are mainly for dudes, I guess we, women who want comfort, reliability and minimal maintenance are stuck with the 'depreciating assets'.
Many people base thier sense of how well they are doing on how other people react to how they look or display their wealth. I look at the car a person is driving and if it is a brand new luxury toten of wealth I say to my self that would mean something if he actually owned it.
The last car I purchased cost $1500 and has lasted 12 years and 80,000 miles. I never did care what people though of me because of my cars. I don't bother with folks that shallow.
We pay cash for our cars - so we do "own them". And, due to the mileage we put on, we trade off one or two cars every year. As I previously noted - I don't like breaking down or paying for repairs.
But it is Real...........A Land Rover Defender that sold for $28K new in 1995 is worth about twice that today.
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Busybody found someone else to bother. 
this is bias towards men. I don't know many women who would think of a car being an investment. All these cool old sporty cars are mainly for dudes, I guess we, women who want comfort, reliability and minimal maintenance are stuck with the 'depreciating assets'.
