Unsure frugal gal wrote:
we have a kid, but we don't really need. We only use it on the weekend and on vacation.
I mean that's a strange setup that you can have a kid just for weekends and vacations. Is this to skip the line at security at the airport? I don't really understand.
I went through the same thing with my wife. She didn't think I needed a new car. I bought a $55K BMW SUV instead and I feel like a bossman. She likes my car in the end and might get one herself.
But we have cash.
Talk to your husband and make sure you both agree on what you're looking for. If you can see yourselves keeping the car for 15 years or so, then it might be worth it to spend more, because you'll be using it on a lot of trips. My wife has an 8-year-old Acura SUV that is way more comfortable for long trips than our son's 2-year-old Honda CRV (which does have more/better safety features). Since we'll keep using it for another decade, it will have been a good purchase despite the hefty initial pricetag. It helps financially that I drive a 20-year-old Chevy Tracker.
As long as he won't want to trade it in in 5 years, or splurge on other things too, you should be ok.
Bullet the Blue Sky wrote:
With your incomes, if you buy Audi or Lexus, you're buying for status and/or luxury. You can get essentially the same quality, and possibly even more reliability, with other more practical brands. A good compromise to consider, as others have mentioned, is buying a new car, but looking at the non-luxury lines - Honda instead of Acura, Toyota instead of Lexus, etc. If he's leading you toward Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volvo, etc, then he's probably angling for more than just a vehicle to get from here to there.
Unsure frugal gal wrote:
You might be making a joke, but I didn't get it.
He's looking at Lexus, Audi, Nissan...
Yes and no. Depends on the person. I bought a 5 year old Audi because I love how the car drives, I think it looks great and reflects my personality, and the interior is incredibly comfortable. On the other hand, I have had people be like "omggg you drive an Audi" and just see German car as a status symbol. Annoying as all heck. The type of people that don't know the difference between if you rolled up in an A3 or an RS7, they just see the badge.
If your husband wants it as a status symbol, bring him down to earth. If it is a car he truly enjoys for what it is, then let him go for it assuming it is within budget reason.
Factor in maintenance costs as well. Is he handy? The nicer lines of cars cost more. Example- headlight on my Audi went out. The bulb itself cost close to $200. I did the headlight change myself, but labor quote was another $100 when they asked me if they wanted them to change it. Battery replacement is quoted at $500.
Don't buy new. It can be tempting with new tech and interior updates, but find one that's coming off of a 2 year lease or something similar.
Sometimes, you gotta live a little. He's probably bored.
I think, for a family man, an car with some power and status isn't a bad thing. Go with a used audi a3 sportback. Besides, Only you and his boss know he can't afford it .
CanadianBacon wrote:
I work in the automotive industry (I know that this does not make me an expert on YOUR vehicle decision or your finances but I do think about vehicles and vehicle decisions as a career so that is something at least...). Vehicles are made better than ever. When I was a teenager, I got a 5 year old Chevette. It was basically falling apart in front of me and by the time it had 30 thousand miles on it, the engine needed new bearings -Sold it. After the Chevette, I owned a mustang, both headgaskets needed to be replaced at 60K miles - sold it. The car that I drive now is 12 years old and is tight and has really no issues. Cars have come a long way in quality over the past 30 years.
Anyway, I feel that buying a new car is typically a bad financial decision. Buying a vehicle that is a few years old is usually a good idea. Allow a previous owner to get the initial hit on depreciation. I typically try to find a car that is a few years old with 25k to 50K miles. Finding vehicles that hold their value after a few years is fantastic.
Oh, drive a few vehicles before buying one. Some people like Toyotas but I personally feel that they are the dullest, most boring vehicles out there. They last a long time but the ones I have drove were extremely unenjoyable (noisy engine/powertrain, bad performance, cheap interior surfaces, badly designed infotainment..).
At one time buying a car from a car rental place was a good option for getting a one year old vehicle. Not sure now since they had a big sell off when the pandemic hit.
ClonedDuck wrote:
Bullet the Blue Sky wrote:
With your incomes, if you buy Audi or Lexus, you're buying for status and/or luxury. You can get essentially the same quality, and possibly even more reliability, with other more practical brands. A good compromise to consider, as others have mentioned, is buying a new car, but looking at the non-luxury lines - Honda instead of Acura, Toyota instead of Lexus, etc. If he's leading you toward Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volvo, etc, then he's probably angling for more than just a vehicle to get from here to there.
Yes and no. Depends on the person. I bought a 5 year old Audi because I love how the car drives, I think it looks great and reflects my personality, and the interior is incredibly comfortable. On the other hand, I have had people be like "omggg you drive an Audi" and just see German car as a status symbol. Annoying as all heck. The type of people that don't know the difference between if you rolled up in an A3 or an RS7, they just see the badge.
If your husband wants it as a status symbol, bring him down to earth. If it is a car he truly enjoys for what it is, then let him go for it assuming it is within budget reason.
Factor in maintenance costs as well. Is he handy? The nicer lines of cars cost more. Example- headlight on my Audi went out. The bulb itself cost close to $200. I did the headlight change myself, but labor quote was another $100 when they asked me if they wanted them to change it. Battery replacement is quoted at $500.
Don't buy new. It can be tempting with new tech and interior updates, but find one that's coming off of a 2 year lease or something similar.
Sheesh, $500 to replace a battery? Do they have to remove the entire engine?
Repair cost is one thing I was thinking about with premium brands, but also consider Audi Q7 base price is $55k and Honda Pilot is around $32k. Of course, the nicer things cost more, and that is essentially my point. If you are a frugal person with a spouse looking for creature comforts, etc., then there is a disconnect that is going to cause friction.
ClonedDuck wrote:
Bullet the Blue Sky wrote:
With your incomes, if you buy Audi or Lexus, you're buying for status and/or luxury.
Yes and no. Depends on the person. I bought a 5 year old Audi because I love how the car drives, I think it looks great and reflects my personality, and the interior is incredibly comfortable.
Factor in maintenance costs as well. Is he handy? The nicer lines of cars cost more. Example- headlight on my Audi went out. The bulb itself cost close to $200. I did the headlight change myself, but labor quote was another $100 when they asked me if they wanted them to change it. Battery replacement is quoted at $500.
New car aside, your husband is stupid for wanting an suv.
SUVs are stupid cars that barely anyone needs.
CrispyChicken wrote:
Why not wait for China Joe and the Ho to forgive the student loan, it would be bad financial planning not to at this point.
BTW, "Frugal Person" OP needs to get onboard with the new ways at the U.S. Capitol and start referring to the significant other as "spouse" and not "husband".
This chicken tastes like incel.
Why are folks suggesting to pay cash for $20K+ car when interests rates are so low?
It is called diversification. When you have 90% of your investments in the stock market already, using $20k cash to pay for a car makes sense rather than having it sitting in the bank or being 92% in the market.
Let him buy the car, or he may spend the money on hookers.
OH...TX wrote:
CrispyChicken wrote:
Why not wait for China Joe and the Ho to forgive the student loan, it would be bad financial planning not to at this point.
BTW, "Frugal Person" OP needs to get onboard with the new ways at the U.S. Capitol and start referring to the significant other as "spouse" and not "husband".
This chicken tastes like incel.
According to the SPLC, incels are "part of the online male supremacist ecosystem". If part of an ecosystem, then part of the environment; and if part of the environment, then worthy of protection and conservation. The chicks just love scratching at that.
ClonedDuck wrote:
Bullet the Blue Sky wrote:
With your incomes, if you buy Audi or Lexus, you're buying for status and/or luxury. You can get essentially the same quality, and possibly even more reliability, with other more practical brands. A good compromise to consider, as others have mentioned, is buying a new car, but looking at the non-luxury lines - Honda instead of Acura, Toyota instead of Lexus, etc. If he's leading you toward Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volvo, etc, then he's probably angling for more than just a vehicle to get from here to there.
Yes and no. Depends on the person. I bought a 5 year old Audi because I love how the car drives, I think it looks great and reflects my personality, and the interior is incredibly comfortable. On the other hand, I have had people be like "omggg you drive an Audi" and just see German car as a status symbol. Annoying as all heck. The type of people that don't know the difference between if you rolled up in an A3 or an RS7, they just see the badge.
If your husband wants it as a status symbol, bring him down to earth. If it is a car he truly enjoys for what it is, then let him go for it assuming it is within budget reason.
Factor in maintenance costs as well. Is he handy? The nicer lines of cars cost more. Example- headlight on my Audi went out. The bulb itself cost close to $200. I did the headlight change myself, but labor quote was another $100 when they asked me if they wanted them to change it. Battery replacement is quoted at $500.
Don't buy new. It can be tempting with new tech and interior updates, but find one that's coming off of a 2 year lease or something similar.
Wow, you change your own batteries and light bulbs? Did you grow up in a family of mechanics?
Also, love that you got a luxury car because it "reflects your personality" yet you get annoyed when people go "omg you drive an Audi"
CrispyChicken wrote:
OH...TX wrote:
This chicken tastes like incel.
According to the SPLC, incels are "part of the online male supremacist ecosystem". If part of an ecosystem, then part of the environment; and if part of the environment, then worthy of protection and conservation. The chicks just love scratching at that.
Maybe you can try again in the native incel language of meme. You could post a cute cartoon frog to substantiate your masculinity.
OH...TX wrote:
CrispyChicken wrote:
According to the SPLC, incels are "part of the online male supremacist ecosystem". If part of an ecosystem, then part of the environment; and if part of the environment, then worthy of protection and conservation. The chicks just love scratching at that.
Maybe you can try again in the native incel language of meme. You could post a cute cartoon frog to substantiate your masculinity.
I prefer show tunes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIIomB3b_dwBorrow as much money as possible and buy every Tesla you can get your hands on. Demand is great and soon will be skyrocketing. A Tesla will gain value and you can make money by purchasing now and selling later.
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-appears-plenty-momentum-meteoric-195120042.html
Is PNSO involved with this somehow?
I read page one of the predictable Suze Orman Dave Ramsey devotees.
Just STFU
150K earners can easily afford any reasonable car. Let the man buy his friggin car. I'd go new with a 0-1.9% interest deal but whatever.
I mean FFS our families cell phone bill is 200+
DanM wrote:
Borrow as much money as possible and buy every Tesla you can get your hands on. Demand is great and soon will be skyrocketing. A Tesla will gain value and you can make money by purchasing now and selling later.
Yes, hmm, cars.... one of the most trusted investment vehicles (hehe).