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Old 11-05-2013, 09:12 AM   #21
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The question to ask is whether you would enjoy a new car, or even a luxury car. If so, go for it. Life's short.

As for me, I am at the point where a car is just a utility vehicle to me. As long as it is reliable enough to not leave me stranded, and the A/C keeps me cool, I am OK.

I look at people's luxury cars with indifference. If I have a $50-70K car and somebody puts a dimple or a scratch on it, it would drive me raving mad. So, why subject myself to it?

I guess if I were so rich that I could just call the dealer to tell him to bring me a new car in exchange for the dimpled car, I would not mind having a luxury one.
Yep that's me. I could afford a new car, but I would just be trading problems...instead of worrying if my old nearly 200k car is going to break down on me (which it never has), I would just be worried about which idiot in the parking lot is going to ding my car. And I hate paying money to insurance companies and the property tax collector. The overall issue to me is what you said NW. My car is now just a utility item. I don't long for a new car, like I long to get a new IPad!
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Old 11-05-2013, 09:35 AM   #22
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Obviously, there are people who think like I do.

But on the other hand, I do not sneer at people who enjoy a luxury car either. Unless one foolishly spends money he does not have, there's nothing wrong with spending money to buy happiness in one's personal way. Hey, I splurged on a 2nd home, and that is not cheap.

At some point, when I need to replace one of my existing cars, I will go buy a new one and expect to pay around $25K for it. The purchase will be more of a necessity than a want, and just a typical average car is what I need.
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Old 11-05-2013, 10:10 AM   #23
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America has a love affair with the automobile....

I have one too .....and have since I was 14 years old.

I have had many cars (I would be embarrassed to mention the number..if I could recall them all?)

Some noteable ones include a 1955 Chevy 150 Sedan (drag strip built at age 16), 1965 Corvette Sting Ray roadster (I should kill my self for selling it), numerous British, German, Italian and American oddities (MG's, Alpha's, VW's, etc), modified pick up trucks, Cadillac's, Pontiac's, and a 1941 Plymouth. I know I have forgotton some (Oh, like a 1959 Pontiac Bonneville, hardtop, tri-power 389).

I am also a very decent mechanic and have auto painting skills with everything from period lacquer to multi-stage acrylics and urethane's.

It's been a trip, and I am still hanging on by my finger nails but getting old has slowed me down and building a nest egg has directed funds to more deserving places (I can't eat my cars in retirement).

So, we are 19 years in a small house with kids out of college and my garage is technically a complete auto workshop equipped with all the tools and painting equipment. I have become the "go to" guy for the neighbors whenever a car issue arises. We hold quarterly oil change weekends, do brake jobs, and generally hang out there. The garage is also equipped with a computer, high speed internet and a big screen TV (plus a fridge full of adult and other beverages).

My wife drives a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (turbocharged, of course) and I drive a modified six speed 2006 Jetta Diesel TDI sedan with a Malone Tuned ECU. The Jetta still manages 42 - 46 MPG overall and is a downright blast to drive.

Maybe one of these days I will find the funds to buy a C2 Corvette (1963 - 1967) and that would be the icing on the cake, so to say.
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Old 11-05-2013, 10:17 AM   #24
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+2 used to be real car nut, and had many > $70K rides over the years, but as I approached retirement, my lust for Porches, BMWs, etc wained, and now I ride around in a Civic. Had I not been such a car nut, my nest egg would be considerably larger.
I bet the civic is more reliable than many of the expensive cars you have owned. Or at least that is what I hear.
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Old 11-05-2013, 10:31 AM   #25
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We do not spend a lot of money on cars. They lose value, they get dinged and scratched, they cost money to operate and maintain. We buy them new and keep them until they fall apart. We ask for reliability, most of all, and some degree of comfort. We go for mid-range Japanese models with very few upgrades. And we still manage to have fun driving them (especially the Miata).
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Old 11-05-2013, 10:43 AM   #26
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America has a love affair with the automobile....

I have one too .....and have since I was 14 years old.

I have had many cars (I would be embarrassed to mention the number..if I could recall them all?)

Some noteable ones include a 1955 Chevy 150 Sedan (drag strip built at age 16), 1965 Corvette Sting Ray roadster (I should kill my self for selling it), numerous British, German, Italian and American oddities (MG's, Alpha's, VW's, etc), modified pick up trucks, Cadillac's, Pontiac's, and a 1941 Plymouth. I know I have forgotton some (Oh, like a 1959 Pontiac Bonneville, hardtop, tri-power 389).

I am also a very decent mechanic and have auto painting skills with everything from period lacquer to multi-stage acrylics and urethane's.

It's been a trip, and I am still hanging on by my finger nails but getting old has slowed me down and building a nest egg has directed funds to more deserving places (I can't eat my cars in retirement).

So, we are 19 years in a small house with kids out of college and my garage is technically a complete auto workshop equipped with all the tools and painting equipment. I have become the "go to" guy for the neighbors whenever a car issue arises. We hold quarterly oil change weekends, do brake jobs, and generally hang out there. The garage is also equipped with a computer, high speed internet and a big screen TV (plus a fridge full of adult and other beverages).

My wife drives a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (turbocharged, of course) and I drive a modified six speed 2006 Jetta Diesel TDI sedan with a Malone Tuned ECU. The Jetta still manages 42 - 46 MPG overall and is a downright blast to drive.

Maybe one of these days I will find the funds to buy a C2 Corvette (1963 - 1967) and that would be the icing on the cake, so to say.
The Jetta sounds interesting. The recent diesels have lost a lot of the bad habits of the old ones, and are pretty peppy.

For me the drug is motorcycles, I just bought a creampuff 2001 Ranger pickup with 23000 miles to replace my other one. It might last me 15 years, and the money I didn't spend on something newer can go toward the hobby. Quite a few bikes can fit in a garage, they're small.
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Old 11-05-2013, 10:50 AM   #27
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I used to read car magazines all the time in high school but opted for "sensible" cars throughout.

But when I last bought in 2006, I used to read Edmunds.com and other sites all the time.

I was looking hard at the 3 series or the A3/A4 at the time. Then, one of the things I read was that $10k invested over the service life of a car would bring a big gap in return. The car would depreciate but the $10k should go up.

This was long before I heard of LBYM (the acronym, not the concept). My commute was and is short so I opted for a Honda, saved probably about $25k. Well after 7 years, the car still doesn't have 25K miles and I hadn't really envied all the nice cars my peers drove.

One guy got an X5 and rationalized that he's not going to be able to save enough for a down payment on a home (in the Santa Clara Valley) any time soon.

However, in the last couple of weeks, I've been thinking about leasing a German car, picking it up in Bavaria and then driving it around down through Switzerland and Germany.

Not any time soon (though it may be less hassle getting approved for a lease before I FIRE, since I'd have income to show), but I've been looking at the auto sites again.

May actually do it this time -- as long as the market doesn't crash.
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Old 11-05-2013, 10:55 AM   #28
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America has a love affair with the automobile....
...and so does our local wildlife population.

A couple of weeks ago while pulling our RV, I collided with a what I can only assume was a partially deaf, nearsighted buzzard. Whatever the reason, he was a second or so too late in initiating his departure from the roadway diner. Last week our daughter who lives nearby hit a deer and did $3,000 worth of damage to her car and totaled the deer.Then last night DW was involved in a hit and run with a feral hog.

Enough already...
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Old 11-05-2013, 10:56 AM   #29
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We do not spend a lot of money on cars. They lose value, they get dinged and scratched, they cost money to operate and maintain. We buy them new and keep them until they fall apart. We ask for reliability, most of all, and some degree of comfort. We go for mid-range Japanese models with very few upgrades. And we still manage to have fun driving them (especially the Miata).
+1

We have 2 Civics which replaced 2 Civics (with 200k miles on old ones)

It takes us 2-3 weeks of after tax income to buy one of them. It would not cross our mind to buy anything else
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Old 11-05-2013, 10:56 AM   #30
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The Jetta sounds interesting. The recent diesels have lost a lot of the bad habits of the old ones, and are pretty peppy.

For me the drug is motorcycles, I just bought a creampuff 2001 Ranger pickup with 23000 miles to replace my other one. It might last me 15 years, and the money I didn't spend on something newer can go toward the hobby. Quite a few bikes can fit in a garage, they're small.
Yes, most of the new diesel offerings are quite nice and economical. Plus, they have lots of low end torque and are pretty fun to drive, unlike the hybrids. Audi has gone all out with their high end cars and offers the diesel option in all of them (up to Q7 I believe).

Neat, the truck sounds like a great find. My son-in-law is the head mechanic at a big cycle shop north of the Woodlands, TX and has a collection of some pretty neat older and newer Asian bikes. Last count was 7 in the garage and he drives one to work when it's not raining. He is hard core. He just picked up a real old motor scooter (1970's Vespa) for scrap value and is restoring it. Keeps him out of the bars, so to say.
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Old 11-05-2013, 10:58 AM   #31
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As mentioned, I paid no attention to cars, and did not realize these German sedans would cost that much until my son got one (towards the lower end though). So, I got curious and started to look into that.

Holy cow, they expect people to pay $110K+ for a car, then still pony up to $27K for options, such as a $6300 sound system?

I guess the 0.1% would have no problem with that, but I would have to be invested in 100% biotech for the next 10 years.
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Old 11-05-2013, 11:02 AM   #32
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...and so does our local wildlife population.

A couple of weeks ago while pulling our RV, I collided with a what I can only assume was a partially deaf, nearsighted buzzard. Whatever the reason, he was a second or so too late in initiating his departure from the roadway diner. Last week our daughter who lives nearby hit a deer and did $3,000 worth of damage to her car and totaled the deer.Then last night DW was involved in a hit and run with a feral hog.

Enough already...
And if you drive the Texas highways at night, you have this to watch out for:
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Old 11-05-2013, 11:05 AM   #33
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As mentioned, I paid no attention to cars, and did not realize these German sedans would cost that much until my son got one (towards the lower end). So, I got curious and started to look into that.

Holy cow, they expect people to pay $110K+ for a car, then still pony up to $27K for options, such as a $6300 sound system?

I guess the 0.1% would have no problem with that, but I would have to be invested in 100% biotech for the next 10 years.
I've seen people I know spend $6,000 on an Expresso machine.....at least you can drive a car and go to Starbucks.
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Old 11-05-2013, 11:09 AM   #34
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$6000 Expresso machine?

Well, that's why I am hanging out here with people who compare notes on where to get wild caught shrimp for a few dollars less.
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Old 11-05-2013, 11:14 AM   #35
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$6000 Expresso machine?

Well, that's why I am hanging out here with people who compare notes on where to get wild caught shrimp for a few dollars less.
I definitely did a doubletake at that "$6000 Expresso machine" comment! My present 4-cup Mr. Coffee only cost me $19.95, and it is absolutely perfect for me. Despite that I have been trying to justify buying a Keurig but can't see myself spending over $100 for a coffeemaker.
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Old 11-05-2013, 11:17 AM   #36
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I get the urge from time to time. However, having 2 paid off cars sure is nice. I am hanging on to my 2003 Accord (178k) until my oldest starts driving in 2 years. I have had it since 34,000 miles and all my friends who have sons and daughters driving keep trying to buy it from me, so I guess its got enough "cool" factor...........
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Old 11-05-2013, 12:14 PM   #37
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Options are the ripoff.

They try to foist Navigation packages which cost several thousand dollars. The GPS system has maps which are more antiquated than a $50 GPS system you can get, not to mention smart phones and tablets. Then when you want to update maps, the dealers charge you several hundred dollars.

A lot of cars that dealers have in inventory only have these expensive packages. Plus you want some features like Bluetooth or integration with phones. Or HID lights, but you can only get them as part of these big packages.

Only thing good about the GPS is that the screen integrates nicely on the dash. Otherwise, they're ripoffs.
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Old 11-05-2013, 12:34 PM   #38
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In the luxury class, they give you the GPS navigation with voice, the leather seats, the Bose system, the Bluetooth, fancy wheels, etc..., as standard.

But if you want the superior upgraded leather package and the Bang & Olufsen sound system, you've got to pay more!

I had not heard of Bang & Olufsen. Have you?
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Old 11-05-2013, 02:02 PM   #39
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...I am also a very decent mechanic and have auto painting skills with everything from period lacquer to multi-stage acrylics and urethane's.

...my garage is technically a complete auto workshop equipped with all the tools and painting equipment. I have become the "go to" guy for the neighbors whenever a car issue arises. We hold quarterly oil change weekends, do brake jobs, and generally hang out there. The garage is also equipped with a computer, high speed internet and a big screen TV (plus a fridge full of adult and other beverages)...
Obviously, it's your hobby, and when it comes to hobbies, people do what they enjoy. I would not care what others say about the money we have spent on travel. Nuf said.
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Old 11-05-2013, 02:06 PM   #40
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My DH is a car fanatic. We have had over 100 cars in 35 years of marriage. Some used - so he could fix up and sale for a profit. Many new cars. We always buy the "lost leader" new car. These cars are ones you see in the paper that say we have one at this price. Pay cash. We instantly have 30% equity (actually 100% equity since we pay cash, but if we were to finance it would be 30% equity) when we buy the new car. We just purchased a new 2013 Ford F150 4x4 all decked out for $20,400. Had to finance for 3 months to get the extra $500 rebate. Paying off in December after our 3 months is up. Traded in a 2011 Ford Ranger 4x4, that was a lost leader we purchased for $14,500, trade in value $16,000. So we drove the new car basically free for a year and a half. Bought the new truck to pull the new rv. We will keep this one for a while. We only buy what we can turn around and sale for more than we paid for it. That is the only way I will let my husband act on his love affair with cars. Happy hunting for your new car. Insurance rates are so low for us it is about the same with every car we purchase.
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