What kind of car do you own and % of salary

[Cessna5354]

I employ the buy & hold thinking,

1999 MB E300TD bought w/ 55K in 2003, now 288K looking to get 350K+
1983 MB 300D inherited 8 yrs ago w/ 122K, now 228K winter driver

I bought the MB with the assistance of windfall profit from a home I owned for 6 months, sold during the real estate rocket days. I figured on $20K+ for a car, after taxes the gain went to the car.

I have never purchased a new vehicle for myself, DW yes, but not me.

I have my sights on a MB S350 diesel bluetec when I retire, but I think nearly the entire last year salary, after taxes etc, will go for that boat.... Maybe if I delay FIRE for a year.....

I will probably be practical and replace with an E class.

 

[Keim]

I am 40, and definitely employ a buy and hold strategy for my cars. Most I've ever spent was 20% of salary. Paid cash for all vehicles. The current fleet consists of a 1993 f150 bought 2-3 years ago for $4k. 2004 Honda CRv bought 8 years ago for $20k. 1976 Monte Carlo bought in 1984 for $2k.

 

[MDJO]

Still have my 1998 and 2002 Honda Accords. Both have over 120,000 miles, run great. My daughter just drove the 1998 from Ohio to Florida and back again, no problems.

 

[daystar]

1999: Got a free 1994 Chevy Lumina from my parents to drive in college.
2002: Graduated college. Got a free 1995 Ford Taurus to drive.
2005: 95 Taurus starting to have a lot of problems. Bought a 2004 Ford Taurus for $12,500 in cash. I was earning between $40,000 and $50,000 then.
2012: Still driving the 2004 Taurus with 79,000 miles. However, my usual commute involves a bus. I'm earning around $100,000 now and will keep that Taurus for a few more years or until it starts giving me major problems.

 

[CDN_47]

2005 Toyota Matrix purchased in the Fall of 2004. Purchase price (including tax) = $18000. That would have been about 28% of my wage back then.

My current maintenance costs are about $2200 for 2012. That works out to 2% of my current gross income. Add in another $3000 vehicle replacement budget per year, and that brings my 2012 vehicle ownership costs [not including insurance & fuel] to $5200 per year, or 4.7% of gross income.

 

[CorporateSoldier]

I drive a 5 series BMW I purchased certified pre owned when it was two years old. That purchase was around 10-11% of my yearly gross income as I have averaged 280-300k the past few years. I know I could afford to drive a new one but I want to minimize depreciation.

I also bought a classic Porsche recently as a toy but I paid cash for that and cash for a couple of motorcycles. Paid cash for cars for all three of my teenagers. My wife's car is the only one with a payment as I paid the BMW off after only two years. She drives a Subaru Outback. And we had a $12,000 trade in on that car.

So, I have seven vehicles currently registered and insured in my name. Seems a litttle nuts but we only have a $400 monthly payment on the Subbie and cars and motorcycles are a hobby for me, not just transportation.

When I was making 100k I drove a 97 Contour with roll up windows.

 

[FinanceDude]

I employ the buy & hold thinking,

1999 MB E300TD bought w/ 55K in 2003, now 288K looking to get 350K+
1983 MB 300D inherited 8 yrs ago w/ 122K, now 228K winter driver

I bought the MB with the assistance of windfall profit from a home I owned for 6 months, sold during the real estate rocket days. I figured on $20K+ for a car, after taxes the gain went to the car.

I have never purchased a new vehicle for myself, DW yes, but not me.

I have my sights on a MB S350 diesel bluetec when I retire, but I think nearly the entire last year salary, after taxes etc, will go for that boat.... Maybe if I delay FIRE for a year.....

I will probably be practical and replace with an E class.

How has maintenance been? I heard MB can be pricey. Of cousre, there's alaways BMW, or "Bring My Wallet"...........

 

[iam21177]

Do you want to know what the purchase price was compared to the salary (total price/yearly salary)? Or the yearly expenses to own a car?

We both came into the relationship with paid off cars. My husband owns a 2004 Suburu Outback. I own a 1998 Saturn. It was paid off before I met him, but he told me he paid it off in 3 years ($24,000?). I bought mine with cash ($2,200).

I just happen to have a year's worth of auto related expenditures. In 2012, we spent a total of $4,979.37 on cars. That's for tires, snow tires, oil changes, repairs, gas, auto insurance, and vehicle registration on two cars.

That comes to 3.6% of our total salary for all car related expenses. And we do a lot of road trip vacations.

 

[pletal]

I was going to really go for it in the car department, Test drove Lambo's, Ferrari's etc. Would of cost me about 40% gross of income for a year. Bought a new Camaro SS . Had it for six months, traded it for a Honda CRV. One of the best cars I have ever had. Always thought i wanted an exotic car, but the $500 oil change was against all I ever learned!

 

[Midpack]

I was going to really go for it in the car department, Test drove Lambo's, Ferrari's etc. Would of cost me about 40% gross of income for a year. Bought a new Camaro SS . Had it for six months, traded it for a Honda CRV. One of the best cars I have ever had. Always thought i wanted an exotic car, but the $500 oil change was against all I ever learned!

+1. Not quite as shocking as your example, but a routine $1200 brake job on my wife's Audi TT about 8 years ago cured both of us too...we both have basic Toyotas now.

 

[uc_brian]

I've had MB, BMW, Audi, Toyota, Honda, etc.. and there are pros and cons to each. If you really enjoy driving then get an older model (bmw) and drive the hell out of it. If you're just buying it for badge reasons.....there will be a long way to go until your mind is ready for retirement.

I have an newer Audi and BMW and spent about 2% gross on depreciation and other 2% on operation and maintence.

Trying to save 30-40% of take home. saving 10% won't get you too far unless you have a very high take home or a very optimal portfolio / return.

Good luck and hope you enjoy the wheels. You're trading wheels for time, but I have no right to say if that is right or not. It depends on your own value system.

 

[Ally]

We have a 1999 Chevy truck with Tommy lift, a 2000 Mercury Sable wagon that was my dad's and has 30,000 miles on it. We had a 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis, until my husband had an accident on recent snow and ice. So we just replaced it with a low mileage 2004 Grand Marquis. We don't owe on our cars, we always try and pay cash.

The value of all our vehicles is probably 8% of our income. We aren't that into cars at our house.

 

[bo_knows]

We have 2 cars in our household that we bought brand new in 2003 and 2009 respectively. They were each ~9% of our gross income at the time.

2003 VW Jetta
2009 Mini Cooper S

 

[ER_Hopeful]

3000/100000 = 3%. Nissan pathfinder, a 10 yr old car when i got it.

 

[jon-nyc]

Heh. I'm going to win this.

My last car cost me less than one half of one percent of gross. Its a 97 Corolla, as of today it has 36k miles on it.

That's not a typo.

 

[martyb]

2007 Toyota Camry LE - Cost new: $19,700 80k miles, regular oil changes.
Maintenance: New tires (1 set) Brake job, Water pump, battery.

2010 Toyota Camry SE - Cost new: $22,500 75k miles, regular synthetic oil changes,
Maintenance: Battery, Tires.

 

[abbvie]

I been advised I spent too much on my car and curious what people on this board have spent on cars.

I spent approx 50% of my gross on a Lexus.

People here have advised me to downgrade based on my goal to retire young. After driving a Lexus I still plan on sticking with luxury cars. This will delay my goal. But it is a personal choice.

I have a 94 geo prizm (paid $1700) on a 126K annual salary.

 

[kfindley79]

I've had MB, BMW, Audi, Toyota, Honda, etc.. and there are pros and cons to each. If you really enjoy driving then get an older model (bmw) and drive the hell out of it. If you're just buying it for badge reasons.....there will be a long way to go until your mind is ready for retirement.

I have an newer Audi and BMW and spent about 2% gross on depreciation and other 2% on operation and maintence.

Trying to save 30-40% of take home. saving 10% won't get you too far unless you have a very high take home or a very optimal portfolio / return.

Good luck and hope you enjoy the wheels. You're trading wheels for time, but I have no right to say if that is right or not. It depends on your own value system.

Another Audi owner in the bunch! I love my PAID FOR 2006 A4. I smile every time I get behind the wheel.

 

[JustMeUC]

My dad gave me a BMW Z4 for a Christmas present a few years back. It was a blast to drive for a month or so... I did enjoy it a lot until it came time to put new tires on it. Even buying from tirerack, it cost me $1000 to replace them. And they were so soft that they had to be replaced every 15K-18K miles.... Oil Changes were $160 at the BMW dealership or $120 at a local place. 8 quarts Synthetic plus a $35 oil filter..

I hated to hurt my dads feelings but sold the car after the 3rd tire change.

It is not only the cost of the car, but high dollar cars require high dollar maintenance.


I just bought a Hyundai Genesis and am happy as a clam with it so far!!

 

[AndrewJackson]

Not sure what my car expenses are but I try to run a tight ship. After having my precious 97 civic for 5 years (bought in 08 for 2800), though, I am being forced into an upgrade by (1.) the heating not working and (2.) the family getting bigger than just me and the wife. After some in depth research, I believe the best bang for the buck, for me will be an 06 toyota corolla with 60-70 k miles. Probably will spend 6-8 k and hopefully the car will last a good long while.

 

[Months.in.Wyoming]

W2R is right. The fact that one can afford a 100k car is evidence (usually) of an appreciation for wealth (wealth being income independent). Once you have that appreciation you work hard not to destroy wealth. Buying a new car is one of the best ways to destroy wealth...

My income is decent / very good. I love cars. The last car I bought was in 2006 - a 2004 Porsche Cayenne Turbo with 12k miles. Bought for 55% of what the guy that drove it 12k paid. I love the car, will never part with it hopefully...

BTW - I'm an infrequent poster here and I thank all of you who've posted over the past couple years as I always pause and think a bit when reading these.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Late to the thread. I drive a 2006 Honda Accord. My wife drives 2009 Honda CR-V. We bought both new, but were very careful not to buy more car than we needed (e.g., no V-6 for me, no leather for her). We also focused on extra features that mattered. In my wife's case, it was the all-wheel drive (since we were planning to have kids and the roads can be dangerous when wet/icy/snowy). In my case, it was the heated leather seats.

 

[Lazarus]

I would like Jay Leno to answer this question.

 

[MBAVisionary]

I spent about 54% of my gross income in 2008 on my new 2008 Nissan Altima. Car turned 5 a few weeks ago. No major problems since I bought it and still under 70k miles. Warrantied for another 2 years for engine / major components and 5 more / 50k more for the transmission. Put around 3k in mods to it over the years. Not planning to sell it anytime soon as my student loan payoff is my top priority right now.

Car I owned prior was easily racking up some expensive bills. To the tune of 1500 over a few months between a 60k tune-up (car ran a little better but still a ripoff), brake job for (400+). It was also 5 years old at the time and at the time I thought my local dealership was looking out for my best interests with the car. In hindsight I could've shopped around and saved a significant amount of money.

I now see that I was spending beyond my means in my early 20s and thought a new car could fill a void. Between general loneliness, wanting to impress people, narrow-minded thinking and receiving almost twice my annual income after the unexpected loss of a parent. I also made the error of thinking my income would be what it was at the minimum and be much higher over the next few years.

I'm 29 now and have been doing what I can to set myself on the path for success. A new car is appealing, but once I think about how many hours are required to make that purchase. Say 30k at $17/hr is 1,764 hours. Divided by 40 that's 44 weeks for an asset that depreciates the day you drive it off the lot. It's less painful if income goes up or length of ownership is extended, but still.. ok enough of me babbling.

 

[comicbookgujy]

I win this contest! 0%!!! I do not own a car.

I plan on buying one soon for around $20k , so about 20% of my gross annual salary.