What kind of car do you own and % of salary

[zxcvlkj]

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.

 

[REWahoo]

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

Are you sure you are on the right internet board?

 

[zxcvlkj]

Are you sure you are on the right internet board?

Yep, goal remains the same as everyone else on the board. Taking a different path is all.

 

[REWahoo]

Yep, goal remains the same as everyone else on the board. Taking a different path is all.

Unless you make some serious money, the path you are taking is the long way around. A taste for expensive cars and a goal of early retirement are usually not compatible. Late early retirement maybe, but not early early retirement.

 

[W2R]

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.

That does sound like a lot. As you say, it is a personal choice. But if you want validation of that personal choice, you probably aren't going to get much from an early retirement board.

How about this? I fully and 100% support everyone being able to make their own personal choices, even when they are probably incompatible with early retirement.

 

[FIREd]

Spent less than 6% of gross on my Toyota in 2010.

 

[zxcvlkj]

Unless you make some serious money, the path you are taking is the long way around. A taste for expensive cars and a goal of early retirement are usually not compatible. Late early retirement maybe, but not early early retirement.

I figured 40s is out of the question. push back to 50s. still saving my 10%.

That does sound like a lot. As you say, it is a personal choice. But if you want validation of that personal choice, you probably aren't going to get much from an early retirement board.

How about this? I fully and 100% support everyone being able to make their own personal choices, even when they are probably incompatible with early retirement.

No validation required. Interested if anyone else have been able to follow a similar path and accomplished their goal.

 

[GrayHare]

Long ago I got a car from inside a cereal box, but never one from inside a can. (Sorry.)

I spent 50% of salary once for a car, but then I generally keep 'em for decades.

 

[W2R]

No validation required. Interested if anyone else have been able to follow a similar path and accomplished their goal.

Yes. Someone else was able to spend 50% of income on a car and still retire. Either their initial income was stratospheric, or else they cut back mercilessly in other areas and/or didn't get another car again for ~20+ years.

There are people here who manage to retire early and whose entire yearly salary would not cover a new Lexus. Their secret? As far as I can tell, they spend less than many others think possible and manage their money carefully.. If you are one who is prone to say, "It's impossible for me to live on $25K/year!" and "I need a new Lexus at least every four years!" then I'd sure suggest thinking twice.

 

[smileydog]

Got a certified pre-owned (used car) luxury model. Was about 25% of my yearly income at the time. I also keep vehicles 10+ years. That was a real stretch for my taste but I wanted to get something nice for the DW. I still drive my 13 YO pickup and plan to keep it going as long is practical as I try to do as much of my own repair and maintenance as possible.

 

[golfersailor]

I understand!

I am retired and wanted a new BMW but bought a Ford! I could not justify spending $30k more. I just call my Ford my BMW and saved the extra cash for something more worthwhile later.

 

[Meadbh]

I bought a new Honda this year. I traded in a 17 year old Honda. Before buying I did extensive research over the previous 2 years. I did not even bother visiting a Lexus dealer, or the Lexus website. I did consider an Infiniti, but when I realized the opportunity cost, it's value to me was significantly less than that of a Honda.

That's the way most of us think around here. Except that I'm probably considered an outlier because I bought a new vehicle. I'm paying for it over 3 years at 0.99%, which smooths the financial impact.

BTW, I'm a physician. Not all physicians are spendthrifts!

 

[Midpack]

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

Why would you care what they think, or what any of us spent? So you spent more than most of us would (you had to know that before you even posted), now what?

And we may be willing to spend 'more than others would' on something other than cars (homes, boats, vacations, collectibles, other 'toys'), so what we spend on cars misses the point WRT RE in many cases.

 

[photoguy]

I'm still driving my very first car (95 accord). I'm planning to use it until I pull the plug (not much longer hopefully) and then I will donate it to NPR. We also have a 2006 element . Basically our strategy is to buy an entry level honda/toyota and drive it until it dies.

 

[Alan]

Last car I bought was in 2007 and it was a new Toyota which cost, after trade-in, 7% of my gross salary that year. It's 5 years old now and I expect to keep it another 3 - 5 years.

We spend a lot more on vacations than cars each year. Many people have an area they like to splurge on. The important thing imo is that you do all your saving necessary to keep on track for your own personal goals then spend the rest on whatever you like.

 

[NW-Bound]

If I were to buy a new car, I would look to get something like a CRV, or if a sedan, something like a Camry.

As I have not been in the market for a new car, I look up their prices. Much less than 1% of my net worth, as I do not have earned income anymore. Either car would be good enough for me, although a Lexus would be a far better ride, no doubt.

I was surfing the Web to look for ideas to make terrine, and just dropped in to post my 2 cents. I wonder how much of net worth 2 cents would be, heh heh heh... It's rainy outside, and I feel like having some comfort food. Darn, I would also need to get cornichon to go with the terrine.

Meanwhile, my wife is stirring a big pot of cranberry. You see, she ran across some packages of fresh cranberries on sale, and decided to get them to make home-made juice. There are other ways to enjoy life than driving a fancy car, I am telling ya....

 

[W2R]

When I couldn't really afford a luxury car, I thought it would be really cool to own a Mercedes or Jaguar. Now that I can afford one, I really don't want one. Go figure!

 

[Midpack]

When I couldn't really afford a luxury car, I thought it would be really cool to own a Mercedes or Jaguar. Now that I can afford one, I really don't want one. Go figure!

I always thought I wanted a bonafide luxury car until I could actually afford it too, no interest any more. We all learn to master ego if we're smart...

 

[Lazarus]

If you were retired would you go back to work to buy it? If not why buy it now?

 

[pb4uski]

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 think you have been given good advice. I would rather invest in appreciating assets than spend money on depreciating assets.

I like nice cars but I like financial independence better. My last two cars have been higher end versions of mid-level cars (Sonata and Legacy) but they each are very comfortable and well equipped (but not in Lexus league).

It is all a matter of personal choice - but personal choices matter. One thing you could do to see the implications of your decision is to model the growth of the difference between a Lexus and something more modest assuming that you trade cars every x years and the invested funds earn y% per annum. If you're comfortable with the trade-off then by all means - enjoy!!

 

[Mulligan]

In my younger days right out of college, I had to have the cherry red Iroc Z28 with the t tops and louver. Damn did I love that car and the girls I could catch with that. But after about 3 years of realizing almost half of my net income was going to that car whether by payments, gas, insurance, or taxes, I realized the thrill was gone. Now that I am at the point of my life where I can easily afford a brand new one, I ironically find that I have the oldest car I have ever had in my life. 11 years old with over 180k on it and wont consider trading until it doesn't run. I don't want the auto companies in my wallet, I don't want the insurance company in my wallet, and I don't want the government tax collector in my wallet. But to each his own. I certainly can't fault you as I once was like that, but if the allure to retire early starts to pull at you harder, be prepared to suddenly change your view point on what type of car you like!

 

[Rambler]

I've had a Lexus company car for 11 years now. First two were ESs, third was an IS, and I'm on an HS now. I can't say the IS and the HS were worth the money, although I thought the ESs were. I switched only because they stopped selling the ES in Japan, where it is made...go figure.

As we move into retirement next week, we have a 2005 Honda Odyssey Touring that cost maybe 5-6% of my gross that year (had a really good year), which has only 40k miles on it and is in great shape. We'll probably put another 30-50k and 3-5 years on it before trading. When it is time to replace it, we will most likely do do with a CRV, Accord, or possibly a Camry.

We also have a 2007 Tundra 5.7L SR5 that set me back 3-4% (another really good year). It only has 11k miles on it. Now, DW and I are debating on whether to get a travel trailer or a fifth wheel TT. I'm leaning towards a 29 foot fiver that has a max weight right up near my towing capacity, although its cargo carrying capacity is huge at 2700 pounds. I'm trying to decide if my Tundra is enough truck. If it isn't enough truck, I may have to upgrade sooner than I wanted, to an F-250 or F-350 with a Powerstroke Diesel engine. Then again, if we get an F-350, we could tow a bigger fiver (and so the cycle begins). Slightly off topic, but as newbies to RVing, I really don't want to go all out until I'm sure we'll enjoy it (why buy a powerstroke for $55k when my 5 year old Tundra will do everything I need a truck to do except pull a gigantaur Fiver). At the same time, if we go too small, it would be akin to buying a guarantee that we won't enjoy it. I'm trying to find the happy medium.

R

 

[zxcvlkj]

Yes. Someone else was able to spend 50% of income on a car and still retire. Either their initial income was stratospheric, or else they cut back mercilessly in other areas and/or didn't get another car again for ~20+ years.

There are people here who manage to retire early and whose entire yearly salary would not cover a new Lexus. Their secret? As far as I can tell, they spend less than many others think possible and manage their money carefully.. If you are one who is prone to say, "It's impossible for me to live on $25K/year!" and "I need a new Lexus at least every four years!" then I'd sure suggest thinking twice.

thanks for the input. care to share your car and percentage for me to assess how much weight i should put into your insight. being in late 20s i am on this board because of the experience users have over me.

Why would you care what they think, or what any of us spent? So you spent more than most of us would (you had to know that before you even posted), now what?

And we may be willing to spend 'more than others would' on something other than cars (homes, boats, vacations, collectibles, other 'toys'), so what we spend on cars misses the point WRT RE in many cases.

I always thought I wanted a bonafide luxury car until I could actually afford it too, no interest any more. We all learn to master ego if we're smart...

i can't help but sense some negativity from your responses. if this thread raises your blood pressure, i suggest you not participate and create a new thread about homes, boats, vacations, collectibles, and toys.

if i have misunderstood your intentions i apologize.

the point of this thread is to create a discussion and to obtain an understanding of how much money people allocate to cars. i do not want to be in your situation where i end up with more money than i can spend. i would like to balance my present finances with my future finances.

 

[sunnysideup]

Approximately 7%. DH and I both have high mileage midsize cars that we paid cash for. We can easily buy luxury cars, but we are aiming for ER and if we spent the extra money on cars, it wouldn't be continuing to grow our ER fund.

I agree to each his own choice, but looking at my colleagues and friends, most who have luxury cars, biggest houses, spend their checks before they get them, are not ERing.....

Just my opinion based on real experience. Enjoy your car.

 

[jerome len]

Tell us what the 3 most important features you want in a car and how much a year you want to spend.....either leasing, making paymtents etc. Then how many miles you drive, does your 50% include gas and insurance? Then we'll be able to suggest, recommend since we'll have enough info to share advice.