Dating partner with a status car (BMW, etc). Turnoff?

[burning 4 revenge]

I resent successful people, because I've made a lot of poor choices in life

[Cherished]

Nothing different in owning a nice car than owning a nice house, etc. If I can afford a Mercedes, I can afford it. If you can't, sorry.Doesn't make me any less responsible with money.

i think you are concerned with your own lack of ability to work hard enough to earn enough to own a nice car.

A Mercedes is not necessarily a status car...it's a damned good car as far as quality. Work hard, my friend! You may get to own one, too!

You can keep pouring money into your piece of crap car!

Hell, you can pay $35,000 for a Honda Accord and that person isn't being criticized for not owning a 1990 Ford Fiesta, right? LOLOLOL

 

 

"Found" money is worth just as much as earned money. To treat it differently precisely demonstrates the lack of discipline about which I created this thread.

 

I will admit that some local families (non-American) strongly encourage their young to buy status cars so that they can "attract a good wife" who is as worthy as they perceive themselves and will give them money to do so. This same mentality is likely behind the ton of 20-25 year old homedebtors with foreign surnames showing up on the local property foreclosure rolls.

 

That topic is for another thread, however.

[Trialbyfire]

I'm waiting for someone to state that the Sheikh of Dubai's children, should all be driving Honda Civics so others won't resent them.

 

There's fiscally responsible and then there's just pure silliness.

[burning 4 revenge]

I'm waiting for someone to state that the Sheikh of Dubai's children, should all be driving Honda Civics so others won't resent them.

 

There's fiscally responsible and then there's just pure silliness.

do you feel that social and economic hierarchies are just an extension of nature and the resentment those lower in the hierarchy have for those higher in the hierarchy is the pathetic impotent jealousy that the weak have for the strong?

[Citizen Erased]

I'm waiting for someone to state that the Sheikh of Dubai's children, should all be driving Honda Civics so others won't resent them.

 

There's fiscally responsible and then there's just pure silliness.

 

No-one should be driving Honda Civics.

[Trialbyfire]

do you feel that social and economic hierarchies are just an extension of nature and the resentment those lower in the hierarchy have for those higher in the hierarchy is the pathetic impotent jealousy that the weak have for the strong?

I think people should spend more time being happy within the environment they personally chose, rather than resenting other people.

[Trialbyfire]

No-one should be driving Honda Civics.

 

To be fair, the Civic SI is great bang for the buck.

[jerbear]

I'm waiting for someone to state that the Sheikh of Dubai's children, should all be driving Honda Civics so others won't resent them.

 

There's fiscally responsible and then there's just pure silliness.

 

No-one should be driving Honda Civics.

 

The solution for the above is we should all eat rice. Just don't burn the rice.

 

do you feel that social and economic hierarchies are just an extension of nature and the resentment those lower in the hierarchy have for those higher in the hierarchy is the pathetic impotent jealousy that the weak have for the strong?

Social and economic hierarchies will develop by nature. Resentment will rear its head by all stratum because of that.

[Isolde]

People choose what to spend money on.

 

For example, I'd much rather drive a cheap but safe Civic, and spend the rest of the money on nice clothes and jewelry. I view cars as utilitarian whereas my dad views them as accessories.

 

Fancy cars go along with the "bad boy image," but association does not equal correlation.

[burning 4 revenge]

I think people should spend more time being happy within the environment they personally chose, rather than resenting other people.

Im going to become a Bolshevik

[Trialbyfire]

Im going to become a Bolshevik

This makes sense since you're a Republican, big gubmint, et al.

[burning 4 revenge]

This makes sense since you're a Republican, big gubmint, et al.

 

I'm not a Republican

 

I voted for McCain because the Pope told me to, but I'm certainly not a Republican

[SoulSearch_CO]

Working to pay off my debt, and now being in relationship with a man that has tons of toys and near-zero debt... it would be a turnoff if it had him in debt just for said car. I made the stupid mistake of getting a beautiful Infiniti right before the economy tanked and couldn't sell my first car. Yeah.... I'm staying away from credit for awhile.

 

But you know, it also says a lot as to WHY he has the car. If it's just a car he happens to like, that's cool. If he got it to impress other people - yeah, that's a turnoff.

[anne1707]

I enjoy driving and like to have a decent car. My last car was a status brand (according to some posts in this thread) but my current car is not. However it is probably better equipped for not having that expensive name tag on it. I should add that these are both company cars and I did not actually choose the first one. If I had to buy a car for myself I probably would not spend as much as these cost through choice.

 

If you can afford to spend money on a car then go ahead but it does sometimes feel as if people use their car as a means of demonstrating their success just like always wearing designer clothes or showing off expensive jewellery. However to me this shows a lack of confidence and insecurity.

[rchrd881]

i think you are concerned with your own lack of ability to work hard enough to earn enough to own a nice car.

Scroll up for the part where I stated that I can pay cash for one, choose not to do so, and am dismayed that owning one is expected of me.

 

Nice strawman argument, though.

[moman]

Interesting discussion. I bought a new Corvette last year as I've wanted one my whole life, wrote term papers about them in high school, etc. I finally had the money for some new wheels and bam here it is. I was a little worried about being lumped into the middle-aged crisis group, but I haven't found that it made much difference (good or bad) with women. Now that I have a gf, she prefers that we drive my old pickup instead as it's more comfortable.

 

Seriously though, why would someone 50+ want a Corvette? it's a pain to get into and out of at my young age.

 

Another point - I own my own business, and for better or worse, what you drive points to the success you have, and young man driving sports car screams success. It has made a big difference on my ability to close contracts and is a great conversation starter.

[Sam Spade]

Others see socioeconomic status.

 

I see potential spending problem considering that one can "live the good life" for years while possessing a negative net worth thanks to credit.

 

What do you think? I'm especially interested in hearing thoughts on young women owning these cars. I live in The OC and it's largely expected that if you pull down a white-collar salary, you need to drive a car that fits your professional image.

 

 

I'm happy to see people who think this way. It is amazing how many people live way beyond their means. I make decent salary, but since I actually live on what I make, my lifestyle is definitely "mediocre" . I cannot afford a BMW. I can afford the monthly payments on a BMW. Not the same thing at all .

[Sam Spade]

Holy crap there are a lot of judgmental people here.

 

What if the guy is just a car nut? Maybe he has been scrimping and saving so he can buy the kind of car he always wanted.

 

I have a few co-workers who drive BMWs who drive them only because they love cars. The could care less what others thought about what they drive. And they are very financially responsible.

 

RF

 

That is fine. People can spend whatever they want, as long as they can actually afford it. I spend wey more on clothes and shoes than any "civilian" would, but cash only .

[Sam Spade]

People choose what to spend money on.

 

For example, I'd much rather drive a cheap but safe Civic, and spend the rest of the money on nice clothes and jewelry. I view cars as utilitarian whereas my dad views them as accessories.

 

Fancy cars go along with the "bad boy image," but association does not equal correlation.

 

 

Smart girl - you spend about 1 hour a day in your car, but about 10 hours in your clothse - spend accordingly !

 

Also, James Bond would look cool even in geo metro, so buying a car for any reason other than actually liking the car is douchey.

 

The problem is that most of the reasons we buy anything (especially cars) have almost nothing to do with the properties of the actual product, but more with the idea of ourselves and our aspirations. So, no point in ratioinalizing away spending huge amounts of money on a car (as in "I just like the car because it's really good car). Huyndai Genezis is just as good as Lexus LS400.

Don't get me wrong - I'd happily spend 100k on a car if I could afford it, but the reasons for this would be simply because that would be an ultimate car that will make me feel slightly better about myself . It will have nothing to do with its great handling or whatever .

After certain treshold, for any product, the marginal increases in quality after certain point are hideously smaller than the associated marginal increase in price. For the average sport sedan this point is at about 30k.

All that said, anybody should spend their money on whatever makes them happy. The problem is that many people finance lifestyles thay cannot actually afford.

[Sam Spade]

That can cut both ways. Millionaire Next Door showed us that those with a $1MM net worth are likely to clip coupons and drive a seven year-old Ford F-150. I look around me and I see the $60-90k per year set leasing status cars as a way to differentiate themselves from the next socioeconomic rung down as they are insecure in their position, feel the need to advertise that they've "made it," and are constantly looking over their shoulder.

 

So true... Let's do the math per some conventional (and conservative) guidelines:

if you make 60k, you take home about 40, or 3500 a month. If you generally have common sense mortgage, your mortgage will be around 1200. let's be lenient here and say that credit card + student loans are no more than 400 total a month. This leaves 1900 for all other expenses. Substract 200 for groceries, 300 for eating out, 150 for cell phone+ cable, 50 for car insurance, ~100 for gas and you're already down to 1100.

Throw in another 100 for personal care, and you're left with 1000.

If you actually live within your means, you need to set money aside for vacations and irregular purchases. say 250 each, which leaves you with 500.

So, technically you can afford (the payments on) a good, 'status' car, but just barely. Living paycheck to paycheck, on a single person needs and without putting anything in long- term savings. Not to mention that I didn't budget anything for clothes/home furnishings/home improvements etc. So I would say that 90k is the minimum income at which it could make some (minimum) sense to take on the large liability that is a nice car...

[HeartLikeLead]

bimmers rock.

id rather be carless than drive a crappy american car.