I'm 36, so I graduated high school in 2008. I started making good money a few years ago, and this year I thought I would consider treating myself to a basic luxury car, like a new Lexus. Nothing super fancy, but I make around $200k and have made $140k+ for a few years so I figured that would be reasonable and would last a long time.
A basic Lexus starts at $45k. Even a new Mazda CX 50 is close to that. A basic F150 is 45k.
I thought if I managed to reach this income level, I could easily afford a nice car. But the idea of spending $1k a month for three years on a car payment makes me feel nauseated. And the idea of dropping $45k cash, which I definitely don't have outside my retirement accounts, on a depreciating asset makes me feel even worse.
Am I just being cheap and thinking about things in 2008 dollars? Or am I being reasonable? Genuine question. I may just be cheap. I have a six month emergency fund in cash and a retirement account that's more or less on track for my age. I owe 185k on a house worth probably 220k.
I don't know. I look around and know I'm making great money, more than I have any right to with my experience and education, but I feel like everyone is either doing better than I am or enjoying what they have better than I do.
(I did get divorced two years ago, so if you're asking why I don't have more put away in savings/more equity, that's why. No kids though.)
24 comments
Unreasonable. Think in 2025 dollars.
A Mustang GT can be $60K now and that was supposed to be the regular man’s V8 car. $60K is close to the median income in the USA.
I’m at $150K and that’s just enough to live a life free of any deficiencies/deficits while saving / investing.
You’re smart dude. Idk what to tell you. They’ve gone up in price sure, but like… you don’t value that thing as much as you thought you did.
Respect and congrats on balling IN control.
Treat yourself to a sick vacation or a dope coffee maker, idk. Whatever other thing you love doing.
For me, I really have enjoyed lifting weights, so I’d just always have the best protein powder, the sickest home gym, that kind of shit.
What else do you love that would improve your QOL for a reasonable number and do that?
In a similar boat to you, and have come to similar conclusions, so I drive an older car. At the end of the day, it’s about what you value – it sounds like maybe you value a nice new car less than what you value using that money elsewhere, whether saving or a different car or whatever. I don’t think that makes you cheap, it just means you value what you value. Nothing wrong with that.
In my opinion…. kind of being cheap I suppose. Wife and I make about $160k/each and we bought a nice truck for $65k. We paid for the comfort, convenience, and frankly, because we could afford it.
The point is, hobbies and interests are not designed to be cheap in a sense. If they were you would probably desire something else that costs money. As long as bills are paid, investments are doing fine, and theres food in the fridge, I say go for it. Prices will never go down. I would suggest a combination of a downpayment and financing, both for credit rating and to soften the blow of only doing one or the other.
You know how you also justify buying a depreciating asset? Hold on to it long enough to feel like you got your money’s worth out of it. I drive vehicles until their last trip is to a junk yard. 15+ years with the same vehicle doesnt bother me at all. Single owner vehicle so i know how its been treated its entire life.
Enjoy your Lexus.
You just have a scarcity mentality towards money, and I don’t say that a criticism, it’s probably a good thing overall.
You’ve realised that dropping $50k on a car isn’t that good of an idea, and you’d be right, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it though.
If you’re uncomfortable spending that kind of money, then don’t, you’ll just look a the car and see money, rather than enjoying the car.
I’m similar, sometimes I look at Porsches or whatever, and think, yeah! I could get one, but then I think, it a year or so, when the novelty has worn off, I’ve just got an $100k shaped hole in my bank account and car I’m bored of.
Overall though, if you can’t *easily* afford a luxury item, you probably shouldn’t be buying it.
Just talking about the Lexus (like an IS 250 back in 2008), that has actually gone down in price in real dollars.
IS 250: $30.5k in 2008 dollars ($46k in 2025 dollars)
IS 300: $42-43k in 2025 dollars
So you get more car for less.
Somebody out there is willing to buy a honda prelude for 61k. Yeah the market is crazy.
You’re old enough that you vividly remember prices from your youth, but psychologically haven’t adapted to the inflation that we’ve experienced.
You could always split the difference and buy a used late model luxury vehicle that provides new features, but with the joys of depreciation lol.
A used, well kept Lexus ES is a decent value. ESP as most ppl want SUVs
I’m in a similar boat. My wife and I just can’t justify spending $1k/mo on a car payment.
So we went to Carmax and got a sensible $35k car.
Certified pre owned is a great entry point to luxury brand cars. You’ll get a warranty and the same vehicle and all that and save tens of thousands.
I snagged a German convertible from my local dealer from a Facebook ad. It was 1.5 years old with 5600miles on it, it’s a blast. It is now out of warranty. I spend about 3500 a year on maintenance, brakes, and tires from a local shop I trust. The car is now 7 years old, no payment, and a fun car to drive. Take your time and look at all of your options, you can find something that works for you.
Ohhh this was me in January. I bought my car in February. Don’t let your fear of a rainy day stop you from enjoying the sun. I don’t regret the car one bit (even our price range was the same)
You are being a bit cheap. Is that bad? Not necessarily but you won’t experience luxury by being cheap. Just depends on what you want out of life.
One thing I will say is you’ll never enjoy your money as much as you can when you’re young.
Keep saving money until you find something worth spending on, cars or otherwise.
I’ve been a car guy my whole life but I’m appalled at the price of new cars and what people spend on them. I’m so proud of my 99 Ford Ranger I bought in college ~20 years ago and is still in the family.
I’m working through some basic repairs to hand it off to my nephew to take back to the college where I bought it before he was born. And it’s still more reliable and opens up more Ozark redneck adventures than anything else his parents would buy.
For fun things like luxury cars, I use bonus money only. I bought my 911 with bonus money. But, I bought it used. These are usually well taken care of and a cpo helps with piece of mind. The 911 market is very strange as my car is now worth about what I paid for it three years ago. A Lexus won’t do that. But, the Lexus will be a lot cheaper to maintain.
My thought is to set a budget and find the car you want, probably used, that fits it. Drive that until the wheels fall off and then use “spare” money for the next. Use the depreciation curve to your advantage.
Prices have gone up and you probably notice it more on purchases you make infrequently like cars, homes etc.
Listen dude, if bragging about having money isn’t a priority (it shouldn’t be), then buy a used Lexus for 25-30k. Nobody outside of car nerds can tell the difference anyway and you save money.
You never get rich by giving away your money, that includes buying luxury cars.
You see a lot of nice cars on the road because people can’t handle money and for some reason want to blow a house down payment on a box on wheels that loses value as it gets older.
Buying new cars has never made good financial sense.
Look for something a few years old with low mileage and pay cash. Drive it to 200K miles.
This all comes down to priorities.
Money is just a way to get goods and services. It has no intrinsic value.
I get a lot of value out of nice cars, but that’s all after saving 20% a year, the house, vacations etc.
At a point it’s all trade offs. Choose yours.
I don’t think buying a new vehicle is worthwhile in any situation, really. I personally look for new-ish used vehicles, like between 3-5 years old with reasonable miles on them. Give a good down payment and get a reputable extended warranty at least for the drivetrain.
Lot of humblebragging here but if you’re making $200k I’d estimate take home conservatively at $130k. That means the $1,000 you’re lamenting over is out of estimated $10k *a month* after retirement deductions. 10%.
For comparison that’d be like someone with $3,000 monthly take home having a $300 car payment.
With that said – If you have a paid off car, run it til the wheels fall off. Like you said, a car is an awful investment as it is a depreciating asset.
While you’re being indecisive though, go ahead and put the $1,000 a month into its own savings account so if you do decide to treat yourself, you’ll have a solid down payment.
Last thought, comparing yourself to others is wildly unhealthy and expensive. It’s also allowing yourself to be played by society’s push for competition in every aspect of life. They want you to compare yourself so you buy more and more bullshit.
Everything is crazy expensive now. Buy a 2-3 year old used one. Plenty with almost no miles yet someone else eating the depreciation. I found a great ES 350, exactly wha I was looking for. One owner. Garage kept. Clean CarFax. Low miles. Balance of warranty. 1/3 the price of a new one.
Sounds like your live in rural America or possibly the South? There is a buffet emphasis on cars as status symbol in those parts of the country. Your home prices also give me that vibe.
I don’t like to buy cars that I can’t pay cash for, but that is just like, my opinion man. Depreciating or not, spend what you feel comfortable spending and shop in that range. You can offset the cost by selling whatever you are currently driving and if you feel like your cash budget won’t make you happy, just figure out how much you can comfortably finance and split the difference. Shop for the best financing options and never trust the dealer to tell you what’s good.
I only ever bought one car brand new (2012 Tiguan) and financed it at 1.2% so my payment was like $500/mo. It was worth it and i loved that car. Every car since has been a cash car. One time i was a little bit rich and got $300,000 dropped in my lap and i couldn’t bring myself to shell out $45,000 of it for a new car, so i just sold mine and paid $20k for the difference and now I drive exactly the truck i wanted. No car payments are much more satisfying than a brand new car imo. My 1991 Charokee was by far the favorite car i ever owned and it was just a stock, 32 year old car that i drove until it caught on fire (alternator) and then a few years after that
If you are dead set on driving new, maybe research leases. I hear they aren’t half bad
Edit: CarMax is the absolute best for buying imo. Give it a go
The auto industry has absolutely gone bonkers. The fact they now have 96 month loans is crazy. I personally would love a newer vehicle, but as you said 1k+ is just crazy for something that is supposed to depreciat,, but then you look at the used market and what used to be a 5k vehicle is now 10k+.