It is normal to spend 50k-100k to buy a car?

nomekop on 03/02/2020 - 15:47

Hi all,

I am honestly surprised every time I see a post of people buying a car that expensive. However today the post mentioned buying a 70k car as a gift, so my questions are:

1) Do people really has that much cash running around?
2) Do they go into debt to pay for it?
3) How much do you need to earn to have that level of flexibility?

Today someone mention they are giving away a car like this for a family member, I presume they have the cash, so are they considered rich?

Sorry, maybe I can't just picture that much cash

Automotive

Comments

    • dust on 03/02/2020 - 16:12
      +107

      Don't have to live in a third world country to find that obscene.

      • Baa on 03/02/2020 - 16:25
        +77

        Hi all,

        I am honestly surprised every time I see a post of people buying facial cleanser that expense. However today the post mentioned buying $130 facial cleanser, so my questions are:

        1) Do people really has that much cash running around?
        2) Do they go into debt to pay for it?
        3) How much do you need to earn to have that level of flexibility?

        Today someone mention they are giving facial cleanser like this for a family member, I presume they have the cash, so are they considered rich?

        Sorry, maybe I can't just picture that much cash

        • Antikythera on 04/02/2020 - 03:26
          +34

          No offense, but I went through your post history and you bought your wife a new mobile plan just to get voicemail.

          Do you realise how many people in a third world country would find that obscene?

          • Scope on 05/02/2020 - 02:56
            +6

            @Antikythera: Don't have to live in a third world country to find that obscene.

            • UFO on 06/02/2020 - 08:34
              +3

              @Scope: Hi all,

              I am honestly surprised every time I see a post of people buying voicemail services that expensive. However today the post mentioned buying voicemail, so my questions are:

              1) Do people really has that much cash running around?
              2) Do they go into debt to pay for it?
              3) How much do you need to earn to have that level of flexibility?

              Today someone mention they are giving eneloops like this for a family member, I presume they have the cash, so are they considered rich?

              Sorry, maybe I can't just picture that much cash.

              • SolidworksError on 06/02/2020 - 12:14
                +8

                @UFO: No offense, but I went through your post history and you bought a new Swedish made penis enlarger.

                Do you realise how many people in a third world country would find that obscene?

                I am honestly surprised every time I see a post of people buying penis enlargers that expensive. However the post today mentioned buying $130 penis enlargers, so my questions are:

                1) Do people really has that much cash running around?
                2) Do they go into debt to pay for it?
                3) How much do you need to earn to have that level of flexibility?

                Today someone mention they are giving penis enlarger like this for a family member, I presume they have the cash, so are they considered rich?

                Sorry, maybe I can't just picture that much cash

          • capslock janitor on 07/02/2020 - 10:58

            @Antikythera: By reading this comment you agree to pay me $1000000000

      • nomekop on 03/02/2020 - 16:51
        +5

        Touche hahaha
        (BTW happy wife happy life)

        • smartazz104 on 04/02/2020 - 08:41
          +14

          Ah yes the creedo of the weak man.

    • ladybug1 on 03/02/2020 - 19:11

      that was a clarisonic, it is not a cleanser. Important.

      • HighAndDry on 03/02/2020 - 19:37
        +7

        I wonder how much of the $130 was for the marketing budget to come up with that new word for cleanser…

        • nomekop on 03/02/2020 - 21:38
          +6

          Although I don't use it, I can confirm my wife is very happy with it. And I have seen reduce the time considerably she spends cleaning her face

        • ladybug1 on 04/02/2020 - 23:52
          +1

          it is a cleaning brush! You have to use a cleanser with it.

    • Spam Service on 04/02/2020 - 08:56
      +1

      I wouldn't spend that much of a facial cleanser either, but not really a good comparison. Almost anyone could afford a $130 cleanser if they wanted to, but a large number of people simply couldn't afford a $50k-$100k car. A $130 extravagance is not the same as a $100,000 extravagance.

      • Ryanek on 04/02/2020 - 09:37

        Yeah well there are people earning 50k a month and can afford a 100k car whenever they want. That was the point of my comment.

        $130 to you can mean a lot more to others.

    • ozbjunkie on 04/02/2020 - 22:24
      +2

      Real question is why is the wife's face that dirty?

      Might be $130 well spent on his part.

      • Milk tea on 05/02/2020 - 07:05
        +2

        It's an electronic cleansing brush with a rotating head/bristles that will last at least 3 years if used every day and 130 over that amount of time isn't much. Most females use this or a similar brand if they don't want to use their hands to put on face wash or cleanser and is supposed to cleanse the skin better like an electric toothbrush I guess.

  • bobbified on 03/02/2020 - 16:13
    +7

    It's not whether you can afford it or not, it's about what your priorities are.

    Most people who are employed full time can afford it, but it means they'll have to give up other things.

    • nomekop on 03/02/2020 - 21:39

      It is true "most people who are employed full time can afford it"? I get the the sense that you will have to give up pretty much everything else or had a pretty good salary

      • bobbified on 03/02/2020 - 21:42

        Having a pretty good salary is good, but being single is what really helps! lol

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 03/02/2020 - 16:14
    +1

    1 - yep (not me tho) - however usually ppl buy these kinds of things via a business
    2 - usually a lease though a business
    3 - A lot more then i earn

    • Hoobz on 05/02/2020 - 09:59

      Ditto

    • SolidworksError on 06/02/2020 - 12:18

      And if the answer to 2 isn't lease, which is effectively debt of sorts anyway, it should be.

      At the income bracket the buy a $100k car you should already have reasonable assets and be a low risk loan customer, so idk, I don't buy new cars, but I'd have to guess around 4% pa now for an auto loan for a good customer? Investments should be outperforming that, so the debt is cheaper than selling other assets to buy it with cash.

  • TheBilly on 03/02/2020 - 16:27
    +5

    1) Do people really has that much cash running around?

    No

    2) Do they go into debt to pay for it?

    Yes

    3) How much do you need to earn to have that level of flexibility?

    I know at $100k you may still not have that flexibility

    • nuttapillar on 03/02/2020 - 16:50

      you should be able to. i got a 23k car at 40-50k per year

      • nomekop on 03/02/2020 - 16:52

        Did you have to save for long time?

        • nuttapillar on 03/02/2020 - 17:14

          no. I just owed most of it. only paid a couple grand upfront.

      • cauilfield on 03/02/2020 - 18:12
        +7

        i got a 20k car at 250 per year.

        • Jackson on 04/02/2020 - 20:22

          I know a guy on half a mil who has a 20k car

          • ATangk on 04/02/2020 - 22:13

            @Jackson: Warren Buffet drives a pretty regular car too.

            • Jackson on 04/02/2020 - 23:13

              @ATangk: Some studies have shown that people's preferences often revolve around what they thought was desirable in their formative years. Buffet is fine driving a regular upper end car, but look at Bezos, that guy was driving a real POS for a long time after Amazon was a huge success

              • Munki on 05/02/2020 - 14:32

                @Jackson: I hope it was a Daewoo Lanos or Hyundai Excel.

                • Jackson on 05/02/2020 - 16:13

                  @Munki: Just looked it up, was driving an old Honda Accord as recently as 2013

      • TheBilly on 03/02/2020 - 21:04
        +4

        I could but I don't like debt. Only home loan. Everything else if you ain't got the cash you ain't buying it, tough luck. On my salary it is hard to live it up.

    • Leeroy Jenkins on 04/02/2020 - 10:22
      +2

      Even at 200k/year earning it's still crazy to me to gift a 70k car. Don't ask how I know.

      I wouldn't be able to justify such a car even for myself if I were on 200k and of course with a home loan.

      You'd have to be earning way more than 200k to be comfortably gifting a 70k car IMO.

      So yeah that's a rarity.

      • Punknerd on 04/02/2020 - 10:51
        +2

        The guys on whirlpool seem to be on 200k when they are 23 so 70k car gift should be easy when they reach 30

      • ribbonsofnight on 07/02/2020 - 22:46

        If I was earning 200k per year it wouldn't take me long to have 1 million saved and at that point a 70k car wouldn't seem like that much. Of course the other part of the saving a million equation is not wasting money on gifting 70k cars.

  • 87percent on 03/02/2020 - 16:31
    +16

    People lie on the internet

  • scrimshaw on 03/02/2020 - 16:35
    +20

    For every person that wonders if it is "normal" to spend $150k on car, there are ten times as many who wonders if it is normal to spend:

    $5.20 on a bottle of Voss water
    $1800 on a iphone
    or $3000 on a android phone
    $5500 on a laptop
    $150,000 on a bottle of whiskey

    the point is, "normal" is subjective, I could say it's normal (for someone who enjoys tech) to spend $1k+ on a phone and $3K plus on laptops, but I might not comprehend the thought process of someone willing to shell out $5.20 on a 800ml bottle of spring water. But if there were absolutely no demand for veblen goods, they wouldn't exist in the market in the first place.

    • nomekop on 03/02/2020 - 21:36

      I think that even thougha 5k laptop is expensive, will never compare to a 100k car. I understand that the market offer what people buys, but I guess some just buy what they can't afford, or many are very well off

      • Nebargains on 04/02/2020 - 05:49
        +9

        There is always someone with more money.

        Someone $50k thinks the person with $100k is rich.

        The person with $100k thinks the person with $1mil is rich.

        The person with $1mil thinks the person with $10mil is rich…. And so on.

        • ATangk on 04/02/2020 - 22:14
          +1

          The person with $10mil who is actually reflecting on his life thinks the homeless guy on the corner of the street laughing is rich. But thats not really the going along with the flow of this topic so ill shut up now.

  • nuttapillar on 03/02/2020 - 16:49
    +1

    no.

  • wannagrababargain on 03/02/2020 - 16:52

    Cheap consumer credit.

    Doesn't necessarily mean they are rich. If anything will soon be poor if spending that much in cash on a car.

    • nomekop on 03/02/2020 - 16:52

      Thanks for sharing your perspective

    • HighAndDry on 03/02/2020 - 19:40
      +2

      Also Byzantine tax rules, for example the ones that make it financially smarter to invest in a new luxury car for the business owner than to actually expand the business.

      • nomekop on 03/02/2020 - 21:35

        Really? How is this possible?

        • HighAndDry on 04/02/2020 - 00:44
          +3

          Highest bracket tax rate is 45%. Corporate tax rate is 30%.

          So for a small business owner, buying a $100,000 car instead of paying himself the same amount in salary will only really cost between $55,000 to $70,000 in real dollars, because the rest of the $100,000 would be paid to the tax office anyway.

          • nomekop on 05/02/2020 - 09:06

            @HighAndDry: I should make my own business :O

          • ribbonsofnight on 07/02/2020 - 22:51

            @HighAndDry: more like 78k

            • HighAndDry on 07/02/2020 - 23:55

              @ribbonsofnight: Actually less. The price includes 10% GST too that as a business you offset against your GST receipts, so you start off only paying 91%, and the tax benefits add up from there.

  • Genepi on 03/02/2020 - 17:29

    I think a lot of them are small business owners or contractors so the business owns the vehicle. Yes some people enjoy spending that much cash on a car, and yes many people do take a loan (which I reckon is insane - taking a loan for a depreciating asset).

    It's all about priorities. For some people their car is super important. Personally I prefer to take Ubers - be driven - and by my calculation I save about 40% the cost of owning my own car and I never have to worry about it either.

    • Bargain80 on 03/02/2020 - 17:49

      business owners who spend business money for luxury cars and then declare bankruptcy a year later is one of them.

    • bobbified on 03/02/2020 - 18:53
      +1

      …many people do take a loan (which I reckon is insane - taking a loan for a depreciating asset).

      It's not insane if you have the funds in an investment that's generating more than the interest you're paying on the car loan.

      • SolidworksError on 06/02/2020 - 12:24

        Ding ding ding.

        S&P 500 has returned 8% on average since 1957. A quick google search returns 3.75% auto loans, and you could probably do better if you knew where to look. Over a 5 year loan principal $100k that makes the loan ~$21000 cheaper.

        Yes, new cars still aren't good value for a lot of people, but in the situation you need the shiny toy the loan is better.

        Credit/debt because you HAVE to have it: bad
        Credit/debt because you don't need it but have the luxury: good

    • Munki on 05/02/2020 - 14:35

      (which I reckon is insane - taking a loan for a depreciating asset).

      That's why you get a European car. They appreciate! ;)

  • jelko on 03/02/2020 - 18:01
    -1

    No it's not normal to buy a $100,000 car.

    If you're after an SUV then you could hit the upper 50s.

    • spackbace on 03/02/2020 - 18:03
      +3

      If you're after an SUV then you could hit the upper 50s.

      According to you, sure, but other purchasers disagree

  • CyberMurning on 03/02/2020 - 19:13
    +1

    As normal as buying $1,800 iPhone.

    • nomekop on 03/02/2020 - 21:35
      +1

      I think that a phone albeit expensive, doesn't compare to a 100k purchase. Specially with the averages salaries in austrlaia, but I guess heaps of people earn that much

      • Jackson on 04/02/2020 - 23:07
        +1

        Admittedly an $1800 iPhone might not send most Aussies broke, but it's just as much a luxury purchase as a 100k car and maybe at least as stupid in a 1.8:100 ratio type of way

  • 2jzzzz on 03/02/2020 - 19:16
    +2

    You might even be seeing cars you think are expensive, but they actually aren't. Huge price differences between makes. Take the AMG compare to C200 range…

    • Bid Sniper on 03/02/2020 - 19:19
      +1

      C200 1.5L, rolla is a baller 1.8L

  • Bid Sniper on 03/02/2020 - 19:17
    -1

    Is that Apple $1K USD stand out yet, totally going to get one to flex even thought I dont own any Apple products.

    OT: Normal to buy a $100K to $50K car, yeah that $100K car in two years will be worth around $50K, its all about those high yield investments. Normal yes, stupid also yes.

    • rompastompa on 03/02/2020 - 19:39
      +1

      yeah that $100K car in two years will be worth around $50K

      Got an example of that? A Carsales & Redbook link would be great!

      • spackbace on 03/02/2020 - 19:40

        Only if it starts with Jeep or Dodge

        • Bid Sniper on 03/02/2020 - 22:25
          +3

          Wouldn't be running by this stage

        • Jackson on 04/02/2020 - 23:09

          Infinity?

      • Bid Sniper on 03/02/2020 - 22:24

        Sure, anything with an infinity badge. I think they're nice cars actually bargain if you keep your car for 10 years. I wanted a Q30 as a daily.

        https://www.carsales.com.au/cars?sb=Year&q=(And.(C.Make.INFINITI..Model.Q50.).Service.Carsales.)&pg=1

  • [Deactivated] on 03/02/2020 - 21:46
    +2

    It's a mixed bag. Most people I know who are high income earners don't spend much on their cars, several people I know make $300k+ and drive $40-50k cars. Some guys I know who earn ~$400-500k drive $20k cars. Some people I know who earn 7 figure incomes do have expensive cars, and they pay cash for them, but you are talking $150-200k tops, and the families usually have one expensive car and a cheaper (relatively cheaper, say $60-100k) one (or two or three). On the flip side of this, I drive through shitty western new build suburbs in Melbourne and see $150k RR Sports and C63s parked in front of $350k houses. And it's not a rarity.

    • nomekop on 03/02/2020 - 22:07

      I can imagine if you have heaps of money you can choose whatever you want to buy. I am confused when people with a 70k salary is suddenly buying a 150k car. It just doesn't make sense unless they don't have expenses at all.

      • [Deactivated] on 03/02/2020 - 22:12
        +2

        I doubt anyone who earns $70k buys a $150k car.

        • nomekop on 03/02/2020 - 22:17
          -2

          But then it doesn't make sense.
          Why someone will buy a 350k house and a 150k car? If they buy a 350k house, it is because they have an income of ~70k, right? Otherwise they'll aim for more?

          • HighAndDry on 04/02/2020 - 00:46

            @nomekop: Maybe it's a lease.

          • foolsgold on 04/02/2020 - 09:07
            +1

            @nomekop: I reckon most of those cars are in the 40-80k bracket used. ie. A W205 C43 could be had around there, an X5, RR Sport etc.
            My theory is that people buy into these shitty suburbs, are professionals starting out with good wage growth. and after a couple of years they want a nice car to be stuck in traffic with, and continue the debt than move out. Or maybe they just have different priorities.

          • Never Pay RRP on 05/02/2020 - 14:25

            @nomekop: Well it’s most likely they didn’t buy the house and the car at the same time.
            Maybe they were poor when they bought the house and then got rich later. Some people grow up in and/or genuinely like low cost suburbs even though they have money to move elsewhere.
            Could also be children with silly disposable income who are still living at home due to cultural norms

  • this is us on 03/02/2020 - 23:10
    +11

    As others already said… It's about priorities…

    A friend of mine is a specialist doctor, single, and he pays 400 a week (rent) in Melbourne. That means he is putting his money somewhere else… Cars, clothes, good restaurants, long international trips travelling business class, facial cleanser… Not my business…

    People often spend more than 5 million dollars buying a house in Sydney or Melbourne. Buying a 150k car is probably not very challenging for those same individuals.

    And to be honest I read a lot of comments and people are just being judgemental-because that's what you get when you create this kind of thread on the internet.

    As someone pointed out, you cannot talk about inequality when you buy a $150 face cleanser, or when you eat anything more than the cheapest rice and beans, or when you drink any kind of alcohol, or when you buy a smartphone when you could be using a Nokia 3310… Those are all excess/luxury!

    That might sound rude but the truth is that unless they owe you some money, that's not your business and you don't have anything to understand about how people decide to spend their money. They can even burn it all if they want.

    • Slippery Fish on 03/02/2020 - 23:18

      I couldnt do my residential care work without my phone. Not a luxury

      • this is us on 03/02/2020 - 23:42
        +3

        I find this statement questionable but I'm not challenging that because I don't know you and it's not my business. You shouldn't be that literal…

        My point is that X judges Y because Y bought/buys W (luxury according to X).
        X spends money buying Z because X enjoys Z every now and then…
        V, however, couldn't imagine spending any money on Z (luxury according to V)

        T doesn't care about where X, Y, or V put their money. T is happy and comes to Ozbargain to find the best deals.

      • nuttapillar on 04/02/2020 - 00:49
        +2

        He wasn't talking about the existence of the phone… He was talking about the tier of the phone.

  • magikz on 04/02/2020 - 00:47
    +1

    At my workplace, some top tech talent on what I might guess to be paid around the $200-300k p.a mark, choose to not even have cars because the can't get the utility out of it. They ride scooters and motorbikes to work. I drive a 10k car that I bought 6 years ago and I'm on an above average salary. I catch the train to work or cycle in. Driving my car is a convenience choice for me at the moment - I use it for groceries and to reach friends who don't live near public transport. Otherwise personally I could probably do without it as well.

    100k on a car? Only if you really feel like you'd get the value out of it.

  • anonymite999 on 04/02/2020 - 07:14
    +3

    I'm close to paying off a house I bought 9 years ago. I'm now looking at a 60k car. My offset is 400k. It will set me back 7 months. Salary 150k.

    Took ten years of discipline to be in this position

    • Duram on 04/02/2020 - 08:02
      -4

      Take that money and invest it, what is the point of 10 years of discipline only to spend 60K on a car.

      • bobbified on 04/02/2020 - 08:06
        +8

        Some people like to enjoy their money a little. Don't have to invest every cent. Balance is key.

      • FallaM on 04/02/2020 - 10:28
        +2

        Maybe he lived his 10 years of discipline for the privilege of being able to afford a 60k car? Money can buy happiness.

        • Duram on 04/02/2020 - 11:54
          -5

          60K to go from A to B in traffic. That 'happiness' will last about a week before the reality of dropping 60K on a depreciating asset sinks in.

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