At What Point Would You Be Comfortable with Dropping $60K into a Car ?

Evening ladies and gents,

I am in mid 20's and have been a massive fan of performance cars since my teen years and have owned a few good cars in past, I would blindly spend money on cars or parts without thinking about consequences, I currently own a car which would have market value of between $20K-$25K if I sold it.

I recently became obsessed with CLA45 AMG and the ones I like are between $60K - $80K.

I do currently own a place and have some savings aside but think it's still a stupid decision to spend all this money on car and not on investment property but would love to hear your feedback ! at what point of life you would be comfortable with spending that sort of money on (High Yield Investment) Car ?

Comments

    • I did do the maths and it kinda scared me away for now and I agree with young blokes being able to handle high powered cars, I have had few bad experiences in past but I think with age/driving experience I think I am getting a bit better. I try not to do stupid stuff on road except if I am getting late then I give it a little squirt here and there

  • It's a personal thing. For me, when I have $500-600k that I can throw around, I may buy a $60k car.

    I definitely wouldn't go into debt for the said $60k car cuz I just think that's plain stupid.

  • +2

    $60k into a bottomless pit? Sure! World is losing it's marbles so why not!

    Get something under $15k and mod to your hearts content. If you bin it, it's a smaller "ouch" then a $60k "OUCH". Plus it covers track days + tyres and costs when parts go kaput! GT85, MX5?

    Something which I also notice is that some folks spend all their beans on the car. At the end of the month, after the loan repayments and running costs it leaves no beans to mod and I've even seen some guys resort to eating eggs + noodles. No car is worth eggs and noodles for breakfast/lunch/dinner+ few years.

    Wait until you are 35+ and get something like this. Insurance is much easier then.

    • I recommend a MX5 to everyone who is young or new to sports car. I personally cant stand the BRZ/86. That engine is horrible.
      But your right, a smart person wouldn't buy a Luxury car until they are over 35.

      I had my fun, and I paid $250 per month for insurance on some of the past cars I had when I was under 25.
      The MX5 is a good compromise. Much cheaper at $60-70 per month for comprehensive.

  • 60k is good when car is also a place I would be living in, thus reducing the need for renting/mortgage.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/21/why-these-5-billionaires-sti…

  • never

  • It's a blessing and also a curse to be able to afford something good at a younger age. Cars kinda like drugs, you're chasing a high and if you've already reached this level so early then your next high will cost more. Substantially more.

    I think the car culture in Canberra is stronger than in Sydney/Melbourne, which may help explain OP's obsession as well.

  • Spend an extra 20k to get an 80k investment car, simples

  • If you're talking 60k car, when I'm on 200k a year (kids) or 150k a year (single).

    But its still a bad idea financially.

    80k car, add another 50k to those salary figures.

    Just buy a hybrid toyota and drive it for 10 years if you want to just maintain your Ozbargain membership (4k bomb if you want to really be a baller)

  • How do you feel about the same model, but the last gen?…thats how youll feel about this one soon.

    When i read your title I thought you were talking about 60k of mods….thats the easiest way to never get your money back haha.

    • +1

      Hell to the no on 60K mods haha but I do like last gen more than the current gen ;)

  • +2

    Hey man, saw that you were planning to upgrade houses in the future. You should definitely consider this prior to a car, however once you've settled down i dont see why you shouldn't own a 60k car. People work all their lives for what? To keep saving? Others here might think a depreciating asset like car is a bad investment and others might think its better spent on a holiday. Its all what makes you happy end of the day.

    • Thank you ma man, yeah think I should save up and upgrade hopefully in few years :)

  • +1

    Why not rent rhe car dor a. Week or two and see how you like it

  • Buy stonks with 60k instead

  • +1

    These days, I'd be happy to spend that when it's about 0.5% of my net worth.

    I'm a petrol head. I have wasted a lot of money on cars, especially in my 20s (but I know people that wasted a lot more).

    I'd suggest you wait until you have a job that comes with a decent car allowance or a method to claim it against tax.

    My neighbour drives a CLA45 but the combined household income is $500k+.

    Why not invest for a few years and then pay for your car with dividends?

  • +2

    Just do whatever makes you happy.

  • -2

    Never with my own personal money unless you're making $200k+ a year. If you're making $100k a year, you're basically working for 6/10 of the year to buy that car. Really

    Financial suicide.

    I own/company owns cars from toyota/isuzu/bmw/mercs/audis and honestly at the end of the day unless you're really into cars it's not worth it.

    We're able to write off the costs of the cars as they're for work.

    If I was to use my own money, I would just be happy with a rav4 hybrid (but even then that's nearly $60k) otherwise i would keep my car expenditure to under $40k or even $25k if you're making less than $100k a year.

    A $25k car is $5k per year plus running costs of $10-20 a day.
    A $50k car is $10k per year plus running costs

    • +2

      Where are these costs coming from? There is no way a $50K (relatively basic bmw/Audi/merc) is $10K a year or are you counting depreciation here.

      If counting depreciation it would be roughly $5K a year on a $50K car (using straight line depreciation - reasonable to expect being able to sell a $50K car for $25K after 5 years), say $1.5K for insurance and $2K on maintenance (unsure if you’re counting that as running costs)

      • oh i'm pretty much writing off the value of the car at the end. $60k car, end of 5 years, how much is it, $10k at best?

        • A 2017-2018 CLA 45 like OP is looking at for around 60k, 2013 models are selling for low 40's. 2 years old, the car has already copped a fair wack of the worst depreciation.

          Even if talking new, something like the A200 for about 60k new. 5 year old models are still over 20k, so the 5k/year is pretty close.

  • If I had $60K just lying around I'd drop that into a long term secure deposit for the kids education post highschool.

    • And if you're not having kids?

      • OP was asking what others would do. I answered for myself, as I do have children. If you don't have children and are sure you'll never have them I can think of a lot of things to do with $60K. Some of them are restricted due to the disease at the moment. For example an African photo safari. Some things like PC parts are scarce. So right now I'd probably just hang on to the cash unless I had a specific need, in the hope that the restrictions ease and stock levels return to normal soon.

  • +4

    Everyone has different priorities.
    But your 20s and 30s should be about wealth building.
    Especially if you plan for kids at some point.
    Personally I would minimise what I spend on depreciating assets.

    Also I’ve generally found most young people who buy expensive cars are too concerned with projecting a certain image - which as you get older you realise anyone who judges you for what are you drive isn’t worth knowing!

    “Poorer” cars have other great benefits as it makes it harder for people to assume you have money. Useful if you are meeting an agent to negotiate a property purchase, or other business transactions where you are trying to get a discount.

    Plus lower insurance. Lower service fees. Lower cost to fix anything.

  • If I had the money to burn and didn't need it for anything else then maybe.

    Otherwise never given perfectly good cars are available at half that price.

  • Maybe when I am 40+

  • +2

    Why do you care what randoms on the internet think? Anyhow my opinion of expensive high performance German cars is they are dumb. Another 'lovely person' blasting away from traffic lights with dual slip gearbox farting away is not something the world needs more of. You get stuck in traffic and pay the same speeding fines as everyone else. And have higher running and maintenance costs. (I can kind of get the point of Italian high performance cars because they actually look nice.) If you really want to burn money on a car get a lounge on wheels.

    • I've got a supercharged HSV GTS and the wife drives an A45. We both probably drive like the biggest Nannas on the road, no speeding fines, no street racing etc. We do race the cars at the strip, circuit, events etc where we have our fun but there is still an element of enjoyment knowing what your car is capable of even if you don't use it like that on the street.
      Don't pigeon hole all enthusiasts just because they're relatively young and looking at a high performance car.

      • the opposite is also true, not because you're a decent bloke that out there idiots arent a dime a dozen

  • +2

    If you already own or have paid a large chunk of your house, have significant investments, then yes buy your car. For some people, particularly car enthusiasts, cars are more than cars and there is a huge car community out there. I purchased a new BMW 2008 135i for about 70k when I was i my late 20s and it was great. Not only the car itself but others I met were also young and lilke minded. Its fun hanging out with other young professionals and expanding your network.

  • New car is the fastest depreciating asset you will ever own. By far. I love performance cars too. There is plenty available and a lot less than that car.

  • +1

    Once my investments start making good returns and I am satisfied with by debt.

    I am at the point that I should be able to sell my current main investment and either buy an average house where I live with a surplus (nope) or take on $200k mortgage and build something that should appreciate.

    Once I have lowered that mortgage back down to $100k, AND if rates are till low, I would consider a 2nd hand GR Yaris or Wolfsburg Golf and mod the absolute balls out of it (like custom bull bar, lift, CF drive shafts, off road tyres, mods to get it over 500kW). I'd spend a further 20k on a lift in my garage. But at current projections that is four years away, or looking at past behaviour that is closer to six (two full time, basic wages).

    tl;dr: Once my chain of invests have matured enough I can work at a pub 3 days a week and still pay off my mortgage early.

  • My ebo neighbours drive $200,000 BMW X7s and Mercedes GLE. When there's a ebo, there's a way.

    • +1

      What's 'ebo' ?

    • I also have ebo neighbours that only work part time… yet have 3 brand new audis and a mercedes sitting in the driveway… and 15 (yes 15) security cameras at all different angles facing around the house. Funny that.

      • Come to the budget service stations in the south west. Watch for that same car that drives around the service station like 10 times and does the ye old exchange through the window. It should be a tourist attraction. Then watch that money being funneled into a builder's pocket to build a duplex at inflated costs with more companies and contractors than actually required. Chinese are better at it, though, because they go b1ggggg in the inner city and parramatta.

        The history of Condell Park is actually a fascinating story. Proceeds of crime don't make it to the police but seem to end up in someone's new kitchen.

  • +4

    I spend 5hrs a day in my car I had no issues spending $60K on it…don't regret it at all.

    • I was thinking about this today also.
      I don't drive for work but regularly spend a reasonably large portion of my day in the car. Add that up over a week/month/year/lifetime, how much of your time are you spending in something that you don't enjoy but gets the job done? A bit like comfortable shoes, a good bed etc. (albeit obviously a bigger dollar outlay)

  • +2

    Use it as motivation, have a goal and reward yourself. So many people on this thread giving you the advice of never getting a car that 'expensive' are likely to never have set financial goals in their life and will retire with nothing much.

    Saving frugally all your life will get you nowhere and will leave you salty at those more successful.

  • Probably in my 60's or 70's when I have excess savings.

    Now while I'm in my 30's, I'm happy with a 15-20+ year old practical car (read toyota) that's cheap to maintain. Had 2 cars in 22 years. Current car is worth double what I paid for it 5 years ago thanks to covid.

    When you're young, enjoy experiences that you can while you can. Leave the cars and luxury items for when your body starts falling apart. Then you will appreciate a nice car more.

    • 'Current car is worth double what i paid for it 5 years ago thanks to covid."

      Interesting - how did covid increase the value of the car?

      • There seems to be a covid test going on with the used car market. Assume poster likely has a somewhat collectable Jap car they have been going up in value over recent years.

      • Everyone is wanting utes at the moment for holidaying near home instead of overseas, and therefore there aren't many available.

        • Wouldn’t you be better with an suv?

          • @Emerald Owl: Not for me. Ute is good for camping trips with 4 mates, 5 mountain bikes, 5 surfboards, climbing gear, tents, couple of surf skis, couple of camp fridges etc. Would have been a struggle in a SUV.

            • +1

              @frugalferret: Cool. I think there are a lot of tax incentives for tradies to buy utes atm.

      • Most of the used car market is up at the moment due to people wanting cars during covid and not wanting to use public transport. Plus due to lack of spending on a lot of things a fair people have money saved up to spend. My polo GTI has gone from being worth around $5k to closer to 9 in the past 6 months.

  • I spent a similar amount or more in my late 20s on a new car.
    I had paid off my home and built a very sizeable share portfolio but my income had dropped substantially.
    I figured I was only spending 4% of my net worth on a car.
    I regretted the car for a while as a few weeks after signing I ended up with an unrelated massive unexpected life cost and the car felt wrong from that point.
    I still have the car and it has depreciated to next to nothing. I'm 50-50 about the decision as I did get enjoyment out of it. I wouldn't get as much enjoyment now I'm much older so delayed gratification only gets you so far.

  • Mmm how do you already own your place at mid 20? It sounds you are in a lucky position, however do consider some of the above comments. The sky isn’t always sunny, so have enough aside for rainy days

  • +1

    I'm all for buying a car but terrible choice of car…

  • If you where into 90-00s Japanese cars they seem like a great investment now. Look at how much the old supras are worth now. Evo 6.5-7, S2K. GTRs and RX7s all worth big bucks.

    • +1

      Yep and it was bound to happen. I still remember when GTRs were around $40000.
      As that was when I bourght a R34 GTT for $11000 with 100,000kms on it.

      You can make money off car investing. And I have owned a tonne of the cars which have since exploded in price. But by the time you insure, store and maintain them. You might not make as much as you think. But if I had a giant garage I would have tried to keep as many as I could.

  • Thankfully in my 20s the worst I plumped was $35k or so for a civic type r. I say thankfully as being a Japanese car it was bomb proof in the time I owned it. An A45 for $60k will cost a lot more than $60k over the journey!

    I've just now purchased my first new car approaching 40 and it cost $40k. I'm struggling with the fact I spent $40k still but will see how we go! (Japanese again so hopefully keeps costs down a bit)

  • Look into leasing it. Depending on your circumstances you might be able to minimise tax and buy something that has a great resale value.

  • $60k is a lot of money for a thing I already have. My current car is valued around $2k, it gets me to the places I need to be. I don't think spending an extra $58k will get me to those places better.

    So basically I wouldn't do it, but if you have the savings in cash for it, I don't see what's stopping you. That said, I would never go into debt (ie. get a loan,) for a car, just buy what you can afford.

  • +3

    You should buy 60k car when you are confident enough that you don't have to ask people's suggestions on ozbargain website.

  • Just go work for Mercedes AMG. Once your bored of it just change jobs.

  • YOLO. Do what pleases you in life.

  • its ok to spend $100k on car as long as the car you buy is honda yaris - its a high yield investment car

  • +1

    It's not a waste if you are a 'car guy/girl'. An enthusiast will more than likely find the joy in owning a special car. However, if you are buying the car for the purposes of status then yeah its a waste of money.

  • OP the way I look at it is keep your current car if it works well and wait. Cars are always coming out with new models and new features whereas investments grow. There's no reason you can't invest the money you have now then in a couple years down the line buy a second hand version of the model you want at a much cheaper price.

  • I think if you have a job you enjoy and don't mind working then by all means go for it. it essentially just means you will work longer, tacking another 2 or 3 years before you retire. If you're ok with that then definitely go for it. If its something you enjoy then it isn't wasted money.

  • +1

    I can't believe everyone is focused on what number is reasonable. The initial value of the car is not the coat.

    The cost is depreciation + running cost + the opportunity cost of the value of the money were it invested.

    Do research, find an estimate of your cars depreciation, and then say the value you'd gain based on your investment strategy, e.g. etfs or paying home loan early.

    That will literally give you a per annum cost to you, and you can make the decision if that pleasure is worth that cost to you or not.

    Any other way of looking at it and people saying it's reasonable or unreasonable is emotional BS.

    The depreciation is something you can consider car by car. Remember if you bought a BMW 1M or a R34 GTR new you would not have depreciated or even appreciated, and there are enthusiast cars where you'll be able to enjoy it for effectively zero cost. pretty likely the case with the GR Yaris I reckon. Some cars like say a 2 year old luxury car, may have already gone through the steep depreciation for you to pickup and enjoy now at a low cost.

    Other cars you might lose 10k driving it of the lot, have a think if the AMG you are targeting does, and factor that in.

  • +2

    I think you shouldn't conflate the left brain decision with the right brain desire. You need to live and enjoy your hard work!

    I personally drive an A35, great car and excellent bang for buck in terms of what you get as a car. I splurged on it nearing the age of 40 and wish I did it younger. No point waiting.

    You could drive a Corolla all your life and then live in a house with an extra bedroom, but if a flasher car and a smaller place makes you happy do it! If you can afford it, you have to do it.

  • +6

    As someone who has lived and worked in 4 countries (originally born and bred in Sydney) I find the average Australian obsession with Investment Properties as the one true final tool for wealth creation is utterly absurd. Think outside Domain and stupid Mainstream Media box you are placed in people.

    I for one spent virtually every cent all through my 20s on cars. I loved every minute of it, had no regrets. Why should I not enjoy the best years of my life to it's fullest. If anything I would have had major regrets had I NOT done that.

    Fast forward to now, and I own my house outright (not an apartment, a house), and it's an inner city location with it's own land title. I also have plenty of money saved in the bank and in diversified investments. Did my enjoyment of my 20s impact what followed in any negative way? Not at all.

    Those shouldn't/can't/wouldn't naysayers should be ignored. Enjoying the best years of your life should not be assumed to bring about ruin for the years that follow. Anyway to the OP, you need more strength in your convictions and not need to ask a bunch of anonymous nobodies on a money saying forum what they think of your spending desires. If YOU want something, it's up to YOU to decide how much it means to you. Once you make your mind up, go for it with no regrets. Ignore what other people say. That goes for the car ownership as well - there will be lots of unsolicited views and impressions of your car choice which as per above can be completely ignored as well as you bought your car for your entertainment and not for the entertainment of others.

    • Exactly, the obsession with property here is nuts. You'd think that every cent of your cash should be in investment property and look how well that's turned out for us. Can you imagine if this was a travel post? People blow thousands a year on travel, on another forum someone spent 3-4k on 2 week car rental alone. But no one advises against it because well, it's what they want and what they enjoy.

  • +2

    Wife and I just bought a new CX-5 as we have an 18mo bub, and do a number of trips to my parents place (800km away) each year, so wanted something comfortable. In my mind, depreciation will hurt, but 5yrs warranty, 4 years servicing, all I’m losing is the depreciation if I sell in 5 years, and that should be $20k max (ie $4k a year). Did sell our old car for $20k, so not a huge outlay. We loved being able to buy a new car, we enjoy driving and are very satisfied. In saying that we’re in our early 30’s, both earn 6 figs, own a house in Sydney’s northern beaches with ~30% equity, and have roughly 8 months combined salary still in the bank. Spending low $40k was hard enough to stomach for a safe, smart car… spending $60k +, sheesh! That would be too much for me to comprehend at this stage.

    • We are you guys, except baby hasn't popped out yet :) New CX-5, but got the GT turbo. Figured if we kept it for 10 years it would be ok to splash out $50k this one time for a new car. Pretty sure it won't happen again!! Our trade in was only worth $2k tho…

      • Awesome! All the best with the bub! We thought the same thing, but knowing my love for shiny things, I’ll probably be back in the showroom just before warranty expires 🤣

    • To be honest CX5 is a sensible car. Not what boss is asking about.

      • Haha yeah, sorry was more referring to my tolerance, and even spending $43k on a sensible car was a big stretch in my world, let alone $60 on a sports car!

  • +1

    Sad that we live in a market where the 'most' of us can only choose to buy an expensive car/ luxuries in life OR a property, but not both.

    • is it sadder for people that have to decide between buying food or medical insurance then ?

      • even sadder for people who have to decide between struggling or dying. Life is never fair. :-(

    • -1

      I think it's sadder that the very low end of the car market has no special features at all. Manually cranked windows, no CarPlay built in, no power steering. All the little nice modern conveniences don't seem to drip down to the lowest end of new cars, so the poorest of us who always buy the cheapest will only ever know 20th century technology as far as mod cons go.

  • +2

    Back when I was only making 55k a year I bought a 30k car. If you're an enthusiast and enjoy driving do what makes you happy and also what motivates you. I understand from a pure mathematical and financial standpoint, it's stupid. However for my morale it actually was 100% worth the investment. I was looking at a cheaper car but I'm glad I chose to say YOLO.

    It made it so I didn't hate getting up each morning and driving an hour to work.

    It also motivated me to keep grinding it out till I figured something out that was much more lucrative.

    I feel as though too many people especially on ozbargain play a purely defensive game with their money. Save, make low yield investments and take next to no risk. I've always gone on the offensive with money and cars help my motivation.

    I think a decent salary for someone to not be financially burdened would be 130k +. It depends on your cost of living. If your rent is dirt low and your income is increasing each each it shouldn't be an issue.

    • I was in a very similar position a couple years ago when I was earning $65k per year, I bought a $25k car. As a car enthusiast it meant a lot to me and it just meant having to scarifice in other parts of my life, no big deal. If you choose wisely, a car is not always a depreciating asset, that car I bought 4 years ago is now worth $50k, something I was hoping would happen in the back of my mind, but never cared if it did appreciate or not.

      If a CLA45 is your jam, I would look for a quality used one to ease the depreciation hit, one of the first models in the $40k mark. The CLA45 isn't going to be one of those cars that is going to be appreciating in value any time soon. That being said, you just gotta evaluate what you want and make the choice yourself :)

      • +1

        Not super sold on the whole “buy a used one” thing. Did the maths recently, and if you can negotiate a really good deal (I got >10% discount, plus tinting/towbar/mats/4yrs servicing and a couple other things)… Carsales showed a bunch of 2 year old ones for sale for pretty much the same price I paid.

        If you wind it out to 5 years, I paid $43k, the 2015 models are currently selling for minimum $27k, so if all things equal, worst case $17k depreciation. If you bought a 5year old one, you’d still throw close to 10k in depreciation, plus paying for servicing AND and mechanical issues you’re up the river.

        So really, if you can afford the initial outlay, you’re up maybe an extra $8k over the term (notwithstanding any repairs the used one will endure), less than $2k p.a. Plus you get the benefit of driving a brand new car.

        I know this isn’t always the case with all cars, but certainly appears to be the path of the Mazda CX-5 I just did the math on!

        • It was totally different before Covid though.
          Used cars' price is ridiculous at the moment, hence, it makes more sense to buy new car now.

          However, when things are back to normal (hopefully), the maths will change significantly.
          Earlier this year, before Covid, 2017-2018 CX5 can be found for 23-24k.

          • @dhnqt: I'd have to agree on this. Used car prices have gone up a lot recently. If you follow the normal curve you'll find the cars aren't worth as much. My car was at about 5 years old and had already depreciated 60% of the original price.

            The whole maths and thing has been done multiple times by financial advisors and it's always the same conclusion. I think people always don't factor in the opportunity cost of paying for a vehicle

        • But why would you spend 43k on a Mazda CX 5? That's the real question.

  • +1

    Never… You could buy 3 or more other brand news car with that.. you could buy a normal new car for you and gift brand new cars to a friend and parent etc who actually need a new car. Think about how happy they would be.
    Worth a lot more.

  • For my salary of 80k a year, I am only comfortable of paying 10k for a used car which means unless my salary per year is half a mil, I would not consider a 60k one.

  • +2

    I recently became obsessed with CLA45 AMG

    Not really a performance car, just a very fast sedan, and frankly there are too many of them on the roads these days. I see them on the track occasionally and they struggle on even minor turns or twists.

    Also every performance car will be expensive to maintain especially if you're using aftermarket parts but with a Mercedes you're just digging 2 graves. It's one thing to spend a heaps of money on an engine/drive train repair but then you've gotta factor in ridiculous bills that will also cost you a kidney…everything from windscreen blades, window motor, electrical faults etc. So don't focus too much on the purchase price, remember to factor in yearly cost of maintenance.

    But if that's the car you want go for it. Don't let anyone tell you what you should buy with your own money. There's no better feeling than buying the car you love.

  • -1

    At what point would I be comfortable with dropping $60K into a car?
    When there's absolutely nobody around to see me do it, so that I don't get mugged before I can pick it back up.

  • It sounds like you really want it and you should just go for it rather than asking for life advice on here. Most people will say no but that's because they probably don't want it as much as you. I'd think you'd die more satisfied if you had owned this car.

  • +3

    it's not my kind of hobby. I don't like spending big money on depreciating assets when a cheaper car will do the job. But if I was filthy rich and money ceased being an object, sure. But it wouldn't be german luxury car, more likely an EV.

    A used $10k corolla will get me from A to B no slower than a 60k car. Would I like to drive a nice car if I could? Sure. But not as much as I like having an extra 50k in my bank account.

    I'm not judging you. There's nothing wrong at all with being a car lover. Plenty of guys are. If you can afford it, and it's what you're passionate about, go for it. But you asked what I personally would do, and that's my answer.

  • 1% of my networth

  • -2

    Just buy a Toyota for best reliability.

    I had a convertible car but hated it.

    Beside it's just a car. Who care about performance car as we have the road law everywhere and risk a big fine for speeding.

  • If i had that much disposable income to blow then sure i'd have no issue but i got other priorities - paying a mortgage, looking after my family and securing my (and my wifes) retirement - i would prefer to retire or semi-retire in my 50s

    If all those boxes were ticketed then i'd see no issue dropping 90-120k on a nice new Range Rover.

    Otherwise ill stick to my affordable Japanese or Korean Cars and the (imo) bargain 26k Holden Equinox

    In the end of the day it all comes down to how much personal value a nice/fast/flashy car means to you. For most people on Ozb you will find a car is a means from getting from A to B but to a number of others it is the look, feel and sensation driving xyz car regardless of the cost.

  • You're young and your priorities change. The one thing to learn as we grow older is to understand how our own desires and passions change. Happens with girls, gadgets, cars, etc.

    What will be increasing are other financial priorities. Aside from a car, what are the few milestones you feel you must accomplish? Home ownership by a certain age? Wedding, and kids, by what age? Do you know how much your 60K is worth, if you consider various investment paths based on your risk profile?

  • If it makes you happy go for it. My parents always regret not having nicer things and better experiences when they were younger. Now in retirement they realise they could easily have afforded it.

  • When I am earning $1m after tax a year

  • +1

    So when I was around 24 I had just had a increase to my wages and I decided I was going to buy the car I had wanted for years.

    Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.

    And dont get me wrong, it was amazing. Handling was mad, acceleration was bonkers. It was everything I thought I wanted.

    But then came the downside as you will find with performance vehicles. Uncomfortable for super long drives, insurance was 4x what I was paying on my other cars beforehand, and then the services….

    Oh god the services….

    I used my Evo X as a daily driver, and was travelling quite a distance for work. Previous cars had a 10,000 km service recommendation. Because of the way this car ran, it was recommended to be done every 5000 km. It might have been excessive and all, but I didnt want to lose my warranty on the car. Did I mention these services were like $400 a pop as a minimum?

    Also remember with Premium cars, they only take premium fuel as well.

    I ended it selling it after 2 years and buying a Mazda 3 which has been great. I basically got scared when they told me how much it was going to be to replace the tyres, and then said as well it sounded like the $10,000 transmission needed a service.

  • I've always been a tightass, but here I am, 53 years old, my house is paid off, and I have my own business which this year has earned the most I have earned in a year in my life. So I will probably splash out 60k on a vehicle this year. I've nothing else I want to splash out money on, I hate real estate and world travel is off the cards.

  • Buy te$la stonks

  • Finally got my first Mercedes coupe, bought it after waiting 10 years

    I say waiting because during this time, I bought and sold 3 properties, built up a reasonable share portfolio and raised a family.

    Money is all relative, it’s not how much cash you have, but the amount of income producing assets

    If your house is negative geared. I wouldn’t recommend buying a car. You are still losing more than you earn.

    • Remember one thing bud

      You are only lying to yourself

    • Did you only own one of those houses at at time?

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