Gear Junky

This is a BS thread in my opinion, it's not so much a question of how much you earn as it is what value and importance you place on your car.

I know guys that earn as much as me who drive 5 yr old Toyotas and another who drives a Bentley. Clearly one has no regard to his car and the outward impression it gives whilst the other likes people to know he's rich or should i say richer than he really is. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle.

imolar

That's a BS comment in a lot of cases also. Don't you think that some people that buy high end cars get them cause they really like them and not to show everyone they're rich?

AudiSomeday

I guess that's really the question. How much money do you need to be making before your $70,000 vehicle purchase isn't just a "I want you to think that I'm richer than I really am" purchase?

For some reason, the A6 doesn't give off that vibe, even though you can easily spec out an A6 to be much more expensive than a Prestige A7. I like the A7 over the A6 not for the image, but because I think it's one of the most beautiful cars I've ever seen in that price range and I get much more excited about it than the A6. In fact, one of the reasons I don't like the BMW is because of the douchebag vibe it gives off.

b45H1r

@audi someday

I fully understand your concern. The A7 is so god*#&$ sexy. It just oozes sex appeal. But it's also not gaudy. My wife tells me that she gets asked what it is all the time, so I guess that also means that they don't know how much it costs. That's good. It also means that you can buy it without your neighbors thinking you are showing off.

There are plenty of rules of thumb for how much to spend for how much you earn, but they all have huge faults.

At the end of the day after your mortgage payment, utilities, and credit is paid, plus some savings (if this is important to you) How much do you have left (i'm not actually asking for a number)? If this amount will let you afford the monthly payment, plus insurance, plus gas, and still have enough left over for living, then you can afford that car. If you have to adjust any of the above, you cannot afford it.

That said, If you are a car guy/gal maybe some of the above isn't that important.

In california, I met lots of folks who bought cars that cost 100-125% of their yearly income. Bad math IMO, but it's a huge car culture. It mattered to them. It made them happy and I'd rather have a car that makes me happy and costs a bit, then drive one that lets me save but I constantly envy others cars.


@AudiR8A7
Me-Orthopaedic Surgery
Wifey-Ob GYN

AudiR8A7

Or he just really likes cars?

I didn't buy my car so that people know how "rich" I am. I bought it because I like the way it looks and I like the way it drives. My SO bought his R8 for the same reasons...he just loves cars and this was a car he always wanted.

Are cars status symbols? Sure they are but it also depends on how YOU perceive the person driving the expensive car.

When I see someone driving a super expensive car, I don't think "That person bought that car to show off how rich he is."

Instead, I think "Damn, that car is so nice!"

Gear Junky

This is why the OP's question was a stupid one IMO. Some people get a car to impress, some get a car because them like to drive a nice car, my example highlighted all sides of this I thought, myself I earn enough to keep me and my family comfortable and my earning are not something to bum and blow about. Unlike what usually happens in the USA I buy my cars outright not lease, if I chose that route then I would/could go for something more exotic but I chose not to.

P.S.
Regardless of what you say, when you see someone driving past in a really expensive exotic car you will indeed say 'nice car' but you will also think 'man he's rich'.

AudiR8A7

Ummm...no. I said earlier that a lot of people can buy really expensive cars and be able to afford them and then there are many who buy expensive cars who realistically don't have much money. So no, I don't think "Wow, he must be so rich!" If I go up to the person and talk to them about their car, feel them out, etc. THEN I'll either think "damn, dude's got money." or "this guy is a joke." I don't make that initial judgment when I first see an expensive car...

aquarian

"feel them out"? LOL!

AudiR8A7

I knew after rereading that, on a forum full of men...one of you would say something, haha!

Basically what I was saying was a lot of times, you can pick out the BS'er.

Gear Junky

That may be the difference between over here and where you are from, as I said here we buy our car mostly rather than lease so you really need to have to earning to afford something exotic and by the word exotic I mean Ferrari, Bentley or R8 etc. That's maybe why on seeing someone in those kind of cars I do think of them as rich.

I personally prefer to put my money into bricks and mortar rather than expensive cars, though I don't see either the A6 or A7 as anything other than normal cars.