snagitseven

Without knowing the OPs full financial situation now and anticipated in the future, i.e. other obligations, monthly expenses, other upcoming purchases, age, other family income, employment security outlook, etc., how can anyone on a message board offer valid advice to the question "how much salary to afford" a car.? It seems like if the OP can't answer this himself, he might consider discussing it with a financial advisor.

Phil G.

Exactly right. I'm a big Suze Orman fan, and she did a segment on her former CNBC show "Can I afford it." Need to know your total financial picture here. Is the $120K your total net worth? Do you have an 8month emergency fund (8mo of your annual salary - or around $53K)? Do you have a mortgage? Consumer (credit card debt)? Student loans for college and your (assume DPT) degree? Is your fiancee working? Does she have similar debt (student loan, consumer)? Once you figure all that in, you're still looking to spend over $40K for a new Mark III TT, which is MORE THAN HALF your annual income. At your stage, I'd agree with snagitseven and speak to a financial advisor - but from here sounds like you'd be better off waiting until you can buy the car and sleep at night knowing that you have a reasonable degree of financial security. Good luck.

Phil

100Daily

10-15% of your net income is a good start. But who knows how many other bills you have? $70k in Manhattan is poverty. $70k in Louisiana is "rich". Silly thread.

snagitseven

$120K is his (total?) savings, not his income. We have no idea what his income is or any of the other data we discussed or what he can afford as a purchase or loan payment. Irrelevant thread IMO.

Phil G.

Said he was starting at $70K annually (which is what newly minted Doctors of Physical Therapy make - my son is one). No he didn't say anything about his fiancee's income, debt or anything other financials. That's why I said we don't know enough to know if he can afford a new TT. If he has total income of $70K, and total savings of $120K, he can't afford this even if zero debt - at least IMO.

snagitseven

Yah, I missed that. Still a useless thread. Unless he discloses all the relevant info and someone here is a licensed financial advisor.
Note that the OP has 4 posts and hasn't been back here. Woof.

Phil G.

Agree - I think we're done here. I'd still be very surprised if he can afford new TTS!

mlj1975lsu

im in a similar situation to the original poster. honestly from a salary and savings point of view, it makes no sense for me to be buying a car that cost this much.

ultimately though it's a personal decision. im single, no kids, and nothing on the radar like that - and i just happen to love driving, cars and happen to love this particular car.

also, the other cars i considered are cheaper, but not exorbitantly cheaper. i'd rather pay a bit more for a car i absolutely love than have 5-10K more in bank and not truly LOVE the driving machine parked outside my house.

is it smart for me to do spend 45K on a car? no. its incredibly dumb.

do i want to do the smart thing? nah, not really. im going to be one happy middle-age crisis idiot.