Striker223

That's my mom to a T, she drops $800-1000 a month easily on groceries and thinks it's "normal" since she only wants to buy good foods. I have tried to explain to her many times that's a LOT of peoples rent.......it just doesn't register even when I try and explain that normal people need to work 70%+ of their day just to exist and a $300-400 car payment is insanely expensive for most.

swajames

Methodology is key, but to say "only 8,400 people" implying that the sample size is small is a looking for a problem where none may exist. You don't need anywhere close to 8400 people, for example, to survey the entire adult population of the United States with a 3% margin of error (in other words, a 95% chance that the survey result will be within 3% of the population value). Probably even half of that could get that margin of error down to 1.5%%

patgilm

My personal chart is as well!

To a lot of people that is a big expense especially for a non-enthusiast that needs a car or doesn’t care about cars like my father. Take for example the thread about negotiating with dealers where the bank teller wouldn’t budge on price of a mid $20k car and while I’m sure he could afford more, he seemed to really not care to spend more.

I can at least try and understand that many people these days don’t make a ton of money while we spend what we do on cars. Plus many younger people these days, including ones I work with, are spending more money on experiences/vacations than on cars.

dirtydriver58

It has lead to the boom in crossovers with the sedan decline in popularity and downsized engines with the most recent tougher ones like turbocharged downsized ones to make up for the power a V6 or V8 would have made.

Striker223

I can't understand that trend with people my age, it's just throwing money away vs at least trying to buy things that will retain something.....or buying actual assets etc. I guess they just can't afford nice enough stuff to think it's worth buying much or something, that or they live in such a painfully average place/conditions they want to escape? I've gotten way way way more enjoyment out of my cars than the equivalent vacations would have given me.

FrankReynoldsCPA

Right? Most people i know outside of work do not have an extra $2-300 per month to spend. They run out of money before they run out of month.

I only paid $30k OTD for my 540i, and I still hear a lot of "must be nice.....". If they knew I paid cash i think their minds would be completely blown.

Pretty much everybody on this forum is in the top 5-10% of income in the US(unless they're like me when i joined as a broke college student driving an LS400 at the time).

FrankReynoldsCPA

A lot of young people simply couldn't care less about cars. They would drive your A8's and be bored out of their minds. It's just a way to get around, and to them not even the ideal way to get around.

It is fun to go see new places.

mmarshall

I agree with Striker. To some extent, especially for single people like me, vacations aren't needed any more. IMHO, with the ton of images/information on the Internet and with Google Maps/street-views/close-ups, you can see just about anything on your computer screen today, free, without having to spend time and money to actually GO there.

For instance, in my youth (late 60s/early 70s), I drove down Skyline Drive in Shenandoah and hiked the trails a number times, but, with what is available in today's sites, there isn't much you could see and experience back then live (except the cold and wind) that you can't on your computer screen today.

mmarshall

......which you can now do with graphics on your computer screen.

FrankReynoldsCPA

It's really not the same. A few years ago i visited the DC area and explored a bunch of historic sites from the revolutionary war and the civil war. Being on those battlefields makes it so much now tangible and real than looking at it on a computer screen.

I Recently visited Durango, Colorado and rode the old narrow gauge rail train up to Silverton and back. That was a wonderful time and the internet really doesn't do it justice.

Then there's international travel and experiencing other cultures and food. You're really missing out if you just stay home.

Toys4RJill

all the reason why to go on vacations


‘My V8 4Runner costs $3500 a year in fuel to go 12K. $291 a month in fuel costs is a lot of money for a daily driver. Over the course of 20 years of ownership, I have have spend $70,000 fueling it


My newer 4Runner is $3000 a year or $250 month. This is a huge expense for most people.

Rich people who originally had no money definitely understand.

Striker223

I would agree if I haven't taken over 15 people on drives/let some of them drive it and how astounded they were. Half of them bought Audis afterwords

Striker223

Guess I'm jaded. I've been to a lot of places including a massive east coast tour and Hawaii trips etc.....after a while it all just kind of feels the same but with different scenery. The one World Trade Center was fun and the most elevated $100 glass of scotch I'll probably every have though

Food is a big thing but my family has always cooked so it takes a hell of a lot to impress me and it always fades when I see the price vs what it costs to just make it at home. Plus my wife got really really good and she can replicate near anything after trying it so it's "eh" for me.


I'm not saying trips aren't fun but I could just never pay $5-10k for that vs say buying a car and using it at mid Ohio as a track toy for the same overall costs

SW17LS

If you have to decide between spending money on stuff vs experiences, spend money on experiences. Experiences enrich your life so much more than stuff. While you are young and have no kids and have the money to do so, you should be traveling and exploring the world. Once you have kids it becomes much harder to do that.

Thats ridiculous lol. Looking at pictures of things on a screen is not the same thing as going and experiencing those things for yourself. Travel and experiencing new places and seeing new things is really one of the best parts of life. Hiking and being out in nature are good for you.

Otherwise you just wind up like this:

Striker223

Eh, having better stuff allows me to experience things others can't. Like why would I ever pay to go to a concert when I have access to an 120k stereo? It will never sound as good and I have to deal with a bunch of people or pay for a private box and still not have as good a time. I went to broadway and blew $850 on a box a few times, it was fine but hellishly overpriced for what you get....

Whereas most will never run a 4 car convoy with friends all in fast cars going 150+ with countermeasures and radios. That's a hell of lot more fun than some beach trip, or everyone going out at night on private land under night vis hunting hogs