We all somehow do what we feel comfortable with. It's all different. What did everyone do on the market last 4 weeks? Stupid, makes sense, whatever it indicates, I did nothing. I took note that speaker of the house's husband bought 6 mil. prior. Jeff Bezos sold and not even at the top. etc. etc.

Even though I am an adult I can still amuse myself. I told Sirius XM I need the select pack for $20 out the door for 5 mos. So the game began. He said we don't have such a package it's $38 for 6 months. Then $28. I said look, $20 for 5 mos. out the door is $4/mo. If you make it 6 mos. then it can't be a penny over $24. If I can do a screen grab I'll show you what he did. and I was amused, touche, that's fine. It isn't that I can't afford $38, or $28, etc., in my mind it's worth $4/mo. that's it. We have friends paying like $100? And they are fine with it. They are not wealthier, it's just worth not haggling to them.

 

Here's what he did--it's $38.46 including taxes and royalty, for XM Select. So because I said not a penny over $24, what did the rep do? He put up a credit for $14.45. I was amused so I agreed. One has to have fun in life and what we do.

 

If someone has nothing in the bank...a cash flow of $1000, and a car payment of $1000 per month, it does not seem to me like they can afford to buy the car. Sounds like they can afford to finance it, but not buy it. But yeah, plenty of people can afford to finance something, for sure.

Not at all. Most people are not able to buy a new car with cash.

 

This goes along with the prestige argument I've had with several on here. I keep trying to look at it from their perspective but I just can't swallow it. No offense to anyone, but just because I'm not paying some $1500 car payment means my car has lost prestige. If anything it's gained it because the current LS is such a disaster.

Prestige is more than just money and envy. To say an old well-kept LS430, or LS400, or S-class, or 7 Series (or any high end car) isn't prestigious anymore is ludicrous to me. There's a neighbor down the street with a new IS350 (he got the 350 so obviously he likes cars) who came up to me and gawked over the freshly washed LS (I never have it out, it's always in garage) and we chatted about it for a while. He didn't even mention the IS350 we have, same car as his but older. You think if I drove a 2004 RX330 that would happen? LS has prestige, it's absurd to say it loses it because it's old. It's old as dirt but it's still a big, luxurious Lexus that wiped the floor with its competition in the day.

IDK, cars lose value but not prestige in my opinion. But then again I don't drive around like I'm high and mighty (not saying anyone here does); I enjoy the car because it's such a fine automobile with a glass-smooth V8 and ride. But I get nods from other Lexus drivers all the time.

 

Here's an example. One guy brings his 2020 340i in for free service, he leaves in a 2020 330i loaner. I bring my 2007 335i for a $40 state inspection (if I get the emissions waived, if not $63), I leave in a 2020 330i loaner. The SA didn't treat the 2020 owner any differently.

Maybe in an ideal world, the SA pulls me aside and says, "Listen, pal, your car isn't even worth 5 figs wholesale, so we're gonna let you leave in the 2020 loaner just so you can save face, but Sven here is gonna drive it back to the dealership, and we're giving you a $5 gift card to Wawa where you can wait for an Uber. We need the loaner for the rich and prestigious customers, which, you, sir, are not."

p.s. I don't envy people's material things, but I am human. I envy the people who are gifted, i.e. things come very easily to them. Like you hire someone out of college and in a mere 5 years they get a VP title and seem to know how to run ****. I wish it had been that easy for me, really. I was clueless at 30 even with a "prestigious" advanced degree....

 

I really love you posts. Just want you to know.

 

Every loaner I have ever had is obviously worth way more money than my LS but they don't compare, they're just not at that level. Subjectively as well as objectively.

I don't care how new the loaner is, I'm always glad to get my big ole girl back.

 

Thanks Jill!

In all seriousness, even if my 335i wholesales for $9k, the BMW dealerships do not treat me like I'm driving a 9k car, nor do they physically treat my car any differently, even when all I'm going to do is a service $40-$63 (they still have iPad Pro pics 360 degrees, put the blue footprint floormats, plastic the driver's seat, wash it (I long gave up when it was new I requested no wash and half the time it was--only M cars at the time were hand washed, I bet today, even M cars go through the wash). My point was along the lines where it value-wise depreciated more than 70%, but it still is given the same treatment as a new car/new customer. In some sense, anybody who is a car enthusiast thinks that way. I don't abuse rental cars, nor old cars. Even Tavarish had this concept of engine sympathy--he used the term on the million mile LS. My dad taught me that concept too.

 

Everybody has different hot buttons. Back 30 years ago in LA I drove a very nice luxury car and wouldn't be caught dead without a car wash every Friday afternoon--so it looked good over the weekend. Now, up here in Oregon, I get maybe a dozen car washes a year, and they consist of just the exterior going through the automated tunnel.

And now when I see a brand-new luxury car I don't think, "Wow! I wish I had that!" No, I usually say to myself, "Man, that guy is paying $20K a year just in depreciation! What a waste!" So everybody's different.

Recent events, however, will affect attitudes going forward. I remember as a kid that my grandparents were fuddy-duddies when it came to luxuries. Well of course they were, since they lived through the Great Depression. Presently, our own net worth is probably down 25% from a month ago. Doesn't bother me (much) since we don't need to sell anything to survive and, long-term, things will go back up again. But I feel for the folks who have been living more on the edge with expensive leased cars and housing. Hope they come through okay.

 

Those of us who feel that way (I do), that things will return over time (will it take 5? 10? years?), think yeah just keep grinding. Somehow the grind was nice knowing day after day after day portfolio hitting new laughable highs, right?

Back in 10/06 I took money off the table although I know in principle it will cost more due to lost growth. My mom shakes her head when I tell her the story because she, and she knows that I, know better. Basically I took 30k of stock gains and bought a new BMW. But, I asked the teller to give me 3 cashier's checks of $9,999.99 each. Any idea why it took 45 min. to leave the bank? SAR was filed. Then, I financed the remainder over 36 mos., which back then was around $16k. When 2008-09 arrived, my portfolio got hit 65%, so I know how that feels. Awful. By 4 weeks ago of course things were different, and removing that 30k from investments cost much more than 30k. Hope it's the same on March 18, 2020.

I just saw a comment on cnn the other day, that this is our generation's WWII. It's funny how everything is a trade off. Half the time I think man imagine if I had used my brain and had my own business, instead of being a corporate guy. Then times like this, I think, man am I lucky to be a corporate guy. I feel for those folks whose businesses are hurt and even more for those who work for businesses who have shuttered rather quickly. My younger brother is very much into the flash and keeping up with the joneses. He sees his boss buy a used Raptor? He buys a new one. Boss saw that? Boss bought a new one. It's really uncanny to see in real life. I told him every once in a while, make friends with that guy who drives a $1000 car and is 50 years old. That guy just might surprise you (I find folks like that often are the most generous people one can meet).

 

I am seeing this major event as an opportunity to build our retirement fund. As a business owner, I am building my own pension plan consisting of real estate and dividend paying shares. I simply could not resist the 30-50% discount deals compared to 4 weeks ago. I believe at some point in the future, retired people would realize that they still need income and rushed to buy these shares back. Also, I have had great success with this strategy to buy cheap properties, so I am hoping it would apply here, Time will tell.
By the way, I don't think there is anything wrong with rewarding yourself with things that can help you enjoy life more. However, one should only do this after all other life's priorities are taken care of.

 

And you will be leasing for life if you never Own ! Just like your home if you always rent.

 

I tend to agree since my car normally sits 10 hours a day doing nothing at work except impressing the h*** out of coworkers when they see me enter/exit the garage lol (one of my coworkers has a 997 Turbo S and a E60 M5. But he's pretty high up in the corp. and seems both were purchased in 2019 as we did well so not new by any stretch)

although the rent scenario changed. I bet rents skyrocketed. Where now renters can take the standard deduction. For me the last year before trump my itemized deduction came in low $13's, barely over the standard. Yes exemptions gone. It's beyond me but there are townhomes here that started in the low 800's all sold out. Where some live (NYC/Boston/DC/LA/Seattle/SF) that may be nothing, where I live it's a lot. I would say they'd never rid themselves of the association fees on top of that big mortgage.

Again I will say there is no right/wrong, black/white, it's up to the individual. Where there is only one right, is social distancing today. Can you imagine the NFL owners of the world who have girlfriends younger than their own daughters? Today that could kill them!

 

right and that means you drive a <4 yr old car all the time which is awesome, you don't have to come up with a ton of money to buy a car, and you can invest that money you don't have to come up with and potentially pay for the entire lease, so please don't give us the 'standard' smart owner talking points. kthxbye. (and i've bought every car i've driven until this last one so it's not like i've 'rented' cars my whole life).

 

Obviously you missed the entire point I was giving to the OP to consider.