Thread: How much do you spend buying a vehicle?

Originally Posted by Maca49

..
There are far better investments than cars, ..

In 99.999% of cases, they're not an investment but rather an indulgent black hole you pour money down, says he who continues to do it..

Do the maths, (I haven’t looked into new car prices for a few years) my old boss bought a new Toyota van and kept it for 5 years then traded it for a new one. Cost was 10k to change it over that’s 2 k a year. At the same time the 5 year old vans were loosing the same amount per year. It was a no brainer and he had five years of trouble free driving.
I’m a 5k type every 5 years but I’m an ex mechanic so I’m not worried about running repairs.
The best cars I’ve owned have been the cheapest.
P.S. my boss buys me a new vehicle every 3 years, it doesn’t take long for them to become second hand.

There's a lot to be said for having pride in what you drive, sure you can't eat that or spend it on something else but if it makes you feel good about yourself and your place in the world then I think its a good investment.

Up until now 10 grand but am currently considering a new colorado for my young family. My wifes Corolla is getting to small and my 89 suzuki vitara is a death trap thats smells like fish and blood .

Originally Posted by 2post

Do the maths, (I haven’t looked into new car prices for a few years) my old boss bought a new Toyota van and kept it for 5 years then traded it for a new one. Cost was 10k to change it over that’s 2 k a year. At the same time the 5 year old vans were loosing the same amount per year.

This thread has shown well the two trains of thought, either;
a, a depreciating asset
b, a ongoing cost that you either justify by the joy/work/use that you get from it.

Unsurprisingly I didn't get a conclusive answer on a set rule, it would seem there is not a set rule that folks stick too.

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Do you mean you can afford one as in rock up and pay cash and drive away, or you can afford one as in put it on tick and pay it off? Those low interest rates sure look good until you realise what you're losing in depreciation (unless it's a business vehicle) along with the extra paid in interest and fees etc

I could pay a sizable chunk with cash and pay the rest on finance, or put it on the mortgage.
Either way any money I spend on a vehicle is money that would (arguably) be better spent paying off my mortgage.

Originally Posted by Beetroot

I could pay a sizable chunk with cash and pay the rest on finance, or put it on the mortgage.
Either way any money I spend on a vehicle is money that would (arguably) be better spent paying off my mortgage.

If you use one of those mortgage calculator you will find that even dumping 10k on a mortgage will save a huge amount of interest.

@Beetroot get old with no regrets, there’s your answer! Your at the Y junction, either go with you heart or your head, look back in 5 yrs and be able to say ,”yep I’m glad I did that”. Hahahahahs

Buy the cheapest car your ego can handle .

Originally Posted by Ground Control

Buy the cheapest car your ego can handle .

Your quote at the bottom says it all, but goes against human nature, but if ya can why not enjoy?

Their like boats, cost money to own and enjoy. When young, vehicles were a status symbol, not any more, just something that does a job and gets from A to B. with as least hassles as possible.

Boats tend to be a better investment

Buy what you want to own. I cannot bring myself to spend more than about 5k on a car though I bought a car worth 8k with help a number of years back. I tend to drive cars and maintain them so by the time I "need" to replace it, it has dropped to a value that means I may as well keep it. My favourite car to drive which I bought as a short term commuter about 5 years ago to do one job for about 6 months is a 1989 MX5. It needs a paint but is straight and original and an absolute blast to drive. Even my wife likes going with me for drives to random places....

I run the umbers and I even bought a Falcon once as an economical option for a spare car. The price of the car plus the price of the petrol cost for three years of use was still less than buying a smaller car that I could not find for the same price..($1100 for the Falcon that had $3000 worth of engine work..plus $3000 in gas over 3 years cost me $4k and I sold it for what I paid for it....)

There are so many factors in what you want it for that each person is different and will need to make their own choices.

But if it is going on the mortgage, that will never fly with me unless it is for a short term. Mate had a mortgage and he got a newish ute, new lounge suite and holiday and after 7 years when he sold the house, he did not make a cent, as his mortgage was larger than hen he bought the house. Putting things n the mortgage wont work unless you can pay it off with higher payments as quickly as possible. Its a mortgage which literally means "death grip"

Originally Posted by timattalon

But if it is going on the mortgage, that will never fly with me unless it is for a short term. Mate had a mortgage and he got a newish ute, new lounge suite and holiday and after 7 years when he sold the house, he did not make a cent, as his mortgage was larger than hen he bought the house. Putting things n the mortgage wont work unless you can pay it off with higher payments as quickly as possible. Its a mortgage which literally means "death grip"

Even if you pay cash for a brand new vehicle, that's still $40k odd that you could have used to pay off a chunk of your mortgage, it doesn't really matter what method you pay by it's money that could be spent else where.

There are so many factors in what you want it for that each person is different and will need to make their own choices.

I think this is what it all comes down too, thankfully we live in a time where you can spend $5k on a vehicle and it will be mostly hassle free for a very long time.

dunno what my next car will be, after 3 subaru's i wont be getting a newer one as they all have a cvt, also way to much electronic b.s on board. (which is good for my bank account as i repair it). might think of importing a u.k hyunda as that way i can get a manual transmission