[BladeRunner]

Hey guys,

I hope I don’t offend anyone by asking this, but I’m curious how most of you were able to purchase a car that was likely in the $30,000 to $40,000 range. I’m not asking for salaries or anything like that, just generalities on how you made it happen. Did you save for years? Huge year end bonus? Sell meth on the side? :smokin:

I live in the south where the cost of living is fairly low. My wife and I make decent money and our house payment is very reasonable. Even so, I can’t imagine taking on a $500-$600 a month car payment for 5 or 6 years. Granted, we do have some credit card debt, and I’m sure that is holding us back some. Maybe we just need to be smarter with our money.:slant:

I just don’t see how the average person/family can afford a new car these days. :scratchhead:

Mods, please move if this is not the correct place for this type of post.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[FFchris]

i bit the bullet in '92 when i was 20YO and bought my first new vehicle, a 92 dakota sport 4X4. i worked hard and paid it off in 2 years, one thing i noticed then was the payment almost offset what i would be spending on repairs on an old jalopy. then in '96 i bought a new style ram 2500 4x4 ext cab, with the 92 as a downpayment made my new truck quite affordable. i was always self employed and would write the deprecation off so that aspect of it never gets under my skin, i would rather drive it then write a cheque to can rev ( IRS) for it. fast forward to now, and being self employed has payed off for me, im 39, basically never work more than 8 hours a week, and can pay cash for everything.
i made it happen by putting my nose to the grind stone when i was young as my friends were partying their guts out, good hard work ethics passed on from my dad, i hope i do the same for my kids.

 

[PRZ3124]

I'm also 39 started working at my job at 20. I always paid cash for my cars. If I couldn't afford it then I didn't need it. Never carried any debt. Bought a reasonably priced condo when I could of bought something twice as large and as much. I don't run out and buy the newest gadget or video games. Invested some money well.

 

[Ironside]

I think it's a bunch of factors for me... relatively high income between my wife and I, the fact that we don't have any kids and aren't planning on it for another 3-4 years at least...

Part of it is just being crazy and realizing you only live once, it's only money and I don't want to spend my life DREAMING about what could have been; i'd rather have DONE the things I really wanted while I was able to do them.

My monthly payment is $760 (it's actually $351 bi-weekly) which is a pretty scary chunk of change to part ways with... especially over many many years of financing.

In my case it's not AS bad because between my wife and I, we BRING HOME just under $6000/month after taxes (which is like $8600 before tax) so in the GRAND scheme of things, my Challenger costs me $9126 a year in car payments out of a take-home of $75,000ish.

Not really SO bad...

I'm sure I could be driving around a Geo Metro that's completely paid off and great on gas, but that's not what life is about sir. :thumbsup:

 

[Redfish]

I waited to buy until I got a big promotion and a corresponding big pay raise. That combined with downpayment $ I saved up from a deployment made it within my budget. I expect it will be the most expensive car I will ever purchase, but it sure is fun to drive.

 

[TinCuda]

Not much of a secret. I worked my butt off when I was young. I went to school and put my nose to the grindstone and worked my way up in the company I work for. I know that is not a very detailed description but it is also a very common formula. I am not rich, but in the same right, this challenger is not my only toy. Work hard early on. If you start planning for retirement when your 50, your 30 years to late.

You know I have to tell you, the timing could not have been better for me. I just turned 41 years old. 10 years ago and I would not have been able to pay for a SRT but I am still spry enough to really enjoy one. I can certainly sympathize with how frustrating it can be with such a unique car as the Challenger available and to be in a time of your life that the price is out of reach.

Peace, and best wishes to you.

 

[Rallye72]

I'm 53 now, sole income earner in my family. I saw the 06 concept at BJ and was hooked having owned two originals when I was much younger. I saved for over two years to put enough of a down payment on it to bring it into a range I was willing to afford monthly. At the time I bought I was also able to snag the employee pricing that was made known to many of us by some other forum members. That knocked off over 2k on the car right there.

I originally ordered an 09 but Chrysler went thru the bankruptcy, my car was canceled so I had to wait for the 10's. It all worked out fine.

The car is expensive, in my opinion over priced, but it was also a once in a lifetime opportunity to have something I'd always wanted: a new Challenger RT. To be honest I wanted the B5 blue classic but I just couldn't justify the extra cost to myself for some paint, stripes and wheels. The B5 was neat because it would have matched my 72 Charger. In the end I elected to scale back my desires and go with a "plain" stone white RT 6 speed. I'm happy, no regrets.

I guess what I'd say is you buy what you can afford when you can afford it and if you have to wait a bit to get what you want so be it. These cars will be around for some time.

Keep in mind there are many, many very low mile used cars on Ebay and even some new 10's are way down in price if you shop carefully. Seems the "pink" ones are sitting around on a lot of lots. Cool color IMO.

Best wishes.

 

[internetguy]

Not too much of a secret here either; worked my butt off until I landed my current career which puts me inside top 2% of all income earners. It's been a long, hard, steep, climb. Too long of a story to tell.

Then I planned and saved for the car for two years. Yes, it's fully paid for including $7K in mods. All good.

Hope this doesn't come off snobby- I started out in life with very humble means. Life is real abundant now, but it sure didn't come easy for me.

You'll get there-- you start by asking questions like the one you posed for this thread. Keep going, learn from the others and you'll get there.

The four principles of wealth I've learned the hard way:

1. Work harder and more hours than anyone else around you
2. Avoid debt like the plague
3. Invest
4. Time- be patient

 

[HemiFan]

I've basically got a situation whereby I've got a low debt scenario with a fairly high income. I always maintained what I thought was a good balance of "stuff vs. money." I do like driving fun and/or nice cars - so over the years I've tried to keep that balance going so I can afford the cars I'd like to drive (within reason of course), without putting myself in a tight situation.

For me, a car is a bit of a big deal. Next to home and work, its probably where I spend most of my time - so I want to drive something I enjoy since I'm going to be in it a lot. I've situated myself financially over the years to do that. There's things I don't spend much money on that others do, but we all have things that are important to each of us which differ from others. For me, I like cars - the one's I like cost a little extra, so I make room in my budget for that. Many years ago before I was positioned to afford the kind of cars I aspired to have, I drove what I liked within the scope of my budget and was OK with that too. Funny - I remember spending as much time and effort detailing my very basic Chevy S10 pick up every weekend in 1982 as I currently do on my Challenger.

All that advice from the other posters about hard work, etc. - yep, I did all that too and it got me to where I am now. I was in the USMC for 25 years - lots of time away from home, never owned a house all those years, constant moves; I lived pretty "light." I had some nice cars while I was in, but like I said, I lived pretty light in other respects. When I retired from the military, I landed a very good paying and stable job but kept my debt scenario low. In a few more years, I'll have another retirement income coming in and maybe I'll just drive my Challenger around all day...

Life can be pretty good if you work at it. But it normally takes some time, effort and definitely the ability to plan ahead as well as have the discipline to stick with what works for you to get where you want to be at some point.

 

[David Banner]

Not too much of a secret here either; worked my butt off until I landed my current career which puts me inside top 2% of all income earners. It's been a long, hard, steep, climb. Too long of a story to tell.

Then I planned and saved for the car for two years. Yes, it's fully paid for including $7K in mods. All good.

Hope this doesn't come off snobby- I started out in life with very humble means. Life is real abundant now, but it sure didn't come easy for me.

You'll get there-- you start by asking questions like the one you posed for this thread. Keep going, learn from the others and you'll get there.

The four principles of wealth I've learned the hard way:

1. Work harder and more hours than anyone else around you
2. Avoid debt like the plague
3. Invest
4. Time- be patient

Internetguy nailed it, there's nothing more to it.

1. Work all the O.T. you can or get a second job
2.&3. Invested and crushed the market in the mid 90's and paid my $300.000 house off when I was 31
4. Bought a left over 2010 SRT8 for $8,000 of MSRP (The crown jewel of my toy colection) and then slapped a 8psi maggie on it.

 

[Tim_K]

I'm planning to get a '10 SE. A '10 because (1) I don't like the style of the instrument panel gauges in the '11, and (2) the '10 will be cheaper due to depreciation. And everyone wants the new V6 motor. With my current financial situation though, even if I get a '10 for $15K financed after a down payment I'll still be straining the finances to make payments.

I think a lot of people don't really NEED a new car, it's just a variety of forces and pressures that combine to make them THINK they NEED a new car. Among these are the upcoming one world government / new world order, world bank, the few families running it all, greedy CEOs, advertisers, etc.

It's like in the movie "They Live". That is what the aforementioned organizations want for all of us. Consume, spend, do not question authority.

Well, I'm too smart for them, they will never affect me like they may most people!:thumbsup:

In my case, I moved to Los Angeles and do not have the space or resources to work on my older cars like I used to always do. And the newest car I ever owned was 6 years old so I may give it a try, going for a 2 year old model. It'll be later in the summer before I have ANY chance of getting one, and besides the cars will be even cheaper then!

 

[TinCuda]

LOL, your the guy I like to talk to at parties.

Rock on my friend.

I'm planning to get a '10 SE. A '10 because (1) I don't like the style of the instrument panel gauges in the '11, and (2) the '10 will be cheaper due to depreciation. And everyone wants the new V6 motor. With my current financial situation though, even if I get a '10 for $15K financed after a down payment I'll still be straining the finances to make payments.

I think a lot of people don't really NEED a new car, it's just a variety of forces and pressures that combine to make them THINK they NEED a new car. Among these are the upcoming one world government / new world order, world bank, the few families running it all, greedy CEOs, advertisers, etc.

It's like in the movie "They Live". That is what the aforementioned organizations want for all of us. Consume, spend, do not question authority.

Well, I'm too smart for them, they will never affect me like they may most people!:thumbsup:

In my case, I moved to Los Angeles and do not have the space or resources to work on my older cars like I used to always do. And the newest car I ever owned was 6 years old so I may give it a try, going for a 2 year old model. It'll be later in the summer before I have ANY chance of getting one, and besides the cars will be even cheaper then!

 

[huggytree]

i own a small plumbing company and sales were up 50% last year

im celebrating with a new 392

i think there's a lot of small business guys who buy SRT's....your average joe doesnt have $50k to spend on a car

 

[aarcuda]

i sell meth on the side.

not really. I sell coke.






naw, im just pulling your leg. its really all profits from illegal whiskey makin out back.


jk

 

[STONEWHITE R/T]

In the bible it says "The borrower is slave to the lender". It all depends on the season you are in your life. Yeah, some young guys can go out and buy a 45k SRT. Some can only afford the SE. (Nothing wrong with an SE) I am 53. Our 4 kids are now grown and on their own. The only debt we have is the house and this car. Yes, I financed it and now I am a slave to my Credit Union. We couldn't do alot when the kids were home and now it is OUR TIME. I waited 31 years to buy another Challenger. It is not my daily driver. This one is my "toy". I consider it to be a blessing to own one. Your family comes first. My payments were way up there as you say. I have had it for two years next month and I just refinanced it for another 60 months to drop the payment and got a better interest rate. I don't plan to let it go so another 5 year note is fine with me. However I can now pay more on it if I want to and pay it off quicker and still save money with the lower interest rate. I drove the family mini van for several years while my wife drove her old Honda Civic she had when we met. It just takes a little time, patience and hard work. I did have to wait until my wife gave me the O.K. to order one. Good luck to you and hope you can get your dream car one day.

 

[avconsumer2]

1. Work harder and more hours than anyone else around you
2. Avoid debt like the plague
3. Invest
4. Time- be patient

Financial advice to live by.

though #3 should be "Invest wisely"
& imo - #2 should be #1. Interest is for making money, not losing it. :icon_razz:

 

[tonyl]

Like everyone else here, I work hard and save my money. It's all about priorities too. For years I drove the mini van and VW Getta while raising my family, paying for private school and saving for college. Wouldn't have considered a Challenger back in the day.My wife doesn't care if I spend money on bling for this car. Different story 20 years ago.

Kids are grown now, hence my first real toy. Even so, I buy all my vehicles used. I bought my 09 r/t when it was less than a year old with only 7k miles. The original owner put thousands more into the car - catback, wheels, tires, etc. - but sold it to me for $8k less than he paid the dealer. And I got what I wanted - manual, deep water blue pearl, no nav. In fact, the search was fun. Found the car in Charlotte, NC so my buddy and I flew down, inspected and bought the car the drove to ACC Tournament and home.

When I bought this car, I used cash from the sale of my previous one plus cash on hand. Still have a payment but it's a non issue.

 

[noz34me]

For me, similar to some others:

I'm 57, early retirement in '09, but drawing a pension. Wife still working. 4 kids between us, have paid for their college, and thankfully all 4 are successful and off our payroll now. House is paid for as well. Although we took it in the shorts during the 2007-2009 debacle with the stock market, we are in a good position for retirement.

Decided to pull the trigger this past January, when I could get an R/T Classic for just a little over $30K. Also helped I had an '08 Altima and a very well preserved '94 Mustang GT Vert I sold.

I justified it by getting rid of 2 other cars and the associated insurance, upkeep, and taxes on 2 vs 1 vehicle. The Challenger was the only car that I could do that with. If I had gone with the Camaro or another Stang, would have probably had to keep the Altima. I think you'll find that while these cars are a lot of fun, compared to either the Camaro or Stang, they can be a much more practical choice as well.

 

[JS29R0B]

...59 years old

...self employed since 1974

...2 kids, raised-college etc

...wife has always worked

...don't smoke, drink or use drugs (many smoke up a new car payment every month)

...used bank money sparingly thru the years, didn't need the bank as a partner

...charge cards paid every month, haven't paid interest in 20-30 years

...lived in our means

...mainly, just getting old I think

 

[Jack09]

I sold my brand new Ram to get it off my credit and ordered the car. My wife and I don't make all the money in the world, but we do OK. I wanted one last hot rod and this was it. I initially wanted a SRT8 but had to pull it back some and be realistic about what we could afford without putting us in a bind. It's already more than half paid off already and it seems like just last week I got the car.

Jack