They might as well have been decades ago…evs are the only thing getting you close to those scores now
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75% of my income, I live with mommy and daddy…
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There are a lot of parameters that impacts this and everyone’s situation is different. For most with regular income, there is a sweet price range with several decent options. Just be realistic with your finances, avoid severely overpaying by falling into sales traps then you will be happy.
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Agree. Always hated when people would calculate things based on gross…its such an irrelevant number to base your spending on. Personally, 5% or less of net income is where it should be.
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Is that 5% of net including gas and insurance?
With the median household (not personal) income being $75k, that’s $250/mo for the median US family. Doesn’t seem like you could get a terribly exciting car for $250 a month
If your household income is 75k, should you be looking for an “exciting” car? Better off buying a used, reliable economy car and riding it until the wheels fall off.
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Nope, just payment w/ tax.
That’s kind of how I see it too. Household income 75K means a car should not be something you prioritize aside from it being a basic mode of transport.
This is something I find myself thinking about from time to time. I really don’t know the answer. I asked AI to see what it would say.
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Under 1-2% for us. But at the end of the day it really depends on your income.
Terrible advice. 15-20% of take home is way way to much. Maybe if it was tax deductible like it should be as 90% of most peoples vehicle use is commuting to a job. W2 workers always get screwed
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ChatGPT assumes you’ll be hustlin’ DoorDash and Uber with your car.
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I agree with you. I tend to be fairly conservative with my personal finances though. My current car is a 20 year old Mazda my dad gave me for free. People probably think I’m poor, a lunatic, or a poor lunatic.
That said, this question is of interest to me because I’ll probably need to get something new somewhat soon. One of the reasons I’m here, so I can try to learn more about the topic.
Sounds like you don’t care what people think and don’t care about driving something nice. So get the best deal you can when you need one. Under $400/mo should be totally doable.
Half true. I do somewhat care about driving something nice. I’m just juggling that desire with house shopping and the fact that I travel ~70% for my job. When I’m traveling, I always have a nice rental. But still, the poor old Mazda is closing in on 200k and not in the greatest health.
That’s what makes the question even more interesting for me. How much does someone in such circumstances spend on a vehicle? Even with a relatively high income, what percentage would be sensible to spend? Hell of a tough question.
I know people that live in an apartment and spend $1500-$2000/month on a lease. Don’t be that guy. Stacking your assets is a lot more fun than an absurd lease that handcuffs you. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!
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Other problem is car loans are insanely high right now which limits how much car you can/should buy assuming you are financing.
Lots of factors beyond what you bring home and these are more rhetorical questions and not necessarily meant to be answered here:
-Do you have any student loans hanging around? Credit card loans?
-You mention house shopping–do you have a house now with equity or are you renting?
-Any dependents or is it just you by yourself?
I’ve recently come to the conclusion that I should begin making lower payments on my student loans. My house war fund makes way more interest than I’m incurring on the loans. But I’ve only got $14k left now.
I agree they’re good questions/considerations. I think people have different comfort levels with this sort of thing, and as I said, I tend to be a little conserv… well, I’m a cheap ass.
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I think we’ve all seen that guy. I think the guys on the other end of the spectrum are pretty interesting, too. When I was a kid, I knew a surgeon who drove a dilapidated Camry. Not as a daily beater, but as his only car. He actually bought a way nicer car for his kid, a new (at the time) STI.