Buying a car - how much to spend?

[bene313]

I would go for a Suzuki Grand Vitara. I was asking the same question 18 months ago. I ended up getting side-tracked and purchased a 2 year old Holden Captiva Maxx instead, and then after spending all the $$$ couldn't bear to drive it on the beach. Ended up Beach driving with friends with 4 wds instead. I sold that car late last year and bought a 1997 Ford Fairmont Ghia EL with 80,000 k's for $3,500. I'm loving it!!!

Invstor - interesting point.

Friends who I surf with all have 4x4s. So most of the time I'm in one of their cars on a trip anyway.

Although the better half and I are heading away in a week and alas no beach driving... well... that is unless I can convince her sister to let me use the Toureg

 

[BMan]

So no one's ever made money buying a car.

really...!
of course you can

just not normally new cars

We just bought a car about 2 weeks ago. Forrester was on the list of options, but we ended up with a (more expensive) 2007 Rav4 instead. We paid about $20k after all the extra charges, not helped by the fact the car had less than a week's rego on it when we bought it. Boom, we don't have a buffer anymore. Kept the old car as its trade-in value was "a couple of hundred".

So now we're one of *those* two car families ... and one is a SUV. On the upside, we now won't have to pay other people to deliver things for us or take things away for us.

noooo!!
dont like forresters.. well the older ones anyway but a rav4 really? id go a forrester any day
a rav 4 is an inbetween its not really a 4x4 but its not a car,

 

[Mick and Andrea]

I want to know how much people are spending relative to there net worth.

40k car would be too much for some of us but a budget car for others.

Mick
Who is in the midst of chalking up IP number 6 and rolls big in a $1500 Ford Festiva

 

[Sunfish]

a rav 4 is an inbetween its not really a 4x4 but its not a car,

It's a chic's car. Like a Jeep is a butch chic's car.

Was amused to see a bloke in an MX5 stuck in the gutter into the local shopping centre. With so little travel in his suspension and no LSD one wheel was spinning in air. Not sure if he pushed it or not but I saw him on the flat in my RV mirror. It's happened to me in my van too. One of life's challenges.

 

[jroth]

It's a chic's car. Like a Jeep is a butch chic's car.

Pre-2006 Rav4's were definitely chick cars but for the later models I'd have to disagree. They are not for 4wd'ing though.

My wife and I decided to look at the small SUV range last year when she was pregnant and our old Elantra died, we decided we wanted a family car to accommodate baby/dog/travelling around but we weren't ready to move to the Kluger/Territory size.

We checked out the Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, Nissan X-Trail, Kia Sportage and Suburu Forester. Along with good all-round design and safety features, the real differentiator for us was the amazing boot space for it's size. We ended up buying a 2009 model ZR6, which has the same engine as the Kluger and have been happy with our decision. We've done a few trips from Canberra to the Sunshine Coast and Melbourne. I do wish they had a diesel model however!

 

[NBS]

I have just gone through this and purchased a new VW Tiguan diesel. Yes it cost a few more $$$ but its what both my wife and I liked.

We have gone without most things all our lives and we felt it was time to get something for US. Of course the wife will be the main driver and she is RAPPED, as they say happy wife happy life.

Buying a vehicle and $$$ outlay is an individual choice I have always purchased 2nd hand.

My best buy was a $50.00 Madza ute had barrol bolts as door locks and if I stalled at a set of lights I had to use a clamp on the terminals to get the car started (girlfriends job then). I spend $750 on it ie brakes and fixing the terminals etc and from then on just oil and filter changes I kept it for 5 years and sold it for $750.00. Was a great vehicle very very reliable and just a great work vehicle.

Have fun in your hunt.

Brian

 

[Oscar]

nothing beats the smell of a new car. One of life's pleasures indulging in these electro mechanical engineering pieces of wizardry! I only go german these days. Just got rid of my one year old BMW 525 for a 3.0L Audi A5 sportback. The mrs loves her Merc SL350. Life is short kids, enjoy your efforts before it's too late...

 

[Doovalacky]

Brought a Nissian Xtrail 2003 last July for 10k with 175k on the clock. Done 30k already driving to work.

So far, touch wood, only had a bracket on the muffler break, which I fixed myself. Probably up for new tires in 3 months and the muffler is pretty rusty. About $1200 to replace that when it finally goes.
While I did come close to going for a cab chassis ute for about 17k I wanted something more comfortable. I can't see myself spending more than 20k on a car ever, and I will probably keep it till it dies.

A lot of guys I know have a cheap 2-5k 4wd for weekend stuff so they are not wrecking a good car. Especially with salt.

 

[Indifference]

......... Question is how much to spend?

How much or... how little??? How about working out a budget (annualized) that you are prepared to spend? Then work backwards as to what you can afford on your budget. Obviously tax concessions will get you more bang for your $, but ultimately your budget will dictate what is viable. Ie. New, nearly new or Used.

This will be a work car - I can claim majority of the costs. I can also salary sacrifice to get the GST back. ...........


Hesitating on this. Buying a depreciating asset. Goes against my instincts.


Your opinions please

If this is primarily for income producing purposing, then it is a necessary expense within the confines of your budget. If not buying the car impacts on your income, how about assessing what the value of that impact is? Then only spend up to that limit..... basic business planning really....

But, from reading your posts I get the impression that this purchase is more than just a business transaction.... if so, that "emotional investment" is an expense that no amount of reasoning will resolve. It is a matter of determining what value (in $ terms) you place on that emotional attachment or investment, in the purchase. If this really is just a straight out business decision, then the income produced from the purchase is the maximum amount to be spent, otherwise you might as well just give the extra $ to charity and at least get a warm & fuzzy feeling from doing something good. If only life were that simple hey!

IMHO, a car is never really just a logical transaction if any amount of personal use is involved. Practicality from a cost, performance, functionality, reliability and image perspective, all enter the debate.

So, in response to "how much"? No more than you can "afford".....

 

[shuggy]

Pre-2006 Rav4's were definitely chick cars but for the later models I'd have to disagree... We ended up buying a 2009 model ZR6, which has the same engine as the Kluger and have been happy with our decision.

Hahaa you bought a chic's car !!

 

[DEC]

nothing beats the smell of a new car.

You are kidding right?
You lead a very sheltered life if this is as good as it gets for you.
Its a car

 

[Edmond Dantes]

Bought a hyundai IX35 Diesel recently. love it.

 

[wylie]

Mum and Dad told me when I was looking at my first car "buy the cheapest car that your ego will allow" or something like that.

Cars just don't "do it" for me. Lumps of metal with wheels is how I see them. But I do enjoy being a passenger in someone else's lovely new expensive car. I just don't want to pay for it. I'm no scrooge, but I prefer to spend my money on other things.

For years we had the choice of a nice car or hold onto our IP. We always chose to hold the IP. Now we could buy an expensive car, we still won't do it. It is not important to us. Safety is the No 1 driver for what we buy next. When we bought our current vehicle it was the first time we ever bought new, but we got it cheap because it was a demo model, so we didn't take the initial depreciation hit. The two criteria we had were No 1 safety and No 2 ability to put renovating stuff in it.

If it is important to you what sort of car you drive, then you can still work under the "buy the cheapest car that your ego will allow" .

Some egos will need a $100K spend and others $10K.

 

[buster]

nothing beats the smell of a new car. One of life's pleasures indulging in these electro mechanical engineering pieces of wizardry! I only go german these days. Just got rid of my one year old BMW 525 for a 3.0L Audi A5 sportback. The mrs loves her Merc SL350. Life is short kids, enjoy your efforts before it's too late...

It will be short. That knew car smell is toxic it is toxins being released from plastics. Maybe you need to get a life if such a small mundane thing gives you a thrill.

 

[Ideo]

I enjoy cars.

I don't see what gives others the right to ride the moral high horse because they don't see the value in it.

It's like art. I have some interesting things on my walls (mainly Australian), others are happy with a framed print from Ikea.

I drive about 1000kms a week. I want a comfortable, reliable car that is fun to drive.

I don't see how a 1994 Laser can give me that.

As a result I took delivery of a vw golf R last year. Around 52k driveaway. It's under a novated lease so GST wasn't applicable. For a fully serviced, fast, reliable, quick and comfortable car I pay around $320 a week after tax. The other advantage is I know exactly how much I am going to be spending each week. There are no unknown costs.

I could buy a $5000 car for cash, but based on my fuel usage, kms travlled and tyres, maintenance, insurance, rego etc that go with it, this option costs me much less. It's done on a 85% business 15% personal usage scheme.

I was paying less but I have changed my work arrangements substantially.

In 2 years time I will sell it for more than the final ballon, and enter into a new lease.

It comes down to your personal situation, what you enjoy and what you want.

If you want a new car and can afford it, get one. If you don't want a new car or can't afford one don't get one.

But don't let ego get in the way - and that goes just as much for the "well I run 25 year old car for nothing and everyone else is stupid" brigade as the buy a flash set of wheels brigade. If you enjoy driving, splurge a bit and enjoy things. If you don't, get more of an appliance. But do it based on your own personal situation.

 

[weg]

I'm going to be really different here and say anything you can't pay for in cash you can't afford; you've always been able to get a good safe car in the high teens, and sometimes for less.

So you can do that, and have better cashflow allowing you to accumulate even more cash because you save on interest, or you can work out what you can afford or tolerate in repayments. Just watch you don't over extend yourself.

A car is a car to me too. It's hard trying to get too excited about them, although comfort when driving is nice.

 

[Oscar]

It will be short. That knew car smell is toxic it is toxins being released from plastics. Maybe you need to get a life if such a small mundane thing gives you a thrill.

don't tell me, new car smell gives you cancer. Enjoy driving your cheap death traps. I'm outta here. broom broom....

 

[Oscar]

I enjoy cars.

As a result I took delivery of a vw golf R last year.

Ideo - they're a nice set of wheels. I had the GTI 6 years ago - one of the best cars to drive. The R would be something else. Enjoy and have fun with it.

 

[Ideo]

I'm going to be really different here and say anything you can't pay for in cash you can't afford; you've always been able to get a good safe car in the high teens, and sometimes for less.

So you can do that, and have better cashflow allowing you to accumulate even more cash because you save on interest, or you can work out what you can afford or tolerate in repayments. Just watch you don't over extend yourself.

A car is a car to me too. It's hard trying to get too excited about them, although comfort when driving is nice.

Jeeze you must have a hard time buying property

As I said, if you do a lot of business driving, doing a fully serviced lease may work out a lot more cost effective for you.

 

[Oscar]

You are kidding right?
You lead a very sheltered life if this is as good as it gets for you.
Its a car

Yes, you're right DEC. I lead an extremely sheltered life. I really need to get out more. Travel a bit. Live and work in a few different countries. Invest more and make a few million. That type of thing. PM me for advice.