Please talk some sense into me....

This is not a cheap attempt at getting some attention.....

Basically i'm 26 yrs old and started working in 2007 as a doctor. This yr (2008) i will prob earn around the 150k mark, could prob earn a bit more if worked hard by doing extra shifts etc etc.

Basically i don't have a property yet, i'm living with my folks atm. I am currently in the market to find my first property which i will prob move into to and then soon after purchase an investment property. Well that was the plan......until i came across this:

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=11210

bloody hell. i want one so bad.

i realise it's prob the dumbest think i could do at this stage financially, but that little devil on my other shoulder keeps telling me..."now is when you can enjoy such a car", " you only live once", "no point in getting a 2 seater when u have kids etc". Basically you get my drift.

I mean i wouldn't buy the car outright, a lease is the way i'd go, and it would prob be at the expense of a house at least in the forseeable future.

I really respect the advice and opinions posted on this forum. Most people seem to be very sensible and wise. Can someone please slap some sense into me??

Thanks.
 
if u really want that car badly, u can buy a property first still, and refinance the property when u get some capital growth, and use that extra equity to buy the car. Makes more sense that way, and could be a motivation for u to invest :)
 
G'Day AB

Well, why not?

What's with the guilt trip? You have worked hard to qualify in Medicine, you probably work very long hours now, and you will have a lot of fun riding in the car for the 30 minutes to the Hospital in the morning and the 30 minutes going home the next morning.

So, zillions of dollars for an hour a day, sure thing, why not?

BUT

You are obviously a smart boy. Probably, quite smart. And just because you want a shiny red car to drive around in .... hang on, what is it that you really want? Really, really want?

Is it the shiny bit, or

the red bit, or

the expensive bit ....

Everybody you know knows you are very clever and earn heaps of dosh, so you don't need to prove it by driving a shiny red zillions of dollars car. Or do you?

Can you think through this while you are ordering drips and reading charts?

The simplest thing, of course, is to buy/lease a shiny, new, red something at about one fifth the price, and to hire one of these trophy cars for special occasions or when you want to impress.

Or to make the bargain with yourself that you can lease one of these PROVIDED THAT you invest dollar for dollar in property STARTING NOW.

You see, aussieboy, we can have it all. And yes, you can get to drive one of these while you have hair. You don't have to wait until you are superannuated to get to play with the toys, BUT you have to make it part of your management plan, not just because you are writhing with lust at the thought of it.

So put those smarts to good use. How can you achieve this, and a property investment of equal value, with the property first and the toy second?

It will be easy but you will have to think about it, not just covet it.

Good luck!

Enjoy the car while you enjoy the property

Too easy!

Cheers

Kristine
 
Would you like my cold, hard, opinion?

Dont buy it! you are so young, concentrate on getting ahead so that you dont have to live the "Rat Race" lifestyle

You are the exact person, ie professional with a high salary that Robert Kiyosaki talks about. Refresh yourself with "Rich Dad Poor Day" book.

I have just finished reading the "Millioniare Next Door"... the first few chapters is about the door to door survey they did in areas with big houses and fancy cars... they were all broke.

At the end of the day, you gotta ask yourself if this car will change your life? sure it might make you feel good but how long will that last? investing and multiplying your money will change your life.

At the end of the day, you know what the right thing to do is..... you know what you could have instead of that car.

I work in a place where everyone drives elite cars.. i have a 10 year old Honda, I used to feel bad about it but now I smile because I am comfortable knowing what path I have chosen.

Sure I like nice things too, dont well all... However, I will invest all my money until my investments return me the cashflow to puchase luxury items.

I hope you make the right decision! good luck
 
Just buy a 2 year old Beemer 5 series and get over it. Good enough pose car for a Doc.

Far cheaper,
not as much of a w@nk,
and you'll get richer sooner.
 
I'm a bit of a rev-head myself and know the feeling, but your salary is inadequate to fund such a car.

Get a go-cart and race it. Much more fun.
 
Sure that car may look good & you will get some attention for a while, but just think about the reality of owning it. The high interest rate you will have to pay. Then imagine yourself in a few years time, still paying for the car, still living with Mum & Dad. Not cool! Imagine how your parents would feel with an adult child still living with them, sure they love you & want the best for you, but there comes a time when the child has to leave the nest for the betterment of both the child & the parent.

Then imagine leaving the car outside while you work. Whether you are in the hospital system or private practice, it will have to be left outside for hours at a time. You will have others opening their doors & accidently damaging it as well as the jealous loser types who scratch it, just because they can.

If you really, really want a car of this calibre, then plan to have it. Buy the house with a nice big garage to house your future car, invest & when the time is right you can have your nice car, lovingly garaged at home, you can take it out & enjoy it, but also have another run around car for your everyday tasks.
 
I had fantasies about buying a porche once, but when I looked closely there was nowhere to put a ladder, the roof would get all scratched when I tied my wheelbarrow on, you can't get many bricks on the passenger seat and I'd probably put my back out putting 10litre tins of paint in the back and if I wanted to convert it into something useful like a ute, the rear mounted engine would be in the way and there is nowhere to fit a tow bar. A totally useless vehicle, but they look nice don't they?:):):)
Tom
 
Maybe it's just me, but I think you'd be mad.

Not only would such a purchase be financially irresponsible, but think of it from your parents' perspective. I think the only reason adult children should live with their parents is because they need a helping hand. And while you studied, you did need that. And after you finished studying, maybe they want to help you save to buy your first home.

But I imagine your parents don't have an adult child living at home so that you can drive an outrageously luxurious car (presumably more luxurious than their car). Doesn't that seem morally questionable to you? At least if you're going to splash money around, move out from home and pay some rent first, and give your parents a break. If you drive such a car whilst living at home, at least at some level - even if you pay rent - THEY are subsidising that car.

And I know that to you $150K might seem like a great deal of money. But I hate to break it to you - there are plenty of people out there earning a lot more than that, who don't drive Porsches (and wouldn't consider that they could afford it).

Truly, I think that an appropriate car for your stage in life and salary would be more like about $40K (if you have to have brand new), or even better, buy a 1-year-old car that was about $40K last year and is now $25-30K. The little Peugeot CCs are very cute!

Succumb to the temptation of thinking that you're wealthier than you are at this early stage, and you're destined for a life of consuming beyond your means.

Sorry if this sounds harsh - I have loads of respect for doctors and I don't think you're adequately paid for the responsibility you bear, actually. But don't buy into the "I'm a rich doctor and I can afford better toys than everybody else" mentality; it's a recipe for disaster.
 
What the heck. Do what you want. If you end up loving the car, fine. If you end up thinking it's a giant albatross, then you learn a lesson. If it screws you up financially for years.... welcome to personal responsibility.
Alex
 
What the heck. Do what you want. If you end up loving the car, fine. If you end up thinking it's a giant albatross, then you learn a lesson. If it screws you up financially for years.... welcome to personal responsibility.
Alex

My thoughts exactly when my son did the same thing, he sold 12mths later much too my relief, but hey the world didn't end and it's nice to smell the roses occasionally, even if you can't really afford to buy the bunch

Tom
 
Not to offend any of the females in the forum but I dont think many would truely understand blokes desire for cars - its like some women's desire for shoes.:) It goes far beyond the "out to impress" thing, but can be about the pride/joy of ownership. Maybe you should rent a house away from your parents and buy the car, you probably could afford it. You will learn some lessons I think that cannnot be taught but need to be learnt, like no matter how much you earn you can spend it. You may sell the car and the purchase "the millionaire next door" and you will know what they're crapping on about as you will have been there.

I love cars too, its more about the design, sound, smell etc and Im looking at buying and old mustang, but finding hard to part with the hard earned. Bearing in mind I earn 200k+ and drive a $1500 ford falcon but I understand where your comeing from.
cheers
pieman
 
I love cars too and I'm happy to sell you my red Alfa. It's classy and cheap heck.. i really made a mistake with this car. I wished that I had bought a house back in 2005, I really do.

So please take the Alfa off me and you'll still be able to afford a property. :p
 
Skater speaks the truth. My mate has a Toyota Supra that he bought a couple years back. Up until a couple months ago, he was too afraid to drive it to work and leave it in the carpark all day to be hit by the trolley's, car doors and miscelaneous idiots. Instead, each day he drove his 20yo Gemini to work and back. He now no longer has a choice as the Gemini finally gave up, but his GF is on his case to get a more practical car as he now wants to borrow hers all the time to go to work!

Plus in addition to the payments, the running cost of these things is huge like petrol etc, and I can assume even normal servicing would cost a mint (my nephew has a BMW and pays about triple what I pay just for a standard service) - and God forbid if there is actually a problem and the fan belt needs to be replaced!! :eek:

Be realistic about how much it will ACTUALLY cost you to pay for and keep running. After you've done that, work out the opportunity cost of how far back the car will push your first property purchase.

Pretend that it sets you back 2yrs before the first IP. If you had bought a $400k IP this year instead, that increases at only 6% (and we both know you'll do better than that in Adelaide over the next couple years) - in 2yrs that's another $50k in growth you would have missed out on. So that's another $480pw you can add to the cost of the car for that 2yrs.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against buying cars (I'll have to buy myself one at some point once my beast of a Daweoo starts to get too old :cool:), but not to the detriment of your overall wealth. The cool toys come later once you're set on your road to wealth.
 
You want some sense? Here: RENT the thing for a month. See how you like it. Do it as if the financial cost was the same as if you'd bought it. See how it affects your life.
Alex
 
Just to add to this discussion, I reckon I would not be the only female who would think you just might be a bit of a w@nker in this car. You may attract the shallow types who want to see what else you afford to spend on THEM, but (for me, anyway) I would think you were a bit of a tosser, which you obviously are NOT.

I have always lived by the rules of a very rich person who said "buy the cheapest car your ego can afford".
 
I dont know, maybe its harder to spend when you have it and can afford it as you become set in your ways. I dont agree with steveadl that "the tool toys come when you can afford it" as it really is hard to part with the cash when you look at the opportunity cost of spending on depreciating assets when you really understand how to make money.
I have an unencumbered home worth 2m+ and could buy a great car for cash but ive "learnt" through making mistakes when i was young.

Education is expensive......
pieman
 
Just to add to this discussion, I reckon I would not be the only female who would think you just might be a bit of a w@nker in this car. You may attract the shallow types who want to see what else you afford to spend on THEM, but (for me, anyway) I would think you were a bit of a tosser, which you obviously are NOT.

I'd have to agree Wylie;)

I always have a good look at the Porsche drivers. Around here they are 50ish, pot bellied and balding........pass
 
my answer even before I saw alexlee's - drop a couple grand and rent it for a week. the first day will be like chocolate sex in heaven, you'll be picking up your mates all over town. the second day will be awesome too. days three and four - still pretty damn good.

day five - whoa those shopping centre carparks with car doors and trolleys flying out everywhere. lucky its a rental, eh?

day six - get an insurance quote. and how much are the services and repairs again?

day seven - are you still in love???

ps - i know a doc who drives an old VW combi van
 
Guess what? Not much we say here is going to change what you will do. If you really want it, go for it.

Today, you only realise the theoretical issue of purchasing an expensive car and the trade-off of not buying a property. You don't actually feel it. It will only be when you truly believe it and feel it, when your behaviours and choices will change. Some people understand it and feel it earlier than others. I myself was a late comer :(

Growing up and realising what are your priorities takes time, you can't expect 'enlightenment' based on a few anonymous posts from SS'ers.

I say buy it, enjoy the car (and you will), then realise in a couple of years, that is was a mistake and you will never do it again :D

Now as for the choice of car....Porsche & young doctor. That's a cliche!
 
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