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Smart Shopper Percentage of monthly income spent on a car?
390 messages, Last post on Mar 21, 2009 at 5:50 PM
You are in the Smart Shopper Forum. Your Hosts are kirstie_h & tidester
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Replying to: kirstie_h (Mar 13, 2008 5:12 pm) Back to the main topic of this thread, I don't think its really valid to think about what you spend to own a car in terms of what you make. If you can walk to work, you shouldn't spend as much as if you commute 50 miles each way. If you can get a job that pays more, but you'll have to commute farther, then that could justify spending a higher percentage of your income on your car. I'm in the market for a replacement vehicle, which is why I got on this site. Over the next 3 years or so I believe gas will be over $4.00, perhaps $5.00. I also believe foreign cars will go up sharply in price because of the exchange rate, the dollar is dropping like a rock against other currencies. I'm considering a Honda Fit, which I'd have to buy new because a used one would be over 90% the cost of a new one, based on what I've seen on the internet. On the other hand, a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis LS can be had for $8,000, this car was over $25,000 new. I made a spreadsheet of all the factors, of course I have to guess how many miles I'll drive per year, what gas will cost, and what my average mileage will be. I figure 35mpg for the Honda, 23 for the Mercury. If I keep my next car 10 years, average 15,000 miles / year, and gas averages $4.50 / gallon, I come up with a total annual cost of $4,800 for the Honda, $5,400 for the Mercury. If gas averages $5.00 per gallon, my annual cost goes up to $5,000 per year for the Honda, $5,700 for the Mercury. Based on that, I'm leaning toward the Mercury, because (for me) its a much nicer car, its big, luxurious, and has a great ride. Input from other forum members would be welcome, I'm here to learn! 
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Replying to: joesmith2 (Mar 15, 2008 5:14 am) Well, while that may have been MSRP, they never had a street price that high. My father-in-law has bought nothing but Grand Marquis for the past 20 years or so. Each time he has bought new and paid somewhere down in the mid teens for them. The one he just got a few months ago he got a GS with gold trim, chrome wheels (or are they gold, too, i forget), and cloth top (the family calls it the "Florida package") for about $15k. That's about $12k off, I believe.
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Replying to: qbrozen (Mar 18, 2008 12:13 pm)
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Replying to: joesmith2 (Mar 18, 2008 6:42 pm) Low demand and screamer ads. I dunno. I have seen as high as $10k trunk money in the past, IIRC. |
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Replying to: qbrozen (Mar 18, 2008 12:13 pm) Of COURSE it's a Florida package. Where else would you sell them like that? Who was the comedian that said his parents moved to Florida - they didn't want to but tehy turned 60 and that's the law... That'll be me before too long.
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Replying to: fezo (Mar 19, 2008 11:46 am) Oh, but he still lives in Jersey. 
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Replying to: qbrozen (Mar 19, 2008 12:05 pm) I've seen way too many of those cloth tops. What's up with that? Do they think people that buy convertibles do it because they like the look of the top?
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Replying to: fezo (Mar 19, 2008 4:18 pm)
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Replying to: guss (Mar 20, 2008 4:41 am) |
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Replying to: joesmith2 (Mar 12, 2008 3:07 pm) If you have the cash to pay for the purchase today, wouldn't it make more sense to use someone else's money for the next 30 days to pay for it and then pay them off, and it won't cost you a penny. On top of that, many credit card companies offer cashback offer and other incentives to use the cards. Yes, I agree, if one has absolutley no discipline and can not pay for the purchase today in cash, probably should not be whipping out credit card and hoping to pay it off some day. But, on the end of the spectrum, if you have the money, why not make it go longer. I don't care what interest rates credit cards charge, because there is no way in hell I am going to buy something on the credit card today that I don't have the cash for in the bank. But, I do shop for the "cash back" offers when looking for credit cards. Here is an abbreviated list of things I got for free for just using credit cards: iPOD Video 80 Gb, Maytag dishwasher, 3 Air purifiers for the house, $400 in Home Depot gift cards to pay towards replacement windows (total was $1200), iPOD Touch 32 Gb, iPOD adapter for the Honda OEM radio.... the list just goes on and on and on. Also, some cards offer up to 5% cash back on gas. Most gas stations don't offer cash discount these days, so by paying with credit cards for gas, you get your discount...
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