You drive a E9x M3. You're in your 20's. How?

[Kung Fu English]

Originally Posted by nullrouted

You'd have to pull $250k+ salary to live that way even in a cheap housing market, and there are NO 20-somethings making that much without a business (or business interest) involved. Sure, some professions can earn that much, but not many (doc, lawyer, etc). So I really don't think you're speaking realistically, I'd be curious to see your outline.

I don't think most 20 somethings that bought a new m3 are in the normal 20 somethings club. Most m3 owners are not in the normal whatever age range club.

No one here bought their care as a good financial decision. Not you, not me, not any of us. A good financial decision is getting a used civic that gets 40 mpg and driving it until the engine explodes in 30 years and investing the rest.

Even people earning less than 6 figures buying a used m3 could use their money better and earn more over their lifetime. But that is not us.

This kind of high horse thinking really irks me.

This thread is just the OP trying to make people feel bad about spending money on a car and I don't know why. Probably some kind of 'I earned it and you didn't' complex and it really has no place here.

[nullrouted]

Originally Posted by dmppdx

Whether it makes someone happy, and being able to afford something are completely differnt and the reason people buy things they can't afford is because they are making themselves happy in the short run without worring about the long run. Sure, you can spend every dime you have in your 20's and spend it on cars and other things, but most people who do that regret it when they get into their 30s because they realize how much better off they could have been if they hadn't.

And yes, not buying a house, or at least saving towards one, is almost always a poor decision since owning a house is almost always the best single investment you can make. Justifying spending all your money on a car because based on the justification of not being able to buy a house, doesn't mean you can afford the car. It probably really means you can't afford to live in the area you are living, regardless of having a six figure income.

Gonna have to disagree with you there. A house is nothing more than 1 more monthly payment. $400k mortgage is what, $2000 a month with $0 down? That's a pretty decent house in a lot of markets (or a -very- nice house in say, Austin and some other markets). I don't need a house until I'm married, and I'm not married yet. I wouldn't marry some worthless woman who had no marketable skills either -- she'd have to earn at least $70-80k to get my attention, and have perfect credit. Since my money can already support my lifestyle, her money then becomes a mortgage payment and savings. Pretty simple huh?

[dmppdx]

Originally Posted by Kung Fu English

I don't think most 20 somethings that bought a new m3 are in the normal 20 somethings club. Most m3 owners are not in the normal whatever age range club.

No one here bought their care as a good financial decision. Not you, not me, not any of us. A good financial decision is getting a used civic that gets 40 mpg and driving it until the engine explodes in 30 years and investing the rest.

Even people earning less than 6 figures buying a used m3 could use their money better and earn more over their lifetime. But that is not us.

This kind of high horse thinking really irks me.

This thread is just the OP trying to make people feel bad about spending money on a car and I don't know why. Probably some kind of 'I earned it and you didn't' complex and it really has no place here.

Buying an M3 is never a good idea financially for anyone. For some people, its not neccasarily bad financially, but for others it is. It just depends on if you can pay for all the other more important things in life as well.

[Chill72]

This thread is full of "Hey look what I can do".

[nullrouted]

Originally Posted by Chill72

This thread is full of "Hey look what I can do".

I can juggle. true story.

[fatass]

thats pretty much half of owning a BMW. Bump Me, you Weep

[CSanto]

Starting salary for a rookie in the MLB, NBA, NFL is about 400-480k so thats hundreds of 21 year olds every year.

[Ezio]

Originally Posted by Autobahn335i

Entertainment based...as in PrOn??

Damn!!

No, video game based. makes ad and donation money, subscription . around 15gs a month

[Agent-GHQ]

Originally Posted by nullrouted

I don't need a house until I'm married, and I'm not married yet. I wouldn't marry some worthless woman who had no marketable skills either -- she'd have to earn at least $70-80k to get my attention, and have perfect credit. Since my money can already support my lifestyle, her money then becomes a mortgage payment and savings. Pretty simple huh?

Which ever floats your boat. When I moved out here due to work, I just couldn't justify renting a 1 bed room condo for $1000-1200/month. So I decided to buy and own a condo and my mortgage payment is less than $800/month. I look at it as an investment as well.

As for the chick comment, the looks, sex and love doesn't pay the bills either. Better hope you score one with dedication when you're out of a job, disabled and broke.

[MerchantSailor03]

Bought CPO when I was 23, had enough money to pay half right away, financed the rest, paid it off in a year (I hate owing money). I'm lucky enough to have a job where I get to drive boats around and I'm paid well for it. Now looking at houses...

[OneMmmm]

28. bought pre-owned. married someone who earns as much as me. spend wisely -- except for the M3

[bing240sx]

i bought mine 2 months after turning 30 last fall but i 'could' have bought it earlier just didnt have time to shop much until closer to the end of the year.

married, 2 kids, wife has stayed home for the last 6 years, we have a home, i paid off all of our student debt and all other debt then renewed our mortgage terms at 2.75% lower and had a number of very good years in a row professionally (corporate, entrepreneurial).

paid cash for a CPO E90 M3 + all the dinan / stoptech upgrades.

basically it's my dream car and the best car i have ever driven... 4 doors makes it suitable for the kids too.

i hate to say this but... YOLO... no way to know when your number is up and no guarantees that the next 5 years will be as good as the last 5. i threw caution aside and bought the car because i'm afraid one day i might not be able to do it and would regret never having done so.

if the next 5 years ARE as good as the last 5 then i'm going to add a Lotus and / or a 911 to the stable . Work hard play harder.

[nullrouted]

Originally Posted by bing240sx

i bought mine 2 months after turning 30 last fall but i 'could' have bought it earlier just didnt have time to shop much until closer to the end of the year.

married, 2 kids, wife has stayed home for the last 6 years, we have a home, i paid off all of our student debt and all other debt then renewed our mortgage terms at 2.75% lower and had a number of very good years in a row professionally (corporate, entrepreneurial).

paid cash for a CPO E90 M3 + all the dinan / stoptech upgrades.

basically it's my dream car and the best car i have ever driven... 4 doors makes it suitable for the kids too.

i hate to say this but... YOLO... no way to know when your number is up and no guarantees that the next 5 years will be as good as the last 5. i threw caution aside and bought the car because i'm afraid one day i might not be able to do it and would regret never having done so.

if the next 5 years ARE as good as the last 5 then i'm going to add a Lotus and / or a 911 to the stable . Work hard play harder.

+1000 - It's true that you only have one stab at this life (and one youth...), so you might as well enjoy it while you can.

[OilPatch]

I just fake it till I make it, after all that's the American dream

[Endless619]

Originally Posted by ilikebmxbikes

This -

maybe its different here in SF, but it is pretty common to see young mid 20's people owning and self-financing $70k+ cars and living quite comfortably. Lots of jobs out here.

The reality is thats maybe one of eight towns that you can do that in. Also they are probably living outside of their means and scrape by. I have seen it happen. I highly doubt they are living "quite comfortably". Consider rent or mortgage at $1500-$5000 a month plus a $200-$1500 a month M3 payment? Worst case scenario someone is paying $1500 a month for a 2013 M3 and $5000 a month for rent. Thats $6500 a month. Some folks don't make half that in a month in the state of California.

The majority of the rest of the United States you will not see this. I am over on the East Coast now and a modified E9X M3 is not common say opposed to Orange County or the Bay Area.

Everyones situation is different.

What I hate is the California property tax. lol Don't we all?

[ilikebmxbikes]

Originally Posted by Endless619

The reality is thats maybe one of eight towns that you can do that in. Also they are probably living outside of their means and scrape by. I have seen it happen. I highly doubt they are living "quite comfortably". Consider rent or mortgage at $1500-$5000 a month plus a $200-$1500 a month M3 payment? Worst case scenario someone is paying $1500 a month for a 2013 M3 and $5000 a month for rent. Thats $6500 a month. Some folks don't make half that in a month in the state of California.

The majority of the rest of the United States you will not see this. I am over on the East Coast now and a modified E9X M3 is not common say opposed to Orange County or the Bay Area.

I own my own home, X5, TL, and M3. I have one car payment and NO mortgage. So its quite manageable for me. Everyones situation is different.

What I hate is the California property tax. lol Don't we all?

We have the google, Facebook, apple, twitter, zynga, seagate, oracle, and the other large tech companies out here as well as many large advertising firms and other large businesses. They recruit a lot of young talent and we do get paid very well right out of school. I know that's not reflective of the entire country but more my main point was that there are more than 3 scenarios to being young and having a nice car. 2 of 3 situations suggest you lean on your parents and the third suggests that it is financially irresponsible to have one in your twenties? I just think its a bit silly.

[alee0729]

These threads crack me up.

IMHO, for the most part, you can truly afford a luxury car because you are born into it.

That doesn't mean your mom and dad gave you your car, but your parents, and their parents did create opportunity. Maybe by living in a solid school district or paying for private school. For the most part, good environment, good role models teach you good economics and pave the way for success -- how to spend wisely, and also how to spot problems.

You can't teach a kid to be rich, but you can definitely teach them to live in a way keeps them from being poor. I'd bet over 80% of the folks here could attribute their current successes to how their parents did the lay-up for them to grow up "right". Whether it's helping them with a downpayment for a house, helping them buy their first car, or a reference that got them their first job.

The rest is usually up to the individual.

On rare occasions, you have success stories where the entrepreneurial kid cracks an industry and gets wealthy, or the kid in a rough neighborhood breaks free and excels and builds their success. However these are exceptions.

[Z K]

Originally Posted by nullrouted

It's true that you only have one stab at this life (and one youth...), so you might as well enjoy it while you can.

I really hate YOLO.. it's a pretty dumb excuse to get into a lot of trouble. Just because you live once, doesn't mean you should go out and go crazy. It is much better to live within your means and enjoy responsibly.

[HeartMD]

Originally Posted by mylydiamy

Most of us who are married and have kids forget about how simple and cheap it is to have a comfortable life if you are single and have no kids.

Same thing applies to those who pay alimony (like me, $4K a month until I retire )

For those who are single and have no kids, life is a lot cheaper : less utility bills... less rent/mortgage since they don't need a big place... they can live in less expensive neighborhoods since they don't need to worry about school system... when they take a vacation, it is a lot cheaper for one then family of 3-4... less spending on grocery... paying for one insteda of 2/3/4 people when going out....

So if you consider all of these, it is not much difficult to afford 600-700 monthly payment on a used car. Hey, average family car costs 300-400 a month anyways...

When I came to this country, I was 18 years old and only $175 in my pocket. I barely spoke a few words of English, didn't know a single person, had no prior work experience or education. I worked my ass of during my early years. I could have bought nice cars like M3 but I didn't. I chose to save my money. I recently went through divorce and she took it all from me and will be taking my future income until I retire (another 25 years...) I CAN NOT SAY ENOUGH HOW MUCH I REGRET NOT GETTING MYSELF NICE CARS LIKE M3 WHEN I WAS YOUNGER!!!

VERY VERY true. One of my partners is in a similar boat. Makes about 400k/year and just recently got divorced with 3 kids. Well lets just say though that salary may seem impressive after taxes,alimony/child support and not forgetting medical school loan debt, he is living in a one bed room apartment and driving a camry. I think some one that is single in their mid to late 20's with a good paying job can definately afford a new M3. Oh an gentlemen please wear a raincoat when you decide to lead the playboy lifetstyle because knocking up the wrong women can add the monthly payment of a ferrari to your bills.

[Endless619]

Originally Posted by ilikebmxbikes

We have the google, Facebook, apple, twitter, zynga, seagate, oracle, and the other large tech companies out here as well as many large advertising firms and other large businesses. They recruit a lot of young talent and we do get paid very well right out of school. I know that's not reflective of the entire country but more my main point was that there are more than 3 scenarios to being young and having a nice car. 2 of 3 situations suggest you lean on your parents and the third suggests that it is financially irresponsible to have one in your twenties? I just think its a bit silly.

Again, comes back to situation and state. And those large companies should not be paying employees such large sums as they are internet companies. Big deal. Shut it down and all of them go bankrupt. lol We can definitely live without the internet. We have done it for hundreds of years and we can do it again.

That to me is a problem. We should in reality be paying our teachers and military folks more and they should be making more IMO than some IT tech junkie. Sorry, I have more respect for a medal of honor enlisted man making $30k a year over some guy/gal in his teens or 20's taking home $150k a year.

I still stand by my earlier statement. MOST teens or early 20 year old kids cannot afford a $80,000+ M3 in the majority of US states.

[ilikebmxbikes]

Originally Posted by Endless619

Again, comes back to situation and state. And those large companies should not be paying employees such large sums as they are internet companies. Big deal. Shut it down and all of them go bankrupt. lol We can definitely live without the internet. We have done it for hundreds of years and we can do it again.

That to me is a problem. We should in reality be paying our teachers and military folks more and they should be making more IMO than some IT tech junkie. Sorry, I have more respect for a medal of honor enlisted man making $30k a year over some guy/gal in his teens or 20's taking home $150k a year.

I still stand by my earlier statement. MOST teens or early 20 year old kids cannot afford a $80,000+ M3 in the majority of US states.

Why are we even talking about teachers and veterans or the value of the internet? My point wasn't that our situation is fair or that people what people deserve to be paid for what. I was more commenting on the poll options, - live with parents pay for your car, parents pay for your car, or you pay for your car and housing and do so irresponsibly? And keep in mind, op was asking about people in their twenties- that includes late twenties. Maybe I live in a bubble but I honestly think it is absolutely acceptable to work a career and be able to afford an m3 in ones mid twenties. I'm not disrespecting anyone who can't.

[Lorde]

Originally Posted by Chill72

This thread is full of "Hey look what I can do".

At least I don't wear a harness..