Car spend appropriate to my earnings!

M

MrViking

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I am fortunate to be a high earner (in the 1% category). My living expenses have increased at a much much lower rate than my earnings over the years. I drive a 12 year old regular car, which meets my needs and works just fine. In general, I value experiences (and freedom) much more than things, and have always spent in line with this philosophy.

Recently, as my car has aged, I find myself getting a lot more comments from wider family (outside my household) - some light hearted comments, though more recently, much more pointed, almost “cop yourself on” type comments. Seems that society expects that I should be driving a newer car befitting someone with my earnings. It has caught me a little by surprise and has both amused me as well as annoyed me. I have also found myself asking the question, why? Why do these folks feel so strongly? Does my old car parked in the driveway at family gatherings really impact the family reputation negatively?? Why do people think that my decision to allocate my spending differently to others is something that they should comment on? Or does my contrarian approach make some of my family uncomfortable with their own spending decisions?
This post is probably more of a rant than an ask for specific help, but I do think it is an interesting topic. Are we as a society falling victim to the big marketing machines of large companies, who have sold a vision of what the good-life looks like, and most of us are following it blindly at the expense of our freedom??
 
Tell them to jog on and just get yourself the car that meets your practical needs rather than others' consumerist expectations.
 
Very interesting Mr. Viking.

I have a 16 year old car. But I drive very little so it doesn't matter that much to me. It's only about 60,000 km on the clock. And I am not into cars.

No one makes any comments but maybe they are saying things behind my back. Unlikely, I suspect.

My plan is to replace it when it starts letting me down or when it becomes expensive to maintain.

But as I get so little use of it, I might be better with one of the go cars.

If you drive a lot, you should make sure you have a comfortable car. But it sounds as if you have one.

I know people who used to change their executive car every two years. Quite a few of them got into financial difficulty as I suspect that their overall attitude to finance was fairly showy and short-term.

Brendan
 
MrViking said:
Does my old car parked in the driveway at family gatherings really impact the family reputation negatively?
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No. If it does, it's a very fragile family with self-worth built on sand!

MrViking said:
Why do people think that my decision to allocate my spending differently to others is something that they should comment on?
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If it wasn't a car, some people would be needling you for something else.
 
"Most people" I know with fairly big new cars and other such things, haven't 2 brass farthings to rub together. Next time you're told by one of these Jones's about what you should, or shouldn't do, just have a little laugh to yourself in knowing you have that choice if you feel like it. They'll have no idea why you're laughing;)
 
MrViking said:
I am fortunate to be a high earner (in the 1% category).
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Perhaps something to reflect on is if their comments have touched a nerve that are not specifically car-related but relate to a larger theme as you did say it annoyed you.

You have not just mentioned that you are a high earner and could afford a nice car. You went beyond that and declared that you are a member of the 1% (of presumably earners). In an Irish context that's the cohort earning around €190k plus per annum.

If you are driving a beater, do the circles you move in know that you are in the 1%? Are there any other outward signs of this? A large bank account, many investments or a fully stuffed pension are not visible.

Could the reason you are annoyed is that you could be portraying an image of doing less successfully than you are doing? No shame in it. For professional or other reasons, image can matter.
 
I’m fortunate enough to live in a house that puts me in the top few % of house value in the country, the bank is fortunate enough to own the majority of it. My neighbours drive a mix and gathering of cars ranging in age and value. I value an easy life, my house and its location provides that.

Spend your money on what makes you happy while not putting yourself under any financial pressure.

A large percentage of new cars are bought on finance. Not something that appeals to me but each to their own.
 
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We've gone the way of UK about being new (big/SUV) car status obsessed and those of us who don't conform are regarded as deviants by defying this conventional view in middle class Ireland.

I've got a low mileage large estate which is >10 yrs old and very happy with it. It cost me buttons and goes well - the kids like it too! I could afford to buy a new luxury car for cash off the forecourt but I always think what a total waste it would be, pandering to peer pressure and more environmental carnage that we don't need.
 
David1234 said:
A large percentage of new cars are bought on finance. Not something that appeals to be but each to their own.
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I think this is it - access to PCP has made it possible for people to have new cars every 3 years with a monthly car bill in perpetuity like electricity or broadband. I think it's fine if people want that arrangement and if they can afford it.

Our car is >10 years old, over 170,000km on it, worth maybe €3k. Still going great but we want to change to a newer car as the safety technology has improved (reversing cameras, lanekeeping, etc.) and we would like an electric vehicle.

Most of our neighbours and friends have modest cars and we don't feel any peer pressure to have a new/expensive car. If anyone suggested we change it just for appearance's sake it would only tempt me to keep it for another decade!
 
There’s probably a balance to be struck. Someone on, say, €250k a year shouldn’t need to drive a Porsche. And sometimes people who’ve made a few bob realise the madness of spending money on a depreciating asset. But then there’s a flipside where a 15 year old banger probably isn’t appropriate either.

A close friend of mine lives and works in the US and he’s done ridiculously well. We still laugh about him gettting the biggest bonus on his team one year, a silly amount, and he was driving a 12 year old Volkswagen parked in the basement beside his juniors’ sportscars.

I think the smart play for someone with a few bob in Ireland is to bounce around in the 2-4 year age bracket of the decent marques. Let someone else take the biggest depreciation hit but drive something nice.
 
Thanks all for your responses - I am surprised by the level of interest in this topic! I agree with most of the comments. Have no fear, I am on my own path and will do my own thing…..regardless!

@AAAContributor , my wider family and friends will be aware of the role and profession I am in, and the broad level of earnings associated with that position. The house I live in (nice area, nice house) also probably validates their suspicions on earnings. To be clear, I couldn’t give two hoots about the extrinsic portrayal of my success and my annoyance is purely around some of the more recent pointed remarks which I think are out of bounds.

I am a believer of each to his/her own, and we should each allocate our spending in a way which maximises our happiness. That said, I think the level of financial education amongst the population at large is woefully inadequate and it is being taken advantage of, resulting in the consumerist race that our society is in today. We are not going to solve the climate change challenge if most of our society is still hell bound on maximising consumption, and upgrading to the next new thing in order to maintain perceived social status with the the Jones’s. Just my two cents, but other than this forum, feels like this POV is in the minority.
 
Hopefully at some point we'll start buying cars like dishwashers. Buy a good one and change it when it becomes problematic as opposed to changing every few years to keep up with the Jones and contributing to the impending climate disaster.
 
Classic Million Next Door story. You are a high earner so you MUST have a car to reflect that status, never mind the fact that you aren't bothered with driving an expensive looking car. In the research for that book, the author found that most millionaires surveyed did not spend money on cars.

BTW, if you were in the top 1% earners but were a builder, it would be accepted if you drove a work van around the place.

A big car is the easiest way to show people that you have money. A question I get repeatedly is how can people around them afford new cars and they can't? As others have said, lots of them purchase on finance and don't have two pennies to rub together. They may be high earners but aren't wealthy. There's a difference.


Steven
www.bluewaterfp.ie
 
Another thing to remember if you’re thinking of trading in an old vehicle is that garages don’t like taking trade-ins over 8 years old, as they’re harder to shift.

I have always purchased 2nd hand (2-3 years old) so as to let the first chunks of depreciation be absorbed by the first owner. For example, you can a decent marque 2nd hand car that’s 2 years old for €30k when to buy it new could cost between €45k-50k.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
OP, do you meet clients as part of your role?
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MrViking said:
No I don’t, but interested in your views if I did meet clients…
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Back in the Celtic Tiger days, a client of mine was meeting a fella from Davy. We had met earlier and were waiting for the Davy guy to arrive and saw him pull up outside in his Porsche. Without even meeting the guy, my client said "there's no way I'm giving that f***ker a penny of my money". the meeting lasted about 10 minutes. :D
 
Steven Barrett said:
Back in the Celtic Tiger days, a client of mine was meeting a fella from Davy. We had met earlier and were waiting for the Davy guy to arrive and saw him pull up outside in his Porsche. Without even meeting the guy, my client said "there's no way I'm giving that f***ker a penny of my money". the meeting lasted about 10 minutes. :D
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Lol!! If he had pulled up in a 12 year old car, do you think it would have negatively impacted his perception of the quality of advice he would get?
 
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