What portion of your income should be spent on cars ??

[M7arthy]

austinsmirk said:

you should ensure you have the correct watch first and then concentrate on the car to match.

have I got that right ?

spot on !

[kambites]

zarjaz1991 said:

I'm unsure how you quantify this if you buy the car outright.

Running costs + depreciation (which you can have a decent stab at guessing).

[soupdragon1]

Audemars said:

Well that is tbe sensible approach. Problem is that most people are not intellectual enough to be financially sensible.

I don't know about that. I'm an accountant during the day and I totally understand the intellect of being financially sensible. When it comes to cars, holidays, fun or whatever, fk being sensible......too sensible = a boring life

[HustleRussell]

Audemars said:

Buying a car should be like buying two large kitchen/household appliances. It shouldn't be like paying rent or a mortgage.

So for the average wage (approx £30k per annum) person £3k max every 10 years.

Well that is tbe sensible approach. Problem is that most people are not intellectual enough to be financially sensible.

everything I have ever read with your name next to it is laughable

thank you

[Mr2Mike]

Tuvra said:

However much you want, its your money?

^^ 100% This.

What a thoroughly ridiculous question, like there is some absolute figure that everyone should stick to regardless of financial situation or interest in cars.

[parabolica]

RobM77 said:

novus said:

Tuvra said:

However much you want, its your money?

Nail on the head

Quite! Why would anyone be told what to do with their own money?!

These threads pop up every month or so and it always baffles me. Can I afford it? If yes then it gets bought - simple as.

[paul789]

TurboHatchback said:

As little as possible to fill your functional requirements and be enjoyable. I'm coming increasingly to the realisation that expensive cars are a really boring way to spend money, more expensive != more fun in fact often quite the opposite. My cars between them cost 16.6% of gross income but the depreciation is <1.5%.

I agree, I find that if I spend significant money on a car the expectations far outweigh the quality. Creaking and rattling interiors only really diminished to an acceptable level with a B8 RS4. It was only when I went with a Porsche that I found the overall quality to be excellent - in line with the most important factor, the thrill of driving the thing.

[neil1jnr]

No right or wrong answer, depends entirely on what you have left after mortgage/rent, bills, food etc. Two people with the same income and essential outgoings will have very different portions of their incomes that should be spend on cars if say one of them smokes a pack a day and spends £40 a week at the pub and the other doesn't.

It's one of those questions with no real answers.

[SuperchargedVR6]

'Should'? According to who? As with everything in life, it's a choice, there's no 'should' about it.

Stupid numbers anyway. Someone earning £100K is only going to spend £10K on a car?! Yeah right!

In an age where a Golf GTI costs £28K, who ever came up with that pittance of an outlay needs to review their suggestion.

[Debaser]

RobM77 said:

Audemars said:

Buying a car should be like buying two large kitchen/househols appliances. It shouldn't be like paying rent or a mortgage.

So for the average wage (approx £30k per annum) person £3k max every 10 years.

It's '6 figs' man!


Personally I find cars a lot more interesting than kitchen appliances so am prepared to spend more on them. On the other hand I know people whose kitchen appliances cost ten times more than their cars.

[okgo]

SuperchargedVR6 said:

Stupid numbers anyway. Someone earning £100K is only going to spend £10K on a car?! Yeah right!

.

Why not?

[eltax91]

SuperchargedVR6 said:

Stupid numbers anyway. Someone earning £100K is only going to spend £10K on a car?! Yeah right!.

Why not? Surely it all depends on how much they like cars vs how much they see them as transport?

£20k or £100k if you don't love cars then why not roll around in a 5 grand jap petrol car that'll start whenever you want it and not bother you with such pesky things as time in the garage.

In my industry there are plenty of people on the fabled '6 figs'. They all stack up loads of miles for work. Half of them want nice cars and accept depreciation, the other half hate the waste of money and choose a £5k car every 3 years or so. The sales guy I'm aligned to is rocking a 2010 mondeo and his OTE is in the region of £150k

[DonkeyApple]

SuperchargedVR6 said:

Stupid numbers anyway. Someone earning £100K is only going to spend £10K on a car?! Yeah right!

There are plenty of people earning north of that income figure who spend much less than £10k on cars.

[okgo]

DonkeyApple said:

There are plenty of people earning north of that income figure who spend much less than £10k on cars.

My S3 cost me £9k! I guess its the whole "if you're on 6 figures you're laughing" when the reality is quite a long way from that...

Edited by okgo on Thursday 30th March 12:42

[GroundEffect]

RS404 said:

GroundEffect said:

I'm a 29yo single male professional. Current car is about 40% of gross annual. Owned.

Looking at a 911, £15k on tick that would be ~60% of gross in total cost.

But you only live once, right?

You'll need to allow another £5k for an engine rebuild though!

Not when I'm buying a 997.2

[eltax91]

okgo said:

DonkeyApple said:

There are plenty of people earning north of that income figure who spend much less than £10k on cars.

My S3 cost me £9k! I guess its the whole "if you're on 6 figures you're laughing" when the reality is quite a long way from that...

Edited by okgo on Thursday 30th March 12:42

I always thought if you lived in London and worked in media it was a license to print money.

[okgo]

eltax91 said:

I always thought if you lived in London and worked in media it was a license to print money.

It pays st compared to many industries, but what people define as st in London is obviously very different. £100k isn't a passport to a new 911. Let me tell you that much!

[DonkeyApple]

okgo said:

DonkeyApple said:

There are plenty of people earning north of that income figure who spend much less than £10k on cars.

My S3 cost me £9k! I guess its the whole "if you're on 6 figures you're laughing" when the reality is quite a long way from that...

Edited by okgo on Thursday 30th March 12:42

I think so. Most people at that level have a different set of fiscal responsibilities as well.

[DonkeyApple]

eltax91 said:

I always thought if you lived in London and worked in media it was a license to print money.

Keeping on trend with beards and satchels is very income consuming.

[Twin2]

Depends is always the answer, it comes down to priorities/financial aptitude.

Last car I bought was cost about about 7% of net because I wanted a decent place to sit, a little fun but have other priorities with my money being a young professional. I'd rather travel, save for property, invest, pension than have a fancy car.

In the exact same position, I have colleagues who want to spend 150% gross on maseratis, porsches etc and live at home until they're 35 - not my idea of fun