How much do I have to make to afford my dream car?

[etolkk123]

@eddified You are not close. Save up the money, pay cash. No car loan, ever

 

[kyx0x]

@etolkk123 Unless the rate 0%

 

[bibletoyscom]

@eddified I would say, 300k, if you are really enthusiastic to cars.

 

[eddified]

@bibletoyscom Making 300k? That sounds difficult, I don’t see a way of getting there without having a business. Im about to open a little jewelry store side hustle so hopefully that kicks off.

 

[dominion247]

@eddified You really need to provide more info if you want a real answer. Own a home? Income? Net worth? Age? Kids? HCOL? Based solely on your post, don’t buy it. Seems like you’re trying to stretch.

 

[eddified]

@dominion247 Own a house, 1500 mortgage.

Income, 8000 after tax.

Net worth, not including house ~ 100kish

No kids, 25(m), LCOL

Saving 5k monthly after taxes.

 

[kereena]

@eddified There’s no reason you should be paying $1500 a month on that price point of a car with your income.

Save for a few months and put down as much as you can without depleting your emergency funds/savings accounts. You should be aiming somewhere around $40k down payment, to get your monthly payment ~$565. So 6-7 months of your current savings rate (assuming you’re starting from 0 savings).

Then, pay it off in the next year.

 

[dominion247]

@eddified Dude. Don’t ruin your future to have fun now. You are 25. If you drop 70k on a car now. That’s ONE MILLION when you’re 60. Rather have a car or vacation property for family?

 

[elizabeth1979]

@dominion247 He could die at 35 from an accident, or a disease, or something else. What then? All the money you hoarded, and all the fun you didn't have... now you're dead.

There has to be a balance.

 

[dominion247]

@elizabeth1979 What in the fuck does that have to do with anything? He could also hit the lotto at 35 and this entire post is a moot point. We have to stay within the bounds of reality here...

I said don't buy a new car that's $70k, I said nothing about "hoarding money" and all the fun OP "didn't have" (or won't have). Balance is key, buying a $70k car at 25 is not balance.

 

[chachi1984]

@elizabeth1979 You could die tomorrow. Better go blow all your money on blow and hookers today.

 

[brian18373]

@eddified $250-$300k

 

[ocean_illusion]

@eddified Which car, mayne

I make 7.8k after taxes/deductions and definitely think you can afford the car at your current salary

FWIW I'm at 162k base and my bonus is 20-30k annually

 

[eddified]

@ocean_illusion I want to get a 16-19’ CTS-V under 10k miles

 

[ocean_illusion]

@eddified Oh man, that's a low amount of miles for a car from those years. Won't that be hard to find?

 

[eddified]

@ocean_illusion They’re not that rare, occasionally I see around 5-10 being sold nationally monthly. The main reason I want it low miles is because of the warranty, the car comes with 50k miles bumper to bumper and 70k miles powertrain.

 

[jenny404]

@eddified I hope you know it's 4 years/50k miles and 6 years/70k miles.

You only have a powertrain warranty if you buy the 2019 model and only for one year.

 

[elizabeth1979]

@jenny404 It's insane to consider spending $65k on a car like this, yet actually misunderstand this critical detail which is a big factor in why he's choosing the car.

Sheesh.

That's the kind of thing that people in their 20s do. They make big, expensive decisions based on emotion / desire, then a couple years or even months or weeks later, they regret it.

I don't think anyone at the age of 25 should be spending $70k on a dream car unless they hit it big with a start-up or some shit.

I'm 28, $120k salary, $980 per month mortgage, and I shudder at the idea of spending even $30k+ on a car.

 

[eddified]

@elizabeth1979 For me its one of those desires that Ive been wanting so badly, Ive always wanted one since they came out years ago. It just sucks that even though Im doing well Im still a long way to affording it responsibly, it’s not even ‘keeping up with the joneses’ situation, I just genuinely love everything about the car. Everyone has convinced me that Im not ready, but hopefully in 3-5 years Im in a much better place, most likely the car will be around 40-50k by that time.

 

[elizabeth1979]

@eddified I totally understand man. Really. It's just that there's a certain point where the amount of money spent on "fun" becomes insane, and I think for people with our earnings, that amount is actually a lot less huge than we want to think.

For example, I've never been a car guy, but I got really big into guns during COVID. I bought a $700 dollar pistol, a $2,000 dollar rifle, and a $900 dollar shotgun. And they all have various accessories.

I realized that if I kept going down that path, I'd end up in a bad situation. I unfollowed all gun-related subreddits and YouTube channels. Spending $4k on just gun stuff alone felt like I was beginning to cross the line of "respectable amount of fun spending."

Now, I have a few other very strong wants (expensive home gym equipment, another gun, and even a bicycle) but I'm delaying all of those things by years. Life is already becoming more and more expensive in general. Food, home repairs, medical costs, etc. And layoffs are rampant lately.

I've redirected focus toward investing in other ways to be happy and content with life without those expensive toys. Slamming as much as possible into the market and saving a large emergency fund, for example.

You being able to save $5k per month is pretty incredible. Couldn't imagine doing that. I think the advice you got is great: Keep saving for a couple years. If you're still positive that it's your dream car, buy it in cash (or mostly cash). Then you'll know you made the best decision possible.