ElementField

Do people finance their cars all that often? How are people getting along with the interest being charged? How are people able to be comfortable with it?

I have been looking at the cost for loans online of varying price points, and was looking at a $70,000 car. With reasonable loan terms of 10% down and 72 months, with a rate of 9.25, standard now, you’re paying $20,000 in interest. Holy shit!

Even if you push it back to 20% down and 48 months, that’s still $10,000 in interest lit on fire.

Do people really accept this? Just let that money disappear? I can’t see how anyone would be comfortable with that!

Would you say it’s half of people? More? Less?

How much do people usually put as a down payment? Is it 20%? 50%? More?

How often do you think people buy cars that are more than 50% of their real income?

Most of the people who have talked to me about buying a car have said that they buy cars that are less than 30% of their annual income, often much less, put down at least 50%, or buy it outright.

I was really hoping that I could maybe some day get a sports car, thinking something like a GR86 or a used Cayman S (that would be the absolute ideal) for around $40k. I don’t think I can afford to finance it at my income, however, and it will take me a few years to save that much money, at best.

We all know Vancouver is insanely expensive. We’ve probably all heard stories of people “not making it” and having to move away. Some people do it just because that’s better for them. Some do it because they want to start a family.

For those of you trying to get there and for those of you who have made the climb, at what income level, individual or household, do you think you have or will “make it”?

And further, what lifestyle do you see for common income levels?

$60k?

$100?

$150k?

$200k?

What do these levels afford? What kind of home, what kind of car, if any? Children? Vacations?

None of this needs to be anything more than a generalization, and only answer what you think makes sens

No judgment if you don’t, truly.

I imagine people who are enthusiasts probably spend more than this on their cars.

It struck me while looking at some sports cars online that a new MT Toyota GR86 is about the limit of my income (income is $170k) according to the 20/4/10 rule.

That suggests to me that it’s pretty likely most people don’t follow this rule, or do you all think that they mostly do?

I’m kind of curious what others think here. Non-personal finance folks, who would answer beige Corolla.

If you were making this much, had no kids and split your costs with a partner or roommate, what car would you see yourself driving?

Does anyone have any resources on the hydraulic system for the cabriolet? I don’t think there are many Mk1s with this option, so it’s a bit hard to find anything.

Once when my wife sent me something in a text and asked what I thought, my watch’s top suggestion for a response was “That’s fetch”, which is not something I would or ever say. Obviously, I chose that response.

What about y’all?

Hey PFC! First time posting in personal finance, but been poking around for a while.

What I’m trying to figure out is what are realistic expectations for someone in my position, at my income level, with my current state of finances.

That means I have questions like:

• Is it actually realistic for us to own property? Are we too old, or will we be too old to mortgage once we’ve been able to save for a down payment?
• Do I actually even really need a house? Will avoiding that treadmill change what I can expect?
• Are my savings so far much too low or am I saving enough?
• Can I actually explore my hobbies? When is it safe to begin allocating discretionary funding for myself?
• Have I bought