[KingOfJericho]

He hasn't wasted money on literally anything in his life. He's insanely cheap and that's how life was when I was growing up. He also doesn't really care about cars either so it's not like he's babying them. If he hits a deer or something with the car, as long as it drives, he'll keep driving it without getting it fixed. It now serves as the beach car for our summer place and I should have taken a picture of it when I was up there last week. Trust me, it's one of the main reasons why I am the complete opposite. Buying a car was so cool as a kid because it happened so rarely. hahaha so is this technically a "daddy issue?"

[Cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by FwdFtl

Curious to know why so short for a typically fun car?

American reliability (both cars were constantly in the shop), circumstances (moved, owning two cars became a pain), and I ended up selling the Corvette to buy my wife her engagement ring (yeah I know)

[GammaZeta]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

American reliability (both cars were constantly in the shop), circumstances (moved, owning two cars became a pain), and I ended up selling the Corvette to buy my wife her engagement ring (yeah I know)

LOL! I relate to the ring!

I used to tell people she's wearing my Boxster S on her finger!

[Uber V8]

Originally Posted by bga23

They're still depreciating, you're just not taking the initial hit. I do the same thing, buy 1-2 year old cars.

As for normal, people on this forum are not "normal" when it comes to cars. The average American prob owns a car for several years, as opposed to us here who own several cars for a year.

This is true and what I was trying to get at.

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

My dad drives cars until they die and just bought his 4th car in my lifetime. I'm 31. Owning Toyotas, that means he's keeping them for over a decade. His 4Runner just crossed 330k and will be celebrating it's 15th birthday this month. Still going strong!

330k? that's awesome!

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

American reliability (both cars were constantly in the shop), circumstances (moved, owning two cars became a pain), and I ended up selling the Corvette to buy my wife her engagement ring (yeah I know)

Ahh, I see. Thta's still admirable of you sir!

[Raja Ventureshield]

20+ cars in about less than 10 years. This year i have been doing really good. Only one purchase and I am reluctant to buy any more. I think i am losing interest in cars cuz i can't keep up with the ballers. :-)

[Uber V8]

Originally Posted by Raja Ventureshield

20+ cars in about less than 10 years. This year i have been doing really good. Only one purchase and I am reluctant to buy any more. I think i am losing interest in cars cuz i can't keep up with the ballers. :-)

A new car every 6 months? wow

[davesaddiction]

Originally Posted by Raja Ventureshield

20+ cars in about less than 10 years.

= why you can't keep up with the ballers!

[Raja Ventureshield]

Originally Posted by FwdFtl

A new car every 6 months? wow

yes and no. I have had weekends where I bought two cars and then last year alone I ended up buying 5 cars. The longest I ever kept a car is 2 1/2 year and shortest is 1 week. So in the end it averages to about a different car every six months.

Originally Posted by davesaddiction

= why you can't keep up with the ballers!

lol. i wish i could. buying a Buick, Saab, Mazda is no baller status bro. I like cars and enjoy driving different cars. Although, i must say i have enjoyed a good number of nice cars in this lifetime.

[JBE90335]

Thank god i'm not the only one with this problem.
In the past 6 years I've had...

2002 Acura RSX
2004 Acura RSX
2001 Nissan Pathfinder
2004 Mazda RX-8
2007 E92 335i
2007 E90 335i
2010 VW Passat
2008 E90 335i
2008 MB C63
2007 E92 328i
2008 E90 335i


....that looks ridiculous now that I type it out.

[Shane550X]

I have been all over the place
2002 GMC Yukon XL Denali(still have it, it won't die!!)
2004 BMW 545i
2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee
2012 Chevrolet Suburban LTZ
2012 BMW 550i
And god knows what the future holds

[NemesisX]

Originally Posted by davesaddiction

= why you can't keep up with the ballers!

Nah. Paradoxically, the true "ballers" are the ones who purchase cars outright and keep them for 10-12+ years. (Edit: I just realized you were playfully agreeing with my point, my bad. I'll leave the rest of the post in anyway because it has some interesting data)

People with money (liquid net worth $1M - $5M (upper middle class), or liquid net worth $5M-$10M (lower upper class)) are rarely wasteful when it comes to cars. The typical person in this class will buy a car outright in cash for $35k-$100k and keep it for ~10 years or so.

Here's an interesting article looking at the features of the lower upper class (liquid net worth not including primary residence > $5 million, median annual discretionary income > $500k/year):

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We already looked at how much money it takes to be in the top 1% of wealth in the United States. Now we are going to look further into the top 1% of wealth. This category, those who have between $5 and $10 million in investments, has been called by some The New Elite....These people typically have at least $5 million in liquid assets (i.e., not including their primary residence) or have at least $500,000 in annual discretionary income.

But this begs the question: Who are the new elite, or the top 1% of wealth in the United States? What behaviors and characteristics are displayed be members of the capitalist class? Here are some facts and research from a great book written by some specialists who are among the leading marketers to the rich in America. It is their job to know who the rich are, how they behave, where they live, what they drive, and how to turn them into customers.

General Facts About The New Elite
For every 100 new elite members in the United States:

The average age is 47 years old
90 to 95 made the money themselves; only 5 to 10 inherited it
90 are college graduates; 10 are not
For those who are college graduates, 3 out of 4 did not attend an Ivy League school
8 are Asian (defined including those from Indian subcontinent); nearly 3x the rate found in the population
96 do not own a yacht; 4 do
50 haven’t furnished their homes in any way that would reflect their economic status

Stealth Wealth
The most shocking statistic about the new elite in the United States? For every 100:

80 practice “stealth wealth” so friends, family, and neighbors don’t know they are members of the new elite.
20 are known to be rich by family and friends

Why doesn’t this get covered in the media? As Jim Taylor, Doug Harrison, and Stephen Kraus put it, “Happily married man builds a successful business and lives a quiet, happy life” isn’t necessarily news. ”Rich guy with many girlfriends buys huge yacht featuring built-in stripper pole” is going to get more headlines.

Family Background:
For every 100 new elite in the United States:

8 grew up in poverty
28 grew up in lower middle class
36 grew up in middle class
25 grew up in upper middle class
8 grew up in a wealthy or affluent class

Source of Wealth:
For every $100 the new elite in the United States making more than $500,000 per year in discretionary income have in net worth:

$35 came from owning their own business
$28 came from working for someone else’s business
$17 came from financial investments
$13 came from real estate
$4 came from inheritance
$2 came from other sources

Where The New Elite Grew Up:
For every 100 new elite in the United States:

45 grew up in the suburbs
27 grew up in urban areas
20 grew up in rural areas
9 grew up in the inner city
1 grew up in a gated community


What The New Elite Drive:
The new elite in the United States spent $50,000 on average for their car. Here are the top ten vehicles owned by the wealthy. The figures add up to more than 100% due to many households owning more than one type of vehicle.

25% drive a Mercedes-Benz
23% drive a BMW
22% drive a Lexus
18% drive a Toyota
16% drive a Chevrolet
14% drive a Ford
12% drive a Honda
12% drive a Porsche
10% drive a Volvo
10% drive an Audi

Where the New Elite Live:
For every 100 new elite in the United States:

20 live in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut corridor
17 live in California
63 are dispersed throughout the remainder of the United States

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not at all surprised by Toyota, Chevrolet, Ford, and Honda outshining Porsche in the car category.

[Uber V8]

^^ thread derailer of the year award!

nonetheless, very interesting information. You should probably start a thread in OT.

[335ifanatic]

I usually replace my cars every 2 years.

[epbrown]

I'm at both ends of the spectrum. I've kept my M Coupe for 5 years, but I change my 2nd car every year or so. Since buying the M Coupe, I've parked it next to a Smart Fortwo, Fiat 500, Porsche Boxster S, Pontiac Solstice GXP, and BMW Z3 coupe.

[py0413]

11 cars over 13 years and now I think about it, I should have just bought another condo@@..............

[Cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by GammaZeta

LOL! I relate to the ring!

I used to tell people she's wearing my Boxster S on her finger!

Haha, I still tell people her diamond is a little yellow because it's made up of my ground up Corvette (millennium yellow)

[davesaddiction]

Originally Posted by Raja Ventureshield

lol. i wish i could. buying a Buick, Saab, Mazda is no baller status bro. I like cars and enjoy driving different cars. Although, i must say i have enjoyed a good number of nice cars in this lifetime.

And honestly, if you always buy used cars that need a little TLC and get them for a good price, you can often times clean them up and sell them for a little profit and keep feeding the "addiction".

[Raja Ventureshield]

Originally Posted by davesaddiction

And honestly, if you always buy used cars that need a little TLC and get them for a good price, you can often times clean them up and sell them for a little profit and keep feeding the "addiction".

true, in most cases that has been the fact. Either lost very little or nothing for driving a car. The hunt is the fun part.

[KingOfJericho]

Thinking about it, even though I've owned so many cars in a short time, I've never owned the same brand twice...

Saab 9000 CD turbo
Volvo C70 5MT
Infiniti G35 Coupe 6MT
Nissan Altima SE-R 6MT
Lotus Exige 6MT
VW GTI 6MT
BMW 135i 6MT
Audi S4 6MT

[See5]

I've had 4 in 8 years.

Right now I'm trending for every 3 years. Had some of them concurrently.

'99 Ford SVT Contour
'95 Jeep Grand Cherokee
'99 Corvette Hardtop
'08 335

Probably liked the Corvette the most so far but I'm warming up to the Bimmer.

[2ndname]

I try to be good now with a baby on the way. Definitely changes the amount of times I change cars...the BMW is probably going to be a keeper until it breaks into pieces, lol.

[PF64]

Ford Focus - 3 years
E39 - 4 years
E60 - 3 years
E60 - 3 years
F30 - 2 years (not with me yet)

All contract hire.