About to make an emotional purchase. Midlife crisis?

[marylander1940]

I haven't owned a car in 15 years... Great decision!

[handiacefailure]

On 2/16/2021 at 9:49 PM, nate_sf said:

 

Similar with me on the last car I financed. The bank had a really good interest rate. But then when I got tired of looking at the balance of what I owed, I started making double principal payments. It got paid off faster than I’d imagined. So not quite paying cash, but the pain of financing went away soon enough.

If you have the cash pay cash and don't tell the dealer how you are going to pay for the car until after you have a firm price in place.   Dealers make a lot of money off the financing.

I bought a Corolla a couple months ago and the dealer was trying to get me to finance it since they had zero percent interest.   Luckilly I did my homework and knew about the rebate which you didn't get if you went with the financing, so no brainer and I paid cash.  

For me a car isn't a luxury item and is something to get from point a to point B reliably and I really wanted a BMW or Lexus but am glad as I'm apporaching retirement age I am sticking with a more affordable car.   I almost bought a Lexus or BMW in 2014 and decided to stick with a corolla and glad I did, I ivested the extra cash I was going to spend and it's made a 700% profit where the BMW or lexus would have lost value.

A friend of mine who is also 55 who owns a BMW said I'm way too old for a Corolla but he will probably never be able to afford to retire and has a huge mortgage on his house and has a roommate.   I'd rather own a Corolla that is just as dependable as his BMW and not have a roommate and not have a mortgage.

 

[+ Lucky]

On 2/18/2021 at 5:40 PM, Reisr30 said:

Thank you all! After a couple of sleepless nights and running the numbers I decided not to buy the car this month and told the dealer. Maybe in two months I will change my mind but not having a car payment is priceless peace of mind in uncertain times ?

@Reisr30did you change your mind in two months?

Edited June 2, 2021 by Lucky

[+ JEC]

If you can afford it, why not?   Do you have a financial advisor?   As long as you are saving adequately for retirement, and will not have to make significant sacrifices in other parts of your life, I wouldn't sweat it.

[Epigonos]

In the end the answer to your question is simple.  If you want the car and you can afford it then BUY IT and to hell with what anybody else thinks.  I kept my last car for nineteen years and recently bought a Kia Rio - hardly a prestige car but I love it.  The kicker is that it is bright red and upon bringing it home I immediately had it pin stripped.  If I keep this car as long as I did the last one I will be buying my next car at age 99. 

I financed the car because I got a much better deal doing so.  I simply didn't tell the salesman that I intended to pay it off within six months.  The small amount of interest I will pay over that period of time will NOT nearly equal the amount I will have saved by financing it.  In California dealers cannot charge early pay off fees. 

 

Edited June 2, 2021 by Epigonos
incorrect information

[+ WilliamM]

On 2/20/2021 at 11:45 AM, marylander1940 said:

I haven't owned a car in 15 years... Great decision!

Completely agree. Owning a car in large city is quite difficult.

[rvwnsd]

46 minutes ago, Epigonos said:

In the end the answer to your question is simple.  If you want the car and you can afford it then BUY IT and to hell with what anybody else thinks. 

This.

46 minutes ago, Epigonos said:

I kept my last car for nineteen years and recently bought a Kia Rio - hardly a prestige car but I love it. 

Like @Epigonos I don't have a prestige car. Mine is a Dodge Journey and I love it. It is roomy (important for someone who is 6'4"), comfortable, rides well, and has an amazing turning radius. I wanted a Jeep but despite being a beautiful car and just what I wanted, it was uncomfortable for me to drive.  The Dodge is nine years old and I hope to get another 3 or 4 years out of it. Best of all, it is paid off!

 

 

[+ Reisr30]

14 hours ago, Lucky said:

@Reisr30did you change your mind in two months?

I did not.  I am kept my old car and I didn’t regret it 🙂

[+ Reisr30]

12 hours ago, JEC said:

If you can afford it, why not?   Do you have a financial advisor?   As long as you are saving adequately for retirement, and will not have to make significant sacrifices in other parts of your life, I wouldn't sweat it.

I do have an advisor and they agreed with my keeping my old car 😉

[arnie]

Sometimes decisions are not practical but emotional.  The question is what do you have to give up to have this car?  Do you think this car is worth the money to you?  Does it fit your practical needs as well as your emotional ones?  You can not do Costco or golf clubs (maybe) with a Corvette.  I could buy one but it is not that important to me and I would rather do other things with the money.  So ultimately you have to decide.  Some of these cars depreciate rapidly and are not abused so a used one might be an  answer but it is not the same as a new one.  Good luck with your decision

[Lchnsf]

On 2/15/2021 at 5:09 PM, Lchnsf said:

I was thinking of buying a guitar.

I did buy a guitar, invested in lessons for Classical Spanish Guitar twice a week. I am enjoying the process and the distraction. And am noticeably improving. Mood has been too. All in all not a bad impulse buy.   

[Jamie21]

You know a car is a cock substitute? The bigger the car, the smaller the cock. I’ve done studies and there’s a correlation 😂

[+ pdxleo]

For my 32nd birthday, I got the wild hair itch ( is 32 too early for a mid-life crisis? ) and traded off a Toyota Camry All-Trak 5-speed sedan, the perfect skiing and winter travel beast, for a bright red Mazda Miata. Some of the gang said I looked ridiculous stuffing myself into it, but I loved having a convertible again. I'd owned a Buick Skylark convertible in my twenties, and my first car was a Datsun 1600 roadster that Dad and  I had rescued only for me to flip it in the first snowfall, ugh. However, moving to Oregon and seeing the mold and rust grow from the ever-present water leaks brought an end to topless motoring, and I traded her off for a more sensible Volvo P1800ES hatchback- fun in its own way, but still miss that open air groove......

[+ Charlie]

1 hour ago, pdxleo said:

 ( is 32 too early for a mid-life crisis? )

Not if you're only going to live to 64.

Edited December 5, 2021 by Charlie

[Luv2play]

I've just put two cars away for the winter and am keeping the SUV for daily driving. All cars are paid for and each spring I say I should get rid of at least one. But then in the spring I get in and drive the other two, one a faithful 20 yo Mercedes, and the other my sports car roadster and say to myself, what the heck.

[+ Tygerscent]

I say: get a pony… Doesn't everyone like a pony~? 

7A9F400B-31B3-46B2-8F11-9424C661AB1E.webp

Edited December 6, 2021 by Tygerscent

[Luv2play]

7 minutes ago, Tygerscent said:

I say: get a pony… Doesn't everyone like a pony~? 

7A9F400B-31B3-46B2-8F11-9424C661AB1E.webp 60.28 kB · 1 download

Ponies are for young guys. I rode them until I was 40 and then never got on one again. I had never been thrown off one and didn't want to keep riding until that happened. Lol

[+ Tygerscent]

2 hours ago, Luv2play said:

Ponies are for young guys. I rode them until I was 40 and then never got on one again. I had never been thrown off one and didn't want to keep riding until that happened. Lol

For a minute there I though you were talking about young guys~ 😳 …but then, I thought, “no that can’t be right”

[Rudynate]

17 hours ago, Charlie said:

Not if you're only going to live to 64.

People get embarrassed if they do something just because they want to after reaching middle-age because there is always somebody waiting to scream "mid-life crisis. Branding an impulsive action as a mid-life crises is sort of a putdown that is really quite toxic.  I got my first tattoo in my early 60s.  In fact, it wasn't an impulse - it was very carefully thought through.   A guy in my gym asked me if it might not be a midlife crisis tattoo. I replied that I didn't think so, but what if it was?  There are a lot of impulsive actions with more far-reaching consequences than getting a tattoo.  Once I was walking in Union Square in a new suit and a homeless  guy told me I looked like I drove a Lambo.  I could have gone out and bought the Lambo.  Now that would have been a seriously impulsive act.   

[+ Tygerscent]

3 hours ago, Luv2play said:

Ponies are for young guys. I rode them until I was 40 and then never got on one again. I had never been thrown off one and didn't want to keep riding until that happened. Lol

A long time GF and I had a farm… 270 head of sheep and lots of horses~ Warm Bloods, mustang, mule, thoroughbred and our last horse together, Full gated saddlebred 17.5 hands… big boy with beautiful arching neck~ His name was Mystic Warrior but we sometimes called him Mystic Peanut~ 

 for being so tall, his conformation was perfect~ He was sound and graceful~ 

 he kept throwing his original little girl Owner off because she had this nasty twisted snaffle bit and she was hard on the reins~ 

 needless to say he was difficult to ride but, one time I got up on him bareback because I wanted to see his neck round out… i’m very easy on the reins. I did not have any bit in his mouth at all. While  and he loves riding that way. We also drove across the Wisconsin border and had the Amish build him a Meadowbrook type cart and he also loved that. He lived to be a very old man and a fine gentleman at that.trying to get him to round out I was shifting my weight slightly turning my knees and my ankles when suddenly he did a crossover. I was actually able to get him to do this over and over. From that point on we put an English saddle on him and he loves riding that way. We also drove across the Wisconsin border and had the Amish build him a Meadowbrook type cart and he also loved that. He lived to be a very old man and a fine gentleman at that.
Miss you Mystic Peanut~!

[Luv2play]

My sister had a horse which I gave the name Mystic. She was a thoroughbred descended from Secretariat. Was tried out at 2 on the racetrack but didn't live up to its breeding. So my sis got her for a song and had her for 24 years. I rode her the odd time but she was too small for me.

I only rode a horse bareback once. Now I'm quite partial to it. Lol.

[+ WilliamM]

I have not been able to drive at night for many years, yet occasionally I had little choice.

A few years ago I finally stopped for good.

 

What a relief to other drivers!