Your idea of a low/mid/high priced car?

[Steve Carlton]

I have a different perspective and lease cars. I know some of you are lease haters, but you can play the lease game and it can be pretty attractive. Consider that you probably won't spend anything on maintenance, tires, brakes, or repairs. There's a value there, plus you have a new, reliable car. Examples:

- Chevy Volt around $200/mo + tax if you put down what you'll get back from the state and utility company in rebates.
- Buick Encore, Chevy Traverse, entry level cars around $125/mo + tax and up, no money down except first payment, license, etc.
- I've been seeing F150 trucks with stickers of $45-50K with 2.7L engines leasing out for around $280-320/mo + tax if you can chase down the $3,000 Ford PCO certificate.
- Alfa Romeo Giulias and Stelvios for (I'm not sure) $350-400/mo
- Volvo S90s with A-Plan $3,000 incentives have low payments

[ckcarr]

All I know is replacing my Jeep Rubicon put's me in the $55,000 area when all is said and done. Sad part is, I can't even find one that's optioned like my current one. So I can't buy one.

[nota]

1000 or less is cheap
I have got a 944 and a older rusty euro 1970 914 for that
a 300sd and an amazon under that
several 245t 745t 940 volvo's just over 1000
all post 2000 time frame
current 93 245 cost me 1600 in very nice shape 2 years ago only tires replaced on the a/m 16''
and a honda [Isuzu ] 98 passport for 1200 3 years ago only a starter and rad replaced

most I paid was 4000 for a 1979 635 alpina euro spec in 92 with 16'' bbs and a 5 speed

[petrolhead611]

My Porsche 924S was my post expensive car purchase ever,£21k new in 86, but l still have it.
I built my sports racing kit car for £4.5 k in 98( still have it) .My daily driver Hyundai Ioniq hybrid was bought this June as an exdealer demo for nearly £18k but is the most sophisticated comfortable and way most fuel car I have ever owned.Time will tell if it stays reliable over the years.
I spent £2100 on my Brabus Smart ForFour in January and so far have done a few Autosolo events in it.

[Geronimo]

I find these numbers interesting... over in the Tech section people all seem to have 20-30K engines in their 30-50K 911 toy.

[Zeke]

Low= <$10,000
Mid= >10,000 — <50,000
But then there's a gap in my mind because high end doesn't begin at 50K. I think you need to add mid to pricey and then place truly 'high' end cars at north of 100 grand.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by Geronimo

I find these numbers interesting... over in the Tech section people all seem to have 20-30K engines in their 30-50K 911 toy.

I bought a 944 for towing expenses.

I do not want to add up the $$$ on that one.

I do consider it valuable mechanical knowledge gained.

It was a shot car that really should have been parted out.

I do not think I'd do differently as it was my own home class room.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by Geronimo

I find these numbers interesting... over in the Tech section people all seem to have 20-30K engines in their 30-50K 911 toy.

You are not supposed to total up your receipts. That way, your toy still cost you 10k-20k!

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Craig T

I'm way on the wrong side of this thread...but man did I wake up. Now I drive a Volvo wagon that's going on four years old and my daughter has instructions to bury me in it. I bought my 08 997 Turbo seven years old with the profits from my green 911 hot rod I restored. In my mid-30s and 40s I made some seriously bad car decisions.

Some of my past sins;

$114k for a brand new 96 993TT from Porsche from Beverly Hills.
$79K new 2004 Cayanne S (but kept it 11 years and 187,000 mi)
$105k for a new 500SL in 2005
$109k for a new 2007 997S

All bought with cash

When I think about the depreciation on three of those four cars I get sick to my stomach. It's two years of retirement income. Never again.

I dunno, sounds like you lived when you were young and you obviously had some good income so you probably worked hard. If you were the kind of guy who does not really enjoy cars and just bought them for the status, I'd say that you fk'ed-up. But I don't think that's the case.

The 500SL and the Cayenne were bad moves but the 993tt would probably be worth more than you paid today if you'd kept it. Anyhow, C'est la vie...none of us knows how long we will be around. You have to live while you're alive.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

How much is a used Rolls or Bentley on your island continent?

Depends on year and condition but generally they hold their value. A nice Silver Shadow is well over 30k.
Not suitable as a daily though. Maybe as a hire/rental/wedding car but that's it.

My 400SE looks frugal in comparison. (20 mpg average)

[rattlsnak]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Low - under $10k
Mid - $10k - $35k
High - $35k - $50k
Expensive - $50k+

Exotic $100K+

Thats about where I fall also.. I usually buy cars that are wrecked or mechanically broken and fix them and turn them into daily drivers, toys, track cars, etc.. I've only ever bought one vehicle new.. a Chevy Truck @ 20 years ago and I still have it.. ( Just rolled over 75,000 miles!! Love that truck! ) until recently that is.. After owning @15 different Porsches over the years, I just said FOOK IT and bought a new GT3 a couple of months ago. BEST THING I EVER DID..(well, not financially speaking, but the fun factor is off the charts..) The car is simply amazing and I cant imagine ever getting tired /bored of it....

[JavaBrewer]

1. DD beater that will spend time in airport/train station parking lot. $5-8K
2. A weekend fun car. $0 ... I'm not rich
3. a 'nice' car which could mean a lot of things to a lot of people (Luxury car, high end sports car, extreme 4x4) That would translate to a car for my wife...so a used car with under 20K miles for under $25K.

I'm getting older and don't really care about cars anymore. Yep I should stop hanging out on PP, did love my '86 Carrera, enjoyed my 996 for the time I had it, but frankly cars are luxury items for me these days. I would rather dive great spots around the world than drive a $$ car that limits that adventure.

[911boost]

I agree with Dennis on Craig’s post.

My 911’s have all been used and I have done ok when selling them. My first new car for myself was a leased 2004 WRX and then I bought my current F350 in 2012.

Motorcycles are a different story, but I tend to keep that for 10plus years before I move on so I can justify it to myself.

[aigel]

5-10 is low range for a daily. 5 year+ car with all the modern safety is necessary here. In the past my limt was 2500 but you get so much more car for the money if you pony up 5+k, it makes better financial sense.
A mid priced car would be a new car or truck 20-45k, something that will last 10+ years
Not a regular buyer of high line weekend / fun cars. Budget there would be 35k or so, the 993 has filled the slot for 12 years now, if I recall right. If I had to buy something like this again, a lotus Elise or a new Miata would be high on the list.

[jcommin]

My taste for vehicles has changed as I got older. I bought my 1983 944 new- it was around $23K. I was young and car crazy.

I still have the car but my car crazy days are over. A car has become an appliance. I can't see spending big money on something that is going to sit in my garage and/or street more than using it. Makes no sense to me.

cheap - under $10K
mid - under $25K
expensive - I would need to win the lottery.

[porsche356a]

Low = 25k
Mid = 55k
High = 125k

Does a mid car one spends twice the money on to make it right now count as 'high'?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Funny how many of us refer to the nice car as being the wife's car. Always been that way in my household as well.

[aschen]

when I was younger I fantasized about newer and faster cars, but now I fantasize about old, slow, and relatively inexpensive cars.

quick calculation of all the cars I have purchased in my life puts a mean price of 23.75k with a standard deviation of 9.9k. so Ill go with low: 4k, mid: 24k, high: 44k


10 cars total spanning 20ish years, the first 2 purchased new and financed, all subsequent were cash purchases. The best thing about buying with a check is it is much easier to stay on budget.

[Starless]

1/ 1998 Rav-4 used, paid $8000 put 100K miles on it and still the beater.
2/ 1980 911 paid $15,000 still have it and plan on keeping it as long as I can drive it.
3/ 2016 Subaru Crosstreck new, $23,000. Will drive it to the ground like any car I have bought new. Replaces the Rav as a winter 4wd and as our DD also replacing our Acura CL-S that we kept with 145,000 because they only offered $1500 and is in great condition.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

My car I got last for daily driver duties is the most I've ever paid for a car, so if I answer according to your further clarifications my numbers would not go from low to high.

The daily driver is the one you spend the most time in, why not have it the nice one?

I started this thread because I was bored and was curious with the wide variance of income and/or car philosophy how you all would vote.

I no longer have the time and space for a fun weekend car...
But when I was a bachelor with a two car garage I got myself a 944 for $4000. Funny thing is my DD was a $15,000 Hyundai, guess which car got more looks/attitude when I was out driving?

RE: Trev's statement, I have a $10K subcompact DD and trying to save/shop for a more "interesting&comfortable" car to take it's place (trying to combine the fun&DD parameters) and everything I'm drawn to is in the $20K range.

Then there is the price of 996's but not sure a 996 could be DD, as cheap as they are now I would still be worried about every scratch and ding.