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

We have a broad range of people here, middle class, upper middle class, high earners.

I consider myself somewhere between middle and upper middle.
So how much would you spend on
1. DD beater that will spend time in airport/train station parking lot.
2. A weekend fun car.
3. a 'nice' car which could mean a lot of things to a lot of people (Luxury car, high end sports car, extreme 4x4)

for me:
1. $5-10K
2. $10-20K
3. $25-45K

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?

What I consider low, not more than $6,250

Mid, not more than $12,500

High, more than $25,000

Reality to your 1,2,3.

1, $35,000
2, $5,000
3, $22,000

When I joined this board.

Low, less than $1000
Mid, $3,500
High, more than $6000

Where does my ancient F150 go in this list?

I've never paid more than 30k for a car...but that went a bit further 3 decades ago :).

....the Carrera cream puff my the garage just might be north of that now...I hope!

Interesting question and survey.

I've never bought a new car. I do buy vehicles with the intent of getting 10+ years minimum out of them.

In today's dollars:

Low - ~$1500
Mid - ~$8000
High - ~$20k

I look at anything more than $20k as something that better last me the rest of my life...

hmm, depends on your commute and how 'long' your weekends are.. where you live etc. but it's a good question.. with telling answers.
My vehicles are listed here.
Just sports cars.. for now.... and a few bicycles, subway's etc.

Low - less than $20K
Mid - 20 to 50
High - 50+

I guess I’m the odd man out then because I have incorporated 1, 2 and 3 into the same car, fun, ‘nice’, DD, and this was the most that I’ve ever paid for a car by 2x. Previously my next most expensive one was my previous Porsche.

I can’t afford a fun, weekend only car. If I could it would probably be something like a Beck 550, Caterham 7 or maybe a modern Lotus.

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

Most I've spent is just under $35k. I think I've owned four vehicles that were over $30k purchase price, most bought for my wife.

I have different scales for toys vs. DD.

DD means my wife needs to be able to drive it without the thought of crashing an expensive car. Think Toyota vs. Audi. And at this point would be thinking of brand new cars. < 30k for a car. 30k to 45k for an SUV or minivan. > 45k for a higher end SUV, max 60k.

Toys must be bought used with cash, not financed, so < 10k for an E36 M3, 10k to 30k got me the Cayenne (which also serves as a DD), and > 30k would get me a 997.2. My upper limit is 50k.

This is about where I'm at.

Incidentally many cars I've bought in the past started out top bracket then got low. Then went back to high with me trying to make it 'right'

I love a bargain. Maybe too much so. Last time I counted my receipts on my 911 I could've bought a (cheap) condo in town- cash. :(

Pontiac is getting that way- or maybe a nice 'new' F150. Oh well, can't take it with you.

rjp

My sense of value keeps changing. Ive never paid $50k for a car but I could see myself going $40k. I do not drive conventional. My weekend fun cars are also my daily drivers, so will just post my current thoughts.
1.Beater, $1500- $2000.
2. Fun truck, $10,000.
3. Fun car, $40,000.

Couldn't agree more.
I've had take-home company car(s) for the last 14 years so that has really skewed how I think of this subject.
I like to have a beater for running around doing errands, junkyard runs and taking the boat down to the bay. My current beater is a low mileage, 20 year old Honda SUV that is only worth about $3,000 in today's dollars but its been rock solid reliable and I don't care HOW many people door ding me. My 'nice' car is a low mileage 2001, 530i that is mainly for roadtrip and date night use although it still does duty for just running around if I'm not in a beater mood. It's probably worth $6-7k to the right buyer. I have 3 cool/fun cars all insured as agreed value 'collector cars' to the tune of $80k+ but I just don't have enough time to drive them as much as they deserve. I want to get rid of one or two but I'm emotionally attached and I can never decide which two need to go. :confused:

I get your point.
From my perspective my nice car is the one I try to keep clean. I spend the most time in my truck, even though my Volt would do 90% of the hauling my truck does. For example, Yesterday MrsWD hauled a chicken for one of her friends. The chicken crate would easily fit in the Volt, but wdidn’t want chicken crap our “nice” car, so she used the truck, even though it uses twice as much fuel.
Our nice car is simply the one we don’t trash.

I just paid the most I have ever paid for any vehicle in 35 years for my 6.0L diesel Excursion at $14,000. My DD 2004 triple black Mustang GT convertible is one of the most reliable, and fun cars I have ever owned, and cost me $2500. My wife's Jeep Liberty, and her previous BMW 325CI were both $6000 each.

I plan on buying an expensive car for my next DD in a few years.....probably a Coyote motored 2011+ Mustang GT in the $15,000-$20,000 range.

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.

1. DD beater: $15-20K
2. Weekend fun car: $5-35K
3. Expensive car: $70+ (see Craig above for reference :) )

I'm cheap. I've always bought crappy cars and fixed them.

My 1978 SC was a POS when I bought it. Badly modified and maintained.
I suspect it was passed around to a few "can't quit afford it" owners.
Almost 20 years later it's almost in show room condition and worth considerably more than I have put into it. (& countless weekends)

The idea of spending more than 20k on a daily has no appeal to me.

Right now I'm driving a 1992 W140 400SE. It cost me $4,000 16 months ago and since then I've spent about 3k fixing various smaller issues.
Great car on the road and once you get used to the size, incredible usable and practical.

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

I like nice cars. But I wait until they’re fully depreciated before I buy. Which means the newest car I’ve owned is the 2006 BMW 1 series I bought for my wife recently for $3,000 ( in Japanese yen ).
I was lucky to buy a couple of 911s back when they were affordable. The 964 I owned was the most I ever paid for a car, $22,000.
My 2002 Benz w210 wagon was about $7,000. That was a little expensive in my opinion, but I hope to keep it for a while.
My cheapest car was a 1999 MK4 GTI which I paid $500 for. Old German cars are especially affordable here in Japan and are always in great shape. I don’t think I’ll ever buy a new car.

Interesting perspectives.

I have never bought a new sports car, just not my thing, especially one that was going to be a DD and get scuffed up. Closet I came was a 25K 1983SC that I DD'd two to three days a week for three years and sold for 20K.

The weekenders I have now (getting rid of one in the Spring, were both at or sub 15K and paid for either in cash or a short term (less than a week) loan.

I buy trucks new because I use the crap out of them and they are my DD and farm vehicle. That and I own them for at least ten years. I paid just over 35k for my 2015 Tundra and expect to pay more if I ever get another Tundra or comparable truck.

That is an unfortunate sum of money for a truck but such is life.