Buying a new car

[PopEmersen]

This is easy just lease something. As an entrepreneur you don't want to F*ck around with the headaches of owning a car worrying about depreciation faster than the loan, or blowing 50k in cash. BMWs leasing program is AWESOME, they take care of EVERYTHING. You pay your lease payment and don't ever worry again.

I am currently looking to just go pick up a lease on a BMW 335i sedan for under $400 per month. It says right on the BMW web site, I will print and tell them I want THIS CAR. Nothing more expensive. A BMW will have leather and an engine, sounds good.

The reason for this, my "financially responsible" 2006 Nissan Xterra (a "reliable" Japenese SUV) owned completely outright has cost me 200-300 per month over the last 12 months. Consider oil changes, tires, bullshit that breaks (then rental cars). Now consider that new BMW, the tires will last the whole lease unless you are an idiot, the oil, maintenance and repairs are FREE.

$400 is jack shit and I will be driving a brand new BMW with no other worries. Who cares if I don't get any equity, I will just reup a lease on another new one in 36 months. The best part is BMW will probably give me 5k for my 200-300 dollar per month money pit.

Other great cars to consider for lease right now: Chrysler 300 loaded out, Cadillac CTS, Cadillac XTS, Lincoln MKZ/MKS. GREAT lease deals from my research.

I will put my wear and tear on a lease from this point forward, I will fully purchase my really cool cars when the time comes.

There is something to be said for stuff not owning you. Make your transportation easy. You can always dump a $400/month BMW on swap a lease when you get sick of it as long as you don't plow through your miles. That is another good place to look too. No money down, you just assume their payments...

This is my exact same mind state. I am tired of paying for maintenance. I just want to pay a monthly fee and be done with everything. Any vehicle I get going forward has to have maintenance included.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[D11FYY]

I also agree with a few fellow other posters dont just try to impress a girl seriously those are the types you stay away from if they are materialistic usually they cost more and are more high maintenance than a expensive car..

But im going through the same dilemma, 16-20 years old I was earning great amounts of income but seriously never thought for one minute it would stop now with the older and wiser head if you have the money spare use 1/2 of it for the car and reinvest the other half or is there no properties in your area that you could buy for 40k ; rent out and let the income from that pay the car?...
Things are going fairly smooth again for me just now so going to get a New Mercedes C Class Coupe AMG 220cdi in the coming weeks but im going to lease it iv never tried this before but by weighing up the pros and cons the car im driving just now depreciates per month not far off of the lease payments so just an idea for you to look into..


Sorry didnt notice the post above..

 

[psaco131]

My 2nd car was a high mileage luxury sedan (2004 Cadillac DTS). It drove beatifully when I bought it. 1 year later all hell broke loose. Power Steering screwed up, had to replace rear tires, shocks & struts, tire sensor. The repairs kept piling up, I stopped repairing after the tire sensor. After a yr and a half of ownership I sold the damn thing. It looked nice on the inside, but it was just a mess mechanically.

I would check out a lease on the new Chrysler 300, even the base model is loaded up. If you want to up the ante, the 300S or 300C have more features to play with and a HEMI engine.

 

[KeonTheGreat]

Dude,buy a Nissan Maxima! All the luxury you could want and its cheaper to maintain than a BMW/MBz/etc. Hell mine is an 04 Max and it comes with factory navigation, heated leather seats, heatd power folding mirrors, HEATED STEERING WHEEL!!!(probably the single greatest thing ever put in to a car!) its cheap as hell to maintain too. I imagine the newer model has a lot more goodies and would only run you like 20-25 grand for a beatiful 09-2010 model.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/12/2010maximasportreview_03_opt.jpg

so purrtyy

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[SBS.95]

There's no point in buying a brand new car. You lose 30% of the value before you put a mile on it. A 2011 BMW for $30,000 is a lot better deal than a 2013 for $50,000. Who gives a shit if it's 2 years old and has 15,000 miles on it. Girls can't tell the difference, and 15,000 miles means nothing when almost all new cars are built for going 200,000 and beyond.

Also, beware of repairs with BMW. As someone that pays mechanic bills on an Audi (which shares lots of parts with Volkswagen, BMW is even a bit worse) I will feel your pain. Have $5000 ready to dump into the car at any time, and always assume the worst. Seriously, if you're stuck on BMW, I'd take the above advice and get a lease. Don't get me wrong, German cars are nice to own, and the ride is nicer than anything else on the road, (sorry Lexus, Infiniti, Acura) but they're a massive headache to own. My next part will probably not be German, there is simply too much constant worry and frustration that you have to pay 3x the price to get anything fixed.

Again, if you decide you want to own a car, not lease, then go with something American or Japanese. A Ford Fusion and $10,000 in your pocket sounds a lot nicer than a new BMW. Plus the new Fusion is absolutely beautiful and looks like an Aston Martin.

 

[PopEmersen]

Plus the new Fusion is absolutely beautiful and looks like an Aston Martin.]

Not trying to get into a flame war BUT the fusion borrowed the grill the the Aston and it in no way, shape, or form looks like an Aston.

 

[CEBenz]

It's my personal opinion that the Infiniti G cars are better built than the BMWs (as much as I love the Beemers). I'd look at something around 4 years old IF you insist on doing it.

Me? I'm going to HAVE to get something soon. My 1990 Geo Metro is almost to 320,000 miles and is falling apart. One day soon it'll probably start dropping parts on the freeway. Lol oh well, it's been nice getting 45 miles per gallon.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kak]

I would rather just throw 400 per month on my amex for a new car with totally covered maintence than be out ANY money on any used car. Especially one, that as you said, might need 5k in repairs at any given moment.

 

[rocksolid]

How about an older BMW which can be bought for under 5K, sure it might have a lot of mileage so when a girl sees it she will think that you have had it for a long time so you must be doing well :smx9: , there are plenty on cars.com

You could also consider a lease.

 

[maximus20895]

Not trying to get into a flame war BUT the fusion borrowed the grill the the Aston and it in no way, shape, or form looks like an Aston.

Well, Ford did own them for awhile. I do agree though, I see that grill and I immediately think of AM.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Milkanic]

"If it flies, floats or fornicates, always rent it - it’s cheaper in the long run." - Felix Dennis.

Same rule applies if you plan on replacing your car every 3-5 years like most people.

If not, get a Honda Civic/Accord and drive it until the wheels fall off.

 

[CEBenz]

"If it flies, floats or fornicates, always rent it - it’s cheaper in the long run." - Felix Dennis.

Same rule applies if you plan on replacing your car every 3-5 years like most people.

If not, get a Honda Civic/Accord and drive it until the wheels fall off.

Or Nissan or Toyota if you like to find your cars where you parked them lol

 

[Mike39]

"If it flies, floats or fornicates, always rent it - it’s cheaper in the long run." - Felix Dennis.

Same rule applies if you plan on replacing your car every 3-5 years like most people.

If not, get a Honda Civic/Accord and drive it until the wheels fall off.

I don't get this type of thinking. The whole point of starting a business is to generate enough money to do whatever makes you happy, so if Sean has made enough through his business to afford a 30, 50, 100k BMW (assuming it will not make a dent in his finances) and he want's the BMW, why shouldn't he buy it?

Why shouldn't he buy it new? If I were to purchase a car I would look at it like this: the car a instantly looses ALL of it's value the second I sign my name on the dotted line, whatever I get back at sale is just a bonus, if you can't afford that hypothetical 100% depreciation then you probably shouldn't be buying the car. Besides, whats the point of making money if you don't spend some of it on yourself, in the end that's what we all make and want money for is it not?

Edit: I am not saying go blow all your cash on yourself when you can't afford it; what I am saying is that if you can afford something outright and you want it, get it, you earned it.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[TK1]

This.

Check out ebay s section on leased cars - there are many people trying to get out of a leasing contract. That way you can pick up a nice car without paying lots of upfront money and on a good deal you save the down payment (is it the right english word i use? i mean the money you have to pay when leasing a car. so you take a leasing contract for 400 p month on a bmw and you have to pay 5000€ payment when starting the contract...there are many deals where you save even that money when taking somebodys contract).

PS:

Somebody who starts a business and would pay their first hard earned money from their biz for a car is NOT an entrepreneur.

PPS:

Somebody who needs a nice car to impress girls has NO balls.

PPPS:

Never forget the quote from this picture here:

This is easy just lease something. As an entrepreneur you don't want to F*ck around with the headaches of owning a car worrying about depreciation faster than the loan, or blowing 50k in cash. BMWs leasing program is AWESOME, they take care of EVERYTHING. You pay your lease payment and don't ever worry again.

I am currently looking to just go pick up a lease on a BMW 335i sedan for under $400 per month. It says right on the BMW web site, I will print and tell them I want THIS CAR. Nothing more expensive. A BMW will have leather and an engine, sounds good.

The reason for this, my "financially responsible" 2006 Nissan Xterra (a "reliable" Japenese SUV) owned completely outright has cost me 200-300 per month over the last 12 months it also gets 13 MPG. Consider oil changes, tires, bullshit that breaks (then rental cars). Now consider that new BMW, the tires will last the whole lease unless you are an idiot, the oil, maintenance and repairs are FREE and it will get 30 MPG.

$400 is jack shit and I will be driving a brand new BMW with no other worries. Who cares if I don't get any equity, I will just reup a lease on another new one in 36 months. The best part is BMW will probably give me 5k for my 200-300 dollar per month money pit.

Other great cars to consider for lease right now: Chrysler 300 loaded out, Cadillac CTS, Cadillac XTS, Lincoln MKZ/MKS. GREAT lease deals from my research.

I will put my wear and tear on a lease from this point forward, I will fully purchase my really cool cars when the time comes.

There is something to be said for stuff not owning you. Make your transportation easy. You can always dump a $400/month BMW on swap a lease when you get sick of it as long as you don't plow through your miles. That is another good place to look too. No money down, you just assume their payments...

 

[Ikke]

A volvo s40 t5? I quite like them

 

[JasonR]

Some of the opinions and advice in this thread are interesting.

I just wanted to chime in and make sure you factor in the cost of insurance if you lease or finance. Since you're young, it might be expensive. So you're $400/month payment just became $500/600.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Mike39]

Somebody who starts a business and would pay their first hard earned money from their biz for a car is NOT an entrepreneur.

A) this isn't his "first" hard earned money, it's not like he made his first 50k and is now deciding to flush it all on a car.

B) Why not, he has re-invested already in his business, grown his profits time and again, and now can afford a car. That's like saying if the first thing you do when you are rich is reward yourself, you are not really rich?

 

[Kak]

Some of the opinions and advice in this thread are interesting.

I just wanted to chime in and make sure you factor in the cost of insurance if you lease or finance. Since you're young, it might be expensive. So you're $400/month payment just becamse $500/600.

Assuming he isnt already paying for insurance.

 

[JasonR]

Regardless, his rate will change with a new car. Especially if he isn't paying for full coverage now.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kak]

True, I don't typically consider because it just comes out of my account anyway. I called and asked about the BMW they said 160/month for the 335 and 150 for the 328. I currently pay 100. Full coverage high deductable.

No biggie. The difference could pay for itself in gas savings.

I could imagine he is paying out the a$$ for employees to be driving trucks around under his company.

 

[Twiki]

I know nothing about cars, leasing etc. but thought some of you might be interested in this news from Tesla today:

Tesla Unveils Revolutionary New Finance Product | Press Releases | Tesla Motors

TESLA UNVEILS REVOLUTIONARY NEW FINANCE PRODUCT
COMBINES BEST ASPECTS OF CAR LEASING AND OWNERSHIP

TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2013
PALO ALTO, Calif.-- Tesla Motors announced today that, in partnership with Wells Fargo and US Bank, it has created a revolutionary automotive financing product that provides the best elements of ownership and leasing to Model S customers.

 

[Milkanic]

I don't get this type of thinking. The whole point of starting a business is to generate enough money to do whatever makes you happy, so if Sean has made enough through his business to afford a 30, 50, 100k BMW (assuming it will not make a dent in his finances) and he want's the BMW, why shouldn't he buy it?

Because there is an opportunity cost to purchasing a car (or boat, plane, house, etc). That 100k BMW is also going to be boring in 2 years and you'll want the 170k Porsche. You'll get 50k back on the purchased BMW but would have saved yourself 10-20k leasing.

If you are going to own something for a lifetime, buy it. If not, do the math on renting.

Lease or Buy a Car? - Calculator - SmartMoney.com

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[theag]

Every business owner I know leases all his cars as company vehicles for tax deductions. Maybe its different in the U.S. but in Germany thats the most economic way. Plus of course you always have the newest cars which is acceptable

 

[Beau]

If you do decide to buy a new car, never talk about monthly payments to the salesperson, only the bottom line cost of the car. Bring an amortization schedule with you or find a free app of one(if there isn't one, that'd be a great opportunity for someone). Once you settle on a price that you like, find out what your interest rate would be(through them, or your own credit union). Then you have everything you need to decide on how many months you need to pay it off.

 

[wade1mil]

Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you have the tightest car in the Marbella Gardens apartment complex and an 18-speaker stereo system

Regardless of what MJ says, that's the best quote in the book

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[TK1]

A) this isn't his "first" hard earned money, it's not like he made his first 50k and is now deciding to flush it all on a car.

B) Why not, he has re-invested already in his business, grown his profits time and again, and now can afford a car. That's like saying if the first thing you do when you are rich is reward yourself, you are not really rich?

There is a difference between building a business to make yourself money and building one to make a statement.

First is 'building a lifestyle business', second is I want to build amazon, invent flying cars, cure cancer etc.

True entrepreneurship is about wealth, not (only) about becoming rich.

People mostly driven by money don't change the world, people that are driven despite the money (especially if it doesn't come asap..) very often do change the world like van gogh.

Rich and wealthy, huge difference.

Each to his own, like he said in response to zen*******'s post: Thread was only a test to see what's happening.

If an entrepreneur thinks of spending 50k on a car while being in the process of building a big company, it's ok, but that means the entrepreneur is about ME very fast. Still too close to 'instant gratification' syndrome..

If there comes in somebody in the same industry that is out there to make a big statement his company will get flushed. The guy who builds a company in 2 years doing 200k profit per year and thinks about buying a 50k car gets beaten by the guy who aims for the whole market, changing the whole industry, doing an ipo etc.
(...and then buys himself a jet IF he likes to....)

You cannot build something very big - meaningful if you go crazy after having a bit of success.

(ps....I didnt say it's his first money, I said if > then.)

(pps....B.) is a false comparision, because if he would be rich already this thread woudn't exist.)

 

[KeonTheGreat]

I would rather just throw 400 per month on my amex for a new car with totally covered maintence than be out ANY money on any used car.

Hmmm don't know if I agree with this one. You can find some really good ones especially ones like the cars you probably turn in once the lease is up. Youve already taken the hit on depreciation and the car likely still has a few years/miles left on warranty and up until that point has been maintained by the dealership you leased it from brand new. Sounds like a good idea to buy to me. Nothing wrong with owning a used car you can get a warranty on top at a dealership.

 

[MMatt]

Here's my take as a young gearhead who has owned 6 vehicles. About two years ago I was saving the majority of my income to buy my dream truck, then started my entrepreneurial education process and decided it was entirely wrong to be saving for a materialistic desire. Then a person i knew put a truck up for sale and it was very close to why i had always wanted and it was at a very respectable price. I thought for days and days, did a weighted decision matrix and all. The matrix concluded do not buy it. Needless to say a few days later I bought it.

I've owned it for over a year now and i can honestly say I do not regret it. It's a crew cab truck so it is alot more useful than a car so that validates the purchase some. Girls do like it but it won't get you more than some verbal compliments. I do enjoy driving it and its pretty fast for it's size. I don't know if anyone knows about diesels but a diesel with some mods is quite powerful. The only reason I would ever regret the purchase is because I put a huge dent in my savings.

As for commuters and cars, I've been liking older sports cars. They're fast enough to be fun, and you can find one in good shape, respectable fuel economy if its a v6 or smaller, and almost cheap enough to be "disposable" rather than paying huge repair bills on a bmw or something of that sort. I find you can have pride in an older sports car in good shape too because it's more rare than say your average bmw or audi.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Mike39]

There is a difference between building a business to make yourself money and building one to make a statement.

No, there are businesses that make money and those that don't, simple.

First is 'building a lifestyle business', second is I want to build amazon, invent flying cars, cure cancer etc.

Saying their is only one or the other is a joke, I don't think the coupon clearing house recently brought up in a thread that makes millions a week cured anyones cancer but I wouldn't dare call it a "lifestyle business"

True entrepreneurship is about wealth, not (only) about becoming rich.
Did you read the third circle theory. You read the third circle theory, be honest.

People mostly driven by money don't change the world, people that are driven despite the money (especially if it doesn't come asap..) very often do change the world like van gogh.

Did you read the third circle theory. You read the third circle theory, be honest

Rich and wealthy, huge difference.

Yes and there are multiple opinionated ways to define what that difference is. I would not define it in the same way as you, I classify rich as "won the lottery, why not blow it on cars and strippers" and wealthy is " I earned my wealth and don't need to prove it to anyone" or "I earned my money and know how to manage it effectively"

Each to his own, like he said in response to zen*******'s post: Thread was only a test to see what's happening.

If an entrepreneur thinks of spending 50k on a car while being in the process of building a big company, it's ok, but that means the entrepreneur is about ME very fast. Still too close to 'instant gratification' syndrome..

Ok so where do you draw the line, your business is doing a couple million a year but you haven't sold it for millions yet so anything you buy is "instant gratification", how about a 30k KIA, a $3 Starbucks? I am pretty sure Sean has been running his company for a while.

If there comes in somebody in the same industry that is out there to make a big statement his company will get flushed. The guy who builds a company in 2 years doing 200k profit per year and thinks about buying a 50k car gets beaten by the guy who aims for the whole market, changing the whole industry, doing an ipo etc.
(...and then buys himself a jet IF he likes to....)

I would never suggest anyone to spend half of their annual revenue on a car. Despite the popular beliefs of many, you can make a lot of money without revolutionizing something or going public

You cannot build something very big - meaningful if you go crazy after having a bit of success.

Again what is defined as crazy, if your running a company that nets you a million a year and you buy a 80k luxury sedan, is that going crazy? I never said go crazy and spend all you got.

I don't want to have an debate with this or waste any more time but I think that there are a lot of different views on how and why to spend money so that's simply my opinion, I am not saying you are right OR wrong.

 

[TK1]

Not want to offend you, just making a point clear:

Your post(s) have "money" all centered around it, because you don't have a lot (yet).

Wait ~10years+ - I hope in that 10 years (or maybe even a lot less we don't know) you will make your first million (which you will, because you are here, started young, you have drive and balls mixed with a tone of being cocky).

After your first success you will call yourself a "millionaire" please come back to this post and read this one sentence:

It's not about money.

Money is the blood.

Wealth is the whole organism.

If you are starving, the most important thing for you is food-liquid.

If you are poor-not rich yet, you want to get rich asap.

But if you by-pass those milestones in your life you see the next steps.

Money won't make you stop, you will only be driven by change-legacy etc.

The guy starting with the legacy in mind will outsmart-outwork-outpace the guy having the big money in mind at the end.

http://www.paulgraham.com/wealth.html

Money Is Not Wealth

If you want to create wealth, it will help to understand what it is. Wealth is not the same thing as money. [3] Wealth is as old as human history. Far older, in fact; ants have wealth. Money is a comparatively recent invention.

Wealth is the fundamental thing. Wealth is stuff we want: food, clothes, houses, cars, gadgets, travel to interesting places, and so on. You can have wealth without having money. If you had a magic machine that could on command make you a car or cook you dinner or do your laundry, or do anything else you wanted, you wouldn't need money. Whereas if you were in the middle of Antarctica, where there is nothing to buy, it wouldn't matter how much money you had.

Wealth is what you want, not money. But if wealth is the important thing, why does everyone talk about making money? It is a kind of shorthand: money is a way of moving wealth, and in practice they are usually interchangeable. But they are not the same thing, and unless you plan to get rich by counterfeiting, talking about making money can make it harder to understand how to make money.