Does driving a BMW automatically make you a douche?

sorry, this made me laugh out loud

 

nice catch. :grin:

he must have slept through the necessarry v. sufficient discussion at school.

 

Does it make me a douche that I want a Chevy Volt?

 

you're only a douche if you drive a cheap BMW.

 

If you are defensive about your BMW, then you are clearly Persian. :grin:

And yes, that is still cheap with everything you just mentioned.

 

This.

I do not begrudge anyone who likes to have a flashy car or feels that in order to be of a certain status, he must have one. That is your prerogative for sure. But for me, I could give two damns about what I drive, as long as it has the features and comfort level I am looking for. If a Hyundai or a Honda meets that criteria, then that is what I am getting. I would never, not in a million years, consider blowing $50k on a car, that would just be a terrible investment for me, although I can afford to pay cash for it if I wanted one.

As long as my car is comfortable, in good clean condition and mechanically sound, I never even think of what I am driving or how I will perceived. A car is a utility and nothing more.

 

That's fine. But there is something in your life that you spend money on, right? And whatever that turns out to be, someone will say that '{your thing} is just a {type of item} and nothing more'. No matter what you like to spend your money on, that specific thing is just not as important to someone else.
And if you don't spend money on anything at all and are just saving, saving, and saving. Well, I hope you can enjoy life as much at 65... if you live that long even.

 

"Douche"? More like a show off.

 

I'd rather get a Model S from Tesla Motors.

 

Agreed. Everyone has their own 'thing' that they'd spend extra on.

I, for one, am an auto enthusiast so I wouldn't mind spending 50k on a car that satisfies me.

 

lol, fair enough...but having things like xenon lights, alarm system, blue tooth, etc...those kinds of things should be on every new car built these days.

 

Haha, Im about as Persian as it gets...dont mess with my BMW! :grin:

 

I agree with you - Cars are the most expensive item we buy in life that 99.9% of the time will go DOWN in value. It really isn't financially smart to buy a new expensive car for most people. Now, if you can pay cash & you really like the car..go for it. For most people, it makes little economic sense..but its a status symbol.

 

You can expect to live to at least the mid-70's. but most people who save, and save..have very fulfilling lives and have money to play with at a point in there lives when they actually have the time to play with the money. They usually retire earlier in life too. Its not that they don't spend money early in their lives..they just spend it wisely..on things that go UP in value or that lasts a long time.

Sure, I could take vacations now and go out to eat more & stay in debt..or I can wait 3 or 4 more years and be completely out of debt (no car payment, student loans, etc) with a large savings account and pay cash for even nicer, longer vacations. People that save money just look at their lives differently..why buy a HDTV now, when my current TV works fine? When it dies, I'll have saved up to buy a very very nice new HDTV then instead of buying 2-3 TV's in that same amount of time. (or computers, etc).

 

Does your nicer, longer vacation go UP in value? Why not take a small, road trip to Austin and save that extra money so you can take an even nicer and even longer vacation when you hit 85? Get my point? How far do you take it?
No one is telling you to over do it when you're younger. But it's balance of enjoying now versus later. I save plenty. I still don't have an HDTV. I eat simple, cheap meals most of the time. I just so happen to have a nice car and a nice house. That's what I want. I'm still on track to retire early.

 

I drive a BMW and I've never encountered this... or maybe I haven't paid enough attention to it...

I'll try to keep an eye out to see if I do get treated differently... :grin:

--RB

 

For a second I was like hey I haven't done that. I personally have an M5 as well and love the car.

I don't think a car makes you a douche, it's how you present yourself that makes you a douche at the end of the day.

 

exactly...if it makes you happy more power to you. you're only a douche if you're gloating, showing off, or think it's what defines you.

 

If you drive a low-end BMW, then yes. The exclusivity of cars like BMW, Mercedes, Cadillac, etc. went out the window when they started catering to the $30-$40k crowd. So many of those BMW's being driven were base models with hardly any options and they're still paying $35k+ for them. Yikes.

Of course, that's probably the price range where I'll be looking for a car, so screw you guys.

I'd buy a Tesla S, but the base model comes with a dinky battery, and I'd love to buy a Chevy Volt, but I'm scared to death the thing will fall apart in 3 years. lol. I'm going to try and get 200,000 miles out of my car before looking for my next vehicle.

 

hahahahahaa....sure