Glad to know I'm not the only paranoid fool out there. Yeah. Those look nice too. I'm going to have to take a closer look it. I appreciate everyone's input.
Sadly, you are correct in worrying Yonkers. I've worked for a ton of companies as a contractor and perm employee and have seen the gossip about people who buy expensive houses or cars. I'm single and live in a fairly upper-middle class area of Dallas. When I was looking for a house in the area, I got all kinds of questions about how I can afford it on one paycheck, how much I make, etc, etc. I finally got fed up one day when somebody said something like "damn, you must be making a ton of money". I responded with "why is it people are always wondering how much I'm making, but they never bother asking how much I'm saving?" He just had a puzzled look and we changed the conversation. lol. I still chuckle when I think about that, because he really was a nice guy and we were pretty good friends, but after about the umpteenth question on the subject, it just ate me up, and he happened to be in the line of fire. Even though I understand what you're saying and know how you can be worried, I'm tempted to say screw 'em. Buy and drive what you want. But only you know what type of environment you work in and how it may affect you.
"Unofficial scrooge of the BBS." Rolls a Honda Civic for the last 8 years in a nice neighborhood? JVG? Is that you?!
i get this too, everyone i work either is a HUGE saver ( like max out roth ira + make like a 25% contribution to 401k, never go out to eat, live in the most ghetto place possible ) or they have kids and a wife who doesnt work and they are like 100K in debt and cant afford jack So often times I will go out to lunch at like chipotle or something, definitly not too too high class, but everyone gives me grief about it, " oh i wish I could afford to eat out at chipotle ", blahblahblah, also happens when I wear a nice polo shirt, " oh i buy my shirts at target, I wish I had polo shirt money." Basically what you need to understand though is that these people are losers, don't listen to them. Of course its important to save but that shouldnt get in the way of living your life. We live in America in the 21st century, i mean come on. We have 0 chance of ever starving to death. If you like nice cars then buy a nice car.
Anyone own a Land Rover LR2? I've been looking at getting one but Land Rover does not have the best reputation. Any advice on these cars?
You have a very valid point. I think it depends on the boss(es). If they are of the mindset that you are worth every penny AND they are content with what the own and make, then you don't have a worry come raise time. However, if they are jealous and feel like they are just scraping by (even though thier money goes toward other things), I can see that this would hamper your next raise. "He doesn't need a raise, he drives a brand new Lexus that cost twice as much as my car." Save some back and get a beater - they will feel sorry for you and you won't have a raise problem at all.
I think your first instinct is right. Envy is a poisonous emotion; the workplace is a complex political dynamic, hubris breeds contempt. You will not hear the end of the "well, I wish I could afford...." and it very well could sabotage your work enviroment, your future raises (well Bob, he seems to be doing fine without a raise) and even your continued employment (you look like you don't need to work hard for the company so if cuts are needed there might be less anxiety over cuttung your position). Sublimate your desire, buy something more conservative, preferably something used (it's a better economic choice anyway), invest more money so you can retire earlier .... then buy all the toys you want. You can't see into the future, sh*t can happen that you can't even imagine now; and the best way to deal with sh*t is to have a big stash of money to throw at it. Trust an old man on this fact.
I entirely agree with Dubious. Seems to me that if this were true, you wouldn't be buying a Lexus, you'd be buying a decked out Camry for a lot less.
This is the point of view I'm afraid I'll get from people. The idea that anything above a Corolla or Camry is flaunting it. I do work with some good friends I brought with me when I got this job. I'll run it by them and see what they think about the work environment and how others might take it. Good advice.
Yonkers, I was just in the same boat you are in now.. I just bought a car I new would attract some flack from the people at my office, I continued to drive my other car to the office for a few weeks and then slowly rotated my new car into the mix and didn't tell anyone because I knew what would come of it.. Well, the day someone noticed I got a good ribbing by my coworkers, but the worst of it was someone saying I must be getting paid too much money in a joking way.. I even had to go to a meeting with the company owner soon after people found out and even he was joking that my car was nicer than his even though this guy has a super Car, a luxury car and a luxury SUV that he rotates between.. In short don't let what you drive dictate what you think people at the office will think of you.. Let your abilities and output dictate what kind of employee you are perceived as, not the car you drive..
Land Rover used to have horrific reliability. The used to rank below Hyundai and Kia. No way in hell do I buy a Land Rover unless they've improved their quality in recent years, and even then I doubt I'd buy one when there are other vehicles with a much better record of reliability. Here's one article : http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=3604
But.... you are flaunting it, aren't you? You just don't want to flaunt it to your co-workers. I mean... let's be honest. You're buying a Lexus, not a decked-out Camry, for the prestige of owning a Lexus, aren't you?
Since roughly 5% of the world's population (may be less) actually own a vehicle of any type, we're ALL 'flaunting it'. On a serious note, I would probably agree that most car buyers tend to at least factor social considerations into the car buying process.
If he wanted prestige only he'd stick with buying another BMW. Buying a Lexus, in my opinion, of course means you're after prestige but you're also after the reassurance in knowing that your car won't give you any troubles for at least 10 years.
Yes, but the converse is also true. If he didn't want the prestige he would own neither a Lexus nor a BMW. I'm not trying to be an ass, but let's call it as it is. He wants to own a prestigious car, but doesn't want negative ramifications from his coworkers. Well, dude, you have to choose: 1) buy a prestigious Lexus and get negative impressions from your coworkers OR 2) don't. OR 3) buy a prestigious Lexus and drive a different, less prestigious car to work.
Well then you're flaunting it versus the guys who are just driving stock Camrys. And they are flaunting it versus the guy who's driving a Kia. And they're flaunting it versus the guy who has a bus pass. And I'm flaunting my house because I got more bedrooms than I need. And when I smile I'm flaunting that my parents could afford me braces. There's always going to be a car better than mine and worse than mine. I guess I can't help but be flaunting something at somebody. What you do prove though is that my worries are not unfounded.
Now, you're mincing words And, of course your concerns aren't unfounded. Surprise! People think of BMW and Lexus owners as boastful! Ya know.... I'm obviously not helping and am poo-poo'ing your thread. Good luck with your car purchase.
