[harmonyp]

Originally Posted by GTIanZ28

Wife and I just hit 40 and this is the right answer afaic.

Only difference for us is that we skipped the children and have a couple Boston Terriers instead....

That is the most AWESOME picture!!! Your 4 legged children are gorgeous!

Seems like there are mostly 2 primary (not only, but primary) themes here. One - worked hard, struggled some in early years and stayed frugal, got in good financial position, now playing. Other - younger, living a little beyond means, wants the nice and shiny earlier in life, willing to work hard now to pay for it.

Everyone has to experience life via their own path.

My Dad, bless his awesome heart, would probably not approve of the way his daddy's girl spends money on cars. He was a save till you bleed, and he put all his kids thru college and his wife thru her PhD, drove a 10 year old modest car (american V8 tho!!) never wanted anything for himself, and believed in modest, prudent spending.

I lived that life for a few decades. Then I turned 50. I don't know why people call it a mid-life crisis - it's not a crisis at all. It's a turning point for some, where you realize - you've worked your @$$ off, taken care of your responsibilities honorably, but you can't take it with you, and if you don't play while you still can, your fun will be buying racing wheel chairs.

I love my fast cars (love dogs too!!!).

[samsumon]

Originally Posted by EE7

If anyone has to think about whether or not they can afford it than in reality they can't. On another note these are bad ass machines and life is most definitely too short so have fun.

That's not always the truth.. Realistically I can afford this car AND then some. Same as ma y others on these forums. It just comes down to understanding and being able to accept that you are purchasing a very expensive toy.. Regardless of how we spin it... I ask myself if I can afford a $500 suit and I make that bit of income in a relatively short time.

you do make a great point but the generalization is a bit off.

Originally Posted by LesBaer

I'm sorry, but if all you're looking at is what you make vs. the cost of the car, you're just fooling yourself. Everyone is in a different position in life with different expenditures.

You should be looking at your own situation and determining what you won't be able to do because you bought this car. The answer should be saving that $. If you can't still save enough for your own purposes ON TOP of the $ you need to meet your obligations, you have no business buying a highly depreciating sports car. That's just a fact of life whether you want to deal with it or not.

Life doesn't give you an exception because you love sports cars. You have to pay to play. If you can't afford it, we'll see your car on autotrader in a couple years and you'll be wining about how much you paid for it vs. what you're getting offered vs. how much you still owe. That's going to happen no matter what we all say. If you want to let someone talk you into and make yourself feel better, go nuts.

At the end of the day you're (by you I mean whoever, not this specific guy) the one holding the bag and are responsible for yourself. If you can't make this decision, you shouldn't be buying anything.

You're also right. The point of this thread was to see more of who here is really splurging and making sacrifices to own the car, vs those who are buying it and aren't really moving numbers around to justify or afford it..

further understand how this forum is and who we are as a group.. Are we the
"Coffee and donuts on a Saturday morning to show off our cars to each other " group..

Or are we the "steak house and fine suits" to show of our cars toEVERYONE else, group.

[SS376]

Originally Posted by samsumon

You're wrong. This is me being transparent and answering my own personal question. I ask because I wanted to get a feel for my community. This entire time I thought I was talking to guys making 400k a year . This just further pushes in my mind that we are all hard working folks who manage their income well enough to pursue our hobbies .. But I also wanted to make sure that yes, I can buy this car and not beat myself over because "I could have or should have invested "...

If you really thought that the average Camaro buyer made 400k then your knowledge of this customer base is oddly offbase. One would think that a salesman, who should know something about qualifying prospects, would have a better understanding of this!

[Yam Fam]

I make more than what the car cost. My wife car is paid off and we don't have any children. My cousin also manages a Chevy dealership and will get me the best deal possible. I'll be putting 10K down on my 2SS in March. Already have the 10K, so yes, I can afford it. The reason I haven't pulled the trigger is due to the Chicago weather and waiting for dealer incentives to kick in. If they haven't by March\April, I'll just go without it.

And if someone has a job and can afford the payments, what difference does it make how much money someone makes a year? You'll never see a Brinks truck following a hearse. The hole they put the guy making 35K a year in, will be the same size as the guy making 500K a year. I hope that put things into perspective for some people here.

[GTIanZ28]

Originally Posted by harmonyp

That is the most AWESOME picture!!! Your 4 legged children are gorgeous!

I love my fast cars (love dogs too!!!).

Thank you very much. They are mischievous little sweethearts. Love them!

Agree with everything you said as well!

[DenverTaco07]

[Bells]

Originally Posted by Whis

one thing you guys should not let people lecture you on is the "investment" part of buying a car. this car isn't a financial investment we are possibly looking to profit on in the future, such as a first house or something.

this is our passion. we WANT the car and most of us want to own(not lease) it and drive it for a very, very long time. it's pretty clear from the last thread bagging on the camaro price most people nowadays have the mindset of getting a car every 3-5 years then dumping it. i do not ever, ever plan to get into that game.

This is the truth right here. IMO buying a car is like buying a new computer. I get it to use it and enjoy it right now in the moment, not to try and resell it in the future.

Late 20's, take home ~140k, car is 40k. Work as a programmer + playing stocks.

[pdoherty972]

Originally Posted by Jshadow

LoL that's pretty rough. But to each his own.

I'm on the lower end of this thread too haha. I only make about 55k but I'm single no wife or kids so it's not bad at all with a decent down payment (2ss).

"Only make about 55k".

What's funny about that comment is that the median nationwide HOUSEHOLD income is 53k. So you, by yourself, already make more than 50% of the households in the USA.

[pdoherty972]

Originally Posted by Capricio

Damn guys... you're adults and free to do what you like, but i'm well into my 40s and still haven't bought a new car in my life. This will likely be my first one. As a general rule, if you need a co-signer, you can't afford it. You'll get there, have a little discipline and patience and you'll be in a much better position and take a lot of pressure out of your life at a young age.

And take a lot of pressure off your parents who are risking their credit and assets to co-sign.

[pdoherty972]

Originally Posted by samsumon

You're wrong. This is me being transparent and answering my own personal question. I ask because I wanted to get a feel for my community. This entire time I thought I was talking to guys making 400k a year . This just further pushes in my mind that we are all hard working folks who manage their income well enough to pursue our hobbies .. But I also wanted to make sure that yes, I can buy this car and not beat myself over because "I could have or should have invested "...

While this is a somewhat valid response, in what universe would a forum like this be populated with people making 400k a year? You hopefully realize that's a tiny sliver of the top 1% of income earners in the USA? Probably equivalent to 1 in 10000 people?

[pdoherty972]

Originally Posted by VividPsychosis

Well, I am certainly living beyond my means to have my dream.
Currently a 5th year doctoral student. Traded in my collectors 02 Z28 with 18k miles in mint condition for my 2016. Only making 18k. I am mortgaging my future because I believe that next year my salary will be around 70k and it won't matter. Just more motivation to get my shit done! Ah...scary. Perhaps I should start a crowd fund, Camaros for students edition?

Would anyone donate to a Clinical Psychologist that has spent the last 3 years working full-time for free, helping the mentally ill?

You could have done your dissertation on this and the Mustang forum.

[DenverTaco07]

In 2008 I made 1 trillion dollars.

[pkssauce]

Originally Posted by DenverTaco07

In 2008 I made 1 trillion dollars.

1 trillion ZWE = 2.76 million USD

Not bad.

[moonrider]

I make about 18,000 a year and have a wife, a two year old and another on the way. We live in tiny studio apartment in really bad part of town. I haven't ownded a car for ten years and have been saving so that I could buy a Camaro,
Well I finally pulled the trigger and ordered a 2SS, cant wait to get it and I hope we all fit in it haha. It will be the daily driver so I hope it goes good in all the snow we get. I probably won't be able to fill the tank up that much if gas prices keep going up but it will fun when I can afford the gas for it.