Cars are waste of money or no?

K114a

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I was drooling over cars for like 2 years but didn't have the money to afford one. Every time when I step outside I keep looking at different cars and wonder when I will get one.

Now I'm making decent and have sufficient cash to pay full.

The car I'm planning to get is about $28k and I will lose about 35% of my savings by purchasing this car.

But here comes the twist, I started to research a little bit and there are many people that say cars are the worst thing to buy, it's a depreciating asset and what not.

People like Garyvee, Grant Cardone says the same. take a look at this video haha
Now I'm really confused about whether to get one or not. What's bhws thought on cars?

PS: LEASING/RENTING is not a viable option in my country. and instead of paying full cash, I could get a loan also, but the interest rates are about 8% per year, so the car total price including interests will be like $32k, i don't think its good to get a loan
 
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Go buy it if you can pay in full. It saves a lot of time and changes your perspective. Those who say cars are a waste of money are those who already are using them. The only suggestion is, don't buy car with a loan, buy it with excess money you have.
 
buying decent car for your comfort is worth it. If you can buy any second hand car in good condition its better as you will get some good discount. and yes car is a depreciating asset every days it will loss its value .
 
I used to think the same way, I like cars and gadgets I want them everytime until I learned how to invest money and grow more.

The thing is, we weren't taught how to handle money. We are used to spend to new stuff, fad, we buy what's popular but those are temporary euphoria, well now for me anyway. It may not make sense now but as you grow older you'll learn what's important.

Anyway, it really depends on you. It is true that cars depreciate value over time unlike if you invest it in house/stocks.
 
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Well, we as people are allowed to have passions. If your passion happens to be car-related, then go ahead and treat yourself. I love cars, so I cannot imagine myself not owning/driving/leasing/renting/whatever at least one... but preferably many. In fact, I make money largely to support my car buying habit.

For others, though, cars are just tools to get from point A to point B. Some people I know even claim to "hate" cars, neglect them, but still drive them. Hate is a strong word, but anyways, these people can often find much better solutions around, be it an Uber-type service, bus, or a bicycle.
 
Cars are a broken sac.

I've been working in dealerships for 10 years, previously I joined IM.

Well, we as people are allowed to have passions.
You are also allowed to jump from a cliff.

Technically, you are allowed to do whatever you want.

This doesn't reverse the fact that cars are delusory broken piggy bank

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill
 
I think the issue is that you want to follow guru's advice instead of making a decision on your own. From financial point of view yes cars can be seen as depreciating assets if you only looking at one point of view. If you look at the entire picture some people need cars to operate their lives on depending where they live. Whatever guru's advice might be doesn't matter to someone that lives 20+ miles away from work with no public transportation options. They will have to get a car one way or another and regardless of what kind of financial burden it might have. People will buy whatever they can afford, some will buy junk and it will break and they will have to spend more money on this financial liability. What about people that purchase cars to use for their jobs directly? I knew a guy that had to buy brand new equivalent of Lincoln Town Car every year to drive for an exclusive NYC car service with celebrity clients. He would buy brand new model, use it for a year and sell it at loss and repeat process all over again. Unlike guru's that often look at things only from one perspective others look at it from many. My whole point is that you can have depreciating assets, and there are many types of them that we all have already while using them for other purposes that outweigh depreciating factor.
 
Do what makes you happy if you want a car or whatever get one overall but cars do lose value normally quick once they leave your dealership unless you get rare sort of car often or cool older style one which I prefer normally .
 
If you really need one for your daily life? you must buy it if you can afford it.
 
Where I live, public transport is more expensive than driving a car. So yeah, in my situation a car isn't a waist of money. And with a car you can go anywhere you want at any hour with any luggage.
 
IMO a car is not a waste of money, but a luxurios one is. Also depends on where you are living and if public transport is more expensive than private transport.
 
Where I live, public transport is more expensive than driving a car. So yeah, in my situation a car isn't a waist of money. And with a car you can go anywhere you want at any hour with any luggage.
Wow , that's what I'd call a dystopia.
 
Depends on your income, the country you live in and lots of other things like the price of petrol and all sort of things. If you are absolutely in need of a car, go for it. If not it's better to use public transportation and bicycle to save money and invest in other useful things.

But at the end of the day it totally depends on your situation.
 
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