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Comments
Oh no, now I have something else to look forward to in a few more years. I won't want to buy a new car ever again.
second is talking about your afflictions and third is scoping out all those senior discounts at various establishments
That's funny. My mother is in a retirement type place and so much talk is about afflictions and what medications everyone is on. That's ok and normal up to a point, but when that makes up 95% of the conversation it's time for me to leave. If I ever do that I hope they pull the plug.
The discounts available is a good third one....that sounds pretty accurate too.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
We bought 2 cars in 2008. They both have less than 30,000 miles on them. I'll trade in one or both if you give me $10000 on each toward a new one. Then I can give you a good sales story.
Either that, or we have to send isell back to work again.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Don't believe a word of that BS. I'm over 65 and still love buying a car every three or four years. Hell, I'm looking at houses again. We love to move every 3-5 years. Though our bodies try to tell us differently, age is a state of mind. My close friends are still as active and vibrant as they ever were. The one thing that age has given us in a positive way is the ability to purchase without worry. As Makola says, many of us have pensions and savings. We can buy cars and take trips. The younger generation may never have this opportunity---thanks to Washington, D.C.
Richard
I'm watching oil prices and availability currently so if a Volt (if they ever bring it) becomes the only option I may be down to 2 since they're a little spendy.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
But thats presuming no car is totaled or stolen or anything like that.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Oh, that's reasonable! :P :P
How about if you buy yourself an iPad, take it and your offer to the showroom then report back to us on how your negotiations went. I'm sure you'll have a great tale to tell. We'll all be waiting.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
You still may need two cars in retirement. We do. My wife goes to meetings and things while I'm off to another place at the same time. Also, if something happens to one car, it's nice to have a second as Plan B.
Richard
Certainly, if I knew how to work an i pad I would do that. I guess I could just carry it in to the showroom and use it to intimidate the sales guy.
Maybe see what I could find on line while he is trying to club me.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
iPad - This is a tablet "computer", but not quite as robust as a full fledged computer. With a 9" screen, it comes in two versions - WiFi (which means you can use it anywhere you find a wireless network) or WiFi + 3G (which means you can use it anywhere there is a wireless network, and where there is no wireless, it will run on AT&T's cellular 3G network). Within each of those versions, it comes in three different storage sizes for storing movies, pictures, music, and apps - 16gig, 32gig, and 64 gig. It does not have a camera, nor can it make phone calls. It is great for web browsing, sending e-mail, listening to music, watching movies and using it for whatever programs you download from the App Store. Editing some basic documents is OK, but since the keyboard is on-screen it gets tedious after a while. Both my Dad and Fiancee have one and love it.
iPhone - If you put this next to an iPad, you'll think its almost its baby brother. The major differences here? The screen is 3.5" v. 9" (I believe) on the iPad, and it can be used as, wait for it, a cellular phone. It comes in two storage sizes, 16gig and 32 gig, and as of now can only be used on AT&T wireless here in the US. You can do pretty much everything you can do on the iPad, plus you can take pictures, video chat and there are some programs for it dedicated for use on an iPhone.
Does that help clarify things a bit? This is just a crash course, and they are obviously capable of other things, but for the sake of brevity I'll limit it to this.
Richard - the BlackBerry product line is made by a competitor of Apple, Research in Motion (RIM), and is a direct competitor to the iPhone. Arguably, the BlackBerry really shines in the corporate world because of how secure the software is, but it is becoming very very antiquated with each passing year.
To keep this car related, when shopping for my BMW I was able to view the mobile website for the dealership on my phone (another iPhone competitor on Sprint) on-the-go. It was great to be able to show them "no, in fact your asking price is $13,900 not $15,900." I was also able to view the CarFax report while I was on the lot and looking it over. If my Dad's iPad was the 3G version, I would have taken it just for the shock value of having edmunds open.
I saw a guy in Vegas with one this past summer. He couldn't put it down. He was constantly checking his emails and facebook. That's obsessive (plus you can still do all of that on an iPhone).
The better deal is a MacBook....bigger screen, real keyboard, enough power to do real work on one. Then, get a cell phone.
As far as this group of the car buying public, I sincerely think it's our generation. I think I may be a little on the low side, age-wise compared to your guys :P
However, I talk to my son's friends, and none of them have a clue, nor any plan of how to finance their future. They're so educated, but have no plan to buy a house. No plan to give themselves a financial cushion for unexpected (or even expected) events in their lives.
I do think we were/are a generation of planners. Family planning. Career planning. Financial planning. Etc. Most, if not all, of our disposable income was saved, not spent (which seems to be something that's lost in subsequent generations) in the past.
Now, when we've got our children grown, have some disposable income that isn't needed for college, house payments, credit cards, etc, we get to take nice trips, and buy nice cars.
Funny, I was listening to an NPR show on the radio yesterday. It was about the "toxic mortgage investments" from a couple of years ago. The people who actually invested in those toxic investments were looking for their winning lottery ticket. Instead of building wealth in the slow, consistent, methodical method most of us employed, those investors wanted tried the "gimme it now" approach. It ended up being a pyramid scheme. The people who got in at the beginning (institutional investors, the "crooks" who devised toxic mortgages to begin with) are the only ones who made money. The rest? Well, they are the younger folks who thought they found a short cut to the pot of gold. These are the same MBA grads who came up with derivatives that doomed Wall Street, even today.
off soap box!
That covers the entire spectrum. (my questions)
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
Yes, firfighter, that was a great explanation of the differences...even I could understand it.
Tidester should be happy too, you used your i Pad to help buy a car. An actual sales story!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I sent Ford a registered letter after that show exposed them and asked why they repainted evryone else's truck for free yet are holding their grd in not reimbursing me what they charged me 5 mo earlier, and they never responded. Not even a corporate response.
There are 3 Fords I like right now. I guess you guys (those who are/were salesmen) would be upset with me if I chose one and took the sale right to the (almost) very end, at which point, I inform them that the sale might continue but not until:
a) they respond to my letter dated 20 years earlier, and
b) reimbursed me every cent, and
c) including interest....and while recent interest rates might not have broken their bank, the first decade might hurt a little. I'm thinking as an amortized schedule my Fusion would have a huge financial dent already taken care of.....by me....20 years it's Junior.
and
d) apologize to me for taking advantage of a previously loyal Ford customer, and this apology would have to be convincing.
I know I owe you all a sales story or two...that oughta make up for a few..
Those same guys are buying all the classic Vettes at the tv auto auctions. When is the last time anyone has seen a hot young blonde driving a new Corvette? Even if they had the money, they buy Beemers. The world as I knew it is gone forever.
As soon as the iPhone comes to Verizon (which I hope it does), I'll pick one up. AT&T coverage where I go is spotty at best. I use an iPod Touch (like an iPhone without the phone part but same size) for study aids and things like that for school that I can use when I'm traveling.
Regarding the planning of my generation - you're 100% right. I have friends who went to work right out of undergrad a year ago, who have decent jobs, but rather than saving money for things like a downpayment on a house, spend it as soon as it comes in. It drives me crazy. I've been saving money since I started working during the summers when I was 13. My two biggest purchases? An engagement ring and the downpayment on my car. I'm back to saving again, and have no intentions of spending it unless something emergent comes up.
I'm lucky enough to have very little/no debt because my parents have and still are providing quite a bit for me in addition to going to state universities with in-state tuition and many scholarships. I have no sense of entitlement from it, and am appreciative of everything I have gotten. I understand the importance of saving, budgeting wisely, and planning for the unexpected. I'm clearly in the minority at my age and it shows. I hope however, my financial prudence and hard work now in grad school will pay off later. Only time will tell!
Speaking of financial prudence, I have several friends who recently purchased their first cars and I assisted them with it. These guys drive under 5000 miles a year since we live in the city, and had to take out some loans to buy a used car under $10,000. Since they are recent grads with good credit, I suggest they take advantage of a low mileage lease from subaru rather than buying a 7-8 year old toyota/honda. They get a new car, build their credit, and don't have to worry about anything except basic maintenance. Not to mention, it'll be amazing in the snow. No dice.
The one bought a 2002 Corolla with 80,000 miles against my advice, overpaid for it in my opinion at $7000, and just had to put another $1000 into it. The salesguy hated me, because I could see it had bodywork even though he swore it didn't and I flat out told him the car was overpriced. I really dislike used car dealers.
For what he paid for it, he could probably have done two 3 year leases on an Impreza, which is way longer than he is going to get out of this thing. I'm not one to talk - I bought a 2004 BMW, but at least I knew what I was getting myself into (for the most part).
To each their own.
Hey, it was a hatch, not a convertible. I'm glad those days are over. I couldn't even stoop low enough to enter/exit that car now (and it was just ten years ago).
The world as I knew it is gone forever. Ain't that the truth.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
There are consistencies, though. There are no short cuts to wealth. Even the "internet" billionaires struggled getting their companies off the ground, and subsequently putting up with the so called VCs who allegedly know so much more. I've been down that startup road, more than once. Those internet million/billionaires gave up a chunk of their lives, which some may not be willing to do.
That said,everybody has to start somewhere.
Sometimes in our zeal to make life better for our children, we do them a disservice. I know I'm guilty of it. I gave me son a 2 year old Accord for his graduation. Probably would have served him better if I had steered him in the direction of what he would need to do to buy it on his own.
Even worse, I see and hear of 18-21 somethings demanding their parents buy them that "new BMW, 350Z, etc" for their graduations. Again, those of us who succumb to that, do our children a disservice since they don't know how to attain it on their own (or how much labor it takes to pay for it, maintain it, insure it, etc).
Again, I'm guilty of it, too. Only way I know to lean those lessons is to actually experience buying the car with my own money....not just handed to me.
I would agree. One of the early iPad reviews made a similar point: people who are tech-oriented - who are comfortable with computers - will probably find the iPad to be limited & won't like it as much as a good notebook computer. This reviewer thought that the iPad's target demographic consists largely of people who find regular notebook & desktop computers to be intimidating.
Generally I agree, but in my case it would be next to last.
Africa is last.
And I'm paid to travel -- currently near Munich and enjoying it very much in spite of the dull weather. I'm driving a rental diesel VW equivalent (Skoda) with a manual transmission that I drove from Frankfurt via Switzerland over the weekend. Life is good, so long as you don't have to go places like Africa or India.
Our company does a lot of business in India, but so far I've managed to avoid it.
I quit Apple computing long ago. I tired of slower computing at a higher price with fewer applications which were offered at a higher price and a tiny amount of shareware.
But for all the technology freaks (that's a positive term) here's something new for your phone or i-pad:
STD Test? There's an App for That
British health officials are hard at work on a new app that will allow users to pee into their cell phones and find out within minutes if they have an STD.
Seriously, we could not make this stuff up if we tried.
According to The Guardian, £4 million have been invested in the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, which is creating a smartphone app that will allow users, "to put urine or saliva on to a computer chip about the size of a USB chip, plug it into their phone or computer and receive a diagnosis within minutes."
http://www.observer.com/2010/daily-transom/future-alert-std-test-theres-app
Maybe they'll even come up with a PSA test. :grin
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
You have learned some valuable lessons in life. I had to pay for my own education, and my own cars. There were times when I saw people being given these things, and I thought life would be so much easier if I was handed those things.
But, there is a price to be paid for things coming too easy. One is that you don't learn how to do it yourself, and the other is you will never appreciate it as much when you do get it.
There are a lot of posters here who prefer used cars. We have gone over that before, but, I agree with you, if you can afford it I think most people are better off buying new. I have seen a lot of people pour so much money into fixing a used car they could have bought a new one by the time they were finished. I have had a lot of used cars in my early years, and though most were good, some were not, and when I could afford it, I would strive to get a new car...just the peace of mind of a warranty and that the car would start in the morning was worth the extra cost.
Good luck, you have a lot of good values for a young person.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Hopefully the phones will be smaller if you are going to be using them to do a PSA test.....that could be uncomfortable!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Thank you. I owe everything I have and everything I am to my parents. Quirks included (ask my fiancee how she feels about my no eating or drinking in my car policy. Thanks Dad!).
Having owned a Mac PowerBook in the mid-2000s, I'm inclined to agree. You certainly pay a premium for the Apple "coolness" factor, such as it is.
Windows 7 is every bit as good as Snow Leopard, so there's even less reason to pay that premium. There are also some really good Windows notebooks, like HP's Envy, out now.
And if you're poor, or just stingy, there's my favorite free OS: Ubuntu Linux.
When I bought the Eclipse in 2008 I thought that would be my last car (new car any way) but then I bought a 2009 for my wife and a used van and a car for my son. You never know.
I'm looking with favor at the new 3.7L V-6 Mustang. 300+ HP and 31mpg. Combine that with the performance package option and you can give a BMW a run for the money. (about $20K LESS money).
If I were to pull the plug on one of those bad boys it would be around 2014 or just before the new fuel standards gut the life out of all the fun cars. I'll never forgive myself for not getting a hot car in 1970 just before the emission standard took all the fun out of cars in 1971.
BTW, I was at the auto show over the weekend and saw some nice cars. My main focus was on either the performance or the super economy models. Liked the BMW 1 which I could actually fit in for $32K. I even found a BMW 3 for only $40K.
Other performance cars included a Camaro SS with a whopping $38K price tag and the above mentioned Mustang. The Mustang displayed was pimped-out with $3200 worth of bling and called the "Dub" edition. Candy for dumb kids IMO. I didn't even look at the Porsche line (why torture myself). I wanted to sit in a Lexus I-350 but the Lexus people kept them locked lest the great unwashed masses dirty the leather. The Infinity G was nice but out of my price range.
On the other end the economy Fit @ $18K was cute but a little pricey. The Mazda 2 was roomy for a sub compact and at $15K was cheap. The winner in the cheap new car division was the Hyundai Accent under $11K. I wonder why anybody would buy a Smart car for $15K when they could have an Accent or a Mazda 2?
I may be getting a little older but I still keep looking at hot cars and pretty women. I don't stand a chance with the woman but I can always buy a car.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
There are probably quite a few of us here in the same boat.
Just ask Fintail. He can tell you all about them.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Hey its a Sebring convertible that I drive, how can you mistake a sebring for a vett?
When is the last time anyone has seen a hot young blonde driving a new Corvette?
Very often.
Even if they had the money, they buy Beemers.
Not sure about that, my observation is that most beemers are driven by fat bald old dudes or sons of fat bald old dudes.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
and the age issue is related to the cost of buying one and paying the insurance. Out of th ereach of your average 20 something. And as far as I can tell, not what interests the youngsters today.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I have to agree with you there. We were shopping for a lap top last weekend. For the price of the cheapest Mac lap top I could get a PC laptop with the same processing speed, same amount of memory and the same sized hard drive PLUS one with a faster processor, twice the memory and twice the hard disk space.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I would rather by a trophy for my wife.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I too am interested in the 2011 2012 Mustang. However, that interest fades during the cold months. Sure to return in Spring. Price isn't bad. Base with A/T $22-24k.
We're thinking of selling the Avalon to the dealer ($27,500 buy bid) and upgrading the Explorer for winter then breaking out cash and no trade for a Mustang in May.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
Also, I am proud of your attitude about saving and spending. You're doing the right things. Continue with your efforts. It will all pay off in the end. Having young people like you in America gives me hope for the future.
Richard
Richard
Richard
Richard
2001 Honda Prelude Type SH
Since we're on the topic of how many cars we have left to buy in our lifetime, I've had my Prelude for 8 1/2 years now. I bought it when I was 26 and now I'm 34. Hopefully I'll be able to afford a new car again for myself one of these days. For now, my priority is my family. So once our 2010 TSX is paid off, I'll probably assume it as a daily driver and get my wife some sort of SUV like a CPO BMW X5 or an Acura MDX. I like having only 1 car payment.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Very nice car and looks like new! I always liked those Honda Preludes and I don't know why Honda doesn't make a car in that category any more...at least I can't think of one.
I like the way you are keeping things under control with one car payment. I am getting a lot more faith in the younger generation. I sometimes wonder when a guy in a Honda Civic, who is wearing a baseball cap backwards and is sitting so far back he is almost in the back seat and just the top of his cap is showing, zig zags through traffic and cuts across a few lanes, right in front of me.(Sorry for the run on sentence grammar mavens).
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
That whole bit going on here about generations and money and planning and all is really just a some people are one way and some people are another. I don't think that for the most part it's generational. I'm a pretty decent one for keeping debt low but not good at saving this came to a particularly bad end when dad passed in December of 08. Despite the impression that the folks that got killed with the mortgage collapses in 08 were folks after a fast buck, dad got wiped out maybe a month before he died. At least he didn't know about it but it took what would have made up a lot of my own lack of planning and vaporized it. He just has great trust in an investment that had treated him well since before I was born and they picked up one bank that unknown to them (at least the extent of it) was full of toxic mortgages. I have to look at it as for me the money was never really there.
Dang, it's tough to catch up and comment here and there so I'll just pick it up from here and move forward.....
I rather like St. George, UT but the wife liked Mesquite better. Plus my sister is strongly thinking about moving there when she retires.
But mainly I want to be away from the snow, the southeast is to humid for me and I rather stay out of CA. So that pretty much leaves the Southwest.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Ah, fond memories of St. George about 5 years ago. 116 degrees and watching a wild fire from where we were staying. Pretty area though.
Now, I must say that I'm probably as satisfied with my TL as I've been with any car I've ever owned, there are still others on my radar that maybe, someday, perhaps, when Jupiter aligns with Mars, I might buy.
-new Porsche Boxter
-'98 Cobra Convertible (which I mention here from time-to-time)
-2011+ Mustang GT convertible
-"new" demo Jaguar XF
Pretty eclectic group, but those are ones that are currently on my radar.
Oh, and snake.....I like your little "star" trophy you have for your wife (big brown noser). :P
You won't have to worry about snow. I was in Las Vegas once in July and the high that day was 116. The weatherman on the TV said it would cool off the next day, just a high of 112.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I'm 32 and have already owned 10, and I want to keep that pace up.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart