BimmerFest BMW Forum banner

How high do you feel someone's salary should be before purchasing a new 05/06 M3?

  • 0 - 50K

    Votes: 21 5.6%
  • 50K - 65K

    Votes: 28 7.5%
  • 65k - 80K

    Votes: 50 13.4%
  • 80K - 100K

    Votes: 96 25.7%
  • 100K - 120K

    Votes: 71 19.0%
  • 120K and up

    Votes: 107 28.7%

Poll: Salary to afford a new E46 M3?

17K views 134 replies 55 participants last post by  jetstream23 
#1 ·
Just wanted to do a quick poll, how high do you feel someone's salary should be before purchasing a new 2005/2006 BMW E46 M3?
 
#77 · (Edited)
Rule number 1. Never get married. you should never have to ask for premission to anything. ditch the bitch

How much do I have to make to afford this car? Well? I look at it as where I spend my money. I dont have a gf, I dont out to eat, I dont go on vacations, I dont buy electronics, My rent is cheap as can be. I dont make as much as these old ass baby boomers on this board but I have a low overhead so I justify the m3 for me. (I am going used 2002)

i did put away cash with my Roth IRA and quit spending 1000s on steroids so that will go towards the car :D

I am going to live the way I want and buy what I want. If I cant afford it, I will suck it up and get rid of it.
 
#78 · (Edited)
Got rid of the wife over a year ago. :D
Its true, it all comes down to choices. I like to go on vacations and eat out, etc... so i have to make the decisions as to what i can keep doing based on my current income.
DJ_INHALE said:
Rule number 1. Never get married. you should never have to ask for premission to anything. ditch the bitch

How much do I have to make to afford this car? Well? I look at it as where I spend my money. I dont have a gf, I dont out to eat, I dont go on vacations, I dont buy electronics, My rent is cheap as can be. I dont make as much as these old ass baby boomers on this board but I have a low overhead so I justify the m3 for me. (I am going used 2002)

i did put away cash with my Roth IRA and quit spending 1000s on steroids so that will go towards the car :D

I am going to live the way I want and buy what I want. If I cant afford it, I will suck it up and get rid of it.
 
#80 ·
EdCT said:
It's not a matter of "k", it's "iq" and pick one.

Seriously dude, what a dumb question!!

There are so many factors: do you live at home with mommy and daddy, do you take trips, do you save money or just piss it away, do you have a girlfriend....

Just asking a question like this shows your priorities are, to put it kindly, out of whack.

Ed
whipped are we :lmao: :bustingup :rofl:
 
#81 ·
jetstream23 said:
Divide your salary by 3, that's the price of the car you should get !

Multiply your salary by 3, that's the value of a mortgage you should undertake for a new home assuming 20% down, no PMI and a reasonable interest rate (i.e. under 6.5%).

Doing more than that means your eyes are likely bigger than your wallet or your brain.

Of course, there are lots of assumptions here but this is my baseline.
Well, that sounds aweful responsible, unlike most Americans.

All kidding aside, my home is now worth 10x my salary ... but I bought it when it was worth 6x my salary. Did I make the right decision to buy in spite of the 3x rule? I'd have to say so. Also, didn't really have a choice in the Bay Area.

Only 1/3 of your salary on a car? Well ... that's aweful bad if you make $30k/year, you can't even buy a new car. I think that might be a little conservative, especially for a single guy. I do think it comes down to priorities though ... a car fanatic spending his annual salary on a car might make sense. The average driver who doesn't care about door dings, drives their car through the Chevron Car wash, and hasn't a clue on how to wax a car probably shouldn't spend even 1/3 of their salary on it. If my father spent $60k on a car I'd just die ... he doesn't take care of his cars.

I do think that if anybody is going to buy a $60k car, they need to have a garage to park it in. I'd recommend looking at a modest home with at least a single car garage first ... then find a way put a nice car in it.
 
#82 · (Edited)
Dumb poll, but one that will generate all opinions.

I'll say this: if you can afford one (including running costs, insurance, service etc.) then go for it! Who cares if you have a wife, 10 kids, or a $100,000,000 mortgage or girl or whatever.

I don't see anything "wrong" with someone who really loves the E46 M3, ends up getting one but compromises his/her lifestyle. Different people have different priorities. No such rule as "you must get married, have 10 kids and ... before you get the M3".

Life is short, live it to the max with whatever that gives you the max :thumbup:
 
#83 · (Edited)
If you make only $30k a year, you shouldnt buy a new car. Buy a reliable used car. Spending a lot of money on a vehicle and forgoing saving for retirement or paying off other debt is a moronic choice. Sorry, it just is. Yeah, i want an M3, but I dont want to have to scrape by or be working when im 70 just to satisfy my car craving at 38.

That being said, i cant wait till i get an M3. :D Used of course.:thumbup:

kaweahnet said:
Only 1/3 of your salary on a car? Well ... that's aweful bad if you make $30k/year, you can't even buy a new car. I think that might be a little conservative, especially for a single guy.
 
#84 ·
Ventoux said:
If you make only $30k a year, you shouldnt buy a new car. Buy a reliable used car. Spending a lot of money on a vehicle and forgoing saving for retirement or paying off other debt is a moronic choice. Sorry, it just is. Yeah, i want an M3, but I dont want to have to scrape by or be working when im 70 just to satisfy my car craving at 38.

That being said, i cant wait till i get an M3. :D Used of course.:thumbup:
I wouldn't say that's necessarily a moronic choice for everyone. If owning a car you really enjoy makes you happy in your life then it's worth it, even if that means not saving as much for retirement. If you don't have enough money to retire when you're an old fart it's not really a problem because you can always get a job at the carosel at a shopping mall and that will easily pay your bills. ;)
 
#85 ·
Well, the reality of the real world is that you can probably rationalize buying all the toys you want at a young age, without fulling understanding the pain it's going to cause you at an older age. I wouldn't for a moment put a gnat's ass worth of value in responses from other young people in this area.

But, anyway, you guys should all go back to stuffing your heads into the sand or other body orifices and justify owning a cool car now ahead of saving for a home, children's education and/or retirement.

Oh wait, forgot, Carpe diem!

Alex
 
#86 ·
650iOzBoy said:
Dumb poll, but one that will generate all opinions.
Isn't generation of opinions one of the goals of a forum?
 
#87 · (Edited)
Moderato said:
If you make 200K+ per year and you have no kids, there is no way you
would have to "justify" an M3, and that's a fact.
Depends on where you live, no? Seen the housing prices in the NYC area? Combined salary of 200K+ will probably allow you to buy a small house that's not falling apart.

Whether you're an idiot for living near NYC is another question (and a fair one) but that's a different story.
 
#88 ·
The question obviously depends on a lot of things. Marital status, kids, realty situation, other toys (boats, time shares, etc.), crap like that. So, I was liberal with my vote and went with $100k minimum. Doesn't necessarily have to be single income, either. It just depends on these other factors. For us, I'd like to have an income of about $150k before I felt totally comfortable with a well-appointed M3 given all of my other obligations.
 
#89 ·
BahnBaum said:
Well, the reality of the real world is that you can probably rationalize buying all the toys you want at a young age, without fulling understanding the pain it's going to cause you at an older age. I wouldn't for a moment put a gnat's ass worth of value in responses from other young people in this area.

But, anyway, you guys should all go back to stuffing your heads into the sand or other body orifices and justify owning a cool car now ahead of saving for a home, children's education and/or retirement.

Oh wait, forgot, Carpe diem!

Alex
How much do you suggest saving for home/retirement/children's education? I've heard save 10% for kid's education, plus like 10-15% for retirement. If you add in 25% for car, 30% for house, that's only 20% left to spend on other stuff. Plus, that's with only 1 kid... Of course, like others said, depends on where you live, how much you make, but at least the retirement savings should be done proportionally.
 
#91 ·
rumratt said:
Depends on where you live, no? Seen the housing prices in the NYC area? Combined salary of 200K+ will probably allow you to buy a small house that's not falling apart.

Whether you're an idiot for living near NYC is another question (and a fair one) but that's a different story.
Where I live 350K will buy you a fairly nice home. Nothing extravagant but acceptable. Did those type 44's work out for you?
 
#92 ·
Moderato said:
I wouldn't say that's necessarily a moronic choice for everyone. If owning a car you really enjoy makes you happy in your life then it's worth it, even if that means not saving as much for retirement. If you don't have enough money to retire when you're an old fart it's not really a problem because you can always get a job at the carosel at a shopping mall and that will easily pay your bills. ;)
Exactly my point. People want different things and hence places different valuation on things (or "utility" as those economists call it). For Ventoux, having a solid retirement is important to him/her.

As for me, this is one case in life where I do not do what I preach. I can afford the 650i without undue compromising. I'm grateful for that.
 
#93 ·
More than having a solid retirement, not having tons of debt is more important to me. Sure, people have every right to make the choices they want, but i still stand by the fact that encurring large amounts of debt for immediate satisfaction isnt smart. No matter how you try and justify it.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/04/19/earlyshow/saturday/main286725.shtml

This article suggests that debt payments shouldnt eat up more than 10-15% of income. (car included) If you make minimum monthly payments on credit card debt, you seriously need to revaluate whats going on financially in your life. Im not trying to be a jerk here, its just the truth.

There is a fantastic episode of Frontline on the history of the credit card. Its very eye opening. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/view/

As it relates to the topic, IMHO, if you carry large amounts of CC debt, if you you dont save monthly for your retirement, if you live month to month with nothing left over, then you really shouldnt own a high end automobile, not matter what kind.

650iOzBoy said:
Exactly my point. People want different things and hence places different valuation on things (or "utility" as those economists call it). For Ventoux, having a solid retirement is important to him/her.

As for me, this is one case in life where I do not do what I preach. I can afford the 650i without undue compromising. I'm grateful for that.
 
#94 · (Edited)
Ventoux said:
There is a fantastic episode of Frontline on the history of the credit card. Its very eye opening. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/view/

As it relates to the topic, IMHO, if you carry large amounts of CC debt, if you you dont save monthly for your retirement, if you live month to month with nothing left over, then you really shouldnt own a high end automobile, not matter what kind.
Thanks for that, very interesting. According to that article, I'm a "deadbeat"; never owing a cent on my plastic, but using the plastic purely for convenience. In fact, AmEx labels my (only) plastic as a "charge card", not a credit card. (AmEx has a charge card line and a credit card line). Credit cards are perhaps the worse ways of getting into persistent debt for many people.
 
#97 ·
As Dr. Evil would say, "1 Billion Dollars, Mum Mu mUhahahah!"
 
#98 ·
I'm glad I heard the word happiness. That's what it should all be about. Heck, we could all get runover by a Ford tomorrow ... so if owning a BMW today is what is going to make you happy ... why not? I just caution in trying to find happiness in material posessions. On the other hand, I'm smilin' pretty big when I'm behind the wheel of my machine.

My point is that it sure would be a shame to sacrifice and sacrifice to prepare for tomorrow, and then never get a chance to enjoy life.
 
#100 ·
wheel-man said:
In all honesty, too safely afford a car and not live for it, unless you've saved extensively over the years, the new vehicle should not be more than 1/8 of your yearly income.
Awww ... come on. That is a little extreme. That means theat people who make $80k/yr shouldn't buy a $15k car.
 
#101 ·
wheel-man said:
In all honesty, too safely afford a car and not live for it, unless you've saved extensively over the years, the new vehicle should not be more than 1/8 of your yearly income.
So if you make $100K a year, the most you can afford is a brand new Toyota Yaris?

:rofl:

--J.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top