How much money does one have to make a yr to afford an Exige?

[ee.engineer]

I worked for a year, saved up enough to pay for the car outright, then financed, and I would do it again if I had to

[SwingLo]

Originally Posted by VisualEchos

Are you kidding me? If people follow your advice, they'll be too damn old to be able to get in and out of a Lotus! And I'm not sure which financial institutions you're used to, but it sounds like you need to look around more.

OP: Make reasonable decisions and buy what you want. You only live once, so taste life before you're too old and wise to allow yourself to.

I can't speak for him, but what I think he's saying is that you should buy your sports car - ie, your TOYS - free and clear.

Of course, the majority of the population WILL finance two major things at any given time - their home and their cars. Most people will always have a car payment and oftentimes, it's not reasonable to think that people can come up with $20, $30, $60K in cash for a purchase - especially relatively young people.

The point is that, the sports car is a toy. A weekend toy, a track toy, a fun toy - whatever - a toy. It's typically NOT your daily driver, your grocery getter, your kiddie hauler. If you buy toys, but need to finance them, you are probably stretching. Say you have a family - let's say you have two car payments and then you add a third for the toy? That's really extending yourself.

And there isn't always a cut and dry. For example, sometimes it makes more sense to have the say $30K sitting in an an investment vehicle making say 5% and finance the car if they've got ridiculously low rates. Cost of money sort of thing.

[SwingLo]

Originally Posted by t955152

agree with VisualEchos, you only live once, might as well just have fun and live happily

a lot of people i know including me who own these cars are either students or under 30.

If you can find a way (legally ) to pay off the car and have enough money for insurance ($2200/year in my case since i'm under 25) go for it! it's a Toyota engine car after all... you don't have to worry about little parts and maintenance. Good luck and enjoy the car when you get one!

Yeah, but let's be honest. The body is an eggshell. A simple fender bender can cost $15K. And as Lotus continues it's issues, body parts may become scarce - ie, backorders on front clams.

Total cost of ownership potential kinda thing.

[t955152]

Originally Posted by SwingLo

Yeah, but let's be honest. The body is an eggshell. A simple fender bender can cost $15K. And as Lotus continues it's issues, body parts may become scarce - ie, backorders on front clams.

Total cost of ownership potential kinda thing.

That's why I said he needs insurance.


Sent from my iPhone using Autoguide.com App

[TroyNVie]

Originally Posted by BestInTheWorld

I will never buy new, so I am only interested in a second (or fourth) hand Exige 220 or 240.

Seeing some of the classifieds on this site, I can expect to pay about $50,000 for an Exige. I dont make enough in a year to pay for this, but I am wondering if most owners on here make 6 digits.

I am single, so I don't have to support anyone else but myself for now, but still... I want an Exige. I dont have super high taste or interests in expensive watches, boats. I can tell you my living expenses are around 12K.

50K is a lot, but then again, a Gallardo is only 25K more which is still my dream car.

What is a good website that helps with budgeting for things like cars, and such, and how much % of one's income is allocated?

I'm going to start by saying that I have not read the other responses, so what I write below might have already been said 9 times by other people.

You're asking the wrong question. The more pertinent question is "how much does it cost per year to own an Exige?" Then you can use that estimate to determine how much money you need to earn in order for you to afford to own one, taking into account all of your other expenses (e.g., living expenses such as those related to housing, food, etc.) and saving needs. Simply put, each person has different preferences in this regard.

We can help you the more relevant question: how much - roughly - does it cost to own a Lotus (Elise/Exige)?

Lets say for example you purchased an Exige for $50,000 and you plan on owning it for 3 years. You put down 20 percent (i.e., $10,000) and finance the rest at 1.99 percent for 5 years. The following are my rough estimates. Please keep in mind that taxes and DMV fees vary considerably by region - please adjust accordingly.

Sales Tax + DMV fees: $3,000+
Tires: $1,200
Brakes: $500
Misc. Maintenance & Expenses: $2,500
Oil Changes: $1,000
Loan Interest: $1,039
Depreciation (20%): $10,000

Total: $19,238+
Monthly (Total/36): $535+

This does not include things such as: (1) cost of insurance, which may be significantly more than your current vehicle, (2) body damage, (3) poor or insufficient credit that does not enable you to qualify for a loan with the terms described above, (4) modifications that you may be inclined to do to your car, and (5) acquisition costs, particularly if you need to drive a long distance, fly to check it out, or ship the car back (keep in mind, there is not a large supply of these cars and it's only decreasing...)

Although a small percentage of owners daily drive their cars, this undoubtedly increases the cost of ownership (e.g., more mileage, increased opportunity for body damage as well as wear and tear, all resulting in a greater depreciation cost). If you decide you need to own two cars at once, that should be a financial consideration, too.

My own personal estimate for the effective cost for my 2005 Lotus Elise, which I bought earlier this year and use as a second car, taking into account estimated maintenance and repairs, depreciation, interest on my loan, modification that I have done to the car (that typically depreciate at nearly 100 percent) and added insurance costs (I do live in the NYC area, so insurance costs are relatively high) is over $600 per month. This does not include the extra $100 per month that I spend to rent a garage to safely park the car. Please keep in mind that this is an effective price, so there are months where the cost will be as low as the loan payment plus insurance (~$465) and easily as high as the sales tax and DMV fees when purchased (~$3,000).

[ErictheBastard]

Isn't this whole thread a bit of a rhetorical question since the OP is still in the 8th grade?

[streetthrowback]

Well the irs says i make 10k a year and i have a lotus lol im cool with uncle sam like that

[Jack FFR1846]

Boy, the question really is too open ended.

The first thing I thought was that if I lived in Huntington Indiana or Bluefield, WV (places I've been to many times), I could easily be comfortable on $50k a year. In places like Boston, NY, San Francisco, San Diego, making $100k does not make you at all rich.

Your life situation makes a huge difference. If you just got out of college and have $100k in student loans and couldn't find a job in your field, so are getting by on $30k working as a manager of a Wendys, your view is going to be far different than if you have been an engineer for 27 years and never out of work.

Heck.....as a technician, I remember making $13,200 a year, but living with my parents still and considering a new car. At the time (late 70's) a new Porsche 930 would have taken a small loan, but I had most of the $25k saved up already. I opted for something slightly different.....uh....78 Chevy van, but paid in cash.

Yes.....wait till you have the cash saved up.

[Steve B in SD]

Uh-oh! When is one 'too old' to get in & out of an Exige?
Say it ain't so!
I sold my Porsche GT3 because it was almost as cushy as my Mercedes.
I didn't see any reason to have two luxury cars!
Buy it & enjoy it-- but, I recommend paying cash, as do the others here.
Debt for a depreciating asset isn't usually a good idea from a business point of view.

[SwingLo]

Originally Posted by Jack FFR1846

Boy, the question really is too open ended.

The first thing I thought was that if I lived in Huntington Indiana or Bluefield, WV (places I've been to many times), I could easily be comfortable on $50k a year. In places like Boston, NY, San Francisco, San Diego, making $100k does not make you at all rich.

Your life situation makes a huge difference. If you just got out of college and have $100k in student loans and couldn't find a job in your field, so are getting by on $30k working as a manager of a Wendys, your view is going to be far different than if you have been an engineer for 27 years and never out of work.

Heck.....as a technician, I remember making $13,200 a year, but living with my parents still and considering a new car. At the time (late 70's) a new Porsche 930 would have taken a small loan, but I had most of the $25k saved up already. I opted for something slightly different.....uh....78 Chevy van, but paid in cash.

Yes.....wait till you have the cash saved up.

'...makin' love in my Chevy van and that's alright with me'

[SwingLo]

Other key burning questions:

- What's the maximum size that women's skinny jeans should come in?
- At what age is is not longer kosher for a woman to wear the same Ugg boots as her 16 year old daughter
- On the same note, at what age does it become felonious for me to stare at the 16 year old daughter?
- Does one need to own a Ferrari to wear those cool Ferrari branded Pumas?
- At what age do I become 'the old guy' at the bar?

Discuss.

[Steve B in SD]

Well, staring at someone's 16 year old daughter can inadvertently get you into trouble when you least expect it...
best said from an episode of Seinfeld: ".... you don't stare! It's like looking at the Sun, you only glance, then look away!!!!"
When do you become 'the old guy' at the bar?
Well, I wasn't sure if I was there until a recent exchange with a friend of mine:
I was helping him move some lumber he had delivered from his driveway to his backyard. As we were moving it, we noticed the 3 young college girls that live across the street. While I was standing there ogling the pretty girls my friend asks--- "do you know what those girls see when the look over here??? hmm, no? A pile of wood, that's all..."

Ouch!

Good thing I'm not one of those guys who is always chasing the young girls. My wife is happy I'm mostly interested in women my own age.

Oh, and to answer the other questions:

As far as skinny jeans & Ugg boots go, I've seen 30 year olds that shouldn't be wearing them, but then there's some hot 50 somethings that look damn good in them! It's one of those "flaunt it if you've got it" things, and there's no real hard & fast rules about it. Sometimes viewer discretion is advised, however.

Ferrari branded shoes? well, I don't believe in being any company's billboard for free advertising. Same thing goes for those that like to wear a football jersey with some player's name on it. Why would you want to wear a jersey with someone else's name on it? Doesn't make sense to me, but, to each his/her own, of course.

[Jack FFR1846]

My 16 year old son has 2 pairs of Ferrari Pumas. One pair in red, one pair in white. Bought both at the puma outlet with a AAA card discount, a coupon and on sale. I think we paid $45 a pair (rather than $180)

[Aedo]

Originally Posted by VisualEchos

Are you kidding me? If people follow your advice, they'll be too damn old to be able to get in and out of a Lotus! And I'm not sure which financial institutions you're used to, but it sounds like you need to look around more.
...

If you believe that you are setting your sights too low

Originally Posted by SwingLo

...
And there isn't always a cut and dry. For example, sometimes it makes more sense to have the say $30K sitting in an an investment vehicle making say 5% and finance the car if they've got ridiculously low rates. Cost of money sort of thing.

This is the story your hear lots of finance people tell you... but does anyone actually finance say $30k then put $30k into an investment...

And can you get a safe investment returning 5% at the moment? Remembering that you have to pay tax on that 5% too...

In truth I think it may be possible that financing a vehicle is better than paying cash (if you can get the same purchase price for either)... but it is pretty marginal.

I have always and will always pay cash for cars - I buy what I can afford outright.

[VisualEchos]

Originally Posted by SwingLo

The point is that, the sports car is a toy. A weekend toy, a track toy, a fun toy - whatever - a toy. It's typically NOT your daily driver, your grocery getter, your kiddie hauler. If you buy toys, but need to finance them, you are probably stretching.

But it's all in how you play it.

I used my Exige as my DD for 2 years by stacking everything to make that possible (2.6 miles to work, carpool on inclimate days, my own parking space, etc.). Also, I had the money to buy the car outright, but earning 12% on the low end, and financing 3%, I got a better deal by financing. Now that the car is paid off, I'm still earning, as the car is no longer decreasing in value, ceasing to be an expense, and crossing the line to investment. I might not make any money when I finally sell, but I won't lose any, and will have driven the car for 5+ years...for free. In the car world, that's just like making money. Remember, if you're not paying 10%...it's just like you're earning it.

And I was prepared for the Exige to be a BAD investment! Who knew?

Thank you Lotus .


Wicked Sensation. by VisualEchos, on Flickr

[VisualEchos]

Originally Posted by Aedo

In truth I think it may be possible that financing a vehicle is better than paying cash (if you can get the same purchase price for either)... but it is pretty marginal.

It's pretty easy to pull 12% if you have a properly diversified portfolio, and impossibly easy to get 3% on $20-$60K if your credit is where it should be, so I'd say it's a no-brainer. Series 7, it's a nice pet to have .

[SwingLo]

I think the real question we should all be asking is 'How cool is Aloe Blacc on a scale of 1-10?'

If you don't know Aloe Blacc, you don't know soul music. Brotha is cooler than the other side of the pillow.

Figured I'd get this off track since it's a bizarre topic.

[Retsillacm]

You guys should give the kid a bit of a break.. obviously he's a bit young if he thinks budgeting is a very complicated process that requires a website and complicated chart. I'd guess 15-17 years old at most. To answer your question, there is no set amount to how much you should be making per year. What is relevant is your income to expense ratio, and how much you have left over. If you're working at taco bell, I'd say no you can't afford to buy and maintain a Lotus. It's great to have dreams and it's awesome you're considering a Lotus. In my opinion you should work on figuring out how to budget, save your money, work hard and either get a promotion or a better job, and by then you'll have a lot of money saved up. Not much fun driving a Lotus if you have to live with your parents/live in a crappy apartment/work at taco bell. Just saying you should keep your priorities in order haha.

[Zoomby_U]

If you need to ask if you can afford the car then I would say No ... you shouldn't buy one. The Exige is not an everyday car, so you will need to have something else to get around. That in effect doubles the required income to support it. A car can really be a boat anchor on your income ... so be sure you have at least 80% of the cash required to purchase one outright. Just my $.02.

Cheers,
Zoomby_U

[ee.engineer]

Originally Posted by Zoomby_U

If you need to ask if you can afford the car then I would say No ... you shouldn't buy one. The Exige is not an everyday car, so you will need to have something else to get around. That in effect doubles the required income to support it. A car can really be a boat anchor on your income ... so be sure you have at least 80% of the cash required to purchase one outright. Just my $.02.

Cheers,
Zoomby_U

100%. You want to be able to pay it off on a dime if you really need to, and still have some falling back cash.
You don't want to be one of those guys selling their cars on pennies to the dollar because you are broke and really need the money!!!
and if the Exige is anything like the elise, it is easily an everyday car. A few compromises have to be made, but it is easily doable, make sure you still have a second car though (preferably a 4 seater). There are many weather condition/events/places where the driving the elise would be a horrible idea.