CARS AND
MONEY
Cars and Your
Money on The Money Café
Car sickness is the
feeling you get when the monthly payment is due.
— Author Unknown
A good
car is important. I used to get migraine
headaches when I drove a Chevy.
— from the movie Local
Hero
The Best
Advice Ever for Buying a Used
Car
If you are thinking of buying a used car,
here is some advice that can help you save a lot of money:
When searching while considering buying that
used car, you can read Consumer
Report magazine or Phil Edmundson's book
Lemon Aide for some great
advice.
This advice, however, is overshadowed by a
bit of advice from Larry Lujack: "When buying a used car,"
Lujack declared, "punch the buttons on the radio. If all the
stations are rock and roll, there's a good chance that the
transmission is shot."
More
Car-Buying Tips
Buy a used car with
the same caution a naked man uses to climb a
barbed-wire
fence.
— Author Unknown
When going to buy a
new car, dress like you can't afford it.
— Author Unknown
What a Man's Car Says about His
Personality — For Those
about to Buy a New or Used
Car
If you think
nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of
car payments.
— Earl Wilson
See
The Blue Porsche Boxster
Challenge
Michael Enright, host of CBC radio's
This Morning, recently stated that
city dwellers who purchase sports utility vehicles "must be
(mentally) arrested or not highly evolved."
Given that only a small fraction of sports utility vehicle
(SUV) owners actually use their vehicles to go camping,
hunting, or to other difficult-to-get-to locations, I tend to
agree with him. SUVs are nothing more than status symbols that
many insecure people feel pressured into buying. These
oversized, overpriced, overrated, and overbuilt supertoys are
designed to boost weak identities, while increasing the profits
of the auto manufacturers and salesmen's commission's at the
purchasers' expense.
You
may be a redneck if . . . you have spent more on
your pickup truck than on your education.
— Jeff Foxworthy
The SUV is a classic example of how people's
unfulfilled emotional needs influence them to purchase things
that they absolutely don't need, and in most cases can't even
afford. It's not only SUV owners who attempt to use their
automobiles to boost their image and self worth. Most people
value their vehicles for a lot more than transportation. To
many people with weak identities, a flashy vehicle is a
necessity. It is a status symbol, an extension of power, and an
ego builder.
Broke
is not having one penny saved, even though you have a
good job. If your car breaks down, so will you. You
don't have money for repairs, but you need the wheels
to get to work.
— Suze Orman
This
is not an abandoned vehicle.
— Bumper sticker on the back of a parked rusted-out
jalopy
Before you go out and spend a lot of money
on car, perhaps you should give consideration to what
psychological problems are driving you to purchase the
particular car that you have in mind. This could save you a lot
of money — likely cash that you don't have on had right
now.
Graham Masterton, a self-proclaimed sexpert
and author of Up All Night and Wild Sex for New
Lovers, concludes that the car a man owns is
indicative of his personality traits and how he perceives
himself in and out of bed. Here are the cars and the respective
men who drive them.
- Humvees: "Men who drive
around in Humvees," says Masterton, "might as well have a
placard on their backs saying: 'I am extremely worried that
you might think I have a small willy."
- The
SUV (best known as Stupid Unexplained
Vehicle): Masterton says, "Monstrous, flashy SUVs are
indicative of men who are using their transportation in an
effort to look more virile than they really are."
- Red Hot Sports
Car: According to the expert, a man
who drives a $100,00 sports car thinks more about himself
than anyone else.
- Low Power,
Save-the-Planet Mobiles: Masterton
says, "These men have lost any hunter-killer instincts that
make men exciting and desirable — and their mothers still
buy their underwear."
- Junkers: Masterton advises
that women should beware men who drive very eccentric
vehicles, or junkers filled with discarded KFC boxes and
empty pop cans. "They may give you a very unusual one-night
stand and make very good friends, but they tend to become
obsessive."
- Luxury
Sedan: "A man who is confident,"
declares Masterton, "drives a stylish and discreetly
powerful automobile that is luxurious on the inside."
To get back on your
feet, just miss two car payments.
— Author Unknown
Harvey
Mackay, author of Swim With the
Sharks and a multi-millionaire in his own
right, gives us some good new car burying
advice: "I suppose
there are people with real money who drive Cadillacs and
Mercedes. I don't know many. As long as practically anyone
can own one of these so-called prestige cars, who's going to
be impressed? It you can afford a fancy car, you make more
of an impact driving an ordinary
one."
Some More New Car Buying
Advice
You May Not Need to Buy That New or
Used Car If You Have Higher Self-Esteem Than Others
Have
Here is my new car buying advice adapted
from a book called Zen I Got
Rich that I wrote but never published:
As a testimony to the emotional involvement
that most North Americans have with their automobiles, some
individuals admit that they value their cars more than human
beings close to them. In response to one survey, the majority
of young male adults said they would part with their
girlfriends much faster than they would part with their
automobiles.
Another consumer survey concluded that approximately half of
automobile purchasers saw their car as a reflection of who they
are either "a lot" or to "some" degree. A little over a quarter
(26 percent) said that their car was "not at all" a reflection
of their identities. To the untrained eye, the figure for the
"not at all" category could be somewhat misleading.
No
other man-made device since the shields and lances of
the ancient knights fulfills a man's ego like an
automobile.
— Sir William Rootes (later Lord) (1894-1964), British
automobile manufacturer. Quoted in: "Who Said That?" 14
Jan. 1958, BBC-TV.
Of course, psychologically healthy
individuals whose emotional well-being isn't tied to their
automobiles would fall into this group. However, the group
would also include individuals who are driving clunkers due to
financial restraints. In the event they encountered a higher
cash flow, most clunker owners would trade up for something
newer and classier in an attempt to enhance their
identities.
I
don't even like old cars . . . I'd rather have a goddam
horse. A horse is at least human, for God's sake.
— J. D. Salinger
Some people feel that the automobile, more
than anything else including one's house, is the possession
that is most noticed by others as a measure of one's power,
status, wealth, and success. Thus, they purchase the most
expensive car that their credit rating will allow, so that they
can make a bold statement about themselves.
Clearly, a flashy and expensive car in today's credit-crazed
world doesn't indicate the owner's true financial status.
Especially to the trained eye, an expensive car is a better
measure of how far away the owner is from being a
psychologically healthy individual and the amount of debt in
which he or she is immersed.
The
sports car and sailboat are investments for my
retirement. I'm using them to attract a woman who
support me in my old age.
— Glasbergen talking to financial consultant in
cartoon
The biggest problem with status seeking
through automobiles is that most people can't afford the cars
they are driving. In fact, they don't even have a clear idea of
how much their cars actually cost them.
For example, a modestly priced newer car, such as a Taurus,
costs an average of $360.00 a month to run in the U.S. People
in a higher tax bracket will find that they have to gross at
least $500.00 a month to net the $360.00 required to operate
the car.
A car
can massage organs which no masseur can reach. It is
the one remedy for the disorders of the great
sympathetic nervous system.
— Jean Cocteau
Of course, for an ego-serving SUV or luxury
car, the depreciation, fuel, insurance, and maintenance
costs are much higher. The bottom line is that flashy cars
feed weak identities and drive away big money. Sadly, in an
attempt to connect with other humans through their
automobiles, most people are driving vehicles that they
can't really afford and definitely don't need.
Advertising has us chasing cars and
clothes, working jobs we hate, so we can buy shit we
don't need.
— from the movie Fight Club (1999)
As I found out not so long ago, it's easy to
get seduced into a love affair with a vehicle that one
doesn't need. Because my twelve-year-old Taurus needed
repairs, I was considering the purchase of a one- or
two-year-old Toyota Camry. A dealership close to my home
happened to have such a car. During the test drive, I was
impressed by the car's smooth ride, acceleration, and
general feel compared to my Taurus.
Having allowed myself to be overcome by the car's features and
modern gadgetry, I was seriously considering buying the Camry
for $21,000. I had the funds in the bank, so money was no
problem.
Then, out of curiosity, I happened to ask the salesman what he
drove. To my surprise, he told me that he found a
dealer-subsidized demonstrator too expensive; instead, he drove
a 1984 Olds Cutlass that he recently purchased for $950.
No
illusion is more crucial than the illusion that
great success and huge money buy you immunity from
the common ills of mankind, such as cars that won't
start.
— Larry McMurtry
Fortunately, not being a big fan of vanity
and stupidity, I was able to resist the temptation to
purchase the Camry. More than anything, the salesman's
revelation that he drove an older used car helped me decide
against spending money on something I could do without.
Instead, I booked the Taurus into the local technical school
for front-end and transmission work to be done by students
under the supervision of licensed instructors.
Mechanical work that would have cost me $3500 at a repair shop
ended up costing me $1100. I am still driving this car and
don't feel inferior to the SUV and luxury car owners of this
world. In fact, I occasionally kick my Taurus when I get out of
it in front of the coffee bar to show the "arrested and not
highly evolved" status seekers the benefits of owning such a
car. I certainly don't worry about someone denting or
scratching it.
Automobiles are free of egotism, passion,
prejudice and stupid ideas about where to have dinner.
They are, literally, selfless. A world designed for
automobiles instead of people would have wider streets,
larger dining rooms, fewer stairs to climb and no
smelly, dangerous subway stations.
— P. J. O'Rourke
Just because a car is older doesn't mean
that it is no longer functional, acceptable, or out of place. I
have never owned a new car and I know many well-to-do people
who have never owned one either. Indeed, 27 percent of
millionaires resist the temptation to purchase new cars. They
realize that a new car is old the day the owner drives it off
the lot. These savvy millionaires prefer to purchase something
that is two or three years old and have a more
psychologically-deprived person take the big hit on the first
few years of depreciation.
I
think that cars today are almost the exact equivalent
of the great Gothic cathedrals: I mean the supreme
creation of an era, conceived with passion by unknown
artists, and consumed in image if not in usage by a
whole population which appropriates them as a purely
magical object.
— Roland Barthes
In contrast to the mass of car owners who
drive vehicles far above what they can afford, most wealthy
people show their psychological maturity by driving cars worth
a lot less than their wealth allows them to buy. Take for
example Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Airlines and owner
of a $3.5-billion company. Branson recently told a reporter, "I
don't own a Rolls-Royce, because, really, any car will do to
get you around town."
If you must drive an expensive car to feel
good about yourself, at least least make sure you can afford
it. Save for one until you can buy it for cash. By the time you
have saved sufficient funds, you may have found a better way to
fulfill the emotional needs that were driving you to purchase a
car you don't need.
The
reason American cars don't sell anymore is that they
have forgotten how to design the American Dream. What
does it matter if you buy a car today or six months
from now, because cars are not beautiful. That's why
the American auto industry is in trouble: no design, no
desire.
— Karl Lagerfeld (b. 1938), German-born French fashion
designer. Quoted in: Vanity Fair (New York, Feb.
1992).
As I found out with the Camry, not wanting
something is as good as owning it, and a lot less trouble.
Incidentally, my friend Joy purchased a two-year old Camry
similar to the one I was going to buy. She is making payments
of $450 a month and working twelve hours a day to pay for it.
At the same time, I am working five hours a day and enjoying
life much more.
To the extent that you are psychologically healthy, and realize
that the most expensive car you can finance won't enhance your
inner well-being, will determine whether you purchase an
automobile primarily for function or for status. The decision
to downscale expenditures on automobiles can be one of the most
important financial decisions you ever make. Buy something
practical and conservative and you will be much better off.
Having a big car
doesn't mean that you have money. It usually means that
you have a big shallow ego and no money.
— Author Unknown
If you start doing this early on in life,
you can use the savings to purchase a more comfortable home,
something that gives you a much higher return on your money.
Alternatively, you can invest the money to build long term
wealth so that you can be far ahead of the pack in attaining
financial freedom.
If you are an individual with high self-esteem, you will look
at your automobile as a means of transportation, and nothing
much more. Forget about it being a status symbol with which you
attempt to make a statement about yourself. What are you saying
about yourself if you need a flashy automobile to impress
people? There is also the question of the type of people, if
any, that you are you going to impress.
Are you considering buying a new or used car
in the near future?
If you are, you may want some new
car buying advice from Liz Pulliam
Weston
"If you're constantly
broke and can't figure out why, the answer may be sitting
in your driveway.
Americans are spending
more on their vehicles than ever before — more than $8,000
a year on average —and it's driving some to the breaking
point.
Credit counselor Bill
Thompson of Jacksonville, Fla., estimates that one out of
every four clients his agency sees has overspent —
sometimes dramatically — on a car."
See: Your Car May Be the
Reason You're Broke
Cool Car
Resources
- The Auto
Trader: Find the car
you want. Search over 3 million new cars and used cars.
Sell a car, find local car dealers, and research all
things automotive.
-
-
Edmunds.com: This
car website provides True Market Value pricing,
unbiased car reviews, ratings, and expert advice
to help you get a fair deal on a used car.
-
-
-
-
Auto
Trader for Canada:
Canada's Biggest Resource of Used Cars and Other
Automobiles. Select the car you are looking for
by Region.
More
Quotations about Cars and
Money
One day an American worries about going to the
poorhouse, and the next day he buys a new
automobile.
— Author Unknown
By the time a man can
afford to buy one of those little sports cars, he's too
fat to get into it.
— Author Unknown
In business, I loved cars. I couldn’t wait to get to
work in the morning. Only in America can you decide to
get a good education and pursue what you like.
— Lee Iacocca
A new car isn't a barometer of how much money a
fellow has, but it's a pretty good indication of how
much money he owes.
— Author Unknown
Never lend your car to
anyone to whom you have given birth.
— Erma Bombeck
Man who run in front of car get tired; man who run
behind car get exhausted.
— Chinese proverb
I can walk. It's just
that I'm so rich I don't have to.
— Alan Bennett
A cheap old car can be quite annoying. But so can a
new expensive one.
— Author Unknown
Rules
in the World of Motoring
Here are some tips about driving a car in foreign
lands as reported in The New York Times;
- You can rent a car in China but if you want to drive it
you need a Chinese driver's license.
- In Spain, if you wear glasses, by law you have to carry
an extra pair with you in case the first pair is
broken.
- Sounding your car horn in Finland is illegal except in
cases of immediate danger.
- In Switzerland, if you are behind two or more cars at a
traffic light, you are required to turn off your
engine.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 by Ernie J.
Zelinski
All Rights
Reserved
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