[ojungoon]

After a long debate between e92 335i VS G37, I decided to just go for a BMW
However, there's a +$250/month premium if I were to lease the 335i in favor of G37. The budget might be the onlything that could hold me back on the purchase!!!

So my question to all 335i owners out there...
HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU GUYS MAKE???
What's your yearly household income????

I know this is a very sensitive subject so I don't mind getting flamed for this.
For some of you who don't mind giving out this information...
Help a brother out!!!!!

by the way here is my info:
25 years old, single, self employed...
$70,000 post taxes...

[ctgazer]

no disrespect, but maybe you should take out some packages from the 335 if you cannot afford...like no sport, or no navi, or no premium or CA or whatever...

[cshen]

What do you do.. Selling drugs?

[achien]

Recommended minimum entry level - 6 figures...

[scoop]

I sure as hell ain't making $70K AFTER taxes.
But then my wife and I have two houses and a cottage -- which is to say if I was 25 wouldn't be putting all that dough on a stupid car that will be worth half as much as you paid for it after four years.

[sparkyg]

Pull the Nav, drive to Calgary and get a better deal

Better yet, get a 135i and have an original car that is not on the road yet

[peazs]

wow, 70K post taxes and 25? i don't see you having a problem affording it

[spacedogg]

You could get a 328i instead...which is what I did (well a 325i anyway).

Affordability is all relative anyway.

[Bimmerista]

Well, I make considerably more than you do, own a home and over-contribute to my RRSP.

And despite that I I got a 328...................


Now if you really want it do it, however, ....OK, you could, but starting lower will also get you something to look forward to trading up to.

[darkcloud]

I live in Ohio which is obviously not Canada and your prices are a tad higher then ours but here goes....

I'm 24 and make your salary prolly even a little better. I started low with a 06 325i and hardly any options at the time to keep my payment down. Frankly, I just wanted the damn car and could care less what it came with. Anyways I'm extremely happy I went this route because it has now given me something to aspire towards. I'm currently eying up a E90 M3 as my next ride in 2009-2010, if that fails a heavily loaded 335i will suffice.

Obviously do what you want within your means. But don't stretch yourself over a car. Also if you start that high you'll be pretty upset when you can't upgrade on the next car or if your that unlucky to have to downgrade, ugh.

My suggestions keep things simple on the 335i. Or get a nicely equiped 328i and look forward to the M3.....

[peazs]

hot damn i must aspire to make as much as you guys do within a few years
what professions?

[darkcloud]

^^^I work for my family business. My dad started it 25 years ago. We do legal delivery. Service of summons, court orders, subpoena, etc. The foreclosure boom has helped the business as well.

I can't complain, other peoples misfortunes are my fortunes haha.

[ehhhwik]

Originally Posted by cshen

What do you do.. Selling drugs?

if he was in drug dealing, he would make $700,000 (no tax) a month, at least in Vancouver

but i would get the individual series armoured protection version of the 750il than a 3 series

[bmw101]

If you ever finance a bmw you should know that you need fill out some forms regarding your salary and etc. The minimum I was suggested to put was at least $60,000 (before taxes). So 70k to 90k should be reasonable. Leasing is a bit different.

[ojungoon]

Wow!!! Thanks for all the great suggestions.
135i sounds like a great idea... Only if it was a little bit more attractive.

My parents were kind enough to help me purchase a car 5 years ago,
a 02 RAV4! Even though i had no choice, it was good enough to help me commute back and forth from my school.
however, driving that car for 5 yrs......NO FUN!!!!
time to move on to a bimmer!!!

328i also sounds like a good alternative, but wouldn't work for me. Im not a hardcore enthusiast like some of u guys in this forum. However, when i decide to purchase something I always tend to go for the top of the line. I know it sounds stupid but thats just the way I am. I just can't stand regreting after spending 50k for a 328i. (im NOT saying it is a bad car, dont get me wrong)

Oh by the way if I was actually dealing drugs... I would most likely be chilling in F430 forums

[RBP]

Many people making less than you will tell you you're rich and you can easily afford the car. Many people making more than you will tell you that you can't afford the car.

"Able to pay for" and "afford" are two very different things.

If all you want out of life is a nice car...then get the 335. If you want to have a nice house and the freedom of an early retirement then I'd say get something much cheaper than either of those 2 cars. At 25, you can't see very far down the maturity road...but in about 10 years, you'll look back and wonder why you don't have very much saved. Saving early in life cannot be replaced. If you put away $20K a year now and invest it...it will be the equivalent of investing $100K a year 15-20 years from now. If you start saving now....when you hit 45, you can start looking at Ferrari's and thank your younger self. If you start now, save around $20K per year for the next 25 years...you'll have nearly $3 million at age 50. If you wait till you're 35 and save the same $20K per year...you'll only have maybe $800K saved. Before you get the big mortgage and kid expenses....I would suggest you save as much as you can in the early years. Once you have the cash...there will be lots of time to buy fancy cars.

[!Xoible]

70k post taxes? ur rich as fuck man! wth u complaining about?!!!

[ojungoon]

HEY RBP!!!! Thanks for the great suggestions...!!!
by the way...
I honestly didn't know that if you could save 20k for 25 yrs it will be worth
$3 Million.....
HOLY CRAP!!!
Should have paid more attention when I was taking all those courses in UNI

[RBP]

I've seen a lot of people go the 'nice car and worry about retirement later' route...and by the time they got in to their late 30s...they had absolutely nothing saved outside of a bit of home equity. They start to hit the panic button but their expenses are so high (kids mostly) and they're so used to spending 101% of their income that they can't get ahead. When those folks hit 50 they will be absolutely screwed and won't be able to retire until their 70s and certainly won't be able to afford the comfortable retirement lifestyle we all crave.

Even if you saved $20K a year for 10 years (you are now 35)...that would be worth about $341,000 (I'm always assuming around a 10% return which has been the average of the stock market for a very long time and that it is put in to an RRSP i.e. tax deferred). If you then never saved another dime after age 35...by the time you were 50 you would have about $1.5 million. By the time you hit 65, you would have about $6.7 million.

I don't know anyone at my age (36) who wishes they had bought a nicer car in their 20s...but I know a lot of people who wish they had saved more.

[ojungoon]

Wow....
this thread is turning out to be a great life lessons for youngster like me...
you guys are making me not want to buy a car now

[ehhhwik]

well, i know i am only 21, but heres my experience with financial planning, i've been active on the stock market since i was 19, starting with not too much money (around $15,000), im very risky in all my investments (ie. big gains & big losses), i just thought that i was young and had nothing to lose (no kids, wives, mortages, debts, etc), with the way the stocks are performing in the last few years, i made pretty good capital gain in all my stock investments (never had to lose a penny so far in the stocks i sold)

so i was able to afford my e92 328i and all its costs of running it, and although i am leasing, i can use my gains in my stock investments per month to pay for the monthly payments and still be left with a small amount left to do what ever the hell i want (ie. car mods, clothes, shoes, other useless stuff) and basically use my pay cheque from work to pay for my daily expenses and put 50% of my pay cheque in a high savings acct (4%)

so its really up to you guys whether or not to buy an expensive car, but its just depends on how you go about planning your future and how to invest for retirement, but honestly, saving lots of money for retirement is important, but knowing how to properly invest money is way more important, because making money with money is way easier than making money with your own hands (ie. a job)

i have personal experience (i work at a bank) with seeing people in serious debt when they are over 50 and some other people who have net assets of over $10million, all in real estate, investments, etc

[bmw101]

LOL. Life lessons?! Everyone is different. One can only say so much from their experience. Whether they apply to you or not is a different story. The bottom line is to know what you are doing.

The rule of thumb is to never spend more than 20-25% of all your money.