How can you afford the cost of a new SUV?

[mountie]

For a year, I have been looking at my late-Brother's 1969 Firebird convertible to restore....

Money spent and hobby time?? Hmmm....

 

[blackelky]

At least twice a month, someone asks me if I want to sell my 2005 Yukon XL. Some drive a newer Tahoe or Yukon, or a newer truck. Just about every auto shop asks.....
Some are not aware the year models, and are surprised it's, "What?? a 2005??

If you had a choice..... a 2020 , or a clean 1970 Camaro ..... Which would you choose??

That's a fact. Everytime I bring my tahoe in for an oil change the service manager wants to buy it for himself. Hard to find clean clean 14 and down models with low mileage.

 

[vcode]

When you find a clean one from out west or down south to replace it, hit me up as a local WI resident and let's rust proof it for long term good looks

Wish I could rustproof mine as it only has 85K miles. Just starting to get pinhole bubbles in the rear fenders. Where are you located?

 

[B-train]

I get it, trust me. I felt the exact same way until retirement was visible in my headlights. When we retire we want to travel and hope to have enough money left over to live comfortably well into our 80's. If we can do that, there won't be much left. If I had saved an extra $100K by age 35, it would be worth $500K today given the average rate of return on my investments, and $1.7M when I retire at 65. I could buy a fleet of Escalades with that money.

That's not to say we don't spend money right now. We're spending $15K to take the kids (13 and 16) to France, Monaco and Italy next summer, and we travel all over the place in our camper today. All I'm saying is that I'm happier with a loaded '07 Yukon XL than I would be with a new Escalade ESV. I know this because every time I spent a small fortune on a new car (Land Rovers, BMW's), the feeling wore off in a matter of months. And I absolutely love squeezing every bit of value out of my Yukon now. My neighbors all have cars less than 2 years old and they compliment me all the time on how well I keep our Yukons (we have two).

And I know that's just me, and it's not for everybody, but aging and having friends with money has changed my perspective. My friend Charlie is a partner in a law firm at 60 and makes bank. He buys used cars and drives them into the ground. He currently has an '04 Isuzu Rodeo he bought when it was 10 years old and loves it. Before that was a '95 Nissan Maxima he drove for 15 years. My friend Scotty was a sales rep for telco equipment and retired with several million in the bank a few years ago at 60. He drives '06 and '09 Suburbans. My friend Bill is an investor with millions and drives an old Subaru. The two things they all have in common is total freedom to spend their time however they want traveling, and they don't spend money on depreciating assets.

That was a great reply. It paints a good picture of how frugality can pay-off in the long run. The act of writing $80k checks to keep up with the Jones's will keep a person hooked to the work cart FOREVER.

 

[ClaytonW]

If I had a $120K annual income and needed a car with so much space, I would buy a new Toyota Sienna for about $45K. Siennas are reliable, and I would keep it for 10+ years. It's the best value for the money. You won't get much more for a 40 or 50K higher price with a new Yukon. Yes, Super Cruise on my Yukon XL Denali is great, but is it really worth so much more?

 

[Doubeleive]

We should thread vacation driving experiences in Member's Only, or someplace, ??

Places I'd like to go ( North of Florida, etc ) but no clue for when or where....

if you like toll roads, lol get a fast pass or something, otherwise prepare to stop and fork it over every so many miles...or if you exit and get back on
at least in the mid-east coast area anyway

 

[B-train]

Wish I could rustproof mine as it only has 85K miles. Just starting to get pinhole bubbles in the rear fenders. Where are you located?

Southern WI. Just north of the IL border near lake Geneva

 

[DuraYuk]

I get it, trust me. I felt the exact same way until retirement was visible in my headlights. When we retire we want to travel and hope to have enough money left over to live comfortably well into our 80's. If we can do that, there won't be much left. If I had saved an extra $100K by age 35, it would be worth $500K today given the average rate of return on my investments, and $1.7M when I retire at 65. I could buy a fleet of Escalades with that money.

That's not to say we don't spend money right now. We're spending $15K to take the kids (13 and 16) to France, Monaco and Italy next summer, and we travel all over the place in our camper today. All I'm saying is that I'm happier with a loaded '07 Yukon XL than I would be with a new Escalade ESV. I know this because every time I spent a small fortune on a new car (Land Rovers, BMW's), the feeling wore off in a matter of months. And I absolutely love squeezing every bit of value out of my Yukon now. My neighbors all have cars less than 2 years old and they compliment me all the time on how well I keep our Yukons (we have two).

And I know that's just me, and it's not for everybody, but aging and having friends with money has changed my perspective. My friend Charlie is a partner in a law firm at 60 and makes bank. He buys used cars and drives them into the ground. He currently has an '04 Isuzu Rodeo he bought when it was 10 years old and loves it. Before that was a '95 Nissan Maxima he drove for 15 years. My friend Scotty was a sales rep for telco equipment and retired with several million in the bank a few years ago at 60. He drives '06 and '09 Suburbans. My friend Bill is an investor with millions and drives an old Subaru. The two things they all have in common is total freedom to spend their time however they want traveling, and they don't spend money on depreciating assets.

Your assuming the markets/your investments will pay. There is no guarantee of that. Ask the people that retired during a financial crisis which seem to happen more than once in a lifetime these days lol.


And some may never even live that long. Has to be a balance.

 

[Dburksmem]

Your assuming the markets/your investments will pay. There is no guarantee of that. Ask the people that retired during a financial crisis which seem to happen more than once in a lifetime these days lol.


And some may never even live that long. Has to be a balance.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. I was in banking during the 08 crisis and watched people literally be ready to end it all because their retirement was gone.

Once again its all about balance. I hear alot of being frugal and i am in that sense as well but we bought our gentily used 21 yukon xl slt with 20k miles In August. We paid cash 65k cash otd and i dont regret it because our first road trip made me remember why i upgraded from the 2018 nissan armada platinum we owned. Space and comfort and me not having to put luggage on the roof rack by myself because my family of 5 had outgrown our Armada. Thats worth its weight in gold. We only pay cash for vehicles and havent financed one since our 20s.

Lastly i hear all of these talks about making 300-400k and talking about retiring at 65. Retirement is not an age, its a number. No one I know with money talks about retirement as an age. If you are debt free and making that kind of coin, you should have alot of disposable income after maxing out every retirement account known to man, maxing out your hsa, and even funding your after tax brokerage account. I know because i do this myself and we have so much left over disposable income. My wife and I make about 400k and are 38 and 40 and I couldnt even imagine working until 65 because retirement for me is a number, not an age. I will hit my number long before 65 and this one purchase doesnt change us hitting that number because we have enough cashflow to fund large purchases without it affecting our lifestyle or nest egg.

 

[DuraYuk]

I agree wholeheartedly with this. I was in banking during the 08 crisis and watched people literally be ready to end it all because their retirement was gone.

Once again its all about balance. I hear alot of being frugal and i am in that sense as well but we bought our gentily used 21 yukon xl slt with 20k miles In August. We paid cash 65k cash otd and i dont regret it because our first road trip made me remember why i upgraded from the 2018 nissan armada platinum we owned. Space and comfort and me not having to put luggage on the roof rack by myself because my family of 5 had outgrown our Armada. Thats worth its weight in gold. We only pay cash for vehicles and havent financed one since our 20s.

Lastly i hear all of these talks about making 300-400k and talking about retiring at 65. Retirement is not an age, its a number. No one I know with money talks about retirement as an age. If you are debt free and making that kind of coin, you should have alot of disposable income after maxing out every retirement account known to man, maxing out your hsa, and even funding your after tax brokerage account. I know because i do this myself and we have so much left over disposable income. My wife and I make about 400k and are 38 and 40 and I couldnt even imagine working until 65 because retirement for me is a number, not an age. I will hit my number long before 65 and this one purchase doesnt change us hitting that number because we have enough cashflow to fund large purchases without it affecting our lifestyle or nest egg.

Amen.

We make money here too and if I made 500k a year it wouldn't take much time at all to 'retire'.

For me and mine we live in the present. I loathe thinking about enjoying my life when I'm on deaths door. Would rather do it now. But obviously still responsibly.

65 scares me lol. 55 does too. 45 does too.

Too many people think of the finish line when all the memories happen during the race.

Anyways I wish everyone success in whatever path they find is right by them.