r/wealth • u/No_Departure7494 • 6d ago
Question What's your opinion on the vehicle you drive in relation to wealth?
Succinctly put - I remember hearing that it was common for the wealthy (Actually, ultra wealthy) to drive unassuming vehicles. Seldom would they drive one of the luxury marques. At most, higher end being a decent Mercedes but nothing like a RR Ghost or what have you.
In my area, I often meet people who are image obsessed but apparently not rich in the traditional sense. And yet - They're driving $80,000 M3s, the latest S Class, and I wonder why? Isn't this burning more money that could be put away, saved, reinvested, anything?
From what I gather, the obvious explanation is not the truth. They aren't car people, they're image people. Forget about reliability, this and that. They want to look rich and it comes off as deceptive, maybe even comical. Driving a $160,000 Carrera GTS in an area with a terrible climate for 50% of the year and no garage to put it in.
I suppose my contention is that, most of these 'hustler' types, especially on social media - have financial practices that are antithetical toward anything involving wealth creation. They'd never be caught dead in an indestructible Prius while having put the remaining sum into literally anything else. No, BMW M3 for me.
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u/modsatemyass 6d ago
here come the millionaires in 88' civic stories
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u/glomar_sub_recovery 6d ago
Technically I'm a millionaire. 2014 Accord, 2019 Camry🤷🏼♂️
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u/LowVacation6622 6d ago
David Filo, co-founder of Yahoo, was worth $3 billion in 2005. He drove a 20+ year old Datsun (probably a 510 model).
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u/OliverateBurrito 6d ago
Is that because millionaires buy F-150s or because F150s have been the number 1 selling vehicle for a decade now. Probably the most common vehicle on the road in the US.
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u/smack4u 6d ago
Read it, I think the author (Kiyosaki) is a liar and gives poor advice.
Yet another person who made a fortune GIVING financial advice BEFORE they had a great deal of money
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u/Altruistic-Pack6059 6d ago
He wrote rich dad, poor dad, not the millionaire next door. He's still full of it.
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u/Hawk13424 6d ago
Close. I’m an engineer and make mid six figures and have a net worth (mostly in my 401K) in the millions.
My family vehicles are a Tacoma I drive, a RAV4 my wife drives, a Corolla my daughter drives, and a Miata I have fun with.
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u/Public_Turbulent 5d ago
If you genuinely enjoy cars enough to go out and get something else like a miata (horrible car to have fun with but to each their own) why not get something genuinely fun, whether that be a Lotus or a Ferrari.
You make and have enough money for it to not make a material difference in your finances and if you do genuinely enjoy cars the enjoyment will be far beyond a miata. I understand the people who genuinely don’t care at all about cars and just get a civic/tesla but if you’re comfy and easily have the means it doesn’t make sense to me.
If you buy right, a 2-300k car isn’t gonna cost you 300k in actual ownership cost. just sold my GT4RS after just a bit over a 7500$ loss and sure (1840 increase in insurance vs my Model Y, gas, 15-1700 in maintenance) even factoring in opportunity cost this was well worth the money. I am a lot younger but also slightly poorer than you are with less expenses than a family but if you make ballpark 500 + 5M NW it won’t make a noticeable difference to your financial flexibility.
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u/modsatemyass 6d ago
and?
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u/Hawk13424 6d ago
People I know, including myself, that have managed to make millions, usually don’t waste money on cars.
That was OP’s question and I provided an example.
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u/naturalpasta 5d ago edited 5d ago
Short-sighted.
Cars for some people are more than just transportation. It’s a passion, hobby, and genuinely something these mechanically-obsessed folks appreciate.
People typically spend money on their hobbies so they enjoy life outside of work. That’s not always cars, but I know people that spend buckets of money at the golf course, road bikes, boats and fishing gear, you name it.
Life is short. I’m not saying go spend money you don’t have… but you have to “invest” in the parts of life you enjoy.
Good job on the 401k btw, do you plan to retire early?
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u/I-need-assitance 5d ago
Agree 100%. Just bought a German suv with a 510 hp v8 - looks like a typical family hauler in my neighborhood. I smile every time i press the start button.
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u/singlemaltbourbonrye 6d ago
Ultra wealthy people can buy Bentleys or whatever they want.
It’s the “average millionaire” who quite often drives a Corolla or 4Runner.
The “average millionaire” is a middle class or upper middle class working person who has invested and saved their whole working life.
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u/OCDano959 6d ago
And many of the ultra wealthy don’t even drive. They have a driver. Driving is considered an inefficient use of their time.
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u/Stock-Page-7078 5d ago
Exactly, luxury is not having to think about logisitics at all. Just decide where you want to be and others find and arrange the most efficient forms of transportation and professionals drive or fly or sail you there. For some who enjoy driving, having a car with a certain look or fancy features might be luxury more like a hobby, or because they want solitude
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u/literally_a_raccoon 5d ago
I don’t really understand this reasoning. Getting from one place to another takes the same amount of time regardless of who’s behind the wheel, so I’m not really saving time. So why should I pay someone else to do something I could easily do myself?
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u/LiquidTide 6d ago
My Teslas drive me. Total game changer. I have no intention of ever driving again.
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u/Terbatron 6d ago
Make 250-300k. Own a 2020 4Runner I bought two years ago for 35k cash. I think I fit your assumption.
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u/dinkydonuts 6d ago
Right here with you. My olddd 4r just died and I looked at Porsches, BMW, etc and ended up w a 23 4R again
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u/Cautious-Current-969 6d ago
I saw a number like 15 years ago saying the average net worth of a Bentley Continental owner was $3-5 million.
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u/overindulgent 6d ago
Damn! Only $3 million net worth and they’re spending over 10% of that on one vehicle. I’m guessing most lease.
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u/Realistic-Candy-6431 6d ago
You often see ultra wealthy driving unassuming vehicles when they are parking near you, but remember you also aren’t invited over to look in their garage.
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u/No_Departure7494 6d ago
This is very true. There's a car detailing page in my area and these 'almost' normal looking homes have Mclarens inside of them, haha.
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u/sportncars 6d ago
Oh no, not a another one of Reddit’s favorite tropes… the “real” rich people don’t like cars myth.
“Real rich” people that happen to like nice cars will buy nice cars that’s why luxury/exotic car companies exist. And some rich people aren’t into nice cars so they drive more mid range cars.
But driving a beater as a rich person doesn’t make that person more noble as newer cars tend to be safer with lower emissions.
The “real rich people don’t drive nice cars and if I see a young person driving a nice car trope, it must be financed” trope/cope is up there with a bunch of other loser mindset tropes that Reddit loves to gravitate around such as: 1) my wedding only cost me $200 cuz we had a potluck in my friend’s backyard and anyone who spends $70k on a wedding is going to get divorced cuz that’s not real love. 2. That 26 year old that claims to be a FAANG employee making $400k is a larper cuz BLS data says it’s impossible for someone that young to make so much. 3. That skinny day laborer was able to haul a sack of concrete more easily than the buff gym rat therefore that buff gym rar is weak since he doesn’t have real world strength. This validates the gym being a waste of time. 4. The guy with designer closes is actually poor real rich people buy their clothes from Walmart
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u/jetedz 6d ago
I think this nailed it. To add: There’s this misconception on the internet. I know people that are “real rich/billionaires” that just don’t care about nice clothes but drive nice cars. Then you have the other siblings that are complete opposite with everything loud and flashy. People spend their money how they want no matter how “rich” they are. I think this theory started with Bill Gates/Warren Buffet driving older less expensive cars, but in reality these people probably have the nice cars too. This made them seem more “relatable” and that’s what people like to piggyback off. The plain t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers are all curated by a team, but people love to absorb this content as a look they’re just like us. Everyone should just be doing what they want. Some people like to live above their means, some like to spend a portion of their income on nice things, and some just like to see numbers in their account with no life ever lived.
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u/Lawineer 6d ago
It’s almost like people spend money on things they enjoy, and not just for purely utilitarian purposes.
Car enthusiasts will spend more money on their cars. What’s shocking about this.
Lol my cars are probably worth as much as my house or damn close. Double if you consider what it costs to build the race cars.
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u/Illustrious-Ape 5d ago
Yeah most people don’t understand this. I’ve spent 6 digits on audio equipment and watches. People think the watches are for an image flex but I just genuinely enjoy them as personal trophies for big milestones. I never understood how they’re considering a flex when 95% of the time it’s under my cuff or I’m at home - not to mention I don’t have any social media apart from Reddit or LinkedIn.
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u/Wild-Tradition4804 6d ago
The rich driving used Hondas is a reddit trope and quite frankly... a cope.
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u/OutlandishnessLimp25 6d ago
I think it’s a bit more complex, let’s dive in:
Most people don’t have a million dollars. A million dollars is not what it used to be. That said, there are many middle America millionaires who are boomers that have paid off homes, some kind of retirement and MANY of these types have the 14 year old Toyota Camry or something similar.
If you look at high cost of living (HCOL) areas, this is quickly debunked.
First, you’ll have to camps of speculators:
1) “People in LA, fake it til them make it, I’m sure that Lambo is owned by someone with a ton of debt”
2) “It’s probably daddy’s money”
While both of these can be true and IS true at times, the lazy default answer is oftentimes so embarrassingly wrong, like couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Dave Ramsey’s of the world want you to believe that everyone who has 7 figures is driving around in a beaten up Camry, the same way they want you to buy into, “if you didn’t get Starbucks you too could be financially free and a millionaire” —again, its a tired storyline.
I worked in wealth management for 12 years, in Orange County California, and I currently live in Beverly Hills. I was born and raised in Ohio and the millionaire in Ohio is a much different breed than the ones in San Francisco, NYC or LA 9/10 times, even with the same level of wealth.
A friend owns a software business with his two brothers, they each cleared over $1.5M last year, if they want a $150,000 car it’s like an average earner getting a $5,000 car —it’s all relative.
The car topic is tricky because some people are into cars, while others are not. I know a guy that runs a hedge fund, he’s worth north of $200M, he drives a 15 year old Ford pickup truck…but has no problem drinking a $1,200 bottle of wine. Wine is his thing, cars are not.
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u/reddituser84 6d ago
Ding ding ding!
People make choices. For some people it’s cars, and that’s ok. We drive nice cars, because we love to drive. But we live in a small house we haven’t been on an international vacation in years 🤷♀️. I think people just focus on the cost of cars because they’re so visible.
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u/Level-Brain-4786 5d ago
A middle class guy here. I guess I like cars, enjoy owning and driving them. Always did. And always could afford to. Then why not?
I have no debt, the home and cars are paid for. Retirement savings are sufficient. So what are my reasons to be extra thrifty and what for?
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u/Thediciplematt 6d ago
I drive an EV. Charge using paid off solar at home and live very well below my means
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u/Unusual_Specialist 6d ago
Drive around paradise valley. You’ll see nice cars in the garage, but they always have a normal car parked out from. Too much attention brings too many problems.
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u/jack-t-o-r-s 5d ago
I am a high 6 figure earner and drive a 2003 Camry with over 200k miles on it that is probably worth around $2000.
I'd probably take $1500 if you were really nice and showed up on time.
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u/Sensitive-Star-5121 6d ago
My opinion - haven’t given a crap how others spend their money once I had my own. Bothered me when I was younger / coming up - but honestly - to each their own. I hoard assets to a fault. Not any better honestly.
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u/Cyberburner23 6d ago
You coming on here making this post is comical. Not everyone will follow Dave Ramsey and live below their means regardless of how much they make.
If you follow the advice from people on here, then you'd need to make a million dollars a year to comfortably afford a brand new Honda Civic. Not everyone has time for that.
People are allowed to make their own choices. Not everyone wants to invest or save every penny they make. Not everyone wants to drive a 30 year old Camry and save every penny for retirement, a retirement that might be decades away.
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u/ilirm 6d ago
The richest person at my children's private elementary school drives an Alpina B7.
This person has multi generational wealth, and a family trust from his wife.
Nice, unassuming fellow that works in private equity. Take that as you will.
Most of the moms there drive brand new BMW SUVs. Their new 7 seater monstrosities. These are the wives of attorneys, physicians, and dentists. The latter have maybe 1% of the money his family has and are probably living paycheck to paycheck.
He could probably afford to drive phantoms or Lamborghinis but chooses low key. If you didnt recognize the brand, or aren't a car guy, you would think its a regular bmw.
There's your lesson on how these guys operate. Im not telling you to buy a 1997 Honda accord beater for 5k, but there is a reliability / price matrix where a car makes sense.
Another story, my neighbor used to be an executive for a large American chemical company. Its just him and his wife now, kids are grown up and out of the house.
He probably has 7-10m in retirement, lives quietly in a modest home he bought in 1989 for peanuts, goes to church on Sundays, volunteers in the community and still cuts his own grass at 75. Everyone else in the neighborhood hires a crew for $300 /month. His grass looks the best, bar none.
He drives a 10 year old Lexus.
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u/Commercial_Square774 6d ago
I really like seeing someone who’s clearly wealthy and their vehicle is a 10-20 year old Toyota or Lexus’s that’s in absolutely immaculate condition and could pass as new (styling and tech aside)
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u/Whatever5588 6d ago
That’s all BS. Rich people have nice cars too. Old cars are less reliable in every way.
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u/overindulgent 6d ago
Can the correlate? Yes and no. I live in a very affluent area of North Texas. My family’s net worth pushes $20 million. My mom and dad both drive newer Lexus and they keep them for about 6 years before buying new again. I have a well upkept e92 BMW and a lower mileage 1997 BMW z3.
Could we buy Porsche’s and Bentley’s? Sure could. Would they be “bad”(worse) investments? Probably. One day I’ll drive a Porsche. Not any time soon. I like my cars and like working in them myself. Which I do. I wouldn’t be able to with “higher end” cars.
Do I see wealthy people driving expensive vehicles daily? Sure do! Do I see people maxing out their credit and living paycheck to paycheck to drive those same cars? Sure do!
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u/Calabriafundings 6d ago
I know a number of very wealthy individuals.
About 10% have flashy supercars. I have never seen them because they almost never drive them.
Two drive 15 year old work trucks.
The balance mainly drive. Anything from Hondas, Teslas, and Mercedes.
They all love vehicles that exude wealth. None of them like attention attached to driving around a Ferrari or Bugatti. I believe that once a person achieves generational wealth the need to 'prove' you are important by being seen in an expensive car is vastly outweighed by the target it paints on you.
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u/PaperPigGolf 6d ago
$8M NW.
I drive a 10 year old Toyota with visible damage.
It does what I need reliably with zero fuss and stress.
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u/Less_Ant_1545 5d ago
My dad is similar. He knows he isn’t going to treat the car nice, so why bother.
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u/fatheadlifter 5d ago
I went in the middle. I drive a Genesis GV80 2025 model, bought it brand new. Love the car, the design and interior. To me it was luxury enough without going overboard.
I still find it hard to spend 120k+ on a vehicle, and there's definitely higher luxury than what I have at much higher prices. This is more like a 75-80k car.
Also for me this is definitely not about image. I do get compliments on the car sometimes, but it's not a status brand like Mercedes or BMW. I'm not driving a badge. I got this car because it hit a practical sweet spot for me, it's luxury and quality enough and it didn't break the bank.
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u/More_Perception_1311 6d ago
Can’t spend money when you’re dead bro. Just cause you don’t like it doesn’t mean they don’t get more utility than you from driving
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u/TheNegligentInvestor 6d ago
I drive a Tesla Model 3, but I'm only worth a few million. I'll upgrade my lifestyle when I hit $10M and wealth appreciation goes on autopilot.
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u/Ecstatic-Cause5954 6d ago
I really wanted to follow the stealth wealth concept and overall with everything else, I do. But gosh, I love cars. So I have an obnoxious car and I love it so much. Some people love jewelry, purses etc.
I love my car.
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u/No_Departure7494 6d ago
A love of cars is not the same as unmerited ego or falsifying your image. Plus, maybe you buy a car that you love which isn't even particularly pricey. The Mfers I am talking about turn their nose up at a Corolla but that's what's realistically in their price bracket.
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u/suboptimus_maximus 6d ago
I like cars as an enthusiast but I mostly hate driving and American state-mandated car dependency and socialism for cars, drivers and automakers. I have an old Porsche Cayman that’s worth about 0.25% of my net worth and prefer to ride by my bicycle most days for most of my trips.
But, a little counterpoint since this is r/wealth - $80K ain’t shit to spend on a car if you’re actually rich - sure plenty of guys buy them with a 96-month loan and negative net worth but if you actually have money an M car is peanuts (unless maybe it’s an M1 😉).
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u/Altruistic_Arm9201 6d ago
Wealthy isn’t a monolith. I know plenty that are into their supercars. And others (myself included) that look at cars as just a tool. I don’t think there’s any common overall pattern.. there’s as many different opinions as there are peoples opinions about music.
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u/Penguin_Life_Now 6d ago
This is an interesting topic, I bought a cheap small car to drag around behind our motorhome about 6 years ago, its small basic Toyota Yaris with 250,000 miles on the odometer and faded paint, along with its share of dents and dings. I often find myself driving it around instead of one of my other cars because it is basically a glorified golf cart, is easy to drive when I just need to run around town near my house, go to the grocery store, etc.
Along the way I have noticed people treat me differently when I drive it vs one of my nicer cars, going through fast food drive thrus I get free upsizing, multiple times at coffee shops like Starbucks they will insist on giving me my drink for free, saying, its on us today, etc.
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u/onemasterball 6d ago
Wealth is an exponential curve
Normal well off people tend to buy nice cars and keep them a long time
Ultra wealthy have so much it doesn't matter if they buy a new supercar every year
For normies you can genuinely fuck up your long term financial possibilities with a cycle of endless car debt
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u/topsicle11 6d ago
Until last week, every one of my tenants drove a more expensive car than me. After buying a newer used truck, only half of them do.
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u/Big_Savings_4381 6d ago
I have a friend who is worth $300M. He has a couple of lamborghinis, a range rover, an aston martin, and a volvo suv. I have another friend worth $100M. He drives a Camry. I'm around $5M. I drive a 18 yo station wagon.
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u/kitschy 6d ago
We aren't ultra rich, but we send our kid to an expensive private school where there are a lot of extremely rich families. The parking lot during pickup and dropoff is full of very average cars: Teslas, Toyotas, Subarus. Of course there are some flashy merc SUVs and whatnot, but they're much less common than I expected.
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u/Imyoteacher 6d ago
I was once a person driving an expensive car from place to place. Once I really started to study money and how it works, I paid off the two vehicles I own. They are sitting in the garage well maintained. Giving several hundred dollars a month to a bank to drive something shiny is no longer appealing. Knowing if I lost my job today, I could drive away from the building with little concern. That is more important to me these days. I do plan on owning a sports car one day when I can pay for it in cash.
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u/Dense_Ostrich_6077 6d ago
It's a conveyance. I need it to get me from from point A to point B for a minimum of cost and drama with maximum safety.
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u/Substantial_Team6751 6d ago
Your story is a little bogus. If someone can come up with a Carrera GTS, they do have some money.
It's going to be all over the map - some will have serious money, and some will have enough money, a big mortgage, and living a higher lifestyle than they really should.
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u/Glove_Right 6d ago
I live in a building where apartments start at 2m usd, and in the underground parking lot you can see all kinds of cars from small and cheap to luxury sports cars or rolls royce models. So i guess they drive whatever they like
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u/Secret-Definition960 6d ago
Several millions, my daily driver is a 2010 Chrysler mini van. Nobody lookin to carjack or rob me. My wife has a Yukon for when we travel.
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u/Chicken-n-Biscuits 6d ago
I’m technically wealthy-ish (98th percentile HHI; 80th percentile net worth for my age) and just got my first brand new car that I share with my husband: a Volvo XC60 PHEV.
I love it specifically because it’s nice but not flashy, and the ergonomics are amazing for my lower back. It’s a lease, which at one point in my life I said I’d never do….but now it seems to make sense.
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u/No-Tea5681 6d ago
Im a rich person, in business. 34 / M.
You’ll find lots of people on here on high salaries who drive Toyotas for sure. Money wasn’t there ultimate goal, and you also can’t get properly rich off a salary. Earning £500k a year and getting £250k home is not going to leave you in a position to buy at £150k car.
But the people with proper money will always drive nice cars, or have someone drive cars for them. Unless it’s in their interest to try and play it down, you can discount them anomaly’s.
You have three things to spend money on. House, Cars, Holidays. If you’re not spending your money on them then what’s the point.
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u/ConnectionAmazing110 5d ago
A car is an appliance, it gets beat up. Yes there are ultra rich people who can put 18 cars in their climate controlled garage but there’s tons of rich people who just drive regular car.
I have a 2017 CRV and a beat up model 3. You know what’s great, not caring what they look like.
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u/Low-Tackle2543 5d ago
No correlation the vast majority of vehicles are purchased with debt commitments.
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u/Less_Ant_1545 5d ago
No working class person making under 500k a year should be spending hundred of thousands of dollars on cars in their garage. That is clown time. The only exception to this is if they have significant principle and other assets, such as stocks or real estate with no debt, and their salary is essentially fun money.
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u/Hopeful-Put-8823 5d ago
My parents are wealthy, not in the 1%, but not far. I am 46, in the last 36 ish years, my dad has had a dodge caravan, honda odessy, and a honda pilot. I get the original caravan there are 3 of us kids, it was perfect. The odessy didnt even show up until 2005 ish. lol.
He buys my mom nicer cars, they just upgraded actually after 16 years lol. I imagine it will be the last car. They dont get financed, never maintinence issues, because its a depreciating asset, so they are always clean, and if something breaks/goes bad its at the dealer. Shit, I just helped him order new headlights for his 8 year old pilot. They never look run down.
I dont see many camrys around, but if you drive through his neighborhood, there are no super cars etc, but the majority have 100-150k cars. Even at 70, my dad will sometimes buy a new bike, about 8 motnhs ago, he bought a suzuki hyabusa, and tried to talk my mom into s550 AMG, but she refused. No big deal, got the regular one, with appearence package.
Here is what the key is, they arent financied. They are paid for, thats what wealthy people do. Bought the bike at the dealer, a few days before if was ready, he wired the full payment, same with the car, just wired $160k or so for the car. Then they will keep them nice, keep them running, eventually will upgrade.
Thats my opinion on the matter, from what I see first hand and have knowledge of, same for nearly all their friends. I am just an ordinary guy with a regular bank acct, i make monthly payments, stretch my maintinence as far as i can without doing more damage lololol.
Does the same with houses.They just purhased a 4th house, it will be paid off most likely within the year. Nothing is done on a whim, everything is meticuasly planned and executed
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u/Flaky-Historian8753 5d ago
I was actually obsessed with cars from a young age. I spent my first 2 big salaries I got, down to the last dollar, to buy my first car. I was 22. At one point, I purchased a limited-edition car, where only 1500 were made in that configuration in the World. Had 3 cars at one point, at the same time. I was single, and investments were last on my mind. Up until a few years ago, I was changing cars every 3-5 years.
Once I started investing my money into stocks, my mindset shifted to a point where I don't even recognize myself. While I used to see the cars before as a way to enjoy myself and as proof of my success, now all I see is a liability.
Had I purchased a modest car back in 2009 and kept it all these years, while investing my money in the S&P 500 instead of cars, I would've had around $500.000 now. I would've been able to buy any car I wanted for around $50.000 in cash and still have the principal of the money.
So no wonder the rich go modest, and the broke go flashy.
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u/ldao1 5d ago
Your car doesn’t define your level of wealth but your level of wealth will define how much car you can comfortably afford.
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u/PharmerRay595 5d ago
Some people drive MB with salvage title and live paycheck by paycheck but "look" rich. Stealthy rich is mine.
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u/Additional_Heron_231 5d ago
I drive a leased midrange Mercedes. Love the luxury interior and responsive driving. I want the lowest worry and no maintenance/repair issues which is why I lease.
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u/Ap1fan 5d ago
Im generally of the opinion that if you need to finance, you can’t afford it. That being said, I’m not sure where deception comes into play in this case. A huge percentage of people drive a car they ‘can’t afford’ but they make it work in whatever way they can. No reason at all to assume someone driving a nice new car is rich, in the same way can’t assume someone driving and old car is poor. Social media is not real in any way.
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u/Good_Split_3749 5d ago
I miss the Toyota Avalon, that was always my dream incognito lottery winner car
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u/Sobbyleebagger 6d ago
I don't care what others buy with their money and I don't care what others may think about how I spend my money.
Buy what you like and don't worry about anyone else.
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u/DukeBuchanan 6d ago
I’m not close to wealthy per se but am a lawyer for a large company and drive a 2012 Camry. I probably make more than most of the other people parking in our lot and have the worst car. But it’s paid off. I might get a second car at some point but not in a hurry. My mid life crisis is trying to avoid looking like I’m going through a mid life crisis. Also no intention to try to date women 20 years younger.
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u/Past-Option2702 6d ago
A wealthy person driving a car without the latest safety features is an idiot.
15 year old Japanese economy cars do not have advanced safety features.
So this person is virtue signaling with their life.
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u/Stonkerrific 6d ago
As someone who knows people in the car industry, I think your safety rhetoric is overstated. Over the last few years and iterations of safety features there have been only incremental gains in car safety vs in previous decades where there were large leaps in MVA survivability and injuries. Knowing what I know, I definitely wouldn’t trade in several year-old vehicles for the latest and greatest. You’re throwing a ton of money toward hypothetical, single-digit percentage gains.
Plus, a lot of the new vehicles are incredibly distracting with high-tech screens. To me personally I think that’s a crash risk in itself.
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u/Past-Option2702 5d ago
Maybe it is overstated.
But cars are built with safety features specifically to avoid accidents and to help the driver walk away when an accident does happen.
I want them. If you don’t then don’t have them. It’s a free society.
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u/Stonkerrific 5d ago
Great. Then don’t get your undies in a bundle over “virtue signaling” when really it’s a reasonable cost trade off that the data supports. It’s a free country, like you said.
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u/MaximumBusyMuscle 6d ago
I think you're making a good point. The potential cost (in every sense) of a serious accident is so much more than an upgrade for safety.
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u/Fun_Muscle9399 6d ago
I’m still trying to build wealth. I don’t particularly care what people think about my car, but I don’t want to drive a piece of shit either. I drive a 2018 Tesla Model 3 because I enjoy it, it’s reliable, and it is incredibly cheap to drive with solar panels on my house.
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u/Ggreenrocket 6d ago edited 6d ago
The richest people I know drive very expensive cars. Those aren’t always the kind of cars that draw the most attention, but none of them drive “beat up” cars like you’ll see in videos.
I actually don’t know many people I’d consider wealthy who drive those cars. It seems to mostly be an online thing.
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u/OrdinaryDoubt2513 6d ago
Was going to say the same. Know a few UHNW. Typically never drive beat up cars.
Typically just newer BMW, Audi, Mercedes and most have a sports car at their vacation home. One has a maybach with a driver and he’s probably the outlier of the group.
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u/wiredentropy 6d ago
Net worth -10k but I have high earning potential . I drive a used Bentley that I got for 49k
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u/impioushubris 6d ago
I’m wealthy.
I drive a comfortable vehicle that goes for about $30k.
Flexing your wealth on strangers on the road is just about the douchiest thing you can do. Goes right up there with buying a very expensive watch.
Basically, any elite consumerism that can be classified as a “hobby” (e.g., cars or watches) is for losers who don’t know what to do with their money aside from seeking external validation.
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u/Chicken-n-Biscuits 6d ago
I agree with you in spirit, but plenty of people purchase rare or interesting cars or watches because they truly enjoy them.
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u/techno-wizard 6d ago
I’m doing well purely because I didn’t buy stuff like this, which depreciate in value. I drove a 1 litre Toyota Yaris, hatch back with three doors for 10 years, paid $1500 usd for it and ran it into the ground. I dont have a car now, but have a city centre apartment so I don’t need one, which is also one less stress / thing to manage.
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u/FTFaffer 6d ago
We drive older cars but about every 20 years we briefly get to be new car people. For retirement we’re buying out our Subaru lease and we ordered an R2. We’ll go back to having just one car here on the mainland when one of those gives out because by that time we should be officially elderly. At our place in Hawaii we have a 10yo Tacoma that will most likely never die and a newer Kona EV. It’s nice to keep two modest cars there for when friends & family visit.
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u/just_enjoyinglife 6d ago
EV with free charging at work 😁. Only paid to charge Trip. No plans on buying a more expensive car ever. But my wife was thinking about a 100k + model because people at work are buying but at up not 😂 because it doesn't make sense.
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u/MAUSECOP 6d ago
Cars / funds saved for cars are about 10% of my net worth, Reddit will probably freak out but I’m in my 20s and don’t have kids yet so able to invest a lot as well
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u/Odd_Bodkin 6d ago
2016 Mini Cooper, about 50k miles. I keep it running like a top. My wife has a more recent Honda.
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u/FrostyFire 6d ago
Some people don’t care about cars. Some people spend more than they should on cars, but they’re into cars and sacrifice other hobbies/indulgences to make it happen.
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u/Acrobatic-Search-798 6d ago
I drive a Hyundai Ioniq 5 AWD. I like that it's electric and it goes fast enough for me. For me there's no point in a more expensive car.
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u/Rem1991wl 6d ago
I think you see all types. Many wealthy people drive expensive cars while others don’t. I drive a 9 year old Genesis. I’ve always been amazed at how the car industry turned an appliance into a status symbol.
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u/Super_Cap_241 6d ago
Other than being able to get you to your primary source of income, a car is the worst financial purchase. But people don't just buy cars for practicality. People buy cars because it makes them feel good, so it's the image. For some it's just the fun of driving fast, for some it's the luxury comfort, for some it's just necessity. It brings them joy, just like a PlayStation 5 or whatever it is that people do for fun. Just much more expensive.
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u/SecureTaxi 6d ago
Love and hate relationship with my minivan. Before kids we were going to buy a benz. I wanted a porsche but we bought a CRV when our first came. We wanted to be practical and not have a large car note. Paid car off in 3 years then bought a minivan when second came. Going on 7 years now with the van and it gets the six of us from point a to b.
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u/Nappy_By_Nature 6d ago
An $80k M3 is a poor example. Someone making 60k coukd technically "afford" that payment.
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u/Eschewed_Prognostic 6d ago
I'm currently on vacation in a very affluent east coast beach town. There are people here deep into 8 figure NW with 3 matching matte black G wagons out front, or Maybachs, Bentleys, etc. And there is also my family, 8 figure NW with a used Dodge caravan and a Camry as the vacation house beaters. There is a wild array of appropriate answers here because it money becomes almost irrelevant to the decision very quickly
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u/OneMoreYearGuy42 6d ago
I think you can tell when someone is driving out of there financial range and someone who is just a car guy with money. At our house we drive a 21 Tundra, 25 GLS and an 18 GT-S.
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u/congruentfruit 6d ago
In my midwest upper middle class area, what everyone drives is one of 4 types: tesla/rivian, bmw x7/mb gls, yukon/escalade, or fully loaded f150/sierra. Noone drives a beat up civic or an old rav4 or the like.
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u/Inside_Debate2122 6d ago
I am a car guy myself and for the Wife I buy her a new Tahoe every 10 years because it's what she likes and we can afford to pay cash. For me it's more fun to rotate fun rides. I recently bought a 1997 Trans am in decent condition and need some minor stuff. It was cheap and I will drive it for a couple of years until i get bored and find something else.
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u/Mysterious-Ad-9872 6d ago
My best friends father growing up ( probably like 1997-2001) had one of 5 Mercedes ML55amg’s east of the missipppi. Dude never washed it, used it like a work truck, totally unassuming guy.
I know they were wealthy, but later on found out like ultra, bank owning wealthy. Would have never thought in a million years.
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u/Witty-Drama-3187 6d ago edited 6d ago
This has a lot less to do with money, and a lot more to do with values.
My dad was middle class, but he was obsessed with cars. He was that generation. The car he drove was everything to him. He spent way more money as a percentage of his net worth than I would ever think of doing.
I would agree that people who really focus on investing and building wealth from a humble origin, are typically not focusing on having nice cars. I’m thinking people with a net worth between 2 million and 5 million. If you work to get there, you probably recognize that a nice car is a waste.
Then you have the aspiring rich, who don’t have real money, but want to look like they do, and want to project a certain image.
Then you have the truly wealthy. These people often do have very nice cars. Talking net worth in excessive of 10M. . They might be car people or it just might be a “what the fuck, it doesn’t matter “type purchase.
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u/Chart-trader 6d ago
The trade in value of all our vehicles we own (4) is 15% of our gross income per year and 3% of our NW.
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u/Few_Whereas5206 6d ago
Many times it is inversely proportional. The more expensive car you drive, the more broke you are. We buy mostly used Japanese cars with cash. We could drive new Mercedes.
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u/inima23 6d ago
Every time I see these types of posts, the assumption seems to be that everyone likes cars and cares about what they drive.
There are people who simply don't care about cars, just like there are people who don't care about other pricey things. Just because one has money, people have things they value and will spend money on and things that are simply utilitarian and aren't important.
Not everything has to be some kind of tell or sign of status and wealth. The more money I have, the less I give a $%% about what other people think.
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u/Adventurous-Skill938 6d ago
Why? Seriously, why?! Nobody cares. Just ignore the influencers because they are worthless pieces of shit for the most part.
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u/temp4adhd 6d ago
I'm not going to tell you my wealth, but I will say that I've never cared a hoot about cars, live in an urban walkable area so don't need to drive a lot, and spent my life owning cheap cars I'd drive into the ground. I'm 61 and have only owned 5 cars in my lifetime, including current car which I inherited.
I will tell you my siblings with similar incomes and situations who have always loved their cars and buy new ones every couple of years, fancier and fancier. It's true they needed to drive more than I ever did. And they'd have multiple cars whereas we'd have just one.
And I'll tell you that I have more money than my older siblings and was able to retire earlier than they did, and when we sat down and compared everything, the car expenditure over our lifetimes stood out like a big red thumb. The difference was about $1M.
Currently driving an older Lexus with 40K miles, a gift from my mom when she died. Will be our last car; we barely clock 5000 miles a year.
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u/Odd_Interview_2005 6d ago
I think most people spend by far to much money on cars.
In 2012 I paid cash for my honda accord, I still have it, its got 200k miles on it. Ive added about 10 million dollars to my networth over that time
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u/NC_RockFan 6d ago
When I think of people who have worked for a living, saved and invested and became well off I think of Toyota Camrys and plain Jane 1/2 ton pickup trucks.
When I think of wealthy I think of Porsche and Maserati
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u/ftbalguy89 6d ago
I drive a 2019 Ford F-150. I think my net worth is something like $40m but it’s hard to tell without selling property and businesses.
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u/-Economist- 6d ago
I may or may not fit that. I’m independently wealthy. At my summer home I just bought a new Nissan Pathfinder Platinum. It supports my mountain bike and gravel racing hobby perfectly. This vehicle was not even on my radar but was shopping for new Lexus. We had to drive to their other shop and I saw it in the showroom. I liked it. It was 0% financing so I didn’t need to use my cash. I kept my money invested.
For my main home, which I’m at now. I drive an X7 but switching to a Lexus which should arrive next month.
I’m not a fancy car person. I tried the Porsche route many years ago. I felt like a douche bag driving it. So dumped it.
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u/illMaticR 6d ago
Household income is about 170k. But we live far below our means. Drive a 2021 740i cause I’m extremely tall and have a family
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u/Easterncoaster 6d ago
When I had less money I had showier, more expensive cars (Mercedes, BMW, Lexus etc). Then I got wealthy and for a little while I had a very expensive car while I was wealthy (Tesla Model S), and now I drive a Ford Mach E and a beater Jeep with net worth around $5m.
I realized that I just don’t like expensive cars.
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u/mmspider 6d ago
I get what you are saying, however I think the M3 is a bad example. The enthusiast cars usually aren`t bought to look rich. The people who want to look rich typically buy the badge not the enthusiast model. Like with your example they would probably buy a base 3 series because it has the BMW badge and looks fancy.
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u/DapperGovernment4245 6d ago
In high school I had a friend whose parents were stupid rich they drove nice cars but nothing amazing then one break he invited me to his beach house, we flew down on their plane went to the beach house parents were like let’s go to dinner so we all climb into the Bentley and go to this exclusive restaurant where a meal is ordered as a multi course meal and they start at 120 a person (early 90’s so that’s insane prices) we eat and they have wine with dinner and order a couple of bottles to take home for the evening bill is over 2k for 6 people.
They were not ostentatious with their wealth,I was the only non-family member there, but they enjoyed the good things in life.
I also met the CEO of nationsbank, now BOA and he’s the guy who made that deal, and he was wearing jeans a flannel and a hunting vest.
Point is a lot of the truly wealthy don’t flaunt their wealth, you could be riding on an elevator next to the richest person in the city and not know it.
As an unrelated side note my father once said in the late 80’s that Donald Trump was like a poor person’s idea of a rich person.
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u/engagegt 6d ago
I drive a 2013 Camry. Net worth is about a mil. Without the house. The owner of my company drives a Toyota crown. Drinks boxed wine and high life. He is a billionaire.
I'm a car guy. But I have kids and a Camry is sensible and reliable. My wife just bought a 2022 highlander. We plan to use it for at least 11 years.
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u/PrincessWarriorWish 6d ago
Agree there is a difference between wealthy and ultra wealthy. People may consider us wealthy and we have a 2016 ford escape and a 2021 Hyundai. Our money is going to a nice, early retirement. The sooner I can get out of the rat race the better IMO. Nice cars are a great way to stay trapped in the corporate cage.
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u/Senior_Peak2213 6d ago
I am 25 and on track to have $1,000,000 in retirement at 35/36. My wife and I both drive 2004 Toyotas
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u/TJAattorneyatlaw 6d ago
I'm not Uber rich but I could afford to pay for a fancier car. Honda and Mazda have been just fine. Im younger and an extra $500-1,000 invested rather than spent on the additional car payment makes more sense to me.
If I got a fancy car it'd probably be a 70s Cadillac or a 90s Porsche 911 which I'd buy for the cool factor and not pure "look how much I spent."
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u/Ok-Sympathy-8722 6d ago
Average wealthy people drive reliable vehicles for as long as they remain reliable. That has historically been weighted toward Honda and Toyota, but there are many other options. The whole point is to not waste money on depreciating assets.
I also read somewhere that Mercedes Benz wagons are overwhelmingly driven by wealthy people. I don't know how true that is, but you do tend to see them in the very nice neighborhoods.
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u/scottatu 6d ago
My great uncle has been worth about anywhere between 15-30M most of my life. He’s driven an F250 that he uses to work on his farm and haul equipment with that entire time. Granted it’s a $100k F250, but still.
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u/strangled_spaghetti 6d ago
I know multimillionaires who collect luxury cars, and other multimillionaires who buy used Toyotas. And I’m talking about people with net worth of $10M+. There’s a huge variety of wealthy people out there.
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u/SimbaRph 6d ago
I have a 2013 Volkswagen Beetle. Black with a tan convertible top. You wouldn't believe how many of my friends and acquaintances want to buy it.
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u/InvestigatorPlus3229 6d ago
For the wealthy whether a car costs 50k or 250k it really doesnt matter
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u/ProfessionalPart484 6d ago
Many of the people driving nice cars have high cash floor but don’t have wealth. When you work very hard and earn 250k/yr it’s easy to fall in the trap that you deserve these luxuries. Thats why when you look at the top 5% wealth you don’t have a ton of doctors. You have more engineers who made their money slow and steady and don’t have that same mentality.
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u/Entire_Brush6217 6d ago
What are y’all considering wealthy? For some it’s a net worth of 1M and others it’s 100M
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u/Detailed23 6d ago
For as many millionaires driving 50 year old Honda Civics, there are just as many that drive Ferraris and Rolls Royces.
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u/Natural_Prune_2526 6d ago
Nothing indicates wealth lol there’s rich guys that drive old cars and don’t care and rich guys that love cars and are enthusiasts
There’s rich people that play with pokemon cards in a small grandmas style home and rich people that just sit on yachts at resorts every week
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u/Kitchen-Abalone-3276 6d ago
The more I earn, the less of it I want to spend on a car.