Since I last posted on wanting to buy a new car, I've spent way too much time visiting dealerships, pining over new cars, and trying to figure out how to fit a new car into my budget. The bottom line is that while I'm currently saving up $500/month into my "new car fund", it will probably be 1-2 years (assuming bonuses) before I can afford the car I really want without borrowing money to do it.

When I discussed this with my wife, she pointed out that we could easily "afford the payments" by just stopping our mortgage pre-payment and combining that with the new car savings account. The phrase "afford the payments" was like cold water in my face when I heard it as that is exactly what my parents would have said (and did say every time they traded in for a new car every 2-3 years). While I don't pay attention to everything Dave Ramsey says, I do agree that phrases like "we can afford the payments" is a huge flashing warning sign that you're not doing the right thing financially.

Nevertheless, I was still unhappy driving to work this morning when I had my epiphany. The problem isn't that I don't have cash for a new car right now. The problem is the irrational desire for the car -- i.e., the "wanting" is itself the problem. I had been focusing on trying to figure out a way to satisfy the "want" without realizing that I need to focus on eliminating the "want." I do not need a new car. My current car is 10 years old and has 120,000 miles, but I do not need a new one. I have been convinced by advertisers, marketers, and peers that I've been successful and I "deserve" a car, but what does that even mean?

Sorry if this is rambling, but it did strike me as profound. "Wanting" a new car that you don't have the cash for when your current car is perfectly fine is itself the problem. We can't accept this as a rational desire and walk around with the sense that we're somehow being deprived if we can't have the car we want right now. From now until I've saved up the cash, I'm going to focus on banishing the "want" rather than feed it by taking test drives and visiting car web sites and discussion boards.

By the way, you would be surprised at the amount of venom you unleash on a car discussion board by raising the question of how much income/savings should you have to rationally purchase a car that costs $X. By their measure, if you "want" the car and can manage the payments, you should buy it -- end of discussion.

I think this "Wanting" can at times disturb the whole budget and I think i would call this "wanting" as unnecessary expenses. For instance, in your case your case was perfectly fine but still you wanted to get a new one. It can be due to the advertisers pushing that car or may be your desire to ride a new car or i would say your favorite car. Anyways, we should definitely avoid such expenses if it can disturb or tight the our budget..

This is the way most people on this planet think. This mentality is also a big part of the debt problem we have.

I can identify with the wanting because sometimes I get that desire and I keep thinking about it until I can fulfill that. Usually it's because the thing I want to replace is aggravating me in some way (bed making my back hurt, coat too worn to be presentable at work).
We also have a 10 year car (minivan) with about as many miles. It's a Toyota so I have no doubt in my mind we can drive it for another 5 years if need be. When we do have big purchases on the horizon like this what my husband and I often do is put a time window where we do not think about it, until some date has passed. So if we are thinking we need to upgrade the computer, we will wait, and revisit next year. Once that date passes we realize it wasn't a criticality issue and we can delay another year, or have a fix or work around that is cheaper than getting a new computer.
If there is something that is particularly bothering you about your car? Most likely fixing that item is cheaper than getting a new car, if it can delay getting another car for a couple years. But the point is to nip in the bud the thinking (and shopping) part. If you are thinking that much about it it may be hard to step away at this point.

The only thing that bothers me about my car is that I've worked my tail off for 11 years, make a very good income, have zero debt, but am feeling a little deprived for all of my financial good behavior. I don't have any more financial goals other than paying off my mortgage on our relatively modest home (balance - $263,619). If I were to total up all of my "personal" property (i.e., excluding the house and its furnishings), I wouldn't even get to $5,000 (counting the car and my iPhone).

But that gets back to the same question. I only feel deprived because I've been conditioned to want things that I don't have. If I can deal with the "want", I will be richer in the long term.

Since J.D. mentioned Vulcans last week, I figured Star Trek references are allowed

From the uber-capitalist Ferengi, the 5 Stages of Acquisition:
1) Infatuation: An unreasoning love or attraction … "I want it."
2) Justification: Moral excuse used to explain … "I must have it!"
3) Appropriation: To take to one's self in exclusion of others … "IT'S MINE AT LAST!"
4) Obsession: A compulsive or irrational preoccupation … "My Precious!"
5) Resale: The action of selling something previously bought … "Make me an offer."

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_Acquisition]

There's nothing wrong with having "wants" in life. Without wants, the truth is most of us wouldn't even get out of bed in the morning. The key, I believe, is balance. If you want everything, there's something wrong. If you must have your wants immediately, there is something wrong.

As is often said on this site, we must forgo in areas we don't care about so that we can use a little more in areas we do care about. The fact that you want a new, nice car and that you're willing to make it a 2 year goal to works towards is the right way to do it. As long as you're not sacrificing another priority or a higher ranked personal goal to get there, then there is nothing to worry about.

Unless you're able to get a %0.00 to 1.00%~ loan, I think you're smart to simply wait another year or two. You'll have more purchasing power with all cash plus you won't have to worry about adding more debt.

What is money for? It has one purpose - to be spent.

Now, the trick is to ration yourself in such a way that you have enough money when you no longer want (or can) earn enough contemporaneously to support your needs.

Frankly, I feel sorry for the people who work all their life and never enjoy the fruits of their labors. I'm not saying you should or shouldn't buy the car. But I don't think it is healthy to "do without" just because you don't like having "wants." You could end up old and resentful.

We all need very little - a couple of hundred calories a day, a little water, and a hole to crawl in to keep warm and protected at night. Everything else is a "want."

I think the better case to be made is where the line is between reasonable wants and unreasonable wants. Nothing about what you have said makes me think that your want of a new Audi (?) is unreasonable given your situation.

I have a lot of respect for your opinion, DH, so here it goes:

The car in question is the new Audi A7, which is about $67,000 with the options I "want". While I've currently got a $30,000 emergency fund I won't touch, the only other cash I currently have saved up outside of retirement that I could put toward the car are the $4,000 in car savings account I've built up so far and the proceeds from selling my Acura, which I would sell for $4,000-6,000. Financing is available at Audi for 1.9%.

To me, it seems per se unreasonable to buy a car, particularly a luxury car "toy" when I don't have the money to at least theoretically buy it outright. On the other hand, part of the reason I don't have more money than that is that we save aggressively toward retirement, put an extra $500/month toward our mortgage, put aside $400/month to college funds, and give nearly $2,000/month to charity. If I wait until March, I could possibly get a large enough bonus to pay off most of the car, but that is never 100% guaranteed.

Is it crazy not to wait given these facts? The A7's are a little scarce (only 5,000 in the U.S. this year) and the color combo I want is hard to find and just happens to be at my local dealer.

Given the facts I think you should wait, not because your want is unreasonable but because it sounds like the potential wait vs reward in terms of certainty about the funding (knowing your bonus) makes that a good choice. If you get your bonus you'll feel a lot better about the purchase and if you don't then you can reassess.

If you are seriously interested you could try to work something out with the dealer by putting down a non-refundable deposit for example that would allow you to walk away from the deal if things don't come through with the bonus. I'm not sure how that would work though. The only reason I suggest that is because you seem to want a specific color and option set that could sell at any time. You essentially could buy a call option on that car if the dealer would go for it.

The truth is, I would only buy a car that I could afford to pay cash for even if I financed for some reason. I drive a car that cost around $45k but $67k sounds painful to me. But I'm not you. I think you make more and clearly can afford to fund all the things you want so I don't see the problem. Plus, it sounds like your wife is convinced, now you just have to convince yourself. I can't help you with that!

An Acura with 120k miles isn't really that many miles. I have a '99 Corolla with over 250k, and sure, I think that I want a new car, but until my car starts costing me a ton, I can "want" all I want. I'm also with DH, $67000 seems really expensive for a car (that you're only using to drive to work). No one vacations in an Audi. hee hee.

If I were you, I would continue saving, and keep driving your current car, and when you're comfortable with your down payment (or whatever) then get the Audi. They will make more.

PS. I hear that Audis are really expensive as far as summer and winter tires/maintenance, headlights etc.. So, be prepared to put out even more dough once you get it. There's a reason you don't see a lot of them out on the roads.

But they are NICE cars! I went and checked them out after seeings Taz's post.

They are REALLY nice cars. hee hee. When I win the powerball (that I don't play), I'll be getting a TT.

Good Lord, that car almost costs as much as our HOUSE did ($74K, 13 yrs ago, paid off )

I'd be waiting. We might be giving one of our cars to BIL (who lost his job, which included a company car) and will probably just go down to one car for a while.

What gave you the case of the "wants"? A friend with a new car? An ad? Does understanding the source help you fend it off?

I already regret posting this on this board (or at least regret giving the details of the car) since there are so many people on here with serious financial issues who I'm sure don't want to hear my whining. I only posted because I thought I had some insight to share.

To answer your question, Mom, I started looking at cars this March when my transmission went out and I had to spend $3,500 fixing the Acura. Before that, I tended to pretend that new cars didn't exist and told myself that I would just drive the Acura until it hit 200,000 miles (which would take me more than a decade given that I drive only 100 miles/week).

I guess that I just started wondering why, exactly, I kill myself with a high-stress job if I'm going to live way, way below my means. Part of this is due to the fact that I don't have any defined financial goals beyond saving for retirement and paying the house off in 7 years.