On 1/23/06, Chris Murley <qumefox@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Saying someone can't afford a delorean just > because they aren't rich enough is just mean. You can own one on a > $30k/yr salary. Either you can buy a cheap one, and fix it yourself > knowing you'll have about $20k in it when your done, or you can get a > loan and buy one in good shape to begin with and just make payments on > it like you would with any other car. Owning a car that is 2/3rds of your yearly salary is financially irresponsible. Period. I know people do it all the time, but if you told a financial planner he'd probably have a heart attack. Anybody who has aspirations of retiring with dignity at a reasonable age would not make such a foolish mistake. If you have to engage in financial irresponsibility to own something, "You can't afford it." Yeah, you can work your way into a DeLorean on $30k a year. Heck, you could do it on half that. That doesn't make it a good idea. Buying a classic or other specialty/exotic automobile on credit is likewise a terrible idea. I'd highly advise anyone to pay cash for their DeLorean and it's needs or don't buy it. These are not the ramblings of some elitist jerk. Well, actually they are, but that's beside the point. It's simply good financial advice with a healthy dose of common sense. What happens when a DeLorean suddenly needs a couple grand worth of work? That day will come and if someone is living on $30k, making $300 a month car payments at 8% interest (good luck getting a loan for a 1981 vehicle at a lower rate), it's going to be a tough sell. So the car will sit in neglect because the owner can't afford to care for it. Eventually he will sell it for a fraction of what he has into it and the dream will be lost. It happens all the time in this community. Where do you think the $7,500 DeLorean comes from? It's someone's lost dream. But don't let me tell anyone how to manage their finances, because I'm not like "normal" people who have loads of consumer debt, live paycheck to paycheck and finance cars. If you want to be normal, follow the advice of normal people and pretend us successful folks are just mean or don't know what we're talking about. Just remember that I once supported a family on much less than $30k a year, so I'm not knocking your income. I've been in your shoes and if things went to hell I could find myself there again - and I'd sell my DeLorean in a second. -Ryan To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/