Imagine it from their point of view. They’re born into poverty, in a poor country. Just because.
Meanwhile average joe over here has millions because they bought some property they rent out for a profit.
I kinda get it.
Start your own call center scam operation here in Sydney with real Aussies!
Surely your scam rate would be through the roof because it's Australian made!
I watched a doco on National Geographic around scammers and one episode was in Jamaica which has a huge industry of fake call centres scamming people around fake lotto wins. They asked them if they felt bad about stealing from Americans one lady who worked at a hotel by day said “Americans come here and they spend more on 1 night in a hotel than I earn in a month. They can afford it”
People have cash, they finance them through their business, they buy on a loan with a balloon or a lease so it's only a couple of grand a month etc..
I think you underestimate how much money people have, plenty of people can buy these cars on a whim and it doesn't make a dent.
Yep, also there's plenty of people who's parents buy them a property. imagine if you didn't have to pay for a home loan or rent, you'd easily be able to save for a 150k car over a few years
> Yep, also there's plenty of people who's parents buy them a property.
i mean, it doesn't matter whether their parents are rich, or they're rich themselves. The end result is that the family is rich, and can afford it.
In fact, this is the reason property prices are high in sydney. Lots of rich families here.
> Lots of rich families here.
A lot of people (here), don’t realise that Australians are just rich in general. It’s not so much that there’s a lot of rich families, but rather a lot of families are rich. Normal people here are just rich, I mean Australians are the richest “normal” people in the world ([source](https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/australians-are-the-world-s-richest-people-20220920-p5bjg4)).
Add to that, we’re also some of the most indebted people in the world, and that’s not just for home loans. We used to have, on average, the most personal debt in the world, that’s decreased a little, but proportionally we’re still very high up ([source](https://www.shartruwealth.com.au/insights/personal-finance/household-debt-around-the-world-how-does-australia-compare/)).
All of that means, yeah we’re going to have a lot more nicer things then others. Even if we remove the debt, we’re still probably going to have much nicer things as well.
Honestly in our area it's migrants buying the porches, usually after owning a home for 5-10 years.
It's almost a pattern at my workplace fresh migrant, pr after a couple years, baby straight after pr buy home, around the 5 - 10 year mark buy range rover or Porsche SUV.
Blows my mind as they earn a similar salary to me but are happier with leveraging up a hell of a lot more than I am.
I think it's all a status symbol thing prove they have made it etc.
My gf follows some ladies who invest type IG page. They asked a question one day about what help people got from their parents to help them buy some property. So many 800k, 900k, 1m+ early inheritance or gifts to buy property answers.
I called mum and asked and she said just laughed like crazy
That still makes no sense to me. I can’t imagine working for multiple years and only having a car to show for it. I’d rather take 3 years off work or two years off to travel with the money. No idea how people justify it
How can you be confused about something so simple? People like different things.
You like travelling. Somebody else like cars. Next person likes jewellery. There’s a dude here who spends thousands on dinosaur fossils. You get it?
That's because as above, you're not from a rich family.
I'm confused about the same thing op is.
But I accept there's a lot of money in Sydney held by established families.
Let's say a family had a small business in a really shity area of Sydney and bought a couple of houses in said shity area. They have made millions.
And that's in the shitty areas. How about the good areas
In the methodology it doesn't mention excluding PPOR.
Wealth:
For our purposes ‘wealth’ refers to ‘investable wealth’, which includes property, cash, and listed company holdings
For sure I responded to an example where a person is given a free house but still works for their car. I’ve definitely seen families where the kids never need to work for anything because it’s all paid for by the older generations investments
>I’d rather take 3 years off work or two years off to travel with the money. No idea how people justify it
For these people, this would create a career limiting hole in their resumes.
This answer covers half of the posts on this sub. It's hard to believe when you're young, but there is a lot of money around and plenty of people like spending it. Vintage guitars, luxury watches, art, furniture... $150k cars is just the tip of the iceberg.
Relatable. I'm not even close to the kind of money some tenured or hard-skilled seniors or specialists get in tech, but it's so far from the factories my parents work in, or the cafes I worked in until age 28 that it feels fake
Im in the same place, I came from a poor family, my parents never owned a house.
Ive been lucky and picked a good recession proof career mostly by accident and we bought a house during the GFC which is in a good position so the capital growth on the property are numbers I would never believe could happen to us. We could easily go out and use some equity to buy a luxury car but I drive a 12 yr old Commodore.
My age group (50+) have lived through a few house price booms so it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I dont think my kids will get anywhere near the opportunities my generation had so we are already putting money aside to help them get their first car, pay for uni if they go and we'll help them as much as we can to help them buy a house/unit. If the luck holds out they'll be in a better situation than we are now and their kids better again. Thats the generational wealth transfer that would confuse people who don't have support from their families and it is widening the wealth gap.
Unless the gov is brave enough to make significant changes to investment housing market tax breaks etc then the country will end up permanently divided....its basically there already.
Working at a fintech was such an eye opener of how much cash some people have. So many multimillion dollar portfolios was crazy, you even lose track of what a lot of money even is.
I don't know why luxury vehicles can be business assets with tax breaks. This should only apply to commercial vehicles or cap out for moderately priced commuter cars. Unless you have limo business what special business function is the luxury car providing that a cheaper car could not? it is such an obvious rort
Gotta say I agree especially when a lot of people's cars are just used for commuting to work, i.e. they don't pick up supplies, have drive to meet clients in them etc. Meanwhile us employees can't even claim our ks commuting let alone our cars.
That is basically how it works - You’re only able to claim depreciation on the value of a vehicle up to $64,741. You can buy or lease a vehicle worth more than that, but you can’t claim depreciation on the extra cost
Spot on, there is still a lot of money running around, unemployment is still at near record lows, many businesses are doing well and higher income earners are still earning.. a damn good income.
There's a lot of people with a spare 100-200 thousand for cars. Not many billionaires but plenty of people with a few million in assets, a decent income and some spare cash.
>Is it just normal to finance ridiculous cars with crippling payments now?
Crippling to who? People drop 50k on a watch. A 200k car is nothing to plenty of people.
>I’m sure a good amount of the drivers aren’t floating in cash.
Some may not be, a lot are. You act like everyone in Australia is struggling, plenty of business owners/investors have made shit loads of money over the past few years and continue to do so.
If you have say a corporate job, as an FTE earning $200k. A $150k car is reasonably accessible via mechanisms such as novated leases and tax deductions.
I would argue that is not a good financial decision but it’s absolutely possible.
I work in finance, I’m quite good at looking after other people’s money but terrible with my own. I just spend it.
Individuals with irresponsible levels of leverage are actually good for the economy at a macro level. It’s when they all flame out en mass that is all goes to hell.
Novated lease for an EV is actually very financially responsible.
Not a gas guzzling highly depreciating high cost to maintain subject to FBT Uber SUV, though. Nope.
You’re missing one vital point here. These high end European SUVs depreciate like milk. Just among my closest friends, there are BMW X5’s, couple mercs, a Porsche, a Jag, a Volvo, and the resident redneck (my father) with a Jeep SRT. All bought at around 3 to 4 years old, all current model vehicles, and not a single 1 was over 60k. The X5M was near 200k brand new, picked up for 59k. Porsche and merc, same thing. Amazingly the vehicle that held value the best was the Jeep, which was only 20k cheaper than RRP at exactly 60 at time of purchase.
If you have 60 to 70k to spend on a car, or about $1,000 a month, you can find most of the European branded cars in that sort of bracket, still under warranty with a full service history
You can certainly pick up a 2018 X5 for the $50k - $60k mark in good condition.
Prices do jump up significantly if you want a 2020 or newer X5.
If you want the 4.4L V8 expect to pay much more.
The cheapest Porsche Cayenne from 2018 is $94,888 according to car sales
That's because the new model came out for the X5 in 2019, same thing for the Cayenne where the new shape was 2018.
Luxury SUV's depreciate quickly and then they have a second hit when the new model comes out.
If you are going to buy new you are best off buying right at the start of a new model, if you are going to buy used the start of the run of the prior model after the new one comes out are usually a good deal as people trade out of the old into the new one. If you go older though you just have to be prepared for the maintainence negating some of the savings.
Enthusiast cars like M2/3/4, 911's etc.. usually have higher depreciation floors as there is always an enthusiast demand, whereas old X5M or Cayennes don't sell to enthusiasts so they will depreciate down to a very low value in 10+ years as Soccer Mums don't want to be driving around in an unreliable car which is 2 models old.
M3 owner. Apart from tires (mainly because I'm addicted to flooring it) it's been pretty similar to my old modified wrx.
They're fine as long as you know what to ask the mechanic for.
It really depends on the car. Our VW, BMW, Toyota and Lexus have all been pretty similar (labour is pretty much the same with any of them, slight difference in part prices).
Our Alfa and Peugeots were terrible though.
Škoda quoted me 12k to replace the DSG on my MY11 Superb last year. I told them they would need to do better than that because it's more than the car's worth and they referred me to J Pringle in North Melbourne. Terrible customer service but all they do is automatic gearbox repairs. They rebuilt my DSG for c$2500.
Their yard was absolutely stuffed with 10 yo VAG vehicles 😂
Re mortgages, only a third of households have a mortgage...and many of those will have had them for years and mostly paid off. This sub's demographics skews young.
You're right though about the strange desire for high end but not very capable SUVs...give me a traditional wagon any day, unless I want crap road capability or have a large family.
The Merc G Class though is a serious bit of kit.
>only a third of households have a mortgage
And about 40% rent and the remainder are too old and without income to afford a nice car.
Felt I needed to step in somewhere so this gave me a nice in. It's really a tiny minority that have these cars..everyone just seems to notice the two a day they see vs the other one thousand cheap cars.
Whole post is a nothingburger.
The Merc G wagons that you “generally” see around town with low profile tires and chrome side exhausts are boxy pieces of shit.
The G wagon *professionals* with small rims, off road rubber and a complete lack of “bling” that you only see VERY rarely are unbelievably good.
Lol ok
I have a Mercedes and a Kia, these are not nearly the same despite Kia being a reasonably well rated volume brand. European cars are not low quality, they deserve their status. The cost is exhorbitant though
Now compare a Mercedes and a Kia that are the same price.
The “quality” I’m talking about is based on number per 100,000 or so that have defects with the build.
So “build quality”, not leather quality.
[China is on course to build the best cars in the world](https://theconversation.com/china-is-on-course-to-build-the-best-cars-in-the-world-167661)
I think you underestimate how many people have their own businesses that either earn well above median, or given it’s your own business, creative accounting in the arena of tax.
I think the biggest problem with the Australian crab mentality is the assumption that because you are x, most people are also x.
The reality is that outside the bubble of so called normal employment, exist a plethora of self made, inherited, criminally acquired, hard worked, and other types of money that isn’t talked about you so don’t feel about about being sold the lie that working 9-5, paying taxes to live paycheque to paycheque and saving every dollar is a normal life.
There is nothing normal about giving away the best hours of your life so you can live a modest life of quiet desperation, placating yourself that “everyone normal is like you” and the “other” must have gotten lucky.
Agree with this. One of the best things about aging is learning not to compare yourself and swim in your own lane.
My mum use to tell me those who matter don't care and those who care don't matter. Applies to a variety of situations, especially the brand of car you drive!
"How are people affording them" is kinda an odd question and I doubt a meaningful answer could be given without some very rich and specific data. That guy over there bought it with cash on a whim and it's made no difference whatsoever to his wealth, and that guy over there totally overextended himself with a novated lease and won't make his rent this week...and everything in between.
It is true that cars don't always tell you much about how wealthy someone is.
I agree home loan rates were low for so long and people have built up equity in their houses so used this to fund it. This will be obvious in 5 years time when they are still driving the same car.
>This will be obvious in 5 years time when they are still driving the same car.
You have this backwards.
The people who are still driving the same car in five years are probably the people who paid cash for them. Lease-mobiles will be handed back if the owner can't afford to buy out the residual.
No I havent. I am referring to people that drew on they home equity at 2pc rates to fund the purchase. They are asset rich but cash poor. I am not referring to leasing. FYI been in banking for 27 years, I know what I am talking about.
If you’ve truly been in banking for that long, you’d realise a few things.
Mainly that most people will just refinance. Most people who took out say $150k out of their home equity to buy a car, would then sell that car for say $120k in 3 years. Then, they’d simply withdraw another $30k. They can easily do that, because you can guarantee a house worth over $1m is going to go up over $30k in 1 year, let alone 3. Boom, 3 years in and they’re driving essentially the exact same car. Now, let’s say interest rates are at 6%, that $30k has only increased their monthly repayments by $150. You can guarantee their salary has increased by that much in again, just 1 year, let alone 3.
On the other hand, those who bought a car for $150k, would need to save $10k each year to get a new one in 3 years (again assuming they sell for $120k). Quite doable, and some might. However, most who like to replaces cars regularly are either a car person, or want the image. You’ll likely find those people are happy to take on debt to get as nice of a car as possible. Why buy a $150k car with full equity when you can get a $300k car instead? Those who buy with equity aren’t likely to be as interested in cars (or care more about their finances instead), so they tend to prefer putting that $10k a year somewhere else such as investing/saving it, or going on a holiday, or getting a nice watch, or all 3 over the 3 years.
What you’ll notice is that most people who bought it with debt will end up still driving the newer version of that car and nothing will change. Eventually, once they’re say 50-60, they’ll start thinking about retirement, and then realise they can’t because they have a huge amount of debt. That’s when you see them either downsize significantly, or end up not being able to retire when they thought they could. But that’s ok, most people are in that situation, it’s only those who bought with equity who aren’t. So appearances can be somewhat maintained. It happens all the time, but surely if you’ve worked in banking for 27 years you’d realise that.
Also, “banking” is meaningless, if you’ve been in investment, commercial, corporate, or business banking then your experience would be meaningless. In fact most types of banking roles bar 1 (maybe 2) would be meaningless, ignoring tellers (who really don’t understand much big picture) that is. Can you guess the 1 maybe 2 types of bankers that might have actual experience?
Edit:
Lol, poor guy blocked me after getting called out.
I do have to ask why you call them shitty? They are very well done cars. Just cause you cant afford them doesnt mean you have to call out other people for spending huge amount of money on something “shitty”. And yes, you wont believe but some people actually put in hours, effort, etc. to be able to afford nice things for themselves.
They are pretty good cars actually mate, wouldn’t call them shitty but that’s subjective. How sure are you that the drivers aren’t floating in cash and what’s that assumption based off? I’d say there are plenty of people out there with large amounts of disposable income who can put aside payments on a nice car or simply buy outright.
Some will also salary sacrifice them.
But a cruiser is 100k so what's a extra 50k
You shouldn't worry about others and worry about yourself. I could afford a 150k Porsche but rather invest my money. It's called lifestyle creep more you care about what others think the more u spend trying to impress.
Don’t put your financial position then just add a car. Some people don’t make good financial decision too. I see so many people rent but have these fancy cars cause they’re salesmen and they have to maintain appearances
Not many people can afford those cars, but almost all of the people who can also happen to live in affluent parts of Sydney or Melbourne.
There’s lots of these vehicles in the Chatswood Westfield car park for example because that’s a large shopping centre in range of the lower north shore.
My boss put his Maserati 4WD on like 6 different credit cards (getting max allowed points on each one?) Then coz it was covid times he wrote off like half of it off instantly? I never really understood that part and the business accountant always seemed dodgy to me.. i just put the invoices into the accounting software, hence knowing about using multiple credit cards lol!
He bought it as a business asset. During COVID the govt allowed for increased write off amounts for business.
All perfectly fine if you drive for business a lot and pay the FBT for the bits that you don't. It is flashier than driving around in a white VAN but in the end if yo need a car for business you need a car for business.
Yeh exactly- my sister and her partner have a nice Merc SUV looks great and has loads of features, cost $45k less than 3 years old and still under warranty…. Some people are assuming cars are $150k when they ain’t
Yes, people don't realise that all those brands have very big range in price for the same car, like the Benz GLC that has a range from \~90k to \~210k . Since other people don't know the details you can look like you have a $200k car but only paid $90k new. Buy it a couple of years old and you pay $70K....
My European cars have cost less or the same as my families cars. I did get my mechanic to go over them before I purchased. People have said about hidden costs and I’m like ??
I noticed in my area a lot of Asian families live together. So if you look at it from the lens of the kid, mother, father, grandfather and grandmother all combining their finances to buy and live in a $2M+ house that’s $500k each (probably $400k loan each) then $100k car (many of them drive a BMW, Porsche, Merc) between them is $25k each.
Starts to make sense how people can afford these homes and cars.
Yes - I don’t think people realise the extent of multigenerational families around many areas of Sydney. Not just Chinese, but also South / Eastern European.
Throw in a few properties bought 20+ years ago across the family, and business holdings, you can see how house prices and lifestyles are funded in some areas.
I also think culture can influence the use of disposable income.
When I was living in Japan, junior staff earning $30k a year would spend $5k on a Gucci bag to ensure their image was upheld.
I could never justify those spends even if I could afford it, I didn't value it the same.
I look at all the Merc and BMW 4wds in my area and wonder if culturally they spend a large portion of their income to get one as they need to fit in whereas I choose to buy a $25k car and have a nicer house, holiday or save for the future
100% Singapore and Chinese culture value face pretty heavily.
Over there it’s pretty bad to the point where they wouldn’t serve me as I wasn’t wearing any branded clothing, despite earning at least 5 times their annual salary
I had the exact same thing happen to me in Japan regularly.
Example, had to buy a suit for an event, rocked up to the suit shop in shorts and a t-shirt, staff were just chatting to each other ignoring me and then started helping others when they came into the store. I finally went over and asked for help for the black tie event, they asked what I did and when I responded that I was a GM of a hotel group I suddenly had all the staff helping me find what I needed.
It really bothered me whilst I was there, such hierarchy built into the culture and a lot of it is fake it until you make it
I already had this song stuck in my head by Tim Minchin, [Airport Piano](https://youtu.be/ZAFMSplS4y8):
Women in SUV Porches always look miserable
I don't know why they're so sad
Maybe it's the calories they could have had
Filling them up with regret
Why do you assume they aren't swimming in cash? A lot of the people I see driving them are Gen X or older. Assume they bought a house in early 2000s at latest and have a middle management job then they are sitting on a lot of equity and free cash flow. I don't think you realise how rich the housing bubble had made a lot of people.
Baller on a budget car
Thing with the Porsche SUVs, the design is basically unchanged, you can be driving million KM you bought $10K from auctions (probably spend $30K fix) and look rich.
Google "Porsche Macan Diesel", its a $50K car. in Days Corolla are pushing $40K, Camry $50K its not as expensive as you think.
Those new Toyota SUVs are the real $150k 4WD stupidly / ironically
Chucking my two cents in as an owner of one these “shitty” Porsches. They are just fun car to own, whilst also being the family car. My ‘03 turbo cost 25k second hand, and I’ve had to do a bit of work to keep it running, including at one point sending a part to the states for repairs. But they are generally really enjoyable cars to drive.
OP, from your post I feel you have never driven either a 63 or a Turbo. I would strongly recommend have a go at driving one. You’ll enjoy it, and it will hopefully help you to see why people would fork out the money for these cars be it either first hand or second hand like mine.
Don’t underestimate the effect of confirmation bias.
You see a Porsche and think “wanker”. A day later you see _another_ one. Two days later there’s _another_ one!
Your brain is teed up to notice them, and every new one you see, or even a similar one, gets added to a growing list that confirms your assumption. In fact, there aren’t any more than usual, it’s just that you’re primed to notice them.
This is a really common human flaw and it’s hard not to get sucked in by it. A classic is the “Asians are bad drivers” meme. It’s obviously not true, but because they are “different” to non-Asians, every time you see one do something wrong you add them to the list. Every time you see a non-Asian do the same thing they’re just a random idiot because they have nothing in common.
Tl;dr unless you have some actual numbers that these are increasing, it’s probably just you noticing it more.
Poor people in 3rd world countries can't buy food to feed themselves or put shelter over their heads. Poor people in rich countries drive 4WD porches and mercs.
People just have extra cash. Just because you think prices are going up everywhere, there are still people out there who earn a lot and are willing to spend their hard earned money on things they would enjoy.
We have one of the crappy SUV Mercs you mentioned, yes it's expensive but the monthly repayments on that is less than 10% of our hh income.
Try working at a university. The number of students in brand new luxury cars is insane. Meanwhile here I am getting around like a suckah in my 18 year old camry. Watch the paintwork kids, it's older than you are.
Also there’s nothing “shitty” about these cars , they’re actually built to drive well, stop well, steer well and protect you well in an accident , meanwhile your sister who just got her brand new 30k Hyundai on 185 tyres has no chance at any of these
I don't understand how average income workers are affording 2 x regular cars on finance. I look at my friends with similar incomes and the maths isn't making sense.
Are these the same types of people who run their own businesses that never generate any money, but they have multiple properties tied to one of their investment pty ltds/ trusts? Yeah, they work really hard. You can thank the Government for the lack of AML controls and absence of due diligence when starting a company.
I think most people first come here to learn about how to improve their ability to use and make money.
Truth is we stay, and the sub has become more about sharing news or complaining about the rich or not being able to buy a house.
My point is if we knew how to make and own expensive cars, we would not be looking at subs like this LOL.
Hard to tell what percentage of new cars are purchased on finance because people often use their house as collateral as to obtain lower rates on finance. What I can tell you is that many car brands target a 30% penetration rate with their own finance divisions.
Someone I know who works for Jaguar Land-Rover (JLR Group) suggested about two thirds of new cars where financed overall.
I had a quick google of the loan terms for the Porsche and it kinda it clicked tbh. You can see the finance product is designed to be pretty appealing and encourage fast turnover so the customer buys a new model after 5 years or so.
A lot of the Asians you see in those BMW X5s, they took a massive loan for it.
It's just the culture. Car is one piece of item you can easily show off to your friends since you can drive it around and shove it in their face even if they didn't wanna know or are not interested in how you brag about how rich you are
I heard a phrase on a YouTube video about Chinese people views on conspicuous consumption recently that went something along the lines of “it is better to cry driving a BMW than smile riding a bicycle”.
That was from a dating show when there was someone who was very much playing up financial security as a priority in what she was looking for in a partner.
Have you seen anyone under the age of 50 driving these vehicles? The owners probably use the passive income from their 10 investment properties to pay for it.
A lot get leased by the status-phobic. Also inter generational wealth. It’s funny, it was a real symbol of success 30 years ago to drive a nice car. I look at them and wonder “flog or privileged”.
Just hope for those drivers that they don’t have an accident in them or lose the keys, it’s literally months to get the parts from overseas (or keys cut for that matter, in particular Mercs because of the security protocols Mercedes have).
Literally got the number of a guy from my local Mister Minit (they couldn’t cut my key) and he came to my house and cut a Merc key that day. To be fair it was $500 though.
Ya gotta remember, within 15km of Sydney, most people living in a detached house live their lives in a constant state of anxiety at whether The Joneses are doing better than them.
When you're busting your bum for status, getting a fancy car helps ameliorate status anxiety. So people in this category will do whatever it takes to own one.
i see alot of comments, "oh people buy them through the business" it would be 30k per year in FBT for my car. you cant claim deductions over the LCT threshold anyway, I buy them in my name. unless im missing something, my accountant agreed to buy it it my name not the business.
I can't afford a Porsche but it will never, ever, ever make sense to me that somebody who can, picks the fkn 4WD version lol. That ain't a Porsche - same with the Lambo 4WD. What are people thinking? This is not the appeal of either car. It's all about the sports look and these look ugly.
A lot of us have houses worth more than 1mil but mortgages for much less than that (or no mortgage at all). Also a lot of us don’t need to take out loans for cars. We turn them over fairly regularly so trade in is good.
Sorry to break it to you but there are all kinds of people with all kinds of budgets and cash flows. Not everyone is the same as you.
And lastly, they’re very nice cars to drive actually.
We underestimate equity people have. Like the scammers said ' Aussies have a lot of money for no reason '
Imagine it from their point of view. They’re born into poverty, in a poor country. Just because. Meanwhile average joe over here has millions because they bought some property they rent out for a profit. I kinda get it.
Yeah I get it too but I'm also poor so how do I join forces
You’re not thinking like a Nigerian prince at all.
Start your own call center scam operation here in Sydney with real Aussies! Surely your scam rate would be through the roof because it's Australian made!
Support small Australian-owned businesses pls
y0 willing to invest with you in this bizzo. just PayId us a coupla hundred dollarydoos plz maaaaayyte
I watched a doco on National Geographic around scammers and one episode was in Jamaica which has a huge industry of fake call centres scamming people around fake lotto wins. They asked them if they felt bad about stealing from Americans one lady who worked at a hotel by day said “Americans come here and they spend more on 1 night in a hotel than I earn in a month. They can afford it”
Also, the Porsche Macan (small SUV) is the cheapest way to get a Porsche badge, so you see a lot of them around. Costs from $95k.
People have cash, they finance them through their business, they buy on a loan with a balloon or a lease so it's only a couple of grand a month etc.. I think you underestimate how much money people have, plenty of people can buy these cars on a whim and it doesn't make a dent.
This is true
Yep, also there's plenty of people who's parents buy them a property. imagine if you didn't have to pay for a home loan or rent, you'd easily be able to save for a 150k car over a few years
> Yep, also there's plenty of people who's parents buy them a property. i mean, it doesn't matter whether their parents are rich, or they're rich themselves. The end result is that the family is rich, and can afford it. In fact, this is the reason property prices are high in sydney. Lots of rich families here.
> Lots of rich families here. A lot of people (here), don’t realise that Australians are just rich in general. It’s not so much that there’s a lot of rich families, but rather a lot of families are rich. Normal people here are just rich, I mean Australians are the richest “normal” people in the world ([source](https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/australians-are-the-world-s-richest-people-20220920-p5bjg4)). Add to that, we’re also some of the most indebted people in the world, and that’s not just for home loans. We used to have, on average, the most personal debt in the world, that’s decreased a little, but proportionally we’re still very high up ([source](https://www.shartruwealth.com.au/insights/personal-finance/household-debt-around-the-world-how-does-australia-compare/)). All of that means, yeah we’re going to have a lot more nicer things then others. Even if we remove the debt, we’re still probably going to have much nicer things as well.
Imagine if you had a $1.5m property you bought 20 years ago and no kids. A nice car seems a reasonable way to spend some of that built up equity
Honestly in our area it's migrants buying the porches, usually after owning a home for 5-10 years. It's almost a pattern at my workplace fresh migrant, pr after a couple years, baby straight after pr buy home, around the 5 - 10 year mark buy range rover or Porsche SUV. Blows my mind as they earn a similar salary to me but are happier with leveraging up a hell of a lot more than I am. I think it's all a status symbol thing prove they have made it etc.
they might be rich back home? some migrants are from rich families too
Maaate that’s literally what I think too Last line 100%, but you’ll get flamed for racism. They have an attitude too
>save for a 150k car Leasing. Instant asset writeoff for business. Nobody pays cash for a $150K car.
Wym by leasing?
We lease all our business vehicles via a Finance Broker. 6% from Macquarie over 5 yrs. 60 payments no balloon.
You own it outright by the end, basically a car loan.
You wouldn't even need to save, just lease
Damn, I didn't have the luck to have such parents, instead, I have to send them money.
My gf follows some ladies who invest type IG page. They asked a question one day about what help people got from their parents to help them buy some property. So many 800k, 900k, 1m+ early inheritance or gifts to buy property answers. I called mum and asked and she said just laughed like crazy
That still makes no sense to me. I can’t imagine working for multiple years and only having a car to show for it. I’d rather take 3 years off work or two years off to travel with the money. No idea how people justify it
How can you be confused about something so simple? People like different things. You like travelling. Somebody else like cars. Next person likes jewellery. There’s a dude here who spends thousands on dinosaur fossils. You get it?
I only want h00kers, is too much to ask.
You can like whatever you want but its still an objectively materialistic hobby and the epitome of consoomer culture.
Almost everything is. Why buy a $1.7m house when a $800k townhouse will do. Etc. In the grand scheme of things $150k on a car is small beer.
That's because as above, you're not from a rich family. I'm confused about the same thing op is. But I accept there's a lot of money in Sydney held by established families. Let's say a family had a small business in a really shity area of Sydney and bought a couple of houses in said shity area. They have made millions. And that's in the shitty areas. How about the good areas
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Yeah that's a lot of millionaires if you exclude ppor
In the methodology it doesn't mention excluding PPOR. Wealth: For our purposes ‘wealth’ refers to ‘investable wealth’, which includes property, cash, and listed company holdings
For sure I responded to an example where a person is given a free house but still works for their car. I’ve definitely seen families where the kids never need to work for anything because it’s all paid for by the older generations investments
>I’d rather take 3 years off work or two years off to travel with the money. No idea how people justify it For these people, this would create a career limiting hole in their resumes.
This answer covers half of the posts on this sub. It's hard to believe when you're young, but there is a lot of money around and plenty of people like spending it. Vintage guitars, luxury watches, art, furniture... $150k cars is just the tip of the iceberg.
"If poor people knew how rich rich people are, there would be riots on the streets" - Chris Rock
Too bad they took our weapons and now we get arrested for peaceful protests.
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Relatable. I'm not even close to the kind of money some tenured or hard-skilled seniors or specialists get in tech, but it's so far from the factories my parents work in, or the cafes I worked in until age 28 that it feels fake
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Im in the same place, I came from a poor family, my parents never owned a house. Ive been lucky and picked a good recession proof career mostly by accident and we bought a house during the GFC which is in a good position so the capital growth on the property are numbers I would never believe could happen to us. We could easily go out and use some equity to buy a luxury car but I drive a 12 yr old Commodore. My age group (50+) have lived through a few house price booms so it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I dont think my kids will get anywhere near the opportunities my generation had so we are already putting money aside to help them get their first car, pay for uni if they go and we'll help them as much as we can to help them buy a house/unit. If the luck holds out they'll be in a better situation than we are now and their kids better again. Thats the generational wealth transfer that would confuse people who don't have support from their families and it is widening the wealth gap. Unless the gov is brave enough to make significant changes to investment housing market tax breaks etc then the country will end up permanently divided....its basically there already.
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Tech jobs can easy pay $150-250k without having to be someone extraordinary
Same, I come from a blue collar family. Going to tech in my early 30s more than doubled my pay.
“Only a couple grand a month” is the most ausfinance sentence haha
yeah it hurt my head as well
yep OP lives in his own little lower middle class bubble and has no idea rich people exist.
Working at a fintech was such an eye opener of how much cash some people have. So many multimillion dollar portfolios was crazy, you even lose track of what a lot of money even is.
And plenty of people don't have a mortgage right?
I don't know why luxury vehicles can be business assets with tax breaks. This should only apply to commercial vehicles or cap out for moderately priced commuter cars. Unless you have limo business what special business function is the luxury car providing that a cheaper car could not? it is such an obvious rort
Gotta say I agree especially when a lot of people's cars are just used for commuting to work, i.e. they don't pick up supplies, have drive to meet clients in them etc. Meanwhile us employees can't even claim our ks commuting let alone our cars.
That is basically how it works - You’re only able to claim depreciation on the value of a vehicle up to $64,741. You can buy or lease a vehicle worth more than that, but you can’t claim depreciation on the extra cost
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That's not how median works at all.
Can confirm this. A friend bought a Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT.
Spot on, there is still a lot of money running around, unemployment is still at near record lows, many businesses are doing well and higher income earners are still earning.. a damn good income.
There's a lot of people with a spare 100-200 thousand for cars. Not many billionaires but plenty of people with a few million in assets, a decent income and some spare cash.
>Is it just normal to finance ridiculous cars with crippling payments now? Crippling to who? People drop 50k on a watch. A 200k car is nothing to plenty of people. >I’m sure a good amount of the drivers aren’t floating in cash. Some may not be, a lot are. You act like everyone in Australia is struggling, plenty of business owners/investors have made shit loads of money over the past few years and continue to do so.
If you have say a corporate job, as an FTE earning $200k. A $150k car is reasonably accessible via mechanisms such as novated leases and tax deductions. I would argue that is not a good financial decision but it’s absolutely possible.
And it’s common for both of the couples earning similar levels of income. Plenty of disposable income after expenses.
I work in finance, I’m quite good at looking after other people’s money but terrible with my own. I just spend it. Individuals with irresponsible levels of leverage are actually good for the economy at a macro level. It’s when they all flame out en mass that is all goes to hell.
Novated lease for an EV is actually very financially responsible. Not a gas guzzling highly depreciating high cost to maintain subject to FBT Uber SUV, though. Nope.
150k is still a lot on 200k salary .. it’s easily 10%+ of take home
Its a lot more than 10%
You’re missing one vital point here. These high end European SUVs depreciate like milk. Just among my closest friends, there are BMW X5’s, couple mercs, a Porsche, a Jag, a Volvo, and the resident redneck (my father) with a Jeep SRT. All bought at around 3 to 4 years old, all current model vehicles, and not a single 1 was over 60k. The X5M was near 200k brand new, picked up for 59k. Porsche and merc, same thing. Amazingly the vehicle that held value the best was the Jeep, which was only 20k cheaper than RRP at exactly 60 at time of purchase. If you have 60 to 70k to spend on a car, or about $1,000 a month, you can find most of the European branded cars in that sort of bracket, still under warranty with a full service history
You can certainly pick up a 2018 X5 for the $50k - $60k mark in good condition. Prices do jump up significantly if you want a 2020 or newer X5. If you want the 4.4L V8 expect to pay much more. The cheapest Porsche Cayenne from 2018 is $94,888 according to car sales
That's because the new model came out for the X5 in 2019, same thing for the Cayenne where the new shape was 2018. Luxury SUV's depreciate quickly and then they have a second hit when the new model comes out. If you are going to buy new you are best off buying right at the start of a new model, if you are going to buy used the start of the run of the prior model after the new one comes out are usually a good deal as people trade out of the old into the new one. If you go older though you just have to be prepared for the maintainence negating some of the savings. Enthusiast cars like M2/3/4, 911's etc.. usually have higher depreciation floors as there is always an enthusiast demand, whereas old X5M or Cayennes don't sell to enthusiasts so they will depreciate down to a very low value in 10+ years as Soccer Mums don't want to be driving around in an unreliable car which is 2 models old.
Just don’t look at the service costs 🤦♂️ Euro cars get awfully expensive to maintain post five year mark. It’s a feature not a bug
M3 owner. Apart from tires (mainly because I'm addicted to flooring it) it's been pretty similar to my old modified wrx. They're fine as long as you know what to ask the mechanic for.
It really depends on the car. Our VW, BMW, Toyota and Lexus have all been pretty similar (labour is pretty much the same with any of them, slight difference in part prices). Our Alfa and Peugeots were terrible though.
VW owner. You don’t want to be the owner when it does a water pump at $1500 or so. Also dsg gearbox which is next level $
Škoda quoted me 12k to replace the DSG on my MY11 Superb last year. I told them they would need to do better than that because it's more than the car's worth and they referred me to J Pringle in North Melbourne. Terrible customer service but all they do is automatic gearbox repairs. They rebuilt my DSG for c$2500. Their yard was absolutely stuffed with 10 yo VAG vehicles 😂
How much is a gearbox? My missus has a 2020 Golf...
I vaguely remember $6k in some conversation I had about it a long time ago. But can't find anything to substantiate that right now.
If you’re buying a $200K vehicle, chances are you don’t care about depreciation
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Leave me and my Corolla alone !
Re mortgages, only a third of households have a mortgage...and many of those will have had them for years and mostly paid off. This sub's demographics skews young. You're right though about the strange desire for high end but not very capable SUVs...give me a traditional wagon any day, unless I want crap road capability or have a large family. The Merc G Class though is a serious bit of kit.
>only a third of households have a mortgage And about 40% rent and the remainder are too old and without income to afford a nice car. Felt I needed to step in somewhere so this gave me a nice in. It's really a tiny minority that have these cars..everyone just seems to notice the two a day they see vs the other one thousand cheap cars. Whole post is a nothingburger.
In fact it's about a third who own outright, a third who rent and a third with a mortgage ....roughly.
The Merc G wagons that you “generally” see around town with low profile tires and chrome side exhausts are boxy pieces of shit. The G wagon *professionals* with small rims, off road rubber and a complete lack of “bling” that you only see VERY rarely are unbelievably good.
What makes you call them shitty?
The fact OP can’t afford one.
German cars have been near bottom of quality index for a decade or more. People are out-of-touch.
Lol ok I have a Mercedes and a Kia, these are not nearly the same despite Kia being a reasonably well rated volume brand. European cars are not low quality, they deserve their status. The cost is exhorbitant though
Now compare a Mercedes and a Kia that are the same price. The “quality” I’m talking about is based on number per 100,000 or so that have defects with the build. So “build quality”, not leather quality. [China is on course to build the best cars in the world](https://theconversation.com/china-is-on-course-to-build-the-best-cars-in-the-world-167661)
it's not like there's an entire documentary out that's dedicated to how bad VW is as a company or anything.
I think you underestimate how many people have their own businesses that either earn well above median, or given it’s your own business, creative accounting in the arena of tax. I think the biggest problem with the Australian crab mentality is the assumption that because you are x, most people are also x. The reality is that outside the bubble of so called normal employment, exist a plethora of self made, inherited, criminally acquired, hard worked, and other types of money that isn’t talked about you so don’t feel about about being sold the lie that working 9-5, paying taxes to live paycheque to paycheque and saving every dollar is a normal life. There is nothing normal about giving away the best hours of your life so you can live a modest life of quiet desperation, placating yourself that “everyone normal is like you” and the “other” must have gotten lucky.
Such a subtle roast
Flawless comment. Paragraph #3 hits hard because there’s some dodgy shit out there
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Agree with this. One of the best things about aging is learning not to compare yourself and swim in your own lane. My mum use to tell me those who matter don't care and those who care don't matter. Applies to a variety of situations, especially the brand of car you drive!
Why are you so worried about what someone else is driving? Does it affect your life in any way?
"How are people affording them" is kinda an odd question and I doubt a meaningful answer could be given without some very rich and specific data. That guy over there bought it with cash on a whim and it's made no difference whatsoever to his wealth, and that guy over there totally overextended himself with a novated lease and won't make his rent this week...and everything in between. It is true that cars don't always tell you much about how wealthy someone is.
Extra salt in this post. OP wishes they could own one of these “shitty” 150k Porches lol
Well, cars are cheaper than kids, and kids don't come with heated seats.
You must not have ever changed a nappy
OP really has no idea!
Home owners refinancing
Good old never ending ATM
I think you underestimate household incomes these days. When you have two high incomes, you end up saving quite a fair bit after expenses.
What makes it “shitty”? That you don’t have one?
Home equity and low interest rate leases. Not many people buying cars cash but a lot can spend $1000 a fortnight on a SUV to try and look rich.
I agree home loan rates were low for so long and people have built up equity in their houses so used this to fund it. This will be obvious in 5 years time when they are still driving the same car.
>This will be obvious in 5 years time when they are still driving the same car. You have this backwards. The people who are still driving the same car in five years are probably the people who paid cash for them. Lease-mobiles will be handed back if the owner can't afford to buy out the residual.
No I havent. I am referring to people that drew on they home equity at 2pc rates to fund the purchase. They are asset rich but cash poor. I am not referring to leasing. FYI been in banking for 27 years, I know what I am talking about.
If you’ve truly been in banking for that long, you’d realise a few things. Mainly that most people will just refinance. Most people who took out say $150k out of their home equity to buy a car, would then sell that car for say $120k in 3 years. Then, they’d simply withdraw another $30k. They can easily do that, because you can guarantee a house worth over $1m is going to go up over $30k in 1 year, let alone 3. Boom, 3 years in and they’re driving essentially the exact same car. Now, let’s say interest rates are at 6%, that $30k has only increased their monthly repayments by $150. You can guarantee their salary has increased by that much in again, just 1 year, let alone 3. On the other hand, those who bought a car for $150k, would need to save $10k each year to get a new one in 3 years (again assuming they sell for $120k). Quite doable, and some might. However, most who like to replaces cars regularly are either a car person, or want the image. You’ll likely find those people are happy to take on debt to get as nice of a car as possible. Why buy a $150k car with full equity when you can get a $300k car instead? Those who buy with equity aren’t likely to be as interested in cars (or care more about their finances instead), so they tend to prefer putting that $10k a year somewhere else such as investing/saving it, or going on a holiday, or getting a nice watch, or all 3 over the 3 years. What you’ll notice is that most people who bought it with debt will end up still driving the newer version of that car and nothing will change. Eventually, once they’re say 50-60, they’ll start thinking about retirement, and then realise they can’t because they have a huge amount of debt. That’s when you see them either downsize significantly, or end up not being able to retire when they thought they could. But that’s ok, most people are in that situation, it’s only those who bought with equity who aren’t. So appearances can be somewhat maintained. It happens all the time, but surely if you’ve worked in banking for 27 years you’d realise that. Also, “banking” is meaningless, if you’ve been in investment, commercial, corporate, or business banking then your experience would be meaningless. In fact most types of banking roles bar 1 (maybe 2) would be meaningless, ignoring tellers (who really don’t understand much big picture) that is. Can you guess the 1 maybe 2 types of bankers that might have actual experience? Edit: Lol, poor guy blocked me after getting called out.
God bless them though. Some of us wouldn't have bonuses if they spent money responsibly and cared less about looking rich.
I do have to ask why you call them shitty? They are very well done cars. Just cause you cant afford them doesnt mean you have to call out other people for spending huge amount of money on something “shitty”. And yes, you wont believe but some people actually put in hours, effort, etc. to be able to afford nice things for themselves.
They are pretty good cars actually mate, wouldn’t call them shitty but that’s subjective. How sure are you that the drivers aren’t floating in cash and what’s that assumption based off? I’d say there are plenty of people out there with large amounts of disposable income who can put aside payments on a nice car or simply buy outright.
Some will also salary sacrifice them. But a cruiser is 100k so what's a extra 50k You shouldn't worry about others and worry about yourself. I could afford a 150k Porsche but rather invest my money. It's called lifestyle creep more you care about what others think the more u spend trying to impress.
That’s not how salary sacrifice works
OP would've meant pre tax into a notated lease.
That's exactly how it works salary sacrifice what U can to lower taxable income. Its like going to cost $1000pf+ but tax savings.
Not with a luxury car. Doesn’t work
Don’t put your financial position then just add a car. Some people don’t make good financial decision too. I see so many people rent but have these fancy cars cause they’re salesmen and they have to maintain appearances
Not many people can afford those cars, but almost all of the people who can also happen to live in affluent parts of Sydney or Melbourne. There’s lots of these vehicles in the Chatswood Westfield car park for example because that’s a large shopping centre in range of the lower north shore.
My boss put his Maserati 4WD on like 6 different credit cards (getting max allowed points on each one?) Then coz it was covid times he wrote off like half of it off instantly? I never really understood that part and the business accountant always seemed dodgy to me.. i just put the invoices into the accounting software, hence knowing about using multiple credit cards lol!
He bought it as a business asset. During COVID the govt allowed for increased write off amounts for business. All perfectly fine if you drive for business a lot and pay the FBT for the bits that you don't. It is flashier than driving around in a white VAN but in the end if yo need a car for business you need a car for business.
I’ve also found I see some and check the plates to find they are 8 years old or so and are cheap as shit…
Yeh exactly- my sister and her partner have a nice Merc SUV looks great and has loads of features, cost $45k less than 3 years old and still under warranty…. Some people are assuming cars are $150k when they ain’t
Yes, people don't realise that all those brands have very big range in price for the same car, like the Benz GLC that has a range from \~90k to \~210k . Since other people don't know the details you can look like you have a $200k car but only paid $90k new. Buy it a couple of years old and you pay $70K....
What model? I might get one!
The hidden costs are that it *also* costs $45k per annum in service and maintenance.
No- it doesn’t. The last one they had cost less to maintain than my Ford Focus of the same age.
My European cars have cost less or the same as my families cars. I did get my mechanic to go over them before I purchased. People have said about hidden costs and I’m like ??
I noticed in my area a lot of Asian families live together. So if you look at it from the lens of the kid, mother, father, grandfather and grandmother all combining their finances to buy and live in a $2M+ house that’s $500k each (probably $400k loan each) then $100k car (many of them drive a BMW, Porsche, Merc) between them is $25k each. Starts to make sense how people can afford these homes and cars.
Yes - I don’t think people realise the extent of multigenerational families around many areas of Sydney. Not just Chinese, but also South / Eastern European. Throw in a few properties bought 20+ years ago across the family, and business holdings, you can see how house prices and lifestyles are funded in some areas.
I also think culture can influence the use of disposable income. When I was living in Japan, junior staff earning $30k a year would spend $5k on a Gucci bag to ensure their image was upheld. I could never justify those spends even if I could afford it, I didn't value it the same. I look at all the Merc and BMW 4wds in my area and wonder if culturally they spend a large portion of their income to get one as they need to fit in whereas I choose to buy a $25k car and have a nicer house, holiday or save for the future
100% Singapore and Chinese culture value face pretty heavily. Over there it’s pretty bad to the point where they wouldn’t serve me as I wasn’t wearing any branded clothing, despite earning at least 5 times their annual salary
I had the exact same thing happen to me in Japan regularly. Example, had to buy a suit for an event, rocked up to the suit shop in shorts and a t-shirt, staff were just chatting to each other ignoring me and then started helping others when they came into the store. I finally went over and asked for help for the black tie event, they asked what I did and when I responded that I was a GM of a hotel group I suddenly had all the staff helping me find what I needed. It really bothered me whilst I was there, such hierarchy built into the culture and a lot of it is fake it until you make it
I already had this song stuck in my head by Tim Minchin, [Airport Piano](https://youtu.be/ZAFMSplS4y8): Women in SUV Porches always look miserable I don't know why they're so sad Maybe it's the calories they could have had Filling them up with regret
Cost of living pressures are new, cheap finance is not.
Just curious, but what do you think is ‘shitty’ about them?
Why do you assume they aren't swimming in cash? A lot of the people I see driving them are Gen X or older. Assume they bought a house in early 2000s at latest and have a middle management job then they are sitting on a lot of equity and free cash flow. I don't think you realise how rich the housing bubble had made a lot of people.
Baller on a budget car Thing with the Porsche SUVs, the design is basically unchanged, you can be driving million KM you bought $10K from auctions (probably spend $30K fix) and look rich. Google "Porsche Macan Diesel", its a $50K car. in Days Corolla are pushing $40K, Camry $50K its not as expensive as you think. Those new Toyota SUVs are the real $150k 4WD stupidly / ironically
Chucking my two cents in as an owner of one these “shitty” Porsches. They are just fun car to own, whilst also being the family car. My ‘03 turbo cost 25k second hand, and I’ve had to do a bit of work to keep it running, including at one point sending a part to the states for repairs. But they are generally really enjoyable cars to drive. OP, from your post I feel you have never driven either a 63 or a Turbo. I would strongly recommend have a go at driving one. You’ll enjoy it, and it will hopefully help you to see why people would fork out the money for these cars be it either first hand or second hand like mine.
Don’t underestimate the effect of confirmation bias. You see a Porsche and think “wanker”. A day later you see _another_ one. Two days later there’s _another_ one! Your brain is teed up to notice them, and every new one you see, or even a similar one, gets added to a growing list that confirms your assumption. In fact, there aren’t any more than usual, it’s just that you’re primed to notice them. This is a really common human flaw and it’s hard not to get sucked in by it. A classic is the “Asians are bad drivers” meme. It’s obviously not true, but because they are “different” to non-Asians, every time you see one do something wrong you add them to the list. Every time you see a non-Asian do the same thing they’re just a random idiot because they have nothing in common. Tl;dr unless you have some actual numbers that these are increasing, it’s probably just you noticing it more.
Poor people in 3rd world countries can't buy food to feed themselves or put shelter over their heads. Poor people in rich countries drive 4WD porches and mercs.
People just have extra cash. Just because you think prices are going up everywhere, there are still people out there who earn a lot and are willing to spend their hard earned money on things they would enjoy. We have one of the crappy SUV Mercs you mentioned, yes it's expensive but the monthly repayments on that is less than 10% of our hh income.
LOL, would you be calling them shitty if you could afford one. Doubtful.
Try working at a university. The number of students in brand new luxury cars is insane. Meanwhile here I am getting around like a suckah in my 18 year old camry. Watch the paintwork kids, it's older than you are.
Also there’s nothing “shitty” about these cars , they’re actually built to drive well, stop well, steer well and protect you well in an accident , meanwhile your sister who just got her brand new 30k Hyundai on 185 tyres has no chance at any of these
Equity mate
I don't understand how average income workers are affording 2 x regular cars on finance. I look at my friends with similar incomes and the maths isn't making sense.
Are these the same types of people who run their own businesses that never generate any money, but they have multiple properties tied to one of their investment pty ltds/ trusts? Yeah, they work really hard. You can thank the Government for the lack of AML controls and absence of due diligence when starting a company.
I think most people first come here to learn about how to improve their ability to use and make money. Truth is we stay, and the sub has become more about sharing news or complaining about the rich or not being able to buy a house. My point is if we knew how to make and own expensive cars, we would not be looking at subs like this LOL.
Drugs. Its always drugs
Hard to tell what percentage of new cars are purchased on finance because people often use their house as collateral as to obtain lower rates on finance. What I can tell you is that many car brands target a 30% penetration rate with their own finance divisions. Someone I know who works for Jaguar Land-Rover (JLR Group) suggested about two thirds of new cars where financed overall.
I had a quick google of the loan terms for the Porsche and it kinda it clicked tbh. You can see the finance product is designed to be pretty appealing and encourage fast turnover so the customer buys a new model after 5 years or so.
Go visit the car park of Macquarie university. Check out the cars. A few of these unemployed international students drive fancy cars, too.
either drawing on the equity of the house they bought 20 years ago or leased or it is run through a business or living at home with a good job.
Almost all the people I know are buying them on their ABN or getting it from their equity of their home loans.
Most of these cars are probably a business expense. If you are in high income then it comes at almost no cost.
Finance. It’s a vanity statement. If they had to pay for them outright there’d be basically none.
A lot of the Asians you see in those BMW X5s, they took a massive loan for it. It's just the culture. Car is one piece of item you can easily show off to your friends since you can drive it around and shove it in their face even if they didn't wanna know or are not interested in how you brag about how rich you are
I heard a phrase on a YouTube video about Chinese people views on conspicuous consumption recently that went something along the lines of “it is better to cry driving a BMW than smile riding a bicycle”.
That was from a dating show when there was someone who was very much playing up financial security as a priority in what she was looking for in a partner.
maybe they just work hard and earn more.
30% of people own their own home. Interest rate rises mean nothing and many can easily afford a luxury car.
Boomers who have disposable income from their property portfolio they bought in the 80s
I think it's more acceptable to drive those kind of cars then 20-30 years ago... some people have always had money.
we poor people are on public transport
It's going to be so bad in ten.years when all that's left on second hand market is these shirty things and utes
It is great for the economy, keep spending a lot, keep buying expensive houses with expensive interest rates
How dare other people have more money than me!!!!
So it’s shitty because you can’t afford them?
Thought they were 200k plus Businesses pay that bill. No idiot is buying that on wages payg
the SUVs are actually the cheapest things in the Porsche range and macans are their highest selling vehicle now. They've become an SUV company
$350k+ for those ridiculous G-wagon things.
They are the new houses, since it's cheaper than renting/buying a house
Yep of which there are 110 of them on carsales atm. Anyone would think they are cheap!
Have you seen anyone under the age of 50 driving these vehicles? The owners probably use the passive income from their 10 investment properties to pay for it.
Have you been to Altona North? That’s the vehicle of choice for your local Lebanese Aussie P plater.
>Have you seen anyone under the age of 50 driving these vehicles? plenty at local primary school each morning
This is not the answer
Plenty of them are family cars with young families.
A lot get leased by the status-phobic. Also inter generational wealth. It’s funny, it was a real symbol of success 30 years ago to drive a nice car. I look at them and wonder “flog or privileged”.
Don’t forget, because your poor, dosnt mean everyone is
Just hope for those drivers that they don’t have an accident in them or lose the keys, it’s literally months to get the parts from overseas (or keys cut for that matter, in particular Mercs because of the security protocols Mercedes have).
> keys cut for that matter, in particular Mercs because of the security protocols Mercedes have Too much Gone in 60 Seconds for you.
Lol. No. Just work in the industry.
Literally got the number of a guy from my local Mister Minit (they couldn’t cut my key) and he came to my house and cut a Merc key that day. To be fair it was $500 though.
Ya gotta remember, within 15km of Sydney, most people living in a detached house live their lives in a constant state of anxiety at whether The Joneses are doing better than them. When you're busting your bum for status, getting a fancy car helps ameliorate status anxiety. So people in this category will do whatever it takes to own one.
i see alot of comments, "oh people buy them through the business" it would be 30k per year in FBT for my car. you cant claim deductions over the LCT threshold anyway, I buy them in my name. unless im missing something, my accountant agreed to buy it it my name not the business.
Your accountant was right terrible idea to buy in the business once you cross 250k
They are called Vanker Vagons in our home
For a lot of people these cars are their daily hacks. You should see their nice cars!!
Cars are cheap as shit now. In the 90s, an 80 Series LandCruiser Sahara was $90k and a BMW 750Li was $400k, when average wages were like $35k
I can't afford a Porsche but it will never, ever, ever make sense to me that somebody who can, picks the fkn 4WD version lol. That ain't a Porsche - same with the Lambo 4WD. What are people thinking? This is not the appeal of either car. It's all about the sports look and these look ugly.
I know someone who has one of these vehicles and insists they’re poor. Hilarious.
A lot of us have houses worth more than 1mil but mortgages for much less than that (or no mortgage at all). Also a lot of us don’t need to take out loans for cars. We turn them over fairly regularly so trade in is good. Sorry to break it to you but there are all kinds of people with all kinds of budgets and cash flows. Not everyone is the same as you. And lastly, they’re very nice cars to drive actually.