What do you guys do and how much do you earn?

[elohel]

I'm curious what GT owners on here do for work and what they earn. I only ask because I'm wondering if maybe I'm overreaching myself financially. The Mustang I want comes out to ~42k.. I only make about 62k/year, so it sounds stupid as all hell to spend that much of my salary on a car.

I can afford the payments incredibly easily (I have a car right now worth ~22k trade-in, and I have a bit over 100k saved up), but I donno.. bit of a nagging feeling that I shouldn't be buying a car at 2/3 of my annual salary just because I can do it. Then again, I can't imagine everyone on here is a 6 figure earner, either, so I guess I'm wondering if people buying these things are in similar situations to me, or drastically better-off.

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[JoeDogInKC]

Do you owe anything on your trade-in? If so, what's the difference between what you owe and the trade-in value? If not, why not take the trade-in, add some cash to it and just buy it outright? No payments, no interest, no hassle. OTOH, I could see why you wouldn't want to disturb any interest or gains on the 100k you have set aside.

Depending on the overall trade-in amount, you could probably easily afford paying a little interest on the new Mustang with the offset to what you're earning on the money you have stashed.

With the right down-payment/trade-in and monthly payment, I don't see why you couldn't reasonably afford it seeing as how you have roughly 140% of your salary set aside if things get tough. If they do, you can either tap into that to pay off the car so you have no payment and therefore can live on less, or worst case, you can sell the car.

 

[doulos4jc]

Rocket Surgeon...23k annually

 

[Fenderaddict2]

Displaced ad agency director. $0K

 

[SoleContempt]

the way

It's a good thing to think about. As everyone knows, cars are depreciating assets. Buying a new one in most cases is not a "smart" financial decision - but do it because we love them. Not everyone understands spending a chunk of dough that loses a bunch of value the second you drive off the lot but for us it's something special and unique. Yes, you could use that money elsewhere that could provide more long term 'benefits' (i.e. mortgage, investments, etc.) but those things are not the same. You only live once. I want to have a nice place to live and enough money for retirement but I also don't want to wait until that time to drive a car I love.

Given, it doesn't make sense to mortgage your future with a huge car payment that impairs your way of life but it sounds to me that you are in a good situation. In my opinion, if your monthly is manageable (and term and interest rate are not ridiculous) then you are good to go.

I'm 36, work in I.T. and I'm around 90k Canadian. I'm contemplating a C7 as well as the new Mustang.

 

[Voodoo]

23 years old, own multiple websites and I do a little computer programming on the side. I earn around $144k.

If you think you can afford the car without living from paycheck to paycheck, then go for it.

 

[Lord Thunder]

I think there is no real definite answer here. It depends on a lot of factors.

I don't make a heap of money, but I have been saving up for a couple of years and will be able to buy the car in cash, no loans etc. So the only real impact on my monthly budget for me will be the regular running costs. Because I recently got a nice pay rise that would about cover those alone, I know I'll be easily able to handle the combined impact even though the car costs more than a year's salary for me. (You have to consider the car is quite a bit more expensive here in Europe due to CO2 emission taxes.)

 

[Mustang8]

I'm 22, graduated from college back in May, and got a job as a Systems Engineer doing database work. I make $62k/year.

 

[Zombie]

Rocket Surgeon...23k annually

You know, I kinda thought that job paid more. Go figure. ;)

 

[HGFireHazard]

I think there is no real definite answer here. It depends on a lot of factors.

Pretty much.

My wife and I are living debt free at the moment, although we are in the process of having a house built that should be completed in April. Together we earn over $100k, but we plan on having her quit when we decide to have a child in a couple years so I tend to only think on my income which is somewhere in the high 5 figures. We also have a large sum of money saved up, but a major portion of that is going to the down payment of the house.

That being said, I'm not nervous about buying a $42k car at all. I think the biggest factor in that is we're debt free, have good financial skills and make intelligent decisions. We have a rainy day fund and are building our retirement. As long as you live within your means outside of this larger purchase, I don't think you should have any problems.

If you have a lot of debt, though, I would evaluate a little differently. But if you are relatively debt free and don't live paycheck to paycheck I don't think you'll have any trouble.

 

[fionic]

I could've sworn there was a job thread already, but I can't find it.

24, Software engineer, grad last year, currently sitting at 72k.

 

[TNcoupe]

Nuke plant fire fighter. Made over 100k each of the last three years. 2012 Focus paid off, wifes 2013 Explorer paid off, very small house payment due to buying a foreclosure and fixing it up, and no kids. $35k for the GT Im buying. Its just money cant take it with ya.

 

[Mercedestech77]

Mercedes-Benz technician. 90k last year 80k this year.

 

[Codog23]

I generally believe if you are buying a car for Need, financing it is ok, but if you are buying it for Want, like most of us car nuts following these forums and ordering mustangs because we love them, you should pay cash. In my case, I am buying it purely out of Want and love of Mustangs (I ordered mine on 6/10), so I am selling my current mustang and buying this one in Cash. I am very lucky that I earn enough to be able to do so.

 

[13GTCSMustang]

Local Area Network specialist here and I earn around 93K a year. I too have had the fortune of saving a lot of money over the years. I'm 49 and have worked for the same company for almost 30 years now (as of May 2015). I tend to pay cash for new car purchases or have such a large down payment that I can finance it for 12 to 24 months with an insanely low rate. Just seems to work for me. I say go with what you know is comfortable for you and your finances.

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