Can I/Should I Buy LR AWD

[Psysped]

There are environmental benefits to add to your calculations.

 

[MaxAdolphus]

There are environmental benefits to add to your calculations.

Yes, that is on my mind as well, but it’s not directly monetary to my household budget. But yes, I fully expect to pay a little more to be a little cleaner.

 

[HeatproofGenie]

As someone who also loved RC cars as a kid you will absolutely love driving the 3, in whatever flavor you decide. It's a full scale RC car and driving it has only gotten better the longer we've owned it. I'm a similar age (43) with two kids, and a similar financial situation although with higher net worth and no mortgage, we do live in a higher cost of living area (Denver) than you though. Probably like you we arrived there by being pretty frugal and struggled at what point is it okay to start spending more. Only you can make that decision for yourself but I will say that there has not been one bit of regret for our purchase.

If you can continue to save aggressively including your children's 529 plans then absolutely go ahead and buy the AWD car. Also if you plan to keep the car for a long time then the savings of no low maintenance, no gas bill will continue to accrue. You should budget for more frequent tire purchases though.

 

[jpfive]

thanks for the reply. I have a 5 mile commute, but I do not want a SR+. I want the AWD. A bit crazy, yes, but I want the AWD. I just don’t want regular old RWD (even though I’m a fan of some cars in RWD). I’m a bit of a car nut, but trying to balance sanity vs “YOLO!”

You're going past your previous comfort zone in either case. Why pay a little less and be unhappy. I had the same choice, and went with the AWD. I love it. You'll love yours also. Go for it.

 

[Thp3]

The question that has been asked 1000 times already, but decided to post it anyways knowing the ultimate decision comes down to a case by case basis, but here I am doing it anyways. Fire away and poke holes anywhere you see them. Feedback for or against is all welcome. The most expensive car I’ve ever bought was a $32k car, so this is a big jump. Anyways, here’s me.

I’m 42 ...

when i turned 40 I bought the most expensive car I had ever previously bought. I kept it for many years and it was the right thing to do.

I recommend that you buy the AWD. You’ll enjoy it and it returns more value than you’d think a car could.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

If you really want to be smart financially and do your best to shorten your time to retirement, and you are a true car nut that can enjoy ICE cars, the best option is to do what your dad does and buy a highly depreciated high end car in good condition and keep it for a long time as daily driver, but then buy a collectible fun car(s) that are on the right part of their appreciation curve for your real fun.

My fun cars (Lamborghini V12, Esprit V8, and E-Type Series 1) are all worth considerably more than they were when I purchased them. Collector car insurance is dirt cheap, which shocks most people. Maintenance and repairs is part of how I enjoy the car hobby as a true car nut (and not a poser that doesn't know the difference between a spark plug and an air filter), so that is also inexpensive.

Daily drivers by definition, no matter what you buy, are huge depreciating assets. If you buy a collector car and drive it daily, you will still lose your shirt from the miles and maintenance. So the less you spend on daily driver to buy and maintain it, the less you can lose.

That being said, my daily drivers are still Range Rover, Mercedes, and Tesla because a mile driven in a boring/ugly car is a mile you'll never get back in your life, and I make a lot more than $120K per year.

 

[ElectricIAC]

If you really want to be smart financially and do your best to shorten your time to retirement, and you are a true car nut that can enjoy ICE cars, the best option is to do what your dad does and buy a highly depreciated high end car in good condition and keep it for a long time as daily driver, but then buy a collectible fun car(s) that are on the right part of their appreciation curve for your real fun.

My fun cars (Lamborghini V12, Esprit V8, and E-Type Series 1) are all worth considerably more than they were when I purchased them. Collector car insurance is dirt cheap, which shocks most people. Maintenance and repairs is part of how I enjoy the car hobby as a true car nut (and not a poser that doesn't know the difference between a spark plug and an air filter), so that is also inexpensive.

Daily drivers by definition, no matter what you buy, are huge depreciating assets. If you buy a collector car and drive it daily, you will still lose your shirt from the miles and maintenance. So the less you spend on daily driver to buy and maintain it, the less you can lose.

That being said, my daily drivers are still Range Rover, Mercedes, and Tesla because a mile driven in a boring/ugly car is a mile you'll never get back in your life, and I make a lot more than $120K per year.

I will echo the last point. OP admittedly however has a short commute so perhaps it’s a moot point but personally I spend between 1-3hrs a day in the car so it’s always been worth it for me to treat it as an extension of my home and drive the nicest I can reasonably afford.