Finance Advice for the M3

[SageBrush]

Let's see ...
unreliable, expensive petrol guzzling ICE Vs new, safe, environmental and awesome EV

Add it all up and if the EV is close in TCO then get the EV

 

[Jdhillon1]

New baby. Spend your money on your family. Save for his/her college. Buy life insurance. You get the idea.

If your business takes off, and you find yourself with serious bank...then buy a new Tesla.

Your totally right. Thank you.

 

[tvad]

Your totally right. Thank you.

Jeebus. I’m right? Damn. Not accustomed to being told I’m right.

Thanks.

 

[Jdhillon1]

Jeebus. I’m right? Damn. Not accustomed to being told I’m right.

Thanks.

I was having the same train of thought, it makes the most sense. Just need some body to tell you sometimes lol.

 

[OCR1]

I have a friend in a similar situation. He was driving an old Porsche Carerra and was spending close to $500/month on gasoline. And he was starting to experience regular maintenance issues. He didn’t want to take on the new car expense but it was costing him so much to keep the Porsche running that he went ahead and bought a Tesla. He got the $35K SR model, no autopilot or FSD. With the federal and state rebates back then the net price was below $30K. And he got 5,000 bonus miles at the time. So in the long run he has saved money by owning his Tesla.

I think at a minimum you need to get rid of the gas guzzler. If the economics of a Tesla don’t work out then see what else could work for you that would have a lower overall cost of ownership.

 

[Jdhillon1]

I have a friend in a similar situation. He was driving an old Porsche Carerra and was spending close to $500/month on gasoline. And he was starting to experience regular maintenance issues. He didn’t want to take on the new car expense but it was costing him so much to keep the Porsche running that he went ahead and bought a Tesla. He got the $35K SR model, no autopilot or FSD. With the federal and state rebates back then the net price was below $30K. And he got 5,000 bonus miles at the time. So in the long run he has saved money by owning his Tesla.

I think at a minimum you need to get rid of the gas guzzler. If the economics of a Tesla don’t work out then see what else could work for you that would have a lower overall cost of ownership.

Tesla or nothing man every other car seems so boring I wouldn't go with any other ev.

 

[ElectricIAC]

There’s something to be said for getting the car and trim you want but even a 3 SR > Pretty much every other EV no contest at all.

 

[Jdhillon1]

There’s something to be said for getting the car and trim you want but even a 3 SR > Pretty much every other EV no contest at all.

Yah dude. Every other car just seems so lame now. Teslas def on a different level. You get alot of car for $50k.

 

[Ifrisbee]

Hey guys so I'm looking at getting a sr+ m3. I own my own business and it will primarily be used for that.

Not sure how the tax laws work in Canada, but have you considered purchasing the vehicle though your business? in the States anyway, some amount of the expense can be deducted from the companies revenue, either as a business expense, or a depreciating asset of the company. IANAL, but you should be able to talk to your tax accountant about the details.

 

[specialgreen]

I'm a tightwad, so I'd recommend that you get your finances settled first. If you are going to be a 2-car family, you can do a "2-vehicle hybrid": get a cheap electric for in-area driving (e.g. 24kwhr LEAF) plus a gas vehicle for longer drives. When you have your needs covered, then upgrade to a Tesla.

In our family, we have an EV and a gasser van. We only use the gasser to pull a popup camper, do road-trips, and for times when we both drive (the person driving further takes the EV). We can't get rid of the gasser unless we give up pulling a camper (or buy a CyberTruck or X). We're putting about 60% of KMs on the EV.

 

[Spacep0d]

Hey guys so I'm looking at getting a sr+ m3. I own my own business and it will primarily be used for that. Currently my wife and I are sharing a 2005 Ford explorer with a v8 engine. We are spending a minimum of $400/month on gas as it's an average of $1.30/L here In BC and around $1000 a year on maintenance at least.

We are expecting in June and she really wants a dodge caravan for space purposes and comfort for long trips etc with the baby. We would be buying used and our budget is $15k which we already have saved up.

Now she really likes the m3 but we would be financing it as we will only have another $5k saved up to put as a down payment. My business is fairly new but is growing steadily and we are confident in it but she won't be working after June and will be getting her mat leave so we will be living off that and my income for the first year. We have our own home and no other debt at the moment.

My question is after she gets the Van should I just keep driving the explorer and spending that much in gas and maintenance because of fear of not enough Income coming in as an absolute worst case scenario or finance the m3 now and save on the gas and maintenance and have a more reliable enjoyable car? She can't seem to swallow the high price tag and long financing term. Also our $3000 BC rebate is about to finish as well and we also get a federal $5000 rebat, I could also easily get 2.99 for 84 months with my bank. Even if I were to have let's say half of the cost of the m3 as a down payment would that even make sense putting into the car or would it be better to invest and keep as cash flow for business etc.

Sorry for the long story but I needed to provide some insight for some real answers on this. Thank you.

Hi there Jdhillon1,

You've already gotten some good advice here, but I'll chime in with my .02.

You have a baby on the way, and as you know babies are expensive to raise. This is assuming everything goes perfectly. In less ideal scenarios (medical issues) then it's more expensive (but wait you're in Canada so this may not have the impact it would for many Americans). I recommend you keep everything very frugal for now as you grow your business. Keep everything stable with minimal changes as you welcome your new bundle of joy and grow your business. Save up for a much bigger down payment, even if you can get low interest financing for 84 months. I'd put at least 10k down on an M3, possibly 20k if you can swing it.

I'm about to buy one in a couple months too, but I'm just waiting on some things that have to happen first (like I've waited for a couple years). So, deferring your dreams is part of living, but the main thing is you will avoid chaos if you're met with unexpected costs. With a new baby, even the expected costs will be quite high until you're used to your new normal. Good luck growing that business too!

 

[Jdhillon1]

Hi there Jdhillon1,

You've already gotten some good advice here, but I'll chime in with my .02.

You have a baby on the way, and as you know babies are expensive to raise. This is assuming everything goes perfectly. In less ideal scenarios (medical issues) then it's more expensive (but wait you're in Canada so this may not have the impact it would for many Americans). I recommend you keep everything very frugal for now as you grow your business. Keep everything stable with minimal changes as you welcome your new bundle of joy and grow your business. Save up for a much bigger down payment, even if you can get low interest financing for 84 months. I'd put at least 10k down on an M3, possibly 20k if you can swing it.

I'm about to buy one in a couple months too, but I'm just waiting on some things that have to happen first (like I've waited for a couple years). So, deferring your dreams is part of living, but the main thing is you will avoid chaos if you're met with unexpected costs. With a new baby, even the expected costs will be quite high until you're used to your new normal. Good luck growing that business too!

Thank you so much. That's exactly what I'm going to do. We want to get a van first this year for the baby and comfort aspect etc and then the model 3 will be next !

 

[Victoria3]

With 1 child you don't need a minivan yet (or ever). We had one for a spell with our 3 kids, but it just wasn't necessary. If your wife is going to be on Mat leave, I'd look at downsizing to 1 car for that year. While it's no Tesla, I'd look at buying a lower trim of a Hyundai Ioniq ev. With the 8k total rebates, and maybe a 6k scrap it for your Explorer, you can probably buy it outright with your 20k savings. Then all the gas you save goes right into your pocket.

Make smart financial choices now and before you know it you'll easily be buying Tesla's in a couple years.

 

[joebruin77]

Given your situation, there are two factors you mention that would make me nervous about going into debt to buy a new Tesla. You mention that if you finance the Tesla, you would have very little left in savings. You also mention that you have a new business. As a rule of thumb, one normally wants to have enough savings in the bank to cover 4 to 6 months of living expenses. If you have a new business, I would bump that up to 6 to 9 months. And if you have a new kid on the way, I personally would bump that up further to 1 year's worth of living expenses.

So I would make a list of any and all basic monthly expenses you and your wife have and anticipate having once the kid arrives. Multiply that amount times 12 (or whatever multiple you are comfortable with). If you don't have enough money in the bank to cover that amount, then you cannot afford a new Tesla and need to look for lower cost options. If you want to ditch the expensive Ford, that is fine. But you can get a cheap, reliable car to take its place, such as a used Toyota Prius. As others have said, with one kid, you don't need a minivan. You can put that money into the kid's college savings account instead.

 

[Spacep0d]

Thank you so much. That's exactly what I'm going to do. We want to get a van first this year for the baby and comfort aspect etc and then the model 3 will be next !

You're quite welcome.

I haven't had a car in years, such is my commitment to the Model 3 as a next car purchase. I should be able to pull the trigger in April. I do have a motorcycle for commuting when I need it, but man it gets cold sometimes and there are other obvious risks. Once I crashed going to work (I wear full gear so I came out mostly unscathed), got slowly rear-ended by an SUV-driver another time (she let off the brake, distracted by her phone) and got sideswiped by an Audi on another occasion. This is all just in the course of normal commuting, and that doesn't count all of the debris I've had to dodge (and sometimes failed to miss). I plan to sell the bike once I have the Tesla. This has been my own bit of sacrifice as I work toward my dream.

Another sacrifice I made was buying a home with my girlfriend in 2004. This meant taking the risk of not being near any unknown new job in California, which meant I sometimes had to rent a second place near where I was working, be it Northern California or South Orange County (my house is in L.A. county). I even went to Dubai for three months to work. But now, we still have our home and a good bit of equity so it was all worth it, and I now work from home (something I've also been working on).

You're not alone in your sacrifice, sir. Keep it up and soon everything will be realized with maximized stability and minimized risk—and yes I write all this as someone who has taken his fair share of risks. Sometimes I learn the hard way.