I have a slight problem. My neighbor is selling his car, which happens to be the kind of car I’ve wanted since I was kid. It’s a Cadillac lowrider. I’ve always wanted a Cadillac, and I’ve always been fascinated by lowriders. Idk why, I just think they’re the coolest car ever.
My wife thinks it’s ugly and hates it, but she has begrudgingly agreed to let me buy it. The problem is that now I feel guilty. We don’t need another car. This car would solely be for me to go cruising around and play around in. I don’t have any hobbies or friends, all I do is work and stay home. So this would give me something different to do, and maybe make friends with the guy selling it (he has another lowrider he is keeping, and he mentioned going cruising together).
I think the price is fair, and we have enough that we could buy it, or we could take out a loan. But it’s still kind of a lot of money, especially for something that’s just for me. So now I don’t know what to do.
I’d have a discussion with your wife about it more in depth explain to her your side on why you want it but also explain your doubts and hangups. Make sure you can afford it.
Thanks everyone. Still not sure what to do. My wife is behind me, she says I deserve it and she wants me to be happy, I’m just having a hard time justifying spending the money on myself
Dude, you work nonstop. You deserve something nice for yourself if you can afford it. If you don’t reward yourself for all your hard work, you’ll eventually burn out. Take it from someone who never used to buy anything nice for myself. You need fun in your life.
I think you should get it if you can afford it. It sounds like a nice hobby. It would be nice to have something to help you get out more. When we got married, my husband wanted to buy me a ring that cost the amount of a small car. I told him that I didn’t want to wear something that expensive on my finger and that we could not justify the expense for something I did not really want. If I had been more passionate about rings, I might have wanted it and gotten it. But I wasn’t. For you, if you feel passionate about this car and your wife is ok with it and you can afford it, then get it. And have fun with it!
Maybe you can find something cheaper to give you something to do. Low-riders are definitely cool, my friend when I was 17 had a lowered 1966 Chevy Impala and we went all over the place. But a new car takes more money than just the purchase price. You will need it insured, you will need gas money, repairs in the future, the cost of getting it registered. If it is an older car it might break down a lot. Even if it was kept in good condition and taken care of, stuff just wears down on older cars. It could be hard to find parts for. I don’t want to rain on your parade but you know all this already anyways.
I am personally leery of taking out loans. They actually make you pay them back!
IMO, it depends on whether you have sufficient emergency savings set aside for unforeseen family emergencies. If you then still have enough money left over to buy the car, then consider buying the car. If you have to take a loan out, I would say this car may be a luxury item that you can’t really afford at this time.
DISCLAIMER—I’m all about the practical aspects of a decision, not about the dream so to speak, so my opinion is biased in that direction.
We have, in my opinion, a good amount of savings. Enough that we could buy the car outright and still have money saved for any kind of emergency. My wife is the one who would prefer to pay for half of it and take out a loan for the rest, and just have a small monthly bill instead of paying it all with the money we have.
Thanks again everyone. I think I’m gonna go for it. Who knows if I’ll ever have this opportunity again, and like my work buddy said, if I don’t, I’m gonna regret it.
