How much do you have to make year/salary to own NSX?

[Edo]

Sometimes, I feel smart.
The Hal opens his mouth.
hey Hal, want to help me with my future investments?
I figure now is a good time to start..

 

[nsxxtreme]

nsxxtreme statement about the more you make the less you make is wrong. As someone who makes much more than $100k+ I'm not paying 50% in taxes, closer to around 42% to for fed, state and local. Here's the math using Fed 2000 tables I had handy for married individuals.

What I ment by this is you get to keep a smaller percentage of your money. The rest goes to taxes. You obviously make more. I never said you pay 50% tax I said it wouldn't surprise me. I don't know I don't make $100k.

In addition AG NSX isn't going to be poor when he retires, he's going to be to living comfortably. Here's a real quick retirement calculation assuming a pretty low ROR. Someone in their early 30s plans on retiring in their early 60s. Using a calculator from Templeton:

In his last post he did not leave any money for his 401k. I wasn't mocking him, I just think he forgot to put it.

nsxxtreme I'm sure I'm not the only one who would be interested in seeing the math on how you made $8k on a used NSX. What year was it? How much did you pay for it? What did you sell it for? Did you trade it in or sell it to a private party? Was this related to the new Integra?

92 NSX bought for $28k sold $36k. Got lucky I guess. But I know I could have easily made $4k off this car. Like I said before how do you think car lots make money. If a car lot can do it there is absolutely no reason why a normal person can't. Don't believe me call a dealer and ask them how much cash they will give you for your car. Yes car lots can offer financeing but a typical NSX buyer probably doesn't need help doing this.

Also nsxxtreme's $30k investment in the NSX will cost him over $8k in ROI if he had instead put that money in a CD earning only 5% over 5 years. Also the interest on the loan over 5 years is another $4k.

Why wait 5 years I made $8k in 3weeks. Interest for $12k loan at 7% for 60 months is
$2256. how did you come up with $4k. I will not own the car this long so I will not even pay this. Interest for 12 months is $774 not bad for owning a NSX for a year.

I can't see dumping every penny someone has into a car. To do this to lower the payment so they can afford to make them is just dumb. It seems that to not try owning your place of residence or making investments for the future is just crazy. Like Cargy! said people who buy a car to impress people probably aren't and only mortgaging their future.

I didn't dump every penny I had into my car. I contibute to my 401k and I'm still in school. I'm not waiting util I'm 50 to enjoy life. I didn't buy the car to impress people. I bought the car because I liked it.
No cars probably aren't your safest and best investment. But if it works then why not. The first question I get asked when people see my car is. Did you sell your truck? Or did you sell your bike? Or So you sold your jet ski's huh. My answer to all of the above is no. You would be surprised how many people get mad when they hear this.

The original question to this post was how much do you have to make to own an NSX. All I am saying is that you do not need to make 100K a year to own one. Now If you don't have any money to start with, than it probably isn't wise to buy one with $0 down.

Lastly how do you reply with the other persons statements in bold?

 

[hejo]

nsxxtreme don't take my comments too personal. Sometimes I'm just a hard ass. I was trying to drive home some points around finances. You situation sounds pretty unique.

Originally posted by nsxxtreme:
What I ment by this is you get to keep a smaller percentage of your money....I don't know I don't make $100k.

Well that's fair enough. Heck in my book more is more. You can give me $20 and keep half or $50 and keep half. It's just more to you and more for me. I'll give more to get more.

Originally posted by nsxxtreme:
In his last post he did not leave any money for his 401k. I wasn't mocking him, I just think he forgot to put it.

I'm not sure where the disconnect was but I was looking at this post:

"WOW! I think that you are quite a bit off on this one, Kenric. 100k is only 8,300/month, Of 8,300 with 401k (15% = ~$1250), a little medical ($150),...."

Originally posted by nsxxtreme:
92 NSX bought for $28k sold $36k. Got lucky I guess...Why wait 5 years I made $8k in 3weeks.

WOW! What year did you buy the 92? That's a really good price even in todays depressed market.

Originally posted by nsxxtreme:
Interest for $12k loan at 7% for 60 months is $2256. how did you come up with $4k....

Sorry my math was off a little. I assumed you had around 8% to 9% loan. At 7% you must have good credit and be using a credit union.

Originally posted by nsxxtreme:
I didn't dump every penny I had into my car. I contibute to my 401k and I'm still in school. I'm not waiting util I'm 50 to enjoy life. I didn't buy the car to impress people. I bought the car because I liked it.
....

That's pretty good however some of your original comments would not lend one to think that it was important to balance the cost of a car with saving for retirement or owning a home.

Hey I'm not waiting for 50 either! I'm old but not that old. But I can tell you I saved big time during my 20's and 30's to get my portfolio to where it is now. Maybe I was a little more conservative than other people but I'm also in a better position today then many on my friends who spent a lot during those years.

Originally posted by nsxxtreme:
The original question to this post was how much do you have to make to own an NSX. All I am saying is that you do not need to make 100K a year to own one.

No that is not what you are saying, you're saying if you have a spare $30k around you don't need to make a $100k. If you don't, you need to make a lot more than $50k unless you're living at home with all your expenses being covered.

Originally posted by nsxxtreme:
Now If you don't have any money to start with, than it probably isn't wise to buy one with $0 down.....

I agree which is what everyone else on this board was trying to communicate. Don't buy past your means. The means required to "own" an $35k car is probably higher than making $70k a year will allow unless they have some money to put down to reduce the payments.

Originally posted by nsxxtreme:
Lastly how do you reply with the other persons statements in bold?

Go into your browser and view the code. You'll see BOLD [ B ] word [ /B ] without the spaces in between the brackets.

Anyway I think the answer to this post is it depends on many factors. The only way to figure out if it's possible is to sit down and figure out. There isn't any set answer.

------------------
hejo

Lake Oswego, Oregon
95T Blk\Blk SportShift

 

[hejo]

Originally posted by Edo:
Sometimes, I feel smart.
The Hal opens his mouth..

Eddie now you know why they call me Kato at work.

You never know when I might jump out at you!

Originally posted by Edo:
hey Hal, want to help me with my future investments?
I figure now is a good time to start..

Sure... give me all your money!

Cash preferred

You might want to talk with my wife though, she's still getting around a 20% return this year!

Go run a retirement calculator to figure how much you want to have when you retire. Then see how much different 5 years makes. Pop in retiring at 58 versus 53 or 63. The sooner you start saving the sooner you can quit working. We'll have another conversation if you ever find a honey. Actually I have some theories behind that too

------------------
hejo

Lake Oswego, Oregon
95T Blk\Blk SportShift

 

[Ag NSX]

Hejo, Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad I spend like a normal person with an NSX.

For the record, I don't make close to $100k so my tax numbers may be off a little. But I do contribute 13% (the max for my company) into my 401K. I get med, dental and eye for a single person and I take home exactly 60.5% of my gross.

My calculation on the last page showed that if I did make $100k (assume taxes stayed the same for simplicity) and continued to spend the same amount of money. I would sock away 13% + company match on 401k and save $1400 a month.

Todd, you're right that homeowner's insurance is outrageous! Mine is $449 a year for coverage of $225,000.

Manuel, you need to move to the burb's. BTW, I am the silver NSX storage here, I have 3 silver NSXs in my garage right now! I would offer you room but I can't fit a fourth! Wouldn't that look cool!

Sometimes I do think of where I'd be without the NSX... I think that I'd be less happy and poorer because I sold my tech stocks to buy it a few years ago. In fact, if my NSX was an investment it would only be down 25% over 3 years which is alot better than many of my tech stocks!

Kenric

 

[Edo]

Hal, your wife is getting 20% returns this year?
Can I just give her my money to manage and let you take a 2% cut of any money she makes for me? Sheesh...forget the stock broker...Hal's wife is the person to talk to!!

Btw I managed to find myself a nice chicky.
but...well..regardless of tax breaks I am NOT getting married anytime soon. NOOO WAY.
Besides..I hear bigamy is illegal in the U.S
My NSX is a jealous woman.

 

[MAJOR STONER]

From Honda's Japanese NSX site:
http://www.honda.co.jp/NSX/

...under "We love NSX!"...

Babelfish translation:

"According to HONDA, 95 percent of NSX owner with the man, 80 percent the among those have the educational background above the university, as for the average age of all owner at present time 46, as for average annual income approximately 3300 ten thousand Yen (the $275,000) with must be."

So there you go, with must be!

 

[queenlives]

hello all,

a quick note to second hejo's attention to detail re investing and taking care of business. unlike hejo, i wasn't a smart personal finance manager in my 20's... in fact, i didn't begin paying attention to granular details until my mid 30's.

having said those things, a general guideline i've developed and implemented in managing money/lifestyle over the years has been that if i have a year or two's complete expenses in the bank, things will likely work out fine. that has given me the ability to pursue career activities and goals that, in the end, funded an early retirement. by following that mindset, it meant i held off buying toys until their cost had zero to little impact on our family while i/we pursued my other goals (funding retirement accts, acquiring real estate, making sure my family was able to enjoy life).

last thing (since an element of the discussion turned to female/partner): on a personal level, my approach to life (and financial success) changed dramatically when i married a woman who was more interested in working and saving for the future and building a strong family than buying a new wardrobe or the latest mercedes.

be well, all.
hal

 

[hejo]

Originally posted by Edo:
Hal, your wife is getting 20% returns this year?
....

Kind of makes you go WTF? It's only her play money though, she's not runnning the serious money! But you know if she keeps this up she might want to consider changing professions.

I know her basic approach is invest in companies she knows a lot about, oriented towards womens needs and does some averaging. So you know, when life goes to "&%$@" women go shop, when women shop, and shop, and shop the stock goes up! Unfortunately for me the companies I follow right now are creating a large sucking sound!

Originally posted by Edo:
Btw I managed to find myself a nice chicky. but...well..regardless of tax breaks I am NOT getting married anytime soon. NOOO WAY. Besides..I hear bigamy is illegal in the U.S My NSX is a jealous woman.

Ah this is where the secrets lie grasshopper!

One must understand the need for desire in order to influence the elements.

How does one have mistress with blessing? .........

Must be right kind of mistress.

[This message has been edited by hejo (edited 18 December 2001).]

 

[8000RPM]

Originally posted by Ag NSX:

Sometimes I do think of where I'd be without the NSX... I think that I'd be less happy and poorer because I sold my tech stocks to buy it a few years ago. In fact, if my NSX was an investment it would only be down 25% over 3 years which is alot better than many of my tech stocks!

Kenric

K - remember your own words to me when I was deciding for two years on how to justify the capital outlay on buying an NSX:

"Sure, keeping your money invested increases the value of your portfolio, but buying an NSX increases the value of LIFE."

How true indeed. I have zero regrets about buying my NSX. An NSX does not merely move you physically, it moves you emotionally...

Such virtues are simply priceless.

 

[huckster]

as a new member, it was worth buying the nsx just to listen to you guys! too funny!

let me shoot a straight answer...without going into all the 'everyone is unique' disclaimers.

i'm an average guy, 35yrold, like cars/trucks/whatever. after 7 years in social work i watched jerry mcguire and went after the money, family kyds etc. my wife pays the bills but stays at home. this was more important than a car to me. we live off of my income.

now, five years later i own, at 35, a 91 nsx with 17kmiles on it. i put down 9k and financed the rest. all three of our vehicles total 1700 a month. our mortgage payments total 2300 a month. i take home after taxes 14-15k per month.

personally, i wouldnt be comfortable without having 20% to invest, 10% to spend frivously, and car payments less than 2k per month.

truth is, i enjoy this car today more than i would have in my 20's, because i worked for it without sacrificing other things that are more important to me long term.

punchline of the sermon, its not what you make, its what you do with it. And that is a question of evaluating your personal priorities.

but then again, i want the option of retiring before 50--my priority.

hope this answers your question, and keep in mind that i am an ex social worker, average sort of guy, with no family wealth or dowry.

happy new year and good luck

 

[justin hall]

lots of smart comments here, I only have one thing to mention. I keep hearing people talk about payments, I assume these are for auto loans. Homeowners should not forget that they can get an equity loan / line of credit and use the $$ to buy whatever... Interest on that money is usually less than an autoloan (until recently with the 0% financing post 9-11) and the interest paid is tax deductible. just a thought....

when I bought my NSX I had the cash to pay for it outright, but instead I put ½ down and put the other ½ on my equity line. That may sound unusual, but at the time I was making a much greater return in the stock market than the 7% (less tax break) on the equity line was costing me, so logically I wanted to keep my money in play.

 

[vegasnsx]

if you make over 70k, owning a 91 or 92 shouldnt be too much hardship, i guess you have to decide what is really important. i make high 6 figures and could have bought a new nsx but decided to get a 91 in perfect condition, now if the 2004 nsx is all its made up to be ill put down the 100k+ in a heartbeat, just be smart with your money.

 

[Nsxotic]

If you spend 'normally' on the rest of life's things....... I think these numbers could be used. 75k+/yr. = 91-94. 90k+/yr. = 95-96. 110k+/yr. = 97-98 and 125k+/yr. = 99-01 NSX......... Although some people like to think that one shouldn't spend more than 30% of their gross income on a car, meaning it's selling price. With this, you need to make 110k+ to buy a 91 and 280k+ to buy new. I actually agree with this but don't really follow it as I'd like to buy a 125k Ferarri 355 spyder and I don't make 300k+............

P.S. Home equity loans for cars are not a good idea......... keep the money in an 'equity' position or invest it for a larger return and don't stick it into a depreciating piece of metal. Talk about a guaranteed losing investment....

------------------
Todd Arnold

http://www.geocities.com/nsxcessive/index.html

 

[justin hall]

Originally posted by Nsxotic:
...P.S. Home equity loans for cars are not a good idea.........

how can an equity loan/line be a bad idea compared to an auto loan (which was the basis of my example) assuming same interest rate? besides getting a tax break on the loan / line, the prin. is amortized typically over a longer period of time making the minimum payments less. This COULD be nice if for example you were a commissioned salesperson and had a lean month or two.

Originally posted by Nsxotic:
keep the money in an 'equity' position or invest it for a larger return and don't stick it into a depreciating piece of metal. Talk about a guaranteed losing investment....

not sure if I am misreading this or if you are suggesting using an equity line for investments, i.e. stocks. If that is the case, I don’t recommend that unless you are real confident in your investment. Essentially this is a recommendation akin to going on margin, which most financial planners will keep all but the highest risk tolerant investors away from.


[This message has been edited by justin hall (edited 05 January 2002).]

 

[huckster]

although i personally didnt do the line of equity, i have to say that this is not a particularly bad idea.

yes, almost all cars are a bad investment. you dont buy a car for profit unless you have a lot of time and research and a marketing/advertising plan in place to move the cars you buy ie. used car dealer

if you buy right and break even when sold you are doing well

but consider this. you want a car that is a want, not a need. so this is already financially stupid, but youre going to do it anyway.

you have in the best case 50k for a 50k car, hard cold cash. if you invest this money you have the opportunity for a 10-25% return over time. over a long period of time at least a 10% return is an historical likliehood.

if you give the cash to the dealer, you are statistically guaranteed to lose when you consider maintenance, insurance, resale value, taxes, etc.

if you finance the 50k, at an interest rate of even 3%, you are guaranteed to lose unless your 50k performs at least at a 5% return, which it is virtually guaranteed to do over a 4yr-5yr period.

so you are almost certainly money ahead to keep your 50k invested no matter what interest you can borrow on the car.

BUT, if you borrow against a home, with an average nationwide increase in value of 8-12% which means you are unlikely to be upside down in 4-5yrs, AND you can get the money for 8% or less versus the typical car note of 9%plus, AND you write off the intereast on your home which means a 30-42% tax savings on the 50k you borrowed,

you now have:

8% interest on 50k

50k in investments working for you at 10% plus return

30-42% tax kickback on the 50k you borrowed against your home every single year(kickback goes down as you reduce the principle owed over time)

so yeah, buying a car is a stupid idea but i'm the happiest stupid guy youll ever meet. and the home mortgage idea makes it all less stupid.

 

[NSXForEver]

Originally posted by vegasnsx:
if you make over 70k, owning a 91 or 92 shouldnt be too much hardship, i guess you have to decide what is really important.

I make less than 100K and I am leasing a 2000 without any hardship at all. My wife makes more than I do, so I guess that is part of it. However, she has a 5 year loan on a new MDX with a payment in the $700's. Our house payment is $1300.00. I've got about $1000.00 per month that I can spend on a car payment while still maintaining the 401K, bills, etc. What am I doing wrong/right? Based on what I have read here I should be struggling, but I am comfortable.

I don't know how you guys make so much money. Aren't some of you guys in software development? I'm a 10 year veteran software engineer (C++, Java, VB, etc.). Do I have to get out of the Midwest? Would I be better off being a software consultant than working for a company? I don't think I'm that brave. I like the security of knowing I'm getting a paycheck. I don't know how anyone manages to get high 6 figures. At this rate I will be doing well to get to $150K before I retire.

Matt

------------------
2000 NSX-T #49
Silverstone/Black
9000 miles
No Mods

 

[8000RPM]

Originally posted by NSXForEver:


I don't know how you guys make so much money. Aren't some of you guys in software development? I'm a 10 year veteran software engineer (C++, Java, VB, etc.). Do I have to get out of the Midwest? Would I be better off being a software consultant than working for a company? I don't think I'm that brave. I like the security of knowing I'm getting a paycheck. I don't know how anyone manages to get high 6 figures. At this rate I will be doing well to get to $150K before I retire.

Matt

Well, not too long ago, it was a rarity for a software developer NOT to make 6-figures here in Silicon Valley. Pretty much everyone I knew who worked in software were 6-figure earners.

Of course today's economic climate is significantly different from 18 months ago

 

[Number 6]

just to throw a non-technical note in here...

i bought my '98 from hopkins acura. it was a lease return. they certified it as "certified acura pre-owned car" or something like that to qualify it for honda financing. after richard wood, the hopkins finance manager, twisted their arms for a while, i got 5.9 financing for 5 years. i think that deal is still going on...

------------------
K.V. Riggs
1998 NSX-T
Red/Tan
No mods...

 

[NSXForEver]

Originally posted by 8000RPM:
Of course today's economic climate is significantly different from 18 months ago

That's why I am not too anxious to rock the boat right now. I have a steady secure position (I guess no job is 100% secure) in the health care industry. For now I think I will just stick with my current salary and not try to find something better. Actually, my salary is about twice the average household income here in So. Indiana and my wife makes more than me. So we make about 4.5 times more than the average Evansville household. I guess I shouldn't complain.

Matt

[This message has been edited by NSXForEver (edited 08 January 2002).]

 

[rquintero]

>>Well, not too long ago, it was a rarity for a software developer NOT to make 6-figures...
---------------
Ahh, sorry but gotta vent at this one... sure I feel bad for all the IT jobs lost but by the same token my investment in their salaries is even worse.

But the same folks that were telling me they would only consider a job with my firm if I offered 6 figures, options, recaro seats and ping-pong tables in a rec room 16 months ago...

...are knocking on my door at the realistic salaries today, and quick to offer cutting their salaries to whatever...

...C++ programmers willing to become doc writers just to pay the bills...

So in short, nice to see the world back to a more realistic stage. Enough of kids playing house with the stock market.

How about we re-introduce "productivity" as a concept.

Ok, enough blabbering.

 

[huckster]

ok, yeah, good point.

so lets break it down. only recession proof jobs are:

people with good ideas that people want

people that that can sell good ideas that people want

and of course medical,if people can afford it

beyond this ya arnt safe, long term

 

[vegasnsx]

since sep 11, unfortunetly, ive got busier than ever with my company and our bizjets, anyone who can afford to fly fractional bizjets instead of business or 1st class on the airlines is making the jump.

 

[H-carWizKid]

Originally posted by DC5 Kid:
How much do you have to make year/salary to own NSX?

Never, never ask this question...

Phil

 

[huckster]

hey carwhizkyd, why not ask the question???