How I Almost Bought an $80,000 Car
Think temptation doesn’t happen to the best of us? Think again 🙂 Here’s a personal story on why I started MoneyAhoy.com and how I almost blew $80,000 on a new sports car!
How I Almost Bought an $80,000 Car – Background
My wife and I are natural born savers. We have always lived well below our means and put a premium on making due with less expensive solutions to our problems. Because we were terrible at taking our money and investing it, much of it was sitting in money market accounts collecting interest. Well, you may be able to imagine that after 8-10 years of modest living, we built up quite a sizable pile of cash.
How I Almost Bought an $80,000 Car – Temptation
After a while, I began to get a little bit of an itch. What were we doing with all of this cash?!? “It should be spent somehow, right?” I found myself saying… Well, that’s when I let my mind start to wander on all the things that $80,000 cash could grant.
Through some kind of twisted mental process, I had convinced myself that the best use for the money would be a sports car – an $80,000 BMW M3 Sports car to be exact. I spent countless hours watching M3 videos, reading up on all the specs, and comparing it against other similar sports cars. My wife wasn’t necessarily 100% in love with the idea, but she didn’t shoot down the idea either. She basically left it up to me if I should get the car or not. I was extremely close to being 100% mentally prepared to pull the trigger – I was literally days away from visiting the BMW dealership…
How I Almost Bought an $80,000 Car – MoneyAhoy.com Was Born
However, something in the back of my head was telling me that this decision wasn’t quite right for me. I’d never owned anything close to a sports car. A sports car really would make me look cool, but heck, I really didn’t even like working on cars much at all…
It’s at about this point in time where I somehow stumbled across Mr. Money Mustache. This blog changed everything for me – I realized that I could take all of our hard earned money and use it to allow both my wife and me to retire early! Why hadn’t this idea ever seriously occurred to us before? I was about to forfeit more than two years of our working lives (the extra time we’d have to work to break even) just to get a flashy car – talk about insane in the membrane!
It was out of the ashes of this near financial death sentence that MoneyAhoy.com was born. One of the main reasons I created this blog was to actually PREVENT myself from buying the M3! I knew that if I started writing about saving, making, and investing money, I wouldn’t be able to actually blow the money on the car. I used the principle of auto-suggestion to save myself from financial ruin 🙂 I created a type of mental wall to prevent frivolous spending. I was able to successfully fool my brain long enough, through this blog, until the desire to own a sports car completely dissolved away!!
How I Almost Bought an $80,000 Car – Final Thoughts
Now that MoneyAhoy.com has been around for a just over a year, I can safely say that the desire to purchase a M3 is 100% gone 🙂 I’m happy with my little Corolla that gets nearly triple the mpg, saves hundreds on car insurance each year, will save me thousands on maintenance over the years, and will probably keep me safer as it won’t encourage “crazy sports car type driving”. The Corolla doesn’t look as flashy, and the 0-60 has got to be in the double digits. But, I’ll get MUCH more enjoyment out of retiring 2-3 years earlier with my wife than I ever could out of some quick accelerating hunk of metal!
I really enjoyed reading this story. Probably because I’ve been in the same boat. BMW’s have always interested me and I came close to buying one. Then I realized it was a huge waste of money. Expensive* sports cars are never as fun as they seem. The stress always seems to override the joy for most people. $80k can do a lot of other good in your life.
I dooo drive a sports car right now but it’s older, insurance is low, cheap to repair, and I do the repairs 100% on my own. It’s really practical actually.
@WilliamLipovsky, First Quarter Finance recently posted…How I Live in the Country Club Neighborhood… For Free
William,
I think I’m probably one of those folks that would always be stressing about it getting messed up if I ever got one.
That’s great that you’re able to do the maintenance 100% yourself and are running an older sports car that’s easier on the budget – more power to you!!
it took me awhile, but I’ve finally learned that blowing a huge amount of money on a car is just about the worst way to spend money. We bought a new van recently and the “new car high” lasted about 2 weeks. Now it’s just something that gets me to and from where I’m going. Don’t get me wrong, we needed a new van – but we were deliberate and practical about what we bought. Now that the new car high is gone, that decision seems so wise.
Brock @cleverdude recently posted…Want a Discount? Just Ask.
Brock,
Glad that you’ve figured it out 🙂 My dad always taught me that “the more you see something advertised, the less you actually need it.” Think about it for a second – advertising is in the business of generating false demand for something.
It seems like half the commercials on TV are for new cars. This is because no one really needs a new car; they are a colossal waste of money. Hence, the need for heavy advertising!
I have had those feelings before! I am a fan of cars. I like to drive them and work on them. Before I paid off my debt, I bought a new car. That was a huge mistake that I still regret. That temptation can surely sneak up on you!
Grayson @ Debt Roundup recently posted…Stop Blaming Credit Cards For Your Debt Problems!
Grayson,
I’m glad that we can both put those urges behind us now 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
HA!!! I bought a new car once…..GROSSLY overrated. And you may wanna go up by at least a 1/3 on that car….maintenance on those is EPIC. My wife and I look at “fancy” cars every now and then…but with kids and a dog…..”family” cars tend to appeal to us more. Currently looking for a nice used mini-van
Jermaine,
Yeah – $80,000 is just the price tag with some options. The total cost of ownership over 10 years is probably $120,000 I’m guessing… INSANE! Good luck finding a good minivan 🙂 We have a Toyota Sienna, and it has been good to us.
LOVE this, Derek!! Our last new car purchase was the same way. It was nice in that it got/gets us from A to B safely and runs soundly, but aside from that, MEH. It’s just no big deal. Financial freedom sounds MUCH more exciting. 🙂
Laurie @thefrugalfarmer recently posted…Prepping: Why It’s Important for EVERYONE to be Prepared
Laurie – I agree 100% 🙂 Do you think you’ll buy new ever again?
We likely will, as we really like to buy new and then drive it for a decade or so. We honestly don’t like the gamble we take by buying used and worry about getting a POC. But the good news is that we’ll never, ever again make a new car purchase decision on an emotional level, but instead, on a logical/financial level.
Laurie @thefrugalfarmer recently posted…Prepping: Why It’s Important for EVERYONE to be Prepared
Laurie,
Thanks for stopping by and the mention 🙂 I guess I’d rather take the risk and hopefully save money vs. going new. I can definitely understand the motivation to buy new to avoid unforeseen maintenance issues. One of the best ways to save money in life is to make friends with a mechanic 🙂
This was a great story to read! I’m so glad you stumbled on MMM and decided not to get the car. I don’t blame you for being tempted, though. Myself and my boyfriend are not car fanatics, but he would love a fast sports car. I’ll have to show him this post =).
E.M. recently posted…Being Grateful: Twenty-Fifth Edition / Ramblings
EM – good luck keeping the temptation at bay 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
I suppose we all come to such a point in our lifetime when we have to decide what is more important. Is it the show off and living beyond means or plan our lives so that we can earn a better and quicker retirement? You have made the right choice of not buying a $80,000 sports car and instead plan a better retirement with your family. I appreciate this prudence. In fact, it’s a learning curve for all of us who are tempted to buy something exorbitant for temporary pleasure and then suffer the rest of our lives due to lack of planning. I appreciate the effort put in this blog post.
Thanks Fionna! Resisting the temptation can be hard for all of us at times, but I think you’re correct in stating that it is the best decision for my family to forgo the flashy stuff.
You are most welcome. But the matter of fact is we shall all Thank You for writing such a good blog post and guiding us in restricting our temptation and instead have a sound retirement planning with our family for a better future.
Wow close call! That is one nice looking car but you made the right choice even if it’s the boring one. We only have one car and every time I think about getting another one I remind myself about the insurance, oil changes, regular maintenance, tires, parking etc. That usually helps me snap out of it 🙂
Dan @ Our Big Fat Wallet recently posted…Dividend Increases: Better Than Annual Raises
Dan,
Yes – the true cost of ownership is what should actually be evaluated. In this case, the M3 oil changes cost $150 because it uses a special oil!!! Tires are $1,000 for it! Definitely higher than your average car. Our family has never considered one car… maybe this is something I should put on the table to see how we could make it work?
Great story. I’ve found that writing about personal finance also has helped me be smarter with my money. I bet saving the money and not buying the car allow you to retire a lot sooner than 2-3 years early.
Jon @ Penny Thots recently posted…Do You Have An Opportunity Fund?
Jon,
If you count investing it at 7% interest a year for the next 15 years, that’s $220,722. That’s a pretty nice chuck of change. I think you’re right, it probably is more like 5 or 6 years earlier. Thanks, you just made my day 🙂
I always mention Mr. Money mustache to folks who are in denial of financial freedom. Spending 80K for a car, then you should have went with a Tesla, and never pay for gas again. Kind of frugal, but still insane in the membrane if you ask me. I’m a mazda, toyota, honda fan for life. When I become a multi-millionaire, then I’ll upgrade to an Audi.
EL @ Moneywatch101 recently posted…5 Reasons you Need an Emergency Fund
EL,
Yes, MMM has a good way of slapping people with the reality of their stupid financial decisions. It’s crazy that I can literally buy like 13 used Toyota Corollas for the price of one Tesla 🙂