What is the rule of thumb for how much car you can afford?

[DarkStarMagnolia]

FYI

I just bought a g37x. Great car, absolutely incredible.

I make twice as much as you do - and it was a tough call for me to decide to do it. I'm 100% fine making the payment (and I got 0% financing which made the deal even sweeter - infiniti right now has 0% financing even on used cars if your credit is good, so the 4.5% interest rate quoted is out of line) however, if I had half the income I have now, there's no way I'd be buying that car. I put 11% into retirement, I'm saving up for my first house, and I'm saving to save. The car is my ONLY splurge - I have no credit card debt. I don't shop often. I don't like to "spend" money, but I love cars, and I fell in love with that one.

My point - I was stressed about buying that car and I make twice as much as you. You need to figure out a budget for yourself THEN figure out how much car you can afford. You certainly can't afford to pay off a 30k car in 3 years with your income... unless you live in your parents basement and eat Raman noodles and don't save anything... sorry but you're not being realistic.

But... on a side note... I DO empathize with you on the car. I plan on driving my car for a very long time. You're also right that the luxury cars don't depreciate as fast as other cars do. I know I was looking at used 37x (2007) cars with around 60k miles (some I saw only had 40) that were in the mid 20k dollars. They were ex-leases. That seems to be a good way to go as well. You can get your luxury car, with very few miles on it, and pay a reasonable amount for it. I'm kind of a car freak, and was very specific on what I wanted for my car, but I still kept flip flopping on if I wanted new or used, or how "new" etc. I will tell you if you drive a lot, having the luxury car makes the driving so much more enjoyable. I love my car, like I mentioned, and I am seriously way less stressed when I get home after driving my g37. It's a joy to drive - and I get to do it every day. That in mind, I'd seriously go for a 3 year old one with very low miles. Infiniti has certified pre owned which come with a warranty - which is helpful. As far as luxury lines go, infiniti has some of the cheapest maintenance costs. One thing to consider though - gas mileage is awful. So plan on spending a lot on gas (my g averages around 20 mpg city and highway mixed driving).