Would you rather have a nice house or nice cars(s)

Mach said:

Hot tub time machine, based loosely on a true story I see.

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Now that was a damn good movie

Mach said:

I was mortified by my parents cars at various times in my childhood. Even got in a fight with some 8th graders when I was in 6th grade because they were talking smack about it. I recall seeing a cute girl from a class and then our parents parked next to each other...ugh. Can't be helped, that sort of **** is important when young. No need for luxury, but average at least was what I wanted growing up. Just average, nothing great, nothing absurd.

We have a similar situation at home now. I want my wife to upgrade her wagon to better match my car and our neighborhood. She's putting up a fight but then her car is only about 5 years old and in good condition...
My entire childhood and my twenties were spent in about the cheapest cars in existence. These days, I have no qualms now about driving in a nice ride that I enjoy getting into and driving every single day.

The poll can be misleading only because the difference in cost is so great. I'd much rather take $10K out of the house and put it into the car. $10K difference in a house means nothing, but in a car it can be a huge difference.

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YEA, ppl say they aren't out to impress anyone, but how true is that? Would you (general) feel confident riding around in a pinto? I do think we are all materialistic to a degree.. You felt exactly how my son feels, but he doesn't see the other side. He doesn't realize both his dad and I would rather have money in the bank to cover emergencies, or use for things like... idk buying them clothes... going out etc. Having another car payment would make things tight. To be honest I would LOVE to replace it, and yea even I feel a bit insecure driving it (it wouldn't look bad with a new paint job) but as I mentioned, we'd rather have the money as a cushion rather than buy a new vehicle to save us ''the embarassment''.

herenow1 said:

YEA, ppl say they aren't out to impress anyone, but how true is that? Would you (general) feel confident riding around in a pinto? I do think we are all materialistic to a degree.. You felt exactly how my son feels, but he doesn't see the other side. He doesn't realize both his dad and I would rather have money in the bank to cover emergencies, or use for things like... idk buying them clothes... going out etc. Having another car payment would make things tight. To be honest I would LOVE to replace it, and yea even I feel a bit insecure driving it (it wouldn't look bad with a new paint job) but as I mentioned, we'd rather have the money as a cushion rather than buy a new vehicle to save us ''the embarassment''.

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It is not uncommon for people's priorities to change when they have to start paying for them themselves.

*cough*... teenager to young self-supporting adult.

Well my husband and I like certain materialistic things and we balance that with practicality and affordability.

I'm a penny pincher and a money saver but I like to cut lose and just have fun sometimes - the sportscar lets us do that and doing home improvements lets me improve and specialize our living area to suit our desires and much less so our budget.

My sister was so much more concerned about the type of neighborhood she lived in and the size of the home than anything else - they didn't care about their backyard at that time or the fact that they had several flights of stairs. All these years later they're sort of stuck with their decision and what does she complain about? All the time she gripes about the size of the house (it's a lot to clean) and the stairs (it's a lot of climbing and dangerous for smaller kids) and the size and type of yard (too hilly for the kids to play on).

BUT! They live in a ritzy neighborhood. Kind of sad, really.

herenow1 said:

If you had to choose that is.

We have a nice house in an affluent neighborhood, but one of our vehicles is ten yrs old, and isn't the prettiest thing to look at. My oldest seems to be embrarassed by it, but you know what I tell him? ''Shaddup, it's paidfor'' :mrgreen:

He basically thinks we are poor b/c we ride around in a ten yro vehicle. Teens:doh

I asked him if poor people live in a 3500 SQFT house in a nice neighborhood. Hence my poll question....

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this may be a bigger issue than you realize
the behavior you model may be the behavior - and values - your children adopt
i say that because my wife and i encountered this not too many years back, when the kids were in high school
we live in an affluent neighborhood, but in one of its smallest homes. we bought were we did because it was a wise investment and a location in one of the nation's premiere public school districts. my kids would go to other students' homes and return dismayed that we did not have an elevator, man cave, wine room, theater, sauna, maid's quarters, etc like those of their friends' parents
what made it worse for my kids was that i would hold onto cars that i bought and liked. so i had an old 2002, t-bird super coupe, and '83 silverado in addition to my wife's 4 runner and my m3 daily driver
this was one of the few things where i was ever disappointed in them. compared to most, they were living in an upscale middle class lifestyle. but they wanted us to sell the house and upgrade. they expected new cars to drive (like their friends). while we could have accommodated them, there was no reason to do so. our home was unencumbered. we owed no debts. and we had everything we needed. but there was no way we could ever compete with those joneses who were in the 1%. and here is my point: we didn't try
as it turns out, my kids, now on their own, have adopted our views on financial prudence. my eldest banks 2/3 of his now substantial income. my daughter just graduated from college and in her first 'real' job, now invests 20% of her wages. they learned to pay themselves first, in the form of savings
and since the financial meltdown, many of those families in those swank homes are no longer living in them. those equity loans, taken out to buy all of the frills, the ones my kids pined for, could no longer be repaid in today's economy

do your kids a huge favor and buy what you need, without any regard to what they want. with any luck, they will be able to learn for themselves from your fiscally sound practices

Aunt Spiker said:

Well my husband and I like certain materialistic things and we balance that with practicality and affordability.

I'm a penny pincher and a money saver but I like to cut lose and just have fun sometimes - the sportscar lets us do that and doing home improvements lets me improve and specialize our living area to suit our desires and much less so our budget.

My sister was so much more concerned about the type of neighborhood she lived in and the size of the home than anything else - they didn't care about their backyard at that time or the fact that they had several flights of stairs. All these years later they're sort of stuck with their decision and what does she complain about? All the time she gripes about the size of the house (it's a lot to clean) and the stairs (it's a lot of climbing and dangerous for smaller kids) and the size and type of yard (too hilly for the kids to play on).

BUT! They live in a ritzy neighborhood. Kind of sad, really.

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Perfect example of "Be careful what you wish for...".

radcen said:

Perfect example of "Be careful what you wish for...".

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I HATE cleaning and put it off when I can - so I'll never have a big home. . . and so forth - there's some logic behind my decisions

Yea, but I think we even complain about the ''good'' things we wish for, but it doesn't mean we don't want it. How many people pray or wish for for a specific job, then 1 yr into it start finding things to complain about? How many people pray or wish for ''that special someone'' to come into their lives, only to complain about their annoying habits yrs into the marriage. How many ppl buy new vehicles and complain about trying to always keep it clean or money they put into it, and how many ppl want a specific house and find things to complain about? When I get like that, I check myself and count my blessings.

A car is just something to get you from place to place. A nice house is so much more important.

Doesn't the fact that the average 'nice house' is much more valuable than the average 'nice car' factor into anyone's decision? Going in that direction, not having a 'nice house' can make a tricky to keep a 'nice car', anyway.

Nice house is the gift that keeps on giving.

Our home is very modest, but it's paid for and has some acreage. Our cars both have over 100,000 miles, but they run well and hubby does all their mechanical maintenance. We don't owe anybody anything, and that's the most important thing to us.

haymarket said:

A car is just something to get you from place to place. A nice house is so much more important.

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Both should provide relative comfort and security.

Personally, I think it's odd that people compare themselves to each other based on cars. I am often sorry for people because they have a nice car. Do they have to spend a lot of time in a car? Do they have to make payments on that car? Do they derive a sense of self worth from their car? If any of those things are true, feeling sorry for them is justified. If someone has plenty of money to stroke a check for a nice car, but they don't know how to spend their money in ways that are truly satisfying, I would also feel sorry for them.

If someone has never owned their own car, but always has to make payments, there are plenty of reasons to feel sympathy for them.

All I want in a car is reliable transportation. I want it to start when I turn the key, go when I hit the gas, and stop when I hit the brakes. I want it to get me back and forth to work, where I make money to pay for my home. It will depreciate in value every time i drive it, so it's no investment.

A home is another matter entirely. Warren Buffett's best advice is to "own the roof over your head."

I've lived beneath my means my entire life. Drove older cars...tiny cars...lived in very modest (but nice) homes...never pay attention to status of any kind. It's served me well. Still have the very modest home...3 BR, 2 BA ranch; one-car garage (shoulda' bought a 2-car; that was a mistake); no family room. I do drive a nice car now, though...real estate kinda' leads one in that direction.

Only thing I do that is a real splurge/treat is to always valet my car and pay extra to have it left right out in front.

Best book on the subject: The Millionaire Next Door.

Both a house and car are depreciating assets, but a car depreciates faster, generally speaking.
I rather have a nicer house, not too opulent, a decent car and put the rest of the money in the bank.

Who cares what our teens think, they don't pay the bills and they get an opinion on it, only when they start forking over some cash.

The Good Reverend haz both. impdaddy:

Aunt Spiker said:

LOL - I finally bought a van that could carry the whole family. A Mazda5. Even though it's new it's ugly as sin - I don't like it at all but it's fuel efficient and gets the job done. Now - my old and long gone Camero - that was pretty. My husband's GTO is looking good. . . but in need of a new paint job. Our most reliable one is a Nissan Sentra that's older than my kids. LOL - but it still packs on the miles like a good ole workhorse. I've had it repainted once - going from a cop-eye-catching black and chrome makeover to a nice blue that goes undetected it seems.

The money I've 'saved' by living in a sub-standard home has been put towards renovating the home. We bought it at 87K and now it's a snazzy 130K and climbing . . . we are the affluent neighbors

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My husband said he wants to get a Mazda 5 sometime at the beginning of next year, after I start getting my living allowance for college.

roguenuke said:

My husband said he wants to get a Mazda 5 sometime at the beginning of next year, after I start getting my living allowance for college.

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They're decent - we packed all of us (6) into our 5-seat Trailblazer for 5 years - obviously when we bought it we didn't expect to have a 4th child . . . and when he came we didn't have the money to roll those payments into a bigger vehicle. Then - because the TB was such a solid vehicle (never had a single mechanical issue - ever) I was reluctant to let it go and risk taking on a more potentially volatile vehicle.

It turned out that waiting was perfect because only two mini-vans get the equivalent mpg - for considerably more cost - as the Mazda5. . . so it's good in all those aspects.

I'd rather have a nice house and a nice car, but if I had to pick just one, I'd rather have a nice house. I spend more time there.

We rent an apartment now so I would have to say car. I love my black convertible Mustang.

herenow1 said:

If you had to choose that is.

We have a nice house in an affluent neighborhood, but one of our vehicles is ten yrs old, and isn't the prettiest thing to look at. My oldest seems to be embrarassed by it, but you know what I tell him? ''Shaddup, it's paidfor'' :mrgreen:

He basically thinks we are poor b/c we ride around in a ten yro vehicle. Teens:doh

I asked him if poor people live in a 3500 SQFT house in a nice neighborhood. Hence my poll question....

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It depends.

Can I get a truck with one of those coverings over the bed so I can put a sleeping bag in it and use it as my house?

That way I can have the best of both worlds.

I grew up in crappy apartments, sh*tty trailers, and ever a shack.. bought my first hunk of crap car when i was 17 ( for 250 bucks.. an old 46 ford truck)

I was pretty much in want for either a nice house or a nice car... and it took foreveeeeer to them.
now i have more of both than I could ever have dreamed of having.

if i had ot choose.. it would be a nice house...my house is my castle.

I don't care about my car much at all. I drive a 1999 Toyota Camry, and that's A-OK with me. As long as it gets me from Point A to Point B without too much hassle, that's all I ask for in a car.

I guess I care a little more about housing. I prefer apartments to houses, because they're low-maintenance and I like the freedom of being able to pick up and move whenever I feel like it. I don't need anything really fancy, but I do appreciate small luxuries like an on-site exercise center, Verizon FIOS access, and a business/lounge area...and I'm willing to pay quite a bit extra to live in a good location.

But ultimately neither my housing nor my car are really that important to me. I like to live below my means.

I have an ok condo that is perfect for me. It does not have granite countertops however or some other enhancements. It is only 800 sq ft but I would not need anymore space. But I do have a really nice car, not to impress other people but because I really like it personally.

Kandahar said:

I don't care about my car much at all. I drive a 1999 Toyota Camry, and that's A-OK with me. As long as it gets me from Point A to Point B without too much hassle, that's all I ask for in a car..

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I just wanted to comment on the awesomeness of the Toyota Camry. My mom had the same one for my entire childhood and it ran like a beast. She bought another one after the old one finally gave out a few years ago. Those things are some of the most reliable cars made and I wouldn't mind having a 10 year old Camry in exchange for a nice house.