Lexus Owner's Income

[ilovelexus2007]

Not mean to mind into anybody business, but since we are all anonymous here, anyone mind sharing their annual income or household income.

The reason for that because I read somewhere that Lexus targeted its owner to be around:

45-55 year-old with an average income of $145,000.

Is that true? I am WAY below that, I wonder if I chew more than I can swallow.

Me:

25 year-old

65K per year.

My Fiance:

23 year-old

55K per year.

We both got steady jobs and make a considerate amount more than our peers, but still, 145K a year? Something I would expect from a Doctor/Dentist/Pharmacist or I would made in my mid 40's.

Are this statistics assume people paying off the car right away? We down 20K, paying off in 36 months.

[RXREY]

Not mean to mind into anybody business, but since we are all anonymous here, anyone mind sharing their annual income or household income.

The reason for that because I read somewhere that Lexus targeted its owner to be around:

45-55 year-old with an average income of $145,000.

Is that true? I am WAY below that, I wonder if I chew more than I can swallow.

Me:

25 year-old

65K per year.

My Fiance:

23 year-old

55K per year.

We both got steady jobs and make a considerate amount more than our peers, but still, 145K a year? Something I would expect from a Doctor/Dentist/Pharmacist or I would made in my mid 40's.

Are this statistics assume people paying off the car right away? We down 20K, paying off in 36 months.

Income is relative, meaning that I live in Los Angeles where you have to make over 100K just to be OK. Too many people know me ,my real name, here to be anonymous, I don't mind, but I won't say how much,it's not necessary for me to do so. The point is bigger than the specifics because there is a varied amount of income necessay to do well from state to state,county to county. Anyway, in a nutshell, it all depends on where you live and how much the other factors fall in, such as the mortgage prices in your specific area, the general cost of living varies GREATLY from place to place even here in SoCal. Since both you and fiance make a good amount and together it's a very decent amount for your age, it seems as if you are not over your head at all and probably better off than I am considering I am in this VERY expensive part of the country. If I told you how much my condo cost you'd shudder! Granted it's a great condo in an amazing area,but still.... So that's a hard one to say anything about since so many other factors play in. I am also single so if I were married and with a child, I wouldn't have bought this great car, maybe...maybe a smaller hybrid, I don't know. I LOVE this car though. I'd say relax, you are in great shape, you have a fiance' and,God willing, a whole lot of time ahead of you. You are better off than most humans on this planet, keep that in mind. Be well, Rey

[04Blue430]

I purchased my 04SC430 used in Oct 07 (used, obviously). I agree with the depends on where you live and your other expenses from previous post. We have two kids, my wife does not work out side of the home. We make a good living, engineer by degree, in Raleigh NC, I'm 45 my wife 40. My mortgage is less than 10% of my gross monthly. The only debt/payments we have is our mortgage and a positive cash flow rental property mortgage. Income, sorry no say. IMHO, if you can max out your 401Ks and IRAS and still put some aside for emergencies, vacations, etc then you are doing just fine. Please no flames, just my opinion.

Kevin

[RXREY]

I purchased my 04SC430 used in Oct 07 (used, obviously). I agree with the depends on where you live and your other expenses from previous post. We have two kids, my wife does not work out side of the home. We make a good living, engineer by degree, in Raleigh NC, I'm 45 my wife 40. My mortgage is less than 10% of my gross monthly. The only debt/payments we have is our mortgage and a positive cash flow rental property mortgage. Income, sorry no say. IMHO, if you can max out your 401Ks and IRAS and still put some aside for emergencies, vacations, etc then you are doing just fine. Please no flames, just my opinion.

Kevin

Very good Kevin. I just have my mortgage, no car payments and no one else to take care of so it's easy for me to have my nice little Lexus and even though I do live in L.A., I live very nicely and with little stress.....I might be one of very few in this town to say that! No big commute, no freeway driving to speak of and all of the things that I already said plus Kevin's $.02 is all good. I am glad to be a part of such a nice forum. Warmly, Rey in L.A.

[jrober]

"I wonder if I chew more than I can swallow."

This is probably the real question in your mind that prompted your original post. This is a excellent question for a young person to be asking. I don't know the answer in your case.

I do know that investing $50k in the stock market at age 25 would probably yield over $2 million at retirement age. I also know that when I was young I grossly underestimated the cost of raising a family, home expenses, future college costs, healthcare expenses, the cost of retirement, etc.. There were also times when I overestimated my job security. I have learned over the years that the real value of money is not how many nice things I can buy, but instead, how secure I can feel about my future and also in how much I can do for others.

For what it is worth, I am a 50 year old Physician with no mortgage, 3 kids that have completed their educations and a fully funded retirement fund. I now give most of my income to charity. I still had to think long and hard about buying a $50k car a year ago.

[1990LS400]

The reason for that because I read somewhere that Lexus targeted its owner to be around:

45-55 year-old with an average income of $145,000.

You have to remember that, depending on model and equipment, the list prices of Lexus vehicles range from about $30,000 to over $100,000. Like many brands, the majority of Lexus vehicle sold are towards the lower end of the list price range.

The $145,000 figure seems consistent with, but a little lower than, other information I have seen. The average income of buyers tends to increase up the model range as car prices increases. The average income of new IS250 buyers is probably far less than $145,000 since most IS250 buyers are relatively young. The medium income (a better measure than "average/mean" income) of LS600hL buyers is more likely well above $400,000.

I've had several Lexus and Mercedes salesman tell me that most sales of their most expensive models were cash deals. People are more likely to finance cars at the lower end of the price spectrum but pay cash at the upper end.

[NeoN]

im 22 and i make around 55k a year, but i live at home so i have no expenses :) love the lex

[ilovelexus2007]

I do know that investing $50k in the stock market at age 25 would probably yield over $2 million at retirement age. I also know that when I was young I grossly underestimated the cost of raising a family, home expenses, future college costs, healthcare expenses, the cost of retirement, etc.. There were also times when I overestimated my job security. I have learned over the years that the real value of money is not how many nice things I can buy, but instead, how secure I can feel about my future and also in how much I can do for others.

For what it is worth, I am a 50 year old Physician with no mortgage, 3 kids that have completed their educations and a fully funded retirement fund. I now give most of my income to charity. I still had to think long and hard about buying a $50k car a year ago.

If you mean investing is by buying mutual funds, then I've done it all (I think there is a limit amount you can buy for mutual funds per year, correct?). But to put all that money (50K) in stocks, I think it's a very big gamble. I'm certainly not a stock guru, nor I have the time to pay attention to it, so you know what they say..."If you don't know how to do it, it is better to not doing anything at all" (may not be the exact quote but you get the idea).

Good for you that you donated most of your income to charity. I don't think I'm there yet, helping people is rewarding, but I'm still young and there are A LOT of things I want and need to secure for my future. Maybe when I turned 50 like you and making 6 figures, then I willl :-).

[ilovelexus2007]

im 22 and i make around 55k a year, but i live at home so i have no expenses :) love the lex

I thought I am the youngest one on the road driving an RX (I'm 25), but you are even younger. Are you male/female? Ever been asked why not buying G35, IS250, BMW 3-Series before?

[RX in NC]

My wife and I are both 54, we have no debt at all (and haven't had any debt since I paid off our mortgage when we were both 36), our eventual retirement is fully funded, and my long-time rule is that whatever you want in this household you must pay for in cash - no interest payments of any kind allowed....

My wife maintains her career in social services because she enjoys helping children in poverty who otherwise would not have an advocate to attempt to help them improve their lot in life....

My corporate career was primarily as a project manager in telecom IS, but since the 2002 telecom collapse I learned to play the options market on most days the markets are open so I love market volatility, and now is a very volatile time as most of you uncomfortably know. I may turn a $5,000 initial play into $60,000 over the course of three days to a maximum of three weeks playing a carefully-selected option, but keep in mind that I can also lose that $5,000 and plenty more during that same play if it doesn't unfold the way my well-researched data and constantly-updated market indicators tell me it will. There have been times that when a play turned sour and I didn't get out by accepting a $2,000 loss within 3 or 4 minutes of my charts telling me to do so, the market has crushed me like a grape and reached into my wallet for more than $8,000 in less than one hour because I was too bullheaded to admit that I was wrong and still believed that I could earn my money back by staying in the play. Do this a few times and you learn very quickly that the market is always right regardless of how good you think you are with your research. It's very humbling and you must learn from your mistakes or you will go broke in a hurry. So playing the options market can be a high-reward venture that will occasionally turn into a high-loss consequence as well. And I pay some big-time taxes as a result of any major gains that I put together....

But I'm extremely conservative from a financial standpoint and always have been - that personal trait over a 30-year span is what put us where we are today. You build wealth one brick at a time, just like you would build a wall. And you do it consistently by paying your investment portfolio (which must be kept entirely separate from your options trading funds and never compromised) regularly before you splurge on material things for yourself - no exceptions. It took me years to convince my wife to buy into my philosophy, but gradually she learned that it would pay off big-time for us, and it did.

I'm still as tight with our disposable funds as I was when we were 30. I drive a 1999 Dodge Ram pickup that I love. She drives her 2004 RX330 that she bought used at about 30,000 miles. I believe in allowing the first owner of any vehicle we buy to take the biggest depreciation hit, not me. We don't waste our money on crap we don't need, but we don't have any financial worries as a result. Yes, we still must deal with inflation just like everyone else out there, but no mortgage company or financial institution will ever be able to take our house or any of our other property because whatever we want or need is purchased with cash whether it costs $5,000 or $50,000....

In a nutshell, income level doesn't matter nearly as much as developing a financial philosophy and sticking to it through the tough times as well as the good times....

[1990LS400]

RX in NC,

Based on your post, it's as if we are twins that were separated at birth -- except for the options trading part!

Some of my friends and coworkers can seem envious of our lifestyle and that we never worry about money. I just tell them that the reason we can afford to pay cash for everything is that we pay cash for everything.

Most people just don't understand that when you never pay anyone else to use their money, then you have a lot more money to spend and especially to invest.

Maybe we can start a "movement".

[RX in NC]

Sorry, but no "movement" like this will take place in our lifetimes. Our philosophy is almost unheard of because the vast majority of consumers in the U.S. want it all and want it all right now, regardless of how long they have to pay to get it. I just shake my head when I hear stories about well-paid people running up a $30,000 credit card balance (or two or three of them) and thinking they have it made because they've purchased everything from gas guzzlers to groceries on their plastic or through their home equity accounts and are content with paying it off with the minimum required each month. What they never stop to think about is that they'll be in deep, deep debt for crap they purchased, used, and threw away years ago for the rest of their lives unless they radically change their financial behavior...

[SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME]

Income is relative, meaning that I live in Los Angeles where you have to make over 100K just to be OK. Too many people know me ,my real name, here to be anonymous, I don't mind, but I won't say how much,it's not necessary for me to do so.

. . . snip

. . .

. Be well, Rey

Yep, what Rey said, even 200k in many parts of South O.C. ... San diego ... the Bay area ... NYC ... etc are even worse for trying to make it financially. Folks making a boat load don't want to pony up info if it sounds boastfull ... & folks with nothing (that buy a new car anyway) don't want to pony up info if it raises eyebrows as to why they'd spend beyond their means.

[jrober]

"I just tell them that the reason we can afford to pay cash for everything is that we pay cash for everything."

I remember someone saying once that the difference between rich people and poor people is that rich people collect interest and poor people pay interest. How true this is.