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Safety First: Finally Bought A Family Car And It’s Not A Minivan

Posted by Financial Samurai 111 Comments

My new mid-life crisis car: a Range Rover Sport HSEAfter deep deliberation, I decided to pass on buying the $550,000 Mercedes G650 Maybach. It just felt like too much to spend on a family car when I could invest the money and earn $20,000 a year in passive income forever! Thank you all for your advice.

I ended up buying a late model 2015 Range Rover Sport V6 HSE with 11,200 miles in Santorini black with black leather interior. It’s in perfect condition with a warranty until July 2019. The original sticker was $76,000 before tax or roughly $83,000 out the door. Such good value compared to the G650 Maybach right?

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You’re Worth It! Everyone Deserves A Nice Car

Posted by Financial Samurai 124 Comments

How sexy is this parking job? Love my Rhino

After analyzing the safest cars on the road and researching the best mid-life crisis cars to buy, I’ve finally come to a decision on what to get next. For almost three years, I’ve been driving a Honda Fit to weave my way around Bay Area traffic. The $235/month business lease is almost over, and it’s time to move on. I’m turning 40 this June, and gosh darn it, I think I deserve to drive something nicer!

Given I’ve spent my whole life being frugal, it’s been extremely hard to spend more than $20,000 on a car. It just feels dumb when my car will just sit in the garage for 23 hours a day on average. Further, cheap ride sharing options are everywhere. What used to cost $25 to go downtown via taxi from the western side of San Francisco now costs only $6 through Lyft line!

To help overcome my frugality, I asked three folks with nice vehicles to share their perspective. For those who are also suffering from frugality disease due to an intense desire to never have to work for anybody again, I think you’ll find this post to be incredibly insightful.

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The Safest Cars To Survive A Crash

Posted by Financial Samurai 110 Comments

Safest cars to buy to survive a car accidentDid you know that despite all the technological advancements in car safety, the car accident death rate had the highest rate of increase in 50 years in 2015? Lower gas prices and a better economy are two reasons cited for more driving and more dying on the road. But the other culprit is distracted driving due to our damn mobile phones. We’re texting, searching for new Pandora stations, and surfing the web while driving more than ever before.

Within the past three months, I’ve witnessed four accidents and experienced three close calls. One accident was strange because two cars stopped at a four-way intersection with stop signs, but the Audi Q5 SUV then proceeded to plow into the Toyota Prius’ front passenger door! I was rolling up to the intersection when the accident happened. The woman driving the Audi wasn’t aware of the Prius to her left because she was either in a hurry or looking at her phone.

Take a look at the following crash statistics in America and the world according to the Association For Safe International Road Travel for 2016.

Annual United States Road Crash Statistics

  • Over 37,000 people die in road crashes each year
  • An additional 2.35 million are injured or disabled
  • Over 1,600 children under 15 years of age die each year
  • Nearly 8,000 people are killed in crashes involving drivers ages 16-20
  • Road crashes cost the U.S. $230.6 billion per year or an average of $820 per person
  • Road crashes are the single greatest annual cause of death of healthy U.S. citizens traveling abroad

Annual Global Road Crash Statistics

  • Nearly 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day.
  • An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled.
  • More than half of all road traffic deaths occur among young adults ages 15-44.
  • Road traffic crashes rank as the 9th leading cause of death and account for 2.2% of all deaths globally.
  • Road crashes are the leading cause of death among young people ages 15-29, and the second leading cause of death worldwide amongst young people ages 5-14.
  • Each year nearly 400,000 people under 25 die on the world’s roads, on average over 1,000 a day.
  • Over 90% of all road fatalities occur in low and middle-income countries, which have less than half of the world’s vehicles.
  • Road crashes cost USD $518 billion globally, costing individual countries 1-2% of their annual GDP.
  • Road crashes cost low and middle-income countries USD $65 billion annually, exceeding the total amount received in developmental assistance.
  • Unless action is taken, road traffic injuries are predicted to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030.

I love cars, but I love my life even more. The two easiest things a driver can do are: 1) slow down, and 2) stop looking at or talking on your mobile phone. If you’re a parent, I’d also consider not allowing your teenager to drive or get into a car with another teenage driver.

For those of you who also value the importance of safety, especially if you have a baby or kids, I wrote this post for you.

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The 1/10th Rule For Car Buying Everyone Must Follow

Posted by Financial Samurai 869 Comments

Old Car In EstoniaIn 2009, I watched in horror as a total of 690,000 new vehicles averaging $24,000 each were sold under the Cash For Clunkers program in 2009. The government’s $4,000 rebate for trading in your car ended up hurting hundred of thousands of people’s finances instead! Your $20,000 invested in 2009 in the S&P 500 index would now be worth over $50,000 today given the stock markets are now at record highs!

Buying too much car is one of the easiest and biggest financial mistakes someone can make. Besides the purchase price of a car, you’ve got to also pay car insurance, maintenance, parking tickets, and traffic tickets. When you add everything up, I’m pretty sure you’ll be shocked at how much it really costs to own a car and barf!

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The Average New Car Price Is Unbelievably High

Posted by Financial Samurai 159 Comments

the average new car priceIf you were to guess what the average new car price is nowadays, what would you guess? I guessed $23,000, since my Honda Fit is sweet and only costs $19,600 new. Given I’m frugal, leaving a 20% upside pricing buffer seemed logical. Too bad I was way off!

According to Experian, one of the big three credit scoring agencies, the average car price now tops over $34,000! Holy moly that’s ridiculous. All-time best selling family cars such as the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry only cost $26,000 fully-loaded. So how on Earth can the average car price now be 31% higher than these two?

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