Ordinary house, Extraordinary car?
Discussion
A recent subforum discussion turned to the topic of owning a supercar while living in a fairly modest house, after someone shared a photo of his car on his driveway:
However, IMHO it's possible to have a genuine discussion and hear people's views on this. As I see it, some of the main issues in question are
a) keeping a supercar on the driveway as you don't have a garage able to accommodate it
b) balance of spending on property vs cars
c) priority given to investing in appreciating assets for later benefit vs maximising enjoyment today
So, what's your philosophy? Has it changed over time, and if so why?
m4tti said:
... it seems really odd to spend money on a car, that when new was probably a third if not more of the value of the house it sits outside. Especially on an asset which is effectively dropping money daily.
This seems to be a mindset I see more and more on here, and Facebook etc.
I don’t think I’d sleep at night with out a double garage to roll it in and lock it away, and I’d always be questioning my self that I could probably live somewhere uhh nicer.
This seems to be a mindset I see more and more on here, and Facebook etc.
I don’t think I’d sleep at night with out a double garage to roll it in and lock it away, and I’d always be questioning my self that I could probably live somewhere uhh nicer.
RSbandit said:
Quite a judgemental post …what is the correct car to house/net worth ratio then?!
m4tti said:
Don’t know really, that’s why I asked. Maybe it’s a generational thing. I was a child of the 80’s and 90’s and had it drummed into me that you invest in the best property you can, the cars will come later.
I if I’d bought a car worth anything more than 10% or 20% of my property value, my family would think I was insane.
in context of that thread, this felt like (a) a somewhat personal attack on a forum member who'd shared his parking arrangements in good faith, and (b) a distraction from the thread topic.I if I’d bought a car worth anything more than 10% or 20% of my property value, my family would think I was insane.
However, IMHO it's possible to have a genuine discussion and hear people's views on this. As I see it, some of the main issues in question are
a) keeping a supercar on the driveway as you don't have a garage able to accommodate it
b) balance of spending on property vs cars
c) priority given to investing in appreciating assets for later benefit vs maximising enjoyment today
So, what's your philosophy? Has it changed over time, and if so why?
I care not one jot for supercars left outside, fair play to them and cars are meant to be used.
However, living in a £300k house with a £100k car outside does seem one of the riskier financial decisions until you start to look at all those £300k houses with perhaps two £40-50k cars on the drive.
Or those same families who spend £10k or more each year on holidays.
Horses for courses.
Priorities, everyone’s are different.
However, living in a £300k house with a £100k car outside does seem one of the riskier financial decisions until you start to look at all those £300k houses with perhaps two £40-50k cars on the drive.
Or those same families who spend £10k or more each year on holidays.
Horses for courses.
Priorities, everyone’s are different.
samoht said:
in context of that thread, this felt like (a) a somewhat personal attack on a forum member who'd shared his parking arrangements in good faith, and (b) a distraction from the thread topic.
However, IMHO it's possible to have a genuine discussion and hear people's views on this. As I see it, some of the main issues in question are
a) keeping a supercar on the driveway as you don't have a garage able to accommodate it
b) balance of spending on property vs cars
c) priority given to investing in appreciating assets for later benefit vs maximising enjoyment today
So, what's your philosophy? Has it changed over time, and if so why?
Tom that’s articulated the subject well. My post was written in haste whilst working outside today, and wasn’t intended to cause any offence. I was interested in peoples priorities and how attitudes seem to have changed as there were real life examples posted. Perhaps I’m getting too old. However, IMHO it's possible to have a genuine discussion and hear people's views on this. As I see it, some of the main issues in question are
a) keeping a supercar on the driveway as you don't have a garage able to accommodate it
b) balance of spending on property vs cars
c) priority given to investing in appreciating assets for later benefit vs maximising enjoyment today
So, what's your philosophy? Has it changed over time, and if so why?
Edited by m4tti on Sunday 16th October 19:25
Edited by m4tti on Sunday 16th October 19:46
m4tti said:
samoht said:
in context of that thread, this felt like (a) a somewhat personal attack on a forum member who'd shared his parking arrangements in good faith, and (b) a distraction from the thread topic.
However, IMHO it's possible to have a genuine discussion and hear people's views on this. As I see it, some of the main issues in question are
a) keeping a supercar on the driveway as you don't have a garage able to accommodate it
b) balance of spending on property vs cars
c) priority given to investing in appreciating assets for later benefit vs maximising enjoyment today
So, what's your philosophy? Has it changed over time, and if so why?
Tom that’s articulated the subject well. My post was written in haste whilst working outside today, and wasn’t intended to cause any offence. I was interested in peoples priorities and how attitudes seem to have changed as there were real life examples posted. Perhaps I’m getting too old. However, IMHO it's possible to have a genuine discussion and hear people's views on this. As I see it, some of the main issues in question are
a) keeping a supercar on the driveway as you don't have a garage able to accommodate it
b) balance of spending on property vs cars
c) priority given to investing in appreciating assets for later benefit vs maximising enjoyment today
So, what's your philosophy? Has it changed over time, and if so why?
Edited by m4tti on Sunday 16th October 19:25
Edited by m4tti on Sunday 16th October 19:46
The car value vs house value shows complete disregard for investing in the future
The house is what I could afford to live in, rather than what I choose to live in
Somebody has made a comment about the 'risk' of this combination.
It is entirely possible for people to live in an average house and still invest for the future. It is entirely possible for people to live in an average house because they have no interest in a bigger house - even if they know full well it's a 'good investment'. It's entirely possible got people to live in an average house and a £100k car to have no mortgage, no debt and enough capital behind them that there is zero 'risk', and probably much less than many people living in bigger houses with mortgages and financed cars.....
Last post from me on PH for a while I think. The whole issue, and the massive assumptions still annoys the f
k out of me.Oh, and by the way - it's actually worse than you think anyway. At the time that photo was taken (and for about another year) I also had a Ferrari in the garage. So in fact the combined value of the cars was more than I paid for my house 20 odd years ago.
How f
king irresponsible eh?Edited by davek_964 on Sunday 16th October 21:37
Seems a bizarre thing to say to be honest
There are plenty of places where houses aren’t super expensive, does that mean that those people shouldn’t own certain cars.
Why shouldn’t someone who lives in a £300k house own a £100k car, How is that more risky than someone with a million pound mortgage and a £100k car?
What if the person that lives in a £300k house with a £100k car owns both outright and paid for?
Why do you need a more expensive house? What does it do that a less expensive house doesn’t?
This Sounds like snobbery to me.
It’s no one’s business other than the owner.
There are plenty of places where houses aren’t super expensive, does that mean that those people shouldn’t own certain cars.
Why shouldn’t someone who lives in a £300k house own a £100k car, How is that more risky than someone with a million pound mortgage and a £100k car?
What if the person that lives in a £300k house with a £100k car owns both outright and paid for?
Why do you need a more expensive house? What does it do that a less expensive house doesn’t?
This Sounds like snobbery to me.
It’s no one’s business other than the owner.
I know PH has loads of pointless topics but this is up there. Triggered by an ill-judged post on a sub-forum.
There are too many variables based on personal circumstances and behaviours to produce any meaningful conclusions. Debt/equity/assets/lifestyle/choice - we’re all different.
If I decide to buy a 200k car and park it in front of my suburban semi that’s up to me*. Equally if I nab myself a 10k Kia and put it in front of my country pile that’s fine. No justification required.
*But I definitely would be out there polishing it a lot.
There are too many variables based on personal circumstances and behaviours to produce any meaningful conclusions. Debt/equity/assets/lifestyle/choice - we’re all different.
If I decide to buy a 200k car and park it in front of my suburban semi that’s up to me*. Equally if I nab myself a 10k Kia and put it in front of my country pile that’s fine. No justification required.
*But I definitely would be out there polishing it a lot.
Strange topic because does anyone bay an eyelid to those who drive rust buckets but live in multi million pound houses.
I know of a couple people that are single, own cars worth over £100k, park them on the road and live in a 2 bed flat. They are happy and that’s all that matters.
Some people just want a roof over their head and aren’t to fussed about having the nicest or biggest house and cars is their passion
I know of a couple people that are single, own cars worth over £100k, park them on the road and live in a 2 bed flat. They are happy and that’s all that matters.
Some people just want a roof over their head and aren’t to fussed about having the nicest or biggest house and cars is their passion
Such a weird one - I wonder if it’s jealousy more than anything? A very successful (IMO) friend of mine never progressed past a perfectly nice, but small cottage as he wanted to pay off his mortgage asap vs keep going bigger and bigger. He’s also got a 40ft Princess yacht in the marina and a nice car. I’m hoping to buy a standard 3 bed apartment in a normal location - but I’ll also house my art collection there and hope to put something nice on the driveway before we’re forced into electrification. For me property is somewhere to sleep and occasionally host friends. If someone decides to judge me for that decision I feel it says more about them than me.
It's each to their own as far as I'm concerned.
I like my cars and with mortgage paid off have one worth about 4% of the house value, and am considering buying another one as a totally unnecessary toy. My neighbour's cost under 1% as just sees them as transport.
One thing putting a break on going mad is desire to be in a position to help my parents or children financially should they need it in the future. If I did not have kids my attitude to spending would be very different.
I like my cars and with mortgage paid off have one worth about 4% of the house value, and am considering buying another one as a totally unnecessary toy. My neighbour's cost under 1% as just sees them as transport.
One thing putting a break on going mad is desire to be in a position to help my parents or children financially should they need it in the future. If I did not have kids my attitude to spending would be very different.
There is no set equation. By way of example the self righteous pair of geriatrics that live in the 6 bed house across the road from me whilst also wittering on about us being in a conservation area properly get on my wick as its such a waste. I like the guy above that lives in a semi and has a GT3. I often tell my wife if I hadn't married her I could be living in a very cool mayfair 1 bed flat with a Ferrari 
Desert Dragon said:
There is no set equation. By way of example the self righteous pair of geriatrics that live in the 6 bed house across the road from me whilst also wittering on about us being in a conservation area properly get on my wick as its such a waste.
Unclear what that elderly couple are being self-righteous about but your judgement of them is certainly self-righteous.Peoples priorities in life are different from the start and change as we progress through life, some dont progress, some peoples priorities dont change because they dont ever discover things they want more…
I wanted a Countach from a very early age, but as you grow up and learn more about yourself this garage then grew to need a variety of cars, variety was very important to me it would seem.
Housing didnt even register when I was a kid! and i think i’d have been happy having this selection of cars at any dwelling, maybe some never move on from this stand point?
I fell in love as a teenager, discovered adventure with my now wife and we fell in love with beautiful houses together and i discovered i had a talent for building them, still loved cars but somewhere to house our dreams together was far bigger and stronger, it was also something that later on would house my dream of a collection of cars anyway, so we set about building..
For me the dream of cars never went away but there was allot that needed to be achieved in front of it for the car dream to be a complete one, i cant begin to imagine my collection sat on a mediocre plot with tarps covering them tbh, fine if that works for you but i wanted more and i wanted something many others didnt have and to know that, some of this is what makes it even more special to me.
Just finished my 400m2 stone built / oak framed storage facility that sits amidst our grounds and its stunning! very satisfying but more importantly it sits amongst all the other stone built buildings that have already been finished & were a far more important part of our journey together than this last ‘garage’ the workshop, cottages and our barn conversion were definitely ahead of the cars, if the car facility hadnt happened? I would still have been happy with what we’d created, the other way round? Not so much..
Ordinary house with extraordinary car? not a chance, needs to be extraordinary house, extraordinary wife and then extraordinary cars for the icing
If you’re willing to accept an ordinary house then why not an ordinary car?
I wanted a Countach from a very early age, but as you grow up and learn more about yourself this garage then grew to need a variety of cars, variety was very important to me it would seem.
Housing didnt even register when I was a kid! and i think i’d have been happy having this selection of cars at any dwelling, maybe some never move on from this stand point?
I fell in love as a teenager, discovered adventure with my now wife and we fell in love with beautiful houses together and i discovered i had a talent for building them, still loved cars but somewhere to house our dreams together was far bigger and stronger, it was also something that later on would house my dream of a collection of cars anyway, so we set about building..
For me the dream of cars never went away but there was allot that needed to be achieved in front of it for the car dream to be a complete one, i cant begin to imagine my collection sat on a mediocre plot with tarps covering them tbh, fine if that works for you but i wanted more and i wanted something many others didnt have and to know that, some of this is what makes it even more special to me.
Just finished my 400m2 stone built / oak framed storage facility that sits amidst our grounds and its stunning! very satisfying but more importantly it sits amongst all the other stone built buildings that have already been finished & were a far more important part of our journey together than this last ‘garage’ the workshop, cottages and our barn conversion were definitely ahead of the cars, if the car facility hadnt happened? I would still have been happy with what we’d created, the other way round? Not so much..
Ordinary house with extraordinary car? not a chance, needs to be extraordinary house, extraordinary wife and then extraordinary cars for the icing
If you’re willing to accept an ordinary house then why not an ordinary car?
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