I am thinking of buying a Tesla Model 3 ($52K, need an AWD since it snows here) and would like to know what you think given the scenario. Overview • I am in my early 30s and I have been still driving almost 2 decades old car. I need to get a new one before this one stops running. • I have been cautious about spending since last 10 years. I invested in 401K and maxed out for the last 7 years. • I do not have any debt right now and I have saved about 50K for emergency, down payment for house, etc. • A decent car I liked after test driving is around $30K (sedan) and $35K(SUV) plus taxes, fees etc. • I have a small business I started few years ago. I have earned about 100K (revenue) so far. This is in additional to my existing salary. But recently I have gotten lazy and the revenue has been dwindling. Things I am worried about. • Should I buy a house before buying a car? What if my car breaks down sooner and I have to decide in a hurry. • A Tesla needs charging and I don’t have a garage to house and charge it. I would have to go to the charging station to charge it up. • Am I spending too much in car, almost $20K more than what is required? • How much would a Tesla last as compared to a traditional car? Also the nearest Tesla dealer is about 2 hours drive from where I live. My reasoning • I test drove several cars and I found Tesla features are far superior than any other cars out there. • This is going to be my first brand new car. 10 years ago, I decided to wait until 30s to buy a new one opted for a used car then. • A part of the reason why I got lazy in my small business is that I got too comfortable with my income and having no debt. If I had healthy level of debt, it would push me to work harder. Your suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you. This is me posting on this community for the first time. Let me know if I didn’t follow any guidelines. I will make amendments as necessary.
Buy it. EDIT: wait, you don’t have a way to charge it?? This is stupid talk.
I meant I don't have a way to charge it at home. I would have to pull out a 20ft cord through the sidewalk and somebody may trip over it and sue me. So in short I won't have an easy way to charge it at home.
I like how you are overthinking. You can get a gently used car and postpone the Tesla decision. You get depreciation because of a new car but say you get a 2016 rav4 it’s going to be rock solid and between buying and selling you might lose a k or 2. Will give you enough time to buy a home, and decide your needs again. Do you have a significant other. How do they feel?
Another show off trying to flex
That really wasn't my intention. But as I have mentioned, suggestions are welcome.
OP, welcome to Blind. You’ll find a lot of jerks like Oracle here who won’t read the complete post but be quick to judge with template responses. Ignore them. I think you should go for the Tesla. Charging shouldn’t be a problem as there is a good number of super chargers mapped out. Also, did you try searching for any charging stations nearby?
“If I had healthy level of debt...”, don’t buy a car for debt...
Thanks. But given my current car, sooner or later I will have to buy one out of need.
If you can’t buy your car outright, you should not buy it.
Did you max out after tax 401k? I doubt it. Don't flex unless you max out 55k mega back door every year.
No. it was pre-tax. Wasn't aware for after tax 401K. Is there one?
https://thecollegeinvestor.com/17561/understanding-the-mega-backdoor-roth-ira/
I’ve seen financial advice online say put 20% down, finance for no more than 4 years, and keep your payment below 10% of your salary. Hopefully you meet that for the Tesla.
With 20% down and finance for 5 years, I barely meet the criteria if calculated on pre-tax salary. I hoping these sort of calculations would push me, ask for raise, get a new job, etc. I think I have gotten too comfortable with where I am right now.
I think you should... but make sure you have chargers available around (from your post I am guessing you’re not in Bay Area).
Thanks. You are correct I am in tech industry but not in the bay area. One of the charging stations are within 10 mins drive.
No. You have better options out there
I would love to consider other options. Thats why I posted this in the first place. Let me know what options are available.
As long as you can get to a ChargePoint or EVGo point, you will be fine with a Tesla. If you buy it keep it for at least 10 years to get the most savings.
No.. EV industry’s gonna change fast. Give it back to their autonomous fleet or whatever after at most 5 yrs
I do realize EV industry is going to change fast. What do you mean by give it back to their autonomous fleet?
I've been wondering if I should. My car is 13 years old. I'm 26 years old, 112k TC, 2.5 YOE, have 70k in investments and 10k in savings. I've been thinking about the same model as you but with FSD. Similar situation, I don't have a garage so I would need to use public chargers, possibly pay $100/mo for covered parking spot, not sure if I should park outside because of snow in winter.
So I'm not the only one on the same boat. Hopefully you would know what you want to do soon.
Buy the car bro.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Exactly, this guy must be some data science nugget. It’s a frikkin car, you are not getting married