endy

Mid 30s. Part owner of a small IT consulting company. That means I still get my hands dirty with customers.

Base salary way more then I though I would make to be happy. Hoping for more :toothless

Last few cars have been in the 10k - 20k range. Could buy a merc or other higher end car but why? I would have to agree with a previous post if you work with tech people or goverment best not to show to much of your money to the customer.

No desire to work till I am 60. Hoping to get enough money in the next few years to get out of this rat race and live on a nice large piece of land and teach at a University.

strashk

18 year old female, going out of state to college in fall. High school graduation gift with $10,000 of my own money to help pay for it.

jobes

Helloooo new gf j/k

-=¤willhaven¤=-

because i use this name elsewhere, and there, it would be unprofessional for them to know what i make. they could easily search the nick and find posts here with lots of information about me.

i wouldnt mind if the company didnt mind. but they want us to keep it to ourselves.

04TLBLack

How is it that almost every one I DID SAY ALMOST everyone one makes more then I do but complaining about a $500-$700 dollar car payment?? All you IT guys out there as well. I work for an IT company as well I make $90K a year and I have a house payment as well and also have a new baby and wife that doesn't work but we still have no PROBLEM with the payment. That is just FUNNY if you look at Average % of income in the United States ONLY ABOUT 8% break the 100K a year and it seems that the 8% all seem to OWN ACURA TL?? Just sort of funny how everyone if they really do make that MUCH are all in this FORUM.

jp33

i was kinda thinking the same thing. just spent the last 15 minutes reading through this thread and i'm not sure how much of it i actually believe. oh well.

Shiffy

Hi, my name is David and Im a drug dealer.....LOL. J/k.
I'm 19 and my dad bought my car for me...he's a dentist.

boltjames

Ding Ding Ding! You win the prize!

Acura is a *luxury* brand and the TL is their 'sporty' luxury car. It should be no surprise whatsoever that most of us are in the $100k to $200k range as that's where luxury car buyers are found, right?

I would venture to say that when I spend an hour on the interstate, I'll see 8 luxury cars for every 92 non-luxury cars on average. Think of all the Toyota's, Ford's, Chevy's, Honda's, Hyundai's, and Dodge's on the road for every Acura, Lexus, MB, BMW, Porsche you see. The stats would be no different in this forum.

BJ, Marketing VP w/Trophy VP Wife $320k + Options

04TLBLack

IF its Luxury than it should mean you have money and not be so afraid of the payments. Luxury means you have CASH and you don't care what the car is worth you just BUY cuz it a LUXURY that you have.

roadman

Luxury, Hah, if the TL is so luxury then why are they putting Bridgestone tires on such a luxury car ?

No BMW, Mercedes, Lexus or Audi runs on Bridgestone tires.

Lets face it the TL is just an Accord but with Bridgestone tires, oh wait the Accord comes with Bridgestone tires as well.

neuronbob

Sounds like what a teenager would say. Just because someone has money doesn't mean they have to spend it. As the saying goes, "you don't become a millionaire by spending money". When I see someone driving an Acura, I immediately think of them as frugal people who know a good value when they see it. This is because that's one of the main reasons I bought a TL--it's the most car you can get for the money. I don't see a BMW 330i as a good value, even though it's a hot car. It's smaller and doesn't have as many features and yet has almost a $10k premium on the TL.

The BMW 7-series runs on Bridgestone Turanzas.

TLGator

This thread went the longest of any I've seen before being hijacked by the tire issue. Congrats to the thread for holding out!

WDP-Acura TL

Well I'm 25 yrs old and work at Sprint in sales dept. Have no problem paying for this car but in a few months i'm going to pay it off.

TLnAround

Sometimes it's not what you do or how much you make. It is how far in debt you are willing to go for your own pleasure !!

danno

I`m a 46 yo male. I am a retired NYC Police Officer. I am now a Executive Protection Specialist in a security firm. I protect the chairman and CEO of a major bank. This is a great job that pays 140k a year. Believe me, it`s more than being a "bodyguard". Were`re trained under Secret Service practices.

I have a wife and 2 kids, ages 10 and 12. Have a house and a mortgage,almost paid off (50k left). I took out a 15 yr. note because it was only 200.00 more a month. Best move I ever made.Then took out a home equity loan ,and paid off the mortgage, "lesser interest".

I`ve got the 04 WDP/ NAVI/ leased, since Oct., at 480.00 mo. w/ 2000 down /42mo.

I would just like to add that I have the greatest respect for all of our men and women in the military. Anybody who puts their life on the line should be paid alot more. I know I work for a CEO, but they make TOO much money, along with SPORTS PLAYERS, and these crybabies whine if they get less in their contract or bonus. I shake my head when I see a sports player on the front page of a newspaper and our troops are less important.

Pete Tillman, YOU are a true hero. Along with every military person out there.

THANK YOU

berzerker

Willhaven - thanks for the answer Sounds like a pretty legit reason.


It's not how much a person or couple or family makes - it how you spend your other money - your debt to income ratio - and what you are willing to go without in order to have this car or anything for that matter.


Wife and I are 'dinks' as someone said earlier - dual income/no kids

we have a modest house payment and that's it. We qualified for a house twice as much as the one we're in - and were looking at house 100k more than the one we bought. However, like all of our friends in their 30's, we didn't want to be house-poor. We don't travel a whole bunch - we do travel, but not extravagantly. We don't buy tons of clothes or eat out at expensive restaurants. We are remodeling parts of our house, but I do all the work - Home Depot/Lowes gets the money! :toothless

wonder

Danno, I couldn't agree more with your sentiments about our servicemen and women. I was an Air Force Captain a long time ago and spent quite a bit of time with spec ops folks from all the services (I wasn't one of them). What an impressive bunch of people. From top to bottom just the finest men and women I have ever known. Of course that also applies to the rank and file servicepeople. We owe them a huge debt - one we can never repay. Having said that let's not get too hasty about that CEO salary stuff. I'd like to buy more TL's in the future.

Digitalbleux

I'm 25, work at a Houston based travel agency named Vacations To Go. Find myself flirting with 65+ ladies to book cruises with me and make about 75k a year to support my horrible gas mileage for my 04 Diamond Pearl TL.

Digitalbleux

Oh and I forgot, the best part however is my payment at 284/Mos because of Honda 1.9 financing. 12.3K down.

Jcxny

I am 24 and have my own business which pays for my car.

vtechbrain

I sell pot on a corner, my GF turns tricks on the opposite corner. Were bringing down about 250. Not bad for a couple of HS dropouts, dig?

sc354

I'll assume you're joking, cause who would actually advertise something like that...

wonder

Come on you live in Wausau! The pot must be flower pots and your GF must be doing card tricks on the corner. Wausau is a nice town but pot/tricks I don't think so - OK the pot sure but not the 'tricks'. Say it isn't so!

vtechbrain

You think Dayton is the only swinging town in the midwest? We do some tokin' and ho-ing in Wisconsin too! Where do you think our cheese's secret ingredient comes from? It's not happy cows,those are from Cali, its the fromunda! :toothless

NSX_SB

Our 2004 green TL with the navigation system is our fourth car (and I have a motorcycle). We also own a 1997 Acura NSX (my toy), a 2001 PT Cruiser (my wife's car), and a 1990 Nissan Pathfinder 4x4 (for our big dog). We paid cash for all of them.

The way we think, if you can't pay cash, you should just save until you can. Never go into debt for a new ride. It's a terrible investment, except perhaps for the NSX. It's still worth about what I paid for it 1 1/2 years ago. Buy a reliable car (honda or Toyota), then buy a house, then the new car. I see kids (including our own) spend a fortune on a new car or truck without any thought about the 5+ years of payments. It's sad ...

I own my own small engineering consulting business in Santa Barbara, CA. I get a write-off for the car (about 75%) with the business. My wife is a director at UCSB. We save our money and try to keep our cars for about 10 years before we replace them. We never trade them in at the dealers; we always sell them and then buy a new one.

- Russ

Ted Johnson

I'm a lawyer -- which is how I pay for all my toys...

<TED>

berzerker

Right on Vtechbrain!!! Right on!
Being originally from Wisconsin, but not the Wausau area, I'm going to tell you-that's how Wisconsin makes such good ''smoked'' cheddar :toothless
Not too mention, unless you were stoned 24/7....why else would you eat cheese curds!?!?!? :clown:

DMZ

Cheese Turds!?!?!?!?

WOW!! Turds of real cheese!!!

acugirl

39y, university researcher, $105 family income, will put $7k down and finance the rest for 5y. The TL will be my 1st new car and a major upgrade from my current car, which is a 1996 Ford Contour. I hope the car comes next week as it is supposed to. I hate this waiting ...

Future SSM/ebony/6sp.+navi owner

vtechbrain

For all the lawyers out there......

What do you call a thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean......
...
...
...
...
...
Dont peek!
....
....
....
....
....
...
It's not a good start, but you're close....
...
...
...
...
...
...
It's about time! The cat fish (the scum sucking bottom dwellers) were getting lonely!!!

2004TL_believer

Love this TL so much just bought an MDX for the wife. With those two cars have a big chunk of payments. But I have a a car investment fund that makes the payments for me. Meaning the interest I generate makes my payments for me and the investments don't depreciate like the cars do. The only way to buy a new car and NOT loose.

IMO anyone who puts down more than taxes and reg or pays their car off at anytime is throwing the money away.

----------------------------

Abyss Blue Pearl/Camel/Nav 2004 TL
2004 MDX On Order
2000 Saab 9-5 Aero Wagon
1969 AMX 390hp (Will destroy my TL and yours to)

somi2002

I'm 19 and i just got my new abyss blue pearl, A-spec 04, TL. I am a part time Air National Guardsman, and i'm also a bartender. I make out okay at about +/- 40k per year depending on how good tips are of course. I love acura so when i saw the new TL i just had to have it. THe TSX just didnt cut it. It feels great cruzin down the street with my TL. Ever since I got it I have been soaking up all the attention. i hope everyone else enjoys there TL as much as I do, cause if they dont there not worthy to drive it.

jjsC5

You must know some kind of "new math". What the hell difference does it make where the money comes from as to whether or not you can buy a new car and "NOT loose". And the only way it mathematically makes sense or not to put down more money than "taxes and reg" is if you can make more money in interest on the money invested than you would pay in interest on a car loan.

SmokeTL

29 yrd old Verizon Special services tech, and landlord. Use the property to pay for the car.

Vtecne

$200K Porn Actor, Pimp...By collecting from my Bit@#3$
Personal enough for you?

Vtecne

TBone2004

Pay for it? I took one out for a test drive - you are supposed to return those?

Cesci

From the looks of things............you could be right (except I also worked all through university). Yes, I'd walk 10 miles each way, in snow up to 3 feet high, bare foot, no breakfast......

Harkov

unless of course you suffer from techno lust and would go out and throw away all that money on other technological toys.

29, 115k, IT consulting, 60 month - 1.9% 04 6mt/navi

me1abPSU

I'm a 23 year old mechanical engineer. I graduated in May '03 and have never owned a car. My parents have let me drive their extra cars:

1990 Ford Tempo (Wrecked)
1991 Mitsubishi Galant (Brother blew out the engine and transmission)
1993 Mazda 323 (At 175,000 miles it gave out)

I FINALLY got a job (stupid economy) and they started me at 49k/yr. I will soon build water spheroids/tanks, vacuum chambers for aerospace reasons, and LNG tanks.

My '04 TL will be here in June.

Good things come to those who wait.

TL Montreal

Holes in my soles, worn out knees in my jeans, kids education gonna have to wait, feel faint for lack of food,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but man i look good in my TL.