What Car Should Be Bought at What Income?


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Worrying about accidents is outright stupid.
One doesnt crash everyday!
And if one does happen to suffer a serious shunt, well, claim insurance cover.
My uncle had bought a Nissan Sunny, and it looked an year old within a week. Someone scratched it badly(on all sides), while it was parked. Someone even rear-ended it when it was parked, breaking tail lights. One glass also broke when it was parked. All on different days, but within a week. Just bad luck.
 
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My uncle had bought a Nissan Sunny, and it looked an year old within a week. Someone scratched it badly(on all sides), while it was parked. Someone even rear-ended it when it was parked, breaking tail lights. One glass also broke when it was parked. All on different days, but within a week. Just bad luck.
Yeah its real bad that there are such mental retards in our society. dont know what pleasure they get from doing this.
back here there was a traffic police officer who do the same on cars parked on no parking places, he was caught on mobile cam by a guy and this officer is in suspension now.
 
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I was trying to say with that post that crashes do happen daily in India. :P
And our Dzire has scratches all over too. Some kids have even played Tic-Tac-Toe by scratching the car!
 
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This thread reminds me from past of couple of points of views of people in India about why they do or do not buy cars..

1.one person who was colleague told me once buying a car is like investing in metal/iron/steel since eventually that will be sure to be salvaged if the machine completely stops working[lol] ... & people in humid coastal areas are actually even literally worried about metal corrosion and such issues ... so such people think many a times before buying cars .. in short lot of people are quite aware that unlike real-estate automobiles almost never appreciate & try to avoid such unwise investments [;)]!!

2. another young person I remember bought an expensive car just for the status part of car ownership in society & there seem to be many people who buy expensive cars to park in front of their houses to maintain a certain status and then use two wheelers to ride around mostly ... without realising how badly the depreciation & insurance premiums are hurting in case of an idle expensive machine....

anyway the original poster in this thread seems to consider lot of pay brackets & suggests a few random cars/models for each pay bracket but does not take all the brands currently available in the Indian market today which I believe is in the dozens now and just distribute them into different pay brackets which would be much more helpful analysis as it would include all available options and relate to certain pay bracket .. of course in the end it would be the buyer's call but it would be a good guideline to have for first time young buyers I guess ....[:)]
 
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Hi Vipul,

Great informative thread. Fantastic effort I must say !

I need advice on a suitable car for me.

I currently drive a Swift Vxi 2005 (1300 CC) 39000 Kms on Odo.

Annual Earnings (net of taxes) - 24 Lac

Liabilities -Edu Loan EMI - 35000
Housing Loan EMI- (will start from Oct 2014) - 40000
House rent- 22000 per month
Kid Education- 11000 per month
Household Exp - 30000 per month
Exisitng Financial commitments - 20000 per month

Family of 3 including a kid of 8 yrs. A lover of long distance driving.

I have been driving a hatch for last 8 years so not interested in Polos, Puntos or other hatches any more

Mid range budget sedans ( e.g. SX4s, Vernas, Fieastas) are not my favourite as not much upgrade is felt at least in driving pleasure and space compared to exisitng swift

I am in love with SUVs purely for on and off road capabilities, comfort, space and long distance crusing. I must admit that I have always been a SUV fan...my favourites are Santa Fe, Fortuner ...but alas ! I cant afford them :(

That is making Storme a favorite due to its affordability,looks, long cruising comfort and space though I am sceptical about driving this beast in City Traffic. Waiting eagerly for Eco Sport too.

Your detailed inputs are welcome [:)]
 
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My simple funda taking into consideration the inflation & emergency expenses are in place is -

Home price = 3 years of income,
Car price = 8-9 months of income.

If a person is earning 2L/month, he can buy a car worth 16L, considering his home loan is not more 30% of his/her take home income with no personal, credit card etc. loans. The max loan duration of car loan, if any should not exceed 2 yrs.
Car should be ideally purchased on 100% downpayment only.

A house price should not exceed 72L with home loan EMI <= 30% of take home.

If these 2 things are in place, alongwith 8 months salary in reserve (savings/FD), your financial calculations are good. If not, you are messed up & need to cut down liabilities.
 
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Sclass, a question for you.

A person has say gross salary of 2.5 lacs, no home loan, no loans at all ( actually no liabilities) and good amount of savings. In this case which car he/she should buy? Considering the car will be bought by paying 100% down payment.
 
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Sclass, a question for you.

A person has say gross salary of 2.5 lacs, no home loan, no loans at all ( actually no liabilities) and good amount of savings. In this case which car he/she should buy? Considering the car will be bought by paying 100% down payment.
Again not simple to answer on this simple info. What needs to be seen is follows -

* What is net salary/take home income/month (gross doesn't give exact idea),

* What are expenses/month & how much do you end up saving at the end of month ? I have seen people earning 1L/month & their savings is not more than mere Rs. 2,500/- [shock],

* Any chances that you will be taking some good holiday ? Any scope for change in kids school/college, if applicable ?

* You said savings are good, don't tell me fig but I hope they are min of 8X months, where x = monthly income. Remember that this amount should never ever be touched at all for consumption. As you plan to opt for 100% down payment, which is excellent, ensure that even after buying the car, there still is min 8x money in savings, best to keep them in long term FDs.

What car you can buy depends upon the type of lifestyle, net outgo etc. & not just income. I have a friend who could have purchased Honda City but ended up buying Dzire as he wanted to take his parents on nice vacation.

If you can throw some light on this, it will give more clear idea.
 
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My uncle had bought a Nissan Sunny, and it looked an year old within a week. Someone scratched it badly(on all sides), while it was parked. Someone even rear-ended it when it was parked, breaking tail lights. One glass also broke when it was parked. All on different days, but within a week. Just bad luck.
Someone scratched it badly(on all sides), while it was parked This happen to my old car within the first month. The people who do this need to be strung up by their B%^LS and beaten senseless.

Got my i10 on Monday evening and somebody scratched it by Tuesday evening.[anger]

The scratch is not too deep but it can still be felt if you run your fingers over it.[cry]
 
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Hi Vipul,

Great informative thread. Fantastic effort I must say !

I need advice on a suitable car for me.

I currently drive a Swift Vxi 2005 (1300 CC) 39000 Kms on Odo.

Annual Earnings (net of taxes) - 24 Lac

Liabilities -Edu Loan EMI - 35000
Housing Loan EMI- (will start from Oct 2014) - 40000
House rent- 22000 per month
Kid Education- 11000 per month
Household Exp - 30000 per month
Exisitng Financial commitments - 20000 per month

Family of 3 including a kid of 8 yrs. A lover of long distance driving.

I have been driving a hatch for last 8 years so not interested in Polos, Puntos or other hatches any more

Mid range budget sedans ( e.g. SX4s, Vernas, Fieastas) are not my favourite as not much upgrade is felt at least in driving pleasure and space compared to exisitng swift

I am in love with SUVs purely for on and off road capabilities, comfort, space and long distance crusing. I must admit that I have always been a SUV fan...my favourites are Santa Fe, Fortuner ...but alas ! I cant afford them :(

That is making Storme a favorite due to its affordability,looks, long cruising comfort and space though I am sceptical about driving this beast in City Traffic. Waiting eagerly for Eco Sport too.

Your detailed inputs are welcome [:)]
Hey apsgaur, I don't know these financial calculations but being an owner of Storme i can tell you that it's fun to drive Storme in city traffic. I never felt any issue but yes you may have to spend some time to find a parking lot for this beast [lol]
 
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How many months salary should one spend at maximum for a new car?

Dear fellow TAI'ans,
I would like to know how many months salary should one spend at the maximum to buy a new car?The question arises because one of my friend told it should be around 6-7 months salary.What all parameters do you consider before you buy a new car? For example
1)Do you have some kind of percentage of salary you are willing to pay as loan for a car, and if so how many years of loan?
2)Is it just an irresistible urge to change cars?
3)Does having an own house gives you the psychological support to get a better car than what you would have bought if you are in a rented house?

PS: Moderators,I couldn't find a thread on this topic,if there exists one please shift.Please add more questions if needed as you consider appropriate.
 
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Re: How many months salary should one spend at maximum for a new car?

Dear fellow TAI'ans,
I would like to know how many months salary should one spend at the maximum to buy a new car?The question arises because one of my friend told it should be around 6-7 months salary.What all parameters do you consider before you buy a new car? For example
1)Do you have some kind of percentage of salary you are willing to pay as loan for a car, and if so how many years of loan?
2)Is it just an irresistible urge to change cars?
3)Does having an own house gives you the psychological support to get a better car than what you would have bought if you are in a rented house?

PS: Moderators,I couldn't find a thread on this topic,if there exists one please shift.Please add more questions if needed as you consider appropriate.
Buy it when it is needed. Be sure that it should not imbalance the financial state. Car is a kind of deprecating asset and it is really heavy on your pocket.

My suggestion:
1: Buy a house and try to close the loan ASAP or reduce it too as minimum as you can.
2: Any other commitment like supporting family, please take care of it.
3: Do not go for any car which is way ahead of your budget, buy a car with maximum down payment and take a loan in such a way that it can be repayed in no time.

Trust me , a person who is earning for quite a long time must be wise enough to do all calculation and he is the best person to judge. Sometime it's better to follow mind rather than heart.
 
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neither a borrower nor a lender be-buy only what you absolutely need;
If you are buying on loan out of necessity finish it soon and then keep your vehicle as long as you can -needlessly upgrading instead of small repairs-DON'T!
Financial fundamentals our parents followed,which seemed to hold them in good stead!
 

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