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Getting An Electric Vehicle May Finally Be Worth It

Published: 03/09/2022 by Financial Samurai 77 Comments

Despite being a shareholder in Tesla stock since early 2018, I’ve held off on buying an electric vehicle. With limited funds, it always felt better to invest $50,000 in the stock for potential profit than spend $50,000 on a base-model Tesla car.

Besides, I had just bought a 2015 Range Rover Sport in December 2016 to transport our expected baby. My ideal length of time to own a car is about 10 years. Largely for safety reasons, changing cars every decade is my preference. Besides, car engineers usually come up with nicer creature comforts during this period as well.

However, with gasoline prices averaging more than $4 a gallon in the United States, getting an electric vehicle may finally be a good idea. My RR has a 27-gallon tank. Therefore, at $6 a gallon in San Francisco, it would cost $162 if I were crazy enough to drive until the last drop.

The deja vu thing is, I clearly remember spending $100 to fill up my tank in 2008-2009. Back then, I was driving an eight-year-old Land Rover Discovery II called Moose. He only got about 15 miles per gallon. The high prices didn’t last for long as a recession ensued.

The difference between 2008-2009 and today is that today most of us are much wealthier. We should be able to better take the cost hit, especially if you’ve been a long-time reader.

I know I’m a late adopter of the electric vehicle trend. However, let’s discuss why owning an electric vehicle may be worth it. I’ll then share what I plan to do about our vehicle plans.



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How To Avoid Buyer’s Remorse When Purchasing An Expensive Vehicle

Published: 08/18/2021 by Financial Samurai 77 Comments

When it comes to cars, buyer’s remorse is the worst because there’s no return policy. Once you buy your car, it steadily depreciates in value over time. Therefore, you had better buy a car you really love, responsibly.

Let’s discuss how to avoid buyer’s remorse when purchasing an expensive vehicle. I’m assuming more of you will be YOLOing it thanks to robust investment gains. Further, many of us have realized during the pandemic that life is precarious. We might as well spend more of our money while alive!

My Own Buyer’s Remorse When Buying An Expensive Vehicle

My first experience with buyer’s remorse was when I had purchased a new $78,000 Mercedes G500 when I was 24 years old. I had received a lucky break from work and decided to splurge. Further, the G500 cost $150,000 a year earlier because one dealership in Santa Fe held the distribution rights.

Within two months of purchasing the car I regretted my decision.

A year and a half later, I sold the vehicle for a ~$20,000 loss. I sold it because it couldn’t fit in the garage of the condo I wanted to buy. After realizing how much better it was to own an asset that could go up in value, I decided to stop wasting money on cars.

I spent the next 14 years driving cars way below my means to try and make up for my blunder. I drove an old $8,000 Land Rover from 2005 – 2014 and a $230/month business lease Honda Fit from 2014-2017.

Then, in late 2016, I stepped up and bought a 2015 Range Rover Sport. It had 10,500 miles and cost me $61,000 after tax. If I had purchase the car new, it would have cost me $81,000 after tax. I wanted a safer car for our expecting son.

It’s been five years since I purchased the Range Rover Sport and I feel zero buyer’s remorse. Therefore, I got to thinking about how I was able to conquer buyer’s remorse when purchasing an expensive vehicle.

Here are some tips that helped me eradicate all guilt of spending a lot of money on a car.

How to eliminate buyer's remorse when buying an expensive luxury vehicle
Moose II: Still Going Strong


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The Ideal Length Of Time To Own A Car Is Not Forever

Updated: 02/11/2022 by Financial Samurai 49 Comments

In my 20s, I was a car fanatic. I’d trade cars every one or two years because it was fun. I loved to haggle with strangers to try and get the best deal possible. As I grew older and wealthier, my interest in cars waned. Today, I believe the ideal length of time to own a car is between 8-10 years if you buy new.

If you drive a new car for 8-10 years, you will have maximized its value while also minimized any safety risks that tend to appear due to age. I assume an average annual mileage of 12,000. Of course, if you don’t drive much, you can easily extend your car ownership period.

If you buy a used car, the best buying strategy for value, safety, and enjoyment is to buy a 3-5-year-old car and drive it for 5-7 years. If you do, you will skip the steepest portion of the depreciation curve. You can then turn around and sell the car for a reasonable price.



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The Best Mid-Life Crisis Cars To Buy

Updated: 02/11/2022 by Financial Samurai 71 Comments

Lamborghini Aventador Mid Life Crisis Car
Lambo Aventador Mid-Life Crisis Car

Are you in a mid-life crisis? Well here are the best mid-life crisis cars to buy! I’ve been a car enthusiast since the 1990s. Since then, I’ve owned more than 15 cars.

All middle-aged people really want are financial security, love, family, friends, and respect. They don’t want to be looked upon as out of shape losers who, after 40 years, haven’t done anything with their lives. Unfortunately, people rarely reach mid-life without some sort of deficiency or regret.

In mid-life, the last thing you want to do is buy a car you can’t afford, and thereby financially ruin the second half of your life! After all, this is a personal finance site where we tether income to specific goals and expenses.

In order to ensure fiscal responsibility during mid-life, the logical conclusion is to establish a Mid-Life Crisis Fund (MLCF) in preparation for a particular extravagant expense. The sooner you can establish a MLCF, the larger your fund will be to waste.

If you want the $500,000 Lamborghini Aventador to drive to your local grocery store, I hope your parents started a MLCF when you were born! Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait until you accumulate at least a $10 million net worth.



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Should I Get Roadside Assistance Coverage Insurance? Hell Yeah!

Updated: 06/12/2021 by Financial Samurai 22 Comments

1989 BMW 335i Coupe

Roadside assistance is important. Without roadside assistance coverage, you could be stranded in the middle of nowhere for hours!

Every winter, I make the 180 mile trek from San Francisco to Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe to enjoy the epic snow. There is truly nothing more magical than spending hours riding on powder and having a beer or two in the outdoor hot tub when you’re finished! Oh, the stories I could tell you about what happens in the hot tub.

On the other hand, there’s nothing more frustrating than getting a flat tire at night in the mountains while it’s snowing. I know how to change a tire, but I sure as hell don’t plan to risk my life changing a tire in darkness on a one lane road in the mountains while cars zoom by. I might get a nice settlement if I do get into an accident. But, I also might lose a leg in the process!

Every month, I spend 98 cents to get roadside assistance insurance for Moose. Add up the cost over 84 months of ownership, and we’re talking $83 worth of premiums. And you know what? My roadside assistance insurance is worth every penny! I already mentioned how my alternator died just as I was pulling into my garage thank goodness. A tow truck came when I got back from vacation to follow me to my mechanic thanks to roadside assistance. What I haven’t told you about are my other more traumatic incidences!



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Own One Car For Show And Another Car For Dough

Updated: 03/09/2022 by Financial Samurai 87 Comments

There’s an old saying in golf, “drive for show, putt for dough.” Hitting a massive 300-yard bomb looks beautiful, but what really counts is accurate putting. Well let me introduce you to a new saying, “Own one car for show and another car for dough.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lost money on the golf course because I three-putted instead of two-putted. I’ve also occasionally won money squeezing in an eight-footer. Those knee-knockers, when all is on the line during an Aloha bet, are intense!

Give me a regular 250-yard drive and incredible putting accuracy over a 300-yard drive and putting yips all day long. The same goes for cars.

I’m a one car type of guy. Owning a car is expensive, especially if you don’t follow my 1/10th rule. With the proliferation of cheap ridesharing options that have emerged since 2009, not owning a car is making more and more sense.

But over the years, I’ve had a tremendous number of complaints that my 1/10th rule is too restrictive. Instead of limiting the median American household to only spending $6,200 on a car, many people feel the typical American should be able to spend much more.

If you want to spend more, it’s totally up to you. Don’t let me tell you what to do. I’m just offering a simple rule to follow to help you achieve financial independence sooner, rather than later.

For those of you who love cars and want to own two or more cars, I suggest owning at least a Dough Car. If you do, you might build your net worth quicker than the rest. You might even better keep yourself out of trouble.



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The Best Way To Save On Car Maintenance: Know Your Car Warranty

Updated: 08/02/2021 by Financial Samurai 26 Comments

Ugh. So I just realized something incredibly stupid that only spending hours writing a post could have made me realize. I *think* I missed taking my car to the dealer to get its clicking noise fixed under the car warranty for free! Thus, I want to help you save money by knowing your car warranty so you won’t make my mistake.

I mentioned the clicking noise in my post on paying for repairs by cash or credit. It had had been progressively getting worse for about six months. If true, that means my clicking noise began in April 2019.

My car was originally purchased on July 6, 2015. I bought it from a private party on December 28, 2016. I wanted a larger car in preparation for the birth of our baby in 2017.

For some reason, I had assumed my car only had a 3-year/40,000, transferrable bumper-to-bumper warranty. So I just assumed that I had missed the window to get the problem fixed by 15 months.

But as I was doing research online, oddly enough on my own tax rules for deducting an SUV for a business post, I discovered my SUV has a 4-year/ 50,000 mile warranty!

If I simply understood my car warranty and what it covered, I could have taken my car into the shop by July 6, 2019. I would have gotten the clicking sound taken care of for free. Plus fixed anything else the computer found wrong.

Damn it!



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Things I’ll Teach My Daughter: Pay No Attention To A Guy’s Fancy Car And More

Updated: 08/09/2021 by Financial Samurai 196 Comments

Father and daughter walking on the beach - Things I'll Teach My Daughter

Back in 2016, I wrote this post expecting I was going to have a daughter. Therefore, I started thinking about the various things I’d teach my daughter involving personal finance.

I was nervous about how to be a first-time dad, especially to a daughter. I had one friend in her early-30s perpetually go in and out of terrible relationships. The last thing I wanted was for my future daughter to go through 15 years of breakups.

Instead of having a daughter, we had a son in 2017. Therefore, my thoughts were shelved until the end of 2019, when our daughter finally arrived. Hooray!

Now that I am a father to a daughter, this post is even more important than ever. Perhaps you have a daughter as well.

I’d like to revisit this topic and offer additional points about what we should teach our daughters. But first, a story.



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

Updated: 03/09/2022 by Financial Samurai 127 Comments

My new mid-life crisis car: a Range Rover Sport HSE

After 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! Instead, I bought a family car for safety first.

What type of family car did I buy? I bought 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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Should I Go To Court And Fight My Speeding Ticket?

Updated: 04/22/2022 by Financial Samurai 102 Comments

Speed racer is in the house! I got a speeding ticket for going 35 mph in a 25 mph zone the other day and I’m pretty ticked. This post will discuss whether I should go to court and fight my speeding ticket. It should help you decide whether you should go to court and fight your speeding ticket as well.

When it comes to driving, please slow down. Speed is what causes the most accidents. Further, there are more high tech traffic cameras on the road today. They take pictures of your front and back and face.

Getting A Speeding Ticket

The cop pulled me over after I sped up in the middle of a yellow light and asked me whether I knew why he pulled me over. I innocently responded, “Because I went through a yellow light?“

He looked at me a little funny and said, “No. Do you know what the speed limit is here on Masonic Avenue?”

“I’m not sure officer. 35 mph?” I responded.

“No, it’s 25 mph and I got you on the gun going 45 mph,” said the officer.

First I was shocked that a five lane artery (2 lanes going south, 3 lanes going north) would have a speed limit of only 25 mph. I wasn’t blowing by anybody at all. Second, I was super surprised the officer said he clocked me at 45 mph!

Couldn’t Believe I Got A Speeding Ticket

Should I Go To Court And Fight My Speeding Ticket?
Back at the scene of the crime

Moose is slow as molasses as a 14 year old Land Rover Discovery II. There is NO WAY Moose could reach 45mph in two blocks. His 0 – 60 mph time is 11.4 seconds new and surely he’s lost a step over the years. 45 mph = 66 feet / second. Average city block is around 400 feet. I would have to be putting my pedal to the metal to get to 45 mph, which I wasn’t because that action guzzles more gas.

I looked at the officer when he told me I was going 45 mph and said, “You mean this car? I don’t think so. I haven’t had a speeding ticket in 8 years since my car is so slow and old.“

He kinda laughed and asked me for my license and registration.

When he came back three minutes later, he handed me a ticket and said, “I’m not going to write you up for 20 mph over the speed limit because that’s not good for your insurance and I don’t want to hammer you. I’ll just do 35 mph in a 25 mph instead.“

Gee thanks. What a nice guy! I was actually hoping he’d let me off with a warning as two other cops did in the past six years when I was driving Moose. Who gives a speeding ticket for 35 mph in a 25 mph zone when everybody is driving 35 mph?



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