Cars as Status Symbols

Cars are seen as status symbols but they're not necessarily indicative of wealth as such. Many cars are company cars not owned by the drivers and others are on credit. I used to have quite a lot of money but always bought mid range cars as a really expensive car just didn't interest me. However I did buy brand new motorbikes every six months, not as a status symbol but purely because biking was my only real hobby. I've known people with crippling car payments that are maintained purely because they couldn't bear to drive an older model. These people are often quite vain and materialistic.

I've bought used cars in the past and after bein stuck on the side of the road in the middle of no where I'm not going to ever buy another one, at least with a new car you can only blame yourself for mishaps .... or perhaps the manufacturer, of course I don't mean car accidents where some bozo hits ya.

Yes I do think cars are status symbols, but since I dont care about status, I would not be paying that much each month suziecat. And surely if one truly had ´status´, wouldn´t one be rich enough to buy it outright, that is if status is considered as wealth. I dont have a car. lolz

some people have higher car payment if their credit score is low.

i believe too many folks're sucked into the notion that havin' the newest auto, fanciest gadgets 'n homes bigger'n what's needed 's the proper route to take. i'm like yerself 'n it don't matter to me what i'm drivin' 's long's it does the job. i dislike car payments (the interest...) immensely 'n 've only had one my entire life. the hubs talked me into such nonsense. not fer 'status', but he felt i was'n need'f a bigger truck - one that was rated to haul all that hay 'n big trailers, lol.

I've gone the new car route a couple of times. Back in 1979 I had a good paying job and I bought a new Dodge Colt. Not long afterwards I lost the job. Then I just paid what I could when I could. There were time when I'd see the financial company's vehicle pull into the apartments parking lot so I would hide in my apartment. My car was park in a closed garage so it was out of site. After several month of the nonsense of hiding I had had enough. I cleaned everything that was mine out of the car and drove it to the financial company. I went in and asked to talk to someone. I walked into the guy's office, plopped the car keys on his desk and said, "I want you to repossess this car. I can't afford it anymore." The guy said, "Hold on, Mr. Meister. I'm sure we can work something out." We did and got the payments down to where I could afford to make them. I eventually got rid of that car and bought a used one. In 1989, at the urging of a then girlfriend, I bought a new Dodge Dakota pickup. I didn't have much trouble with the payments on it since I had a fairly good paying job. Once it was paid off I refinanced it and used the money to payoff all my credit cards. Since the interest was so much lower it didn't take long for me to be out of debt. I still have the pickup but I also have a car I bought used in 2005.

Often it is the people who are poor who buy things like cars and gadgets to prove to themselves that they have prestige. If you drive through the well to do end of a town, though, frequently you will see older cars. The people are comfortably well off, but they tend to put their money into things like a house, where it will appreciate in value over time, instead of into cars, etc. that depreciate over time.

Hell No! A lot of people is now in debt because of pursuing that "dream" to have their own new cars! Haha! I rather take trains or busses or drive second hand cars than I do not have something to eat or I will be too stress in life in paying that.

Lots of people like to "flash" their fancy cars to impress us. Sorry, but it doesn't impress me at all.

I'm sure for a large part of the population cars are status symbols, but not for me. I'm going to be needing a newer vehicle sometime in the next several years, but until I have to take that plunge, I'll keep my almost twenty year old mini van as long as it will work for and with us. I thought I'd need to replace it by now, but found out my sister had one that had quite a few extra miles than mine has and it did fine, and another girl at work has one with 300,000 miles on it and is older yet. When I can get a replacement, it will be another used vehicle. The only new car I ever owned was when I was eighteen. My dad co-signed for me to have my first car a Ford Pinto. Back then new cars were about five thousand, if I remember correctly. The newest car we have is a 2004 Pacifica that we took over the payments from my daughter who bought a newer, but still used car. We're paying my sister, and pay whatever we can. We still owe about four hundred or so on it.

I think cars are status symbols for many but they never have been for me. We mostly buy used cars and pay cash. The less regular payments the better in my book.

They struggle because they have $400 a month car payments and probably other high payments to other debts because they aren't smart. Unfortunately too many people in this world think a car is a status symbol. Those are the ones struggling. I am some what of a minimalist. I would rather spend my time and money on experiences and time with family and friends. rather then materiel things. So no, to me a car is not a status symbol, nor is a house.

No, they are not. I see a lot of them here in my place. Some even consider high end gadgets as status symbols, in addition to cars. Cars or even high end gadgets do not indicate one's assets, liabilities perhaps.