Practical car for new advisor
107 RepliesJump to last post
Hard to believe, but they do and when you give them some good results and decent service, they open up their networks.
[quote=gethardgetraw]
wow this thread is so depressing. taurus, prius, crown vic, mercury, wtf is wrong with you guys. your clients don't know that's your prius parked in front and even if they did know they wouldnt give a damn.
stop driving these POS's you make 6 fig per year
I MEAN A TAURUS WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU
A PRIUS
WTF
[/quote]
When you're 40 and have a house and a bunch of kids, your attitude will be a little different. When I was your age I cared a lot about cars. Now, not so much. However, I can't bring myself to drive "econo-cars". Family sedans are about the lowest I go. But there are a tone of great family sedans out there right now. Probably the best lineup ever right now, considering Detroit finally has their schit together. I recently looked at a new Buick Lacrosse. Nice car. I could see myself driving one of those. It looks like an Acura but it's "American Made".
ok i can see where you're coming from.
but i park in the back (heheheh) and i strictly cold call. hence the porsche/ferrari.
i really dont like being buddy buddy with clients, driving them around and everything. if you're for real, come into my office to see me. give me your money. i'll beat the bank. we're both happy. tell your friends.
[quote=gethardgetraw]
for what it's worth i drive a '97 clunker. give me a few years
[/quote]
Nice. Vintage '97 I'm sure.
oh of course. and the dents near the front right tire actually make the car more aerodynamic. gives it a higher mpg. im just trying to do my part in saving the environment damnit.
[quote=gethardgetraw]
for what it's worth i drive a '97 clunker. give me a few years
[/quote]
So you rip people for the car they buy, but you have a 97 clunker?
Just like your cold calling lies, this doesn't add up..
Chickenfeed, get a sense of humor would ya! No need to get nasty.
Get, keep working hard and before you know it you'll be able to buy a car made this decade!
Seriously, all the cars mentioned are good work cars. Showing up for your guest speaking gig at Rotary in some high priced foreign iron might be Ok, but leave that car home when giving the same speech down at the union hall. And, never show up at any client event in a toy car.
What about nice trucks? 4-5 yr old 4 door truck it doesn't scream money but many times cost as much as some of the luxury cars. I enjoy doing things outdoors and the truck fits the bill on all accounts.
This is not the first time we've talked about vehicles on this site. I've made the observation that you could probably spend $50K on a truck and people won't even look twice at it. Trucks are for working people. Little red sports cars are for middle aged guys with too much money and 30 something's with not enough brains.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a little red sports car. However, like B24 said, when you've got a family to haul around most of the time, little red sports cars just aren't up to the job.
If I had my pick, I'd spend my $50K on the best truck I could find. While I don't do any hunting, we do like to camp, and I do enough remodeling that a truck makes perfect sense for me. Ever tried to haul a 4X8 sheet of drywall with a Ferrari?
It's curious to me that advisors can't see the forest through the trees...
A car gets you from point A to point B. A car has diminishing value. You are always buying high and selling low.Seems to me that if I drive a 7 year old car...
My so called peers will laugh behind my back and
My clients will be pleased that either I am frugal or very comfortable about who I am and don't need some four wheeled piece of metal to satisfy my hormone deificiency.
I have been off these forums for a month doing business. That gets my hormones goin.
Bigcheese,
One should consider cars not as an investment, rather, as an expense. If one has the means for a large expense such as a high dollar car, that is their prerogative. I am a late 30s relatively recently divorced male with no kids and few expenses. I bought a bimmer knowing full well that it will continue to depreciate. That is my prerogative. I sought out advice on the practicality of a car due to the nature of our business in production from people with experience. Otherwise, I would have (being the 30 something with no brains...thanks Spiff) bought a two-seater sportscar without seeking input.
Hey, I'm right there with you. If I were single with no kids, and no bills, I'd be driving a 2010 Shelby. And I'd have my $50K truck for the rainy or snowy days.
Sadly, I've got a minivan and a 10 year old truck instead. But, my kids have a college fund, I have a house that's constantly improving and will be paid for before I'm 50, and a wife that has made it known that she likes convertibles, just not right now.
Cheese - your comment on cars being something that gets you from point A to point B tells me that you're not a car guy. See, for car guys, it's not that you get from point A to point B, it's how you want to feel while you're getting there. Some guys want to feel the rush of getting there ASAP, tires screaming, gears jamming, with the fragrance of gas and burnt rubber wafting through the air. Others want to sit on the finest leather from Italy, feel the control of a well tuned suspension working in concert with a refined engine that responds to the slightest blip of your foot on the gas, while surrounded by all the creature comforts you can imagine. It's about the journey, not the destination.
Non car guys want to get in, get there, get out. Done.
If you're not a car guy, you just done understand those of us who are.
Spiff, you are correct. Unfortunately, being a "car guy" can be an expensive passion! For those of us that live on the coastline, there aer a LOT of "boat" guys. Not so many car guys. Most people around here put there money into their boats. I can't tell you how many wealthy folks I know that have a 10 year old Jeep Cherokee (the "commuter car") and a big pickup (for haulin' the boat and other "stuff"). But you drive 200 miles down I-95 and it's all about the car. Lexus, Bimmer, Mercedes, Range Rover, Infiniti, Porsche, Audi, that's all you see. Any of you that live anywhere within commuting distance to NYC know what I'm talking about.
Taurus, done at $6300.
Buyer: Your price is too high, the car is in Kelly Blue Book for $5500.
Me: Well, then you need to buy the car from Kelly Blue Book.
Buyer: They say your price is too high.
Me: Ok, funny thing is, they don't sell cars. This one is $6900.
We finally agreed on $6300. Done deal!
Next car deal, happens to be right down the direction in which this thread has turned, a truck. I'm sending the kid in to pick out a 2011 F150 King Ranch. I'll cut the deal with my guy. It will double as a family vehicle light truck around the farm in FL. He needs something that can haul an ATV as well as tow horse and boat trailers. He wanted an F250, but that would be overkill.
I also have to buy a van, as the 05 Grand Caravan that we keep in FL for my use and visiting family got whacked. Rear ender at a stop sign, nobody's hurt, but the van is done. I really liked that van. Comfortable driver's seat, decent on gas. Oh well, I'll start looking around up in Jersey, buy something and drive it down in the fall. I'm not much of a mini van person. But i gotta say, because we do a lot of bicycling down there, everything fit in that van! No worries!
Selling the Taurus was fun. About a dozen calls just from putting the car out on the grass along the road out in front of the place. Sold in two days. I wish i had more cars to sell. An entertaining deversion!
Spiff-
Dead on. I see a car as a means to an end. For the record...today I am driving my 84 year old step dad's Mazda Miata. It's fun to drive but hell to get in our out of. I can appreaciate how cars make you feel, it just doesn't rock my boat.
Now the financial planner in me says...
Gee, if I didn't have car payments for the rest of my life and I could have saved that money at 8%....by gosh I do beleve I could be a wealthier human being able to give to more charities, give more to family and truly make a difference.
And I still got to point A to B and for me, feel alot better the world and myself, you know making a difference in someone's life versus feeling the adrenaline rush of almost killing myself or someone else on city streets.
As far as I am concerned, the reps who aren 't too full of themselves are the most balanced. If you are trying to keep up with the beamer mentality or the biggest SUV on the planet, I suggest a good therapist will help you work out your issues.One of my closes friends in the business drives a 10 year old car and manages 80M mostly in advisory. His clients would look at him and question why he would be so foolish to buy a new car when a perfectly good used car would serve his needs. The walk the talk conversation comes to mind.
If you aren't telling your clients to live beneath their means it is probably because you aren't!
[quote=BigCheese]
Spiff-
Dead on. I see a car as a means to an end. For the record...today I am driving my 84 year old step dad's Mazda Miata. It's fun to drive but hell to get in our out of. I can appreaciate how cars make you feel, it just doesn't rock my boat.
Now the financial planner in me says...
Gee, if I didn't have car payments for the rest of my life and I could have saved that money at 8%....by gosh I do beleve I could be a wealthier human being able to give to more charities, give more to family and truly make a difference.
And I still got to point A to B and for me, feel alot better the world and myself, you know making a difference in someone's life versus feeling the adrenaline rush of almost killing myself or someone else on city streets.
As far as I am concerned, the reps who aren 't too full of themselves are the most balanced. If you are trying to keep up with the beamer mentality or the biggest SUV on the planet, I suggest a good therapist will help you work out your issues.One of my closes friends in the business drives a 10 year old car and manages 80M mostly in advisory. His clients would look at him and question why he would be so foolish to buy a new car when a perfectly good used car would serve his needs. The walk the talk conversation comes to mind.
If you aren't telling your clients to live beneath their means it is probably because you aren't!
[/quote]
You make some great points. I'd say, your car should match your clients. My clients are the millionaire next door types, so a fancy car might turn them off, more than impress them. But, if you're chasing high tech, young rich guys, the porsche car might be what makes you included in the group. Farmer clients, you'd better have both a Ford, Dodge AND Chevy truck... And know which of them to bring to work each day!
[quote=BigCheese]
Spiff-
Dead on. I see a car as a means to an end. For the record...today I am driving my 84 year old step dad's Mazda Miata. It's fun to drive but hell to get in our out of. I can appreaciate how cars make you feel, it just doesn't rock my boat.
Now the financial planner in me says...
Gee, if I didn't have car payments for the rest of my life and I could have saved that money at 8%....by gosh I do beleve I could be a wealthier human being able to give to more charities, give more to family and truly make a difference.
And I still got to point A to B and for me, feel alot better the world and myself, you know making a difference in someone's life versus feeling the adrenaline rush of almost killing myself or someone else on city streets.
As far as I am concerned, the reps who aren 't too full of themselves are the most balanced. If you are trying to keep up with the beamer mentality or the biggest SUV on the planet, I suggest a good therapist will help you work out your issues.One of my closes friends in the business drives a 10 year old car and manages 80M mostly in advisory. His clients would look at him and question why he would be so foolish to buy a new car when a perfectly good used car would serve his needs. The walk the talk conversation comes to mind.
If you aren't telling your clients to live beneath their means it is probably because you aren't!
[/quote]
Bigcheese,
Yes, and the Financial Planner in me knows that by sitting out one four year car buying cycle on the average car that runs $30,000 in 2010 and driving a "beater" and investing the savings over 20 years at an 11% ROR I could have $250k. Blah blah. Again, you're missing the point! FAs who are car guys know that and yet still buy the cars.
As for your "feeling better about yourself for making the world a better place"...there is no emoticon that displays what I'm doing with my right hand, but it involves holding my thumb to my fingers together in a circular position and moving my hand back and forth.
In judging those who drive a luxury car or SUV the key point is your saying "as far as I'm concerned". I don't care what you think. You are you, and I am me. If you wanna judge me or those on this board like me, go to town if that makes you feel better about yourself. What I drive, or how I spend my money outside of work is MY BUSINESS, not yours, or my clients', period. Do you ask your doctor if he smokes, or exercises? Or your dentist if he flosses? Or your lawyer if he has a will? Course not. Why? Cos it's not your bidness.
What this is about is walkiing the talk.
I was at a meeting yesterday with 15 independent advisors. I don't want to bore you with minutiia, but his office cost 15K a month!. Granted in a pristine location in the heart of wine country, but give me a break. Most beauttiful office I have ever seen in my 16 years in the biz without question. 4 empty offices, 1 huge classroom, another conference room, hardwood floors, sensor lights in every room, etc.. Is that the definition of success? He grosses 1M+ probably nets close to 750K, I dunno it doesn't make sense to me but it does to him (he confided in me that he inherited a big big chunk), so I can agree with you CFP that to each his own.
I'll bet he drives the fanciest car in town. The reality is we are our own worst enemy most of the time. I don't judge you anymore or less CFP, it just amazes me that we cherish the things that matter so little in the big picture.
By the way you might want ot close your eyes big guy when you are in your own private place. It may help your inflated ego.