[nickatnite]

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[PatienceWins]

Nice thread. I am a Business Analyst in IT working in Bangalore. There are many factors that comes into picture when buying a car. Affordability is just one of them. I wanted a hatchback eventhough I could afford a sedan as my usage is mainly city driving. Its convenient to drive a small car and it helps in finding parking space. I feel guilty when I spend on luxury, more than what is required. There are people around who cannot afford a days meal and my religion, Islam, teaches me to give charity which is more satisfying than driving an expensive car.

A person working in IT would be driving mainly in the city and car would be a means of transport from home to office and back. He would consider an expensive car if he is at a senior level and can afford a driver, who would be sleeping in the car parking from morning to evening. Having a driver helps him to work while commuting and time is precious, $$, for him. Some of them would not trust a driver with an expensive piece of machinery and go for a cheaper one.

A business man would be heavily dependant on car with lot of long drives and he meets lot of people with his car. An expensive car would help him to impress his clients when he goes for meetings/ negotiations. There are workers who guages the boss based on the size of his car. A construction worker might find a Scorpio more appealing than a BMW M3. I have had experience where a 1998 Ford Escort was given royal treatment in the parking lot everyday compared to other cars which are small, but almost double the price.

So, it primarily depends on the outlook and work profile.

[tsk1979]

Look at it from another angle.
An IT pro in india earning around 6L CTC gets mostly a 4L car.
If you look in the west how many IT pros getting 60K/year buy a 40K car?

So actually if you look at salary and cost of car, Indian IT pros spend a big part of their annual salary on their cars!

[RajaTaurus]

On a lighter vein,
IT pros don't buy flashy cars, coz, they have FLASHY BUSES...

Look at those super-ultra-luxury buses, in which you can ride from Kashmir to Kanyakumari without your legs being swollen or back being cramped...
Wow.. those comfortable, reclining, luxurious buses, with their super-duper drivers who have ticket to hit-and-run and licence to kill... why bother buy a car, get cramped, scratched, hit and stolen...

[Ford_madhan]

Nice thread indeed..

@RajaTaurus - IT buses may look flashy from the outside.. get inside and its a different story altogether.. I feel the newly launched MTC buses are way better.. I work for an IT company.. :-)

[DileepKS]

I guess it is the cost % of income that is the big factor. Convenience factors like infra, parking etc comes next.

Certain businesses NEED a show-off, especially those have clients who look for class. I know of an incident where an interior designer lost a lucrative contract because he came in an M800. That is despite a strong insider influence. After he found out why he was rejected, he immediately upgraded.

I lived in USA from 2001 to 2007. I drove pre-owned cars. The Taurus I had from 2002 till I left was from 1998 and costed 6.5K. I didn't feel the need to spend money on a new car when I knew when I will return.

I bought a Fiesta because the family (means the almighty wife) wanted one in that class, and I liked that model out of the four. I wanted a hatch, but that doesn't count.

[LandCruiser]

Originally Posted by Ford_madhan

Nice thread indeed..

@RajaTaurus - IT buses may look flashy from the outside.. get inside and its a different story altogether.. I feel the newly launched MTC buses are way better.. I work for an IT company.. :-)

You must be traveling to that one which is 50 kms away :-)

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Look at it from another angle.
An IT pro in india earning around 6L CTC gets mostly a 4L car.
If you look in the west how many IT pros getting 60K/year buy a 40K car?

So actually if you look at salary and cost of car, Indian IT pros spend a big part of their annual salary on their cars!

This is the ACTUAL reason. Cars in India are too costly. You can buy a base civic for what you pay high end swift. So money to money, we are showing off more !!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Look at it from another angle.
An IT pro in india earning around 6L CTC gets mostly a 4L car.
If you look in the west how many IT pros getting 60K/year buy a 40K car?

WHOA! Is that common? If it is, that is bad money management....Even as a car enthusiast, spending such a huge amount of my income toward a new car (EMIs included) is a bad decision to me. Simply because a car is nothing but a cost. Or a depreciating asset. I would never spend more than 10% of my net income on a car.

[diabloo]

So a guy who earns 6L must spend 60K. For 60K, you will get a 150CC bike.

Originally Posted by GTO

WHOA! Is that common? If it is, that is bad money management....Even as a car enthusiast, spending such a huge amount of my income toward a new car (EMIs included) is a bad decision to me. Simply because a car is nothing but a cost. Or a depreciating asset. I would never spend more than 10% of my net income on a car.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by GTO

WHOA! Is that common? If it is, that is bad money management....Even as a car enthusiast, spending such a huge amount of my income toward a new car (EMIs included) is a bad decision to me. Simply because a car is nothing but a cost. Or a depreciating asset. I would never spend more than 10% of my net income on a car.

Originally Posted by diabloo

So a guy who earns 6L must spend 60K. For 60K, you will get a 150CC bike.

My point is that the statement "Indian It pros do not buy flash cars" is not correct.
In India people buy cars which cost around 60-70% of their yearly salary.
In the US It pros buy cars which cost 25% of their yearly salary or less.

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by GTO

WHOA! Is that common? If it is, that is bad money management....Even as a car enthusiast, spending such a huge amount of my income toward a new car (EMIs included) is a bad decision to me. Simply because a car is nothing but a cost. Or a depreciating asset. I would never spend more than 10% of my net income on a car.

Nice way of letting us know your income (at least the minimum)

[BlackPearl]

I bought a 6 lac car when my annual income was 3.5 lacs and I work in IT...

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Nice way of letting us know your income (at least the minimum)

I think you misunderstood. What GTO means is that he would not have car EMI be more than 10% of his monthly salary.
My point was that if a person gets 10L/year CTC, most probably he/she will have a car which costs 6-7L on road.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by RajaTaurus

On a lighter vein,
IT pros don't buy flashy cars, coz, they have FLASHY BUSES...

Look at those super-ultra-luxury buses, in which you can ride from Kashmir to Kanyakumari without your legs being swollen or back being cramped...
Wow.. those comfortable, reclining, luxurious buses, with their super-duper drivers who have ticket to hit-and-run and licence to kill... why bother buy a car, get cramped, scratched, hit and stolen...

Many of those Volvo buses (barring the crowded seat-density Neeta Volvo) are indeed comfortable, fast and convenient.

Volvo and King-Long have indeed shifted the paradigms of expectation from road transportation in India.

And it will take a serious wide-body 9-foot wheelbase sedan with air-suspension and a cavernous trunk to come anywhere near the travel comfort afforded by a Volvo B7R.

One will need an elderly Obere Mittelklasse car (1984 W123 or 1984 Volvo 740), for that comfort at the prices that an IT pro shells out for their new car.