[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

When you guys mean - regular IT joe - whats the age and work experience being considered here?

The OP mentions "in his lifetime" in the first post. But given the salaries paid today, you could even take this as say someone with 10+ years experience in IT or other such paying fields.

Ofcourse there are lots of factors which could vary from person to person - someone who does not jump jobs much could possibly be earning less than someone jumping once in 3 years or so, kind of company, how they pay, whether you have other liabilities (dependent parents/siblings vs settled ones), whether you have a home-loan or stay with parents, and if a home-loan, is it something too big a draw on your pay or reasonable etc etc.

[avisidhu]

Even if some IT folks get to a financial position where they can afford the luxury brands, less than 10% will take the plunge IMO. A couple of reasons:

1) BMW's and the like will be unknown beasts, with no one among friends/relatives able to give proper insights or motivate one to take the plunge. It would be the other way in fact with most people telling you that you are out of your mind

2) Not many will be comfortable knowing the maintenance costs, coupled with the reliability issues these brands are already infamous for. For a guy owning an ANHC who is used to seeing service bills in the range of 4-7K, he simply wont have the stomach to digest the astronomical service costs, even though he is financially equipped to pay them.

3) The most important factor IMO: The stuff we buy and use is almost always relative to people around us. As long as it is slightly better than or equals the better of the lot that we see everyday, we remain satisfied.
Possessing something which lies in a completely different league than those around us leads to potentially embarrasing situations which some people want to avoid altogether. For instance, what shall I do if a relative or a friend asks me to lend my car for a couple of days? It was ok when I had that hatchback, but not anymore. This may be a cultural thing for all I know, but is an important factor nevertheless.

[Siddy]

I think its all about following your dream.
If you dream to buy a BMW in future you definitely can! Might take time till you hit your 50's but doesn't matter as long as you can buy it!

[rishi_kapoor]

Yesss...very much

I am a regular IT guy, just took few years to buy one. To be precise 17 years. And now, next dream is Aston Martin Vanquish. Nothing is too big, keep dreaming.

[supremeBaleno]

^^^There you are - the guy we are looking for on this thread to motivate / encourage those for whom a Merc/Beemer is a major dream/aim.
Am sure there are many more out there on the forum and outside who have done it - not a big deal as it is made out to be.

[mailmishra]

I think it’s possible for a IT guy to buy BMW. May be not a brand new one but I see a lot of 3-4 years old BMW's selling for 16-20L. Which I think is pretty affordable.

I am an IT guy and plan to buy a BMW myself (5- Year plan ) and I think it’s pretty achievable. Sell my existing Honda city, add 5L more from savings made in next 3-5 year and rest on loan.

Brand new seems out of question and even looks impractical for a salaried guy especially IT!. I would rather spend the spare money in maintaining a pre-worshiped BMW, as we all know how much that cost

[noopster]

There is a restaurant we frequent near my place that always has an Alpine White 325i parked outside it. Probably belongs to the owner. My daughter loves that car- everytime we pass by it, she tells me it should be our next car

The other day my wife took her to watch "Ferrari ki Sawaari". Now the consideration set has grown. NOT good news for this IT Joe

[Anandv267]

I partly fit into the average IT guy category. And i dont think i will ever be able to afford a 30L car ever!! Forget about 30L cars, i cant even afford to maintain my ritz cos of the monthly running of about 2000km .
Acc to me one should buy a 10L car only if he/she can afford to buy and maintain a 20L car .
And why a BMW or merc?? Get a laura 1.8 base model and modify it so that it goes like stink.!! The looks on the faces of the BMW owners you overtake will be priceless (I may do that soon. Mom convinced about getting laura but dad says il get you a flat but not a new car !!)

[NMS]

Interesting topic !! Its all about what one wants to do, maybe now, maybe 5 years down the line. A bit of planning and a bit of luck can see a lot of wonders happening. A BMW 3 series would go to around 30 L.
Or save up some Moolah for a pre-worshipped car !!
Plus An average IT Joe always has the option of going ONSITE
Owning a BMW is the deal, not the country Frankly thats the only reason I would like to go onsite !!

[Ricci]

Would I love to own a BMW ? Heck yeah !
Can I foresee myself owning a BMW ? Hmm, if I forego buying any house/property, never marry or have kids, give up any other (expensive) hobbies, stay healthy enough not to run up medical bills, I just might have a shot in 10-15 years for a new BMW circa ~35 lac as of today's prices, assuming 10 years on the prices will be high by 15-20%.

I wouldn't really want to buy a used expensive car - a mid-late 90s BMW could be had for maybe under 12 lac, but its parts/maintenance bills will still be much higher than an Accord or Corolla and you could have much trouble finding parts for an out of production model - scouring the internet will get you parts from Europe, but add the transport and taxes , the cost will make one tear his hair out. Further, they may be durably built but reliability isn't their forte compared to the Japanese.

I don't know by percentage how many people in say Europe can afford a BMW/Audi/Mercedes, but even there these cars are seen as luxury/premium cars , who the wealthy or at best well-off alone can buy. India's average PPP income has a long way to catch up.

[abhi182]

Yesss...very much

Second that!!
Regular salaried Joe, 8 yrs of work-ex.
Just bit the bullet on a X1 s20d

[F150]

Originally Posted by abhi182

Regular salaried Joe, 8 yrs of work-ex.
Just bit the bullet on a X1

OMG,
Lemme PM you.
Amazing man !
You are talking about new and not pre-owned.
Is that correct ?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by rishi_kapoor

Yesss...very much

I am a regular IT guy, just took few years to buy one. To be precise 17 years. And now, next dream is Aston Martin Vanquish. Nothing is too big, keep dreaming.

Love this attitude!
The greatest power we all have as humans is the ability to dream.
So we Must Dare to Dream!

[Anandv267]

Originally Posted by abhi182

Second that!!
Regular salaried Joe, 8 yrs of work-ex.
Just bit the bullet on a X1 s20d

You are my hero! 8 years and an x1. Super!
Btw please dont tell us you work for google/microsoft

Have fun with the x1 and drive safe. And please do post an ownership review soon!

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

A person who can truly afford a BMW on salary is someone who takes home more than Rs 150,000 per month and with no liabilities like kids. The Q3 is targeted at exactly such a segment.

I'd be shocked if people earning just Rs. 150,000 per month take home were buying BMWs. Even a basic X1 is Rs. 27 l+ OTR most places in India. Spending 1.5 years salary on a car which also requires maintenance, fuel et al, and is unlikely to last more than 6-7 years is something that strikes me as being "brave" (and I am putting it very politely).

The usual benchmark is that people are reluctant to spend more than 6 months salary on cars - so a recurring take home of Rs. 54 lakhs pa or a pre tax of Rs. 80 lakhs pa is the bare minimum to consider a BMW in my view. And that is if one has a high degree of confidence in future earnings and earnings growth, which is tough in today's environment. (or perhaps I am being influenced too much by the woes of the financial services space)