[StarrySky]

I believe that any IT guy (who likes cars) would buy a BMW/Merc/Audi if he thinks he can "afford" it. By that I mean he should be able to:
1. arrange finances to purchase the car (loan or otherwise)
2. be sure that he can pay the EMI (if he buys the car on loan)
3. be sure that he can arrange the budget for running/maintaining the car (probably on top of EMI)
4. not panic when he sees his big bank balance evaporate (if he is not taking a loan)
5. not have a heart-attack when he takes a Rs.15L hit in 3-5 years time when he tries to sell his Rs.30L luxury car

And I believe that with most IT guys from a middle-class background, it's points 4 and 5 which are stopping them (me included).

People feel (or are made to feel) guilty when they plonk the money saved in 5-10 years in a luxury car. Buying a house for double the money is a safer option because everybody "approves" (even if it means you are neck-deep in debt).

[amit_mechengg]

well good that i came across this topic. here i am an IT guy who always dreams of cars and lives for cars.
when i started my career i used my dads alto, my dad could have easily afforded a big car as he is a DGM in major automobile industry but he dint as he gave priority to other things.

once i got some money i started thinking of a honda city OHC and modding it spending over 5 lacs including price of the car. but then i again thought lets get a job change first.

then i changed a job and started getting a very good salary, but by then i was married so thoughts of future crept in. so i postponed the plan of OHC. then i got good onsite opportunities , where i drove Ford mustangs, camaro, dodge charger etc etc, and again the kida of nice sedan crept in. with the money and very less liabilities i could have easily taken a loan and got a car worth 25 lacs, but when i come across from a middle class family and who has seen ups and downs of the market and surrounding people i settled for a Fiat Linea worth 10 lacs with very less loan.

today within 6 months i have enough money to repay the loan i took.
meanwhile i also booked a flat worth 25 lacs as an investment so this loan will start soon.

from my point of view an average salaried person or it guy or banking guy wont think to put his very very hard earned money into a beamer just for enjoyment. max he thinks is of honda city or altis or cruze. not beyond that.

for a businessman where money is surplus and gains a lot with showing depreciation, tax invasions etc beamer is peanuts.

this is just a story of average it guy like me and 90% of the salaried public.

well you can buy a beamer with loan etc but that wont be a wise decision at all

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by download2live

There is a saying "God gives nuts to monkeys who have no teeth'.

A regular IT Joe will NEVER BE ABLE to purchase a BMW.
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2. The person who goes onsite usually saves every penny so that once he comes back he will buy a house. There are exceptions. But 90% of the guys slogging it out there have one aim. To buy a house or some other form of real estate.

I beg to disagree with the above point. Including myself, I have plenty of examples of people not nickel and diming in USA. Admitted - some people do practice that, but that's a minority of people I know.

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

I don't think an average IT Joe can buy/maintain a BMW unless he has a rich father and/or a rich father-in-law. :-)

Well said!

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Don't know about Google Campus but Deloitte Campus has many 3 series Bimmers and a few S-Classes.

And I have seen Mercs and Bimmers being given to the senior professional management of quite a few tier-1 automotive vendors like Motherson Sumi Systems et al.

And yeah lotsa bankers/traders (salaried ones) under 40 drive Bimmers, Mercs and Audi.
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The point am trying to make is being a techie, one will reach a glass ceiling beyond which there is no growth. Whereas a Business Side guy will have better career growth and has a good shot to reach the top of the organization.

So MBA or not, one needs to be on either business or finance side to earn big bucks fast!

I have seen 2-3 bimmers in my Kolkata office campus - guess they belong to Sr manager + levels.

Originally Posted by R2D2

Agreed, driving a car that's from a higher segment than your boss' or your senior mgmt can have some ramifications. More often than not you ARE perceived as a show off and hedonistic by your peers and even superiors. Honestly it was one more reason why I gave up the BMW 320D dream. If I ever buy one it will not be my regular commute for sure.

Regards,

This is true. But the concept is slowly changing and the idea that a person can be a car fanatic driving a good car but still living in a rented house is slowly catching wind.


I admit - I have spent more time in US than I have been in India during my short career - so I might not be the ideal person to comment. When I went back to India in 2009 - I just had enough to pay for a 320D CE. But some reality check from my dad (thank God!) on grounds of maintenance and usability brought me down to earth. Also - squandering my entire savings without thinking of the future did not seem to be a safe bet for me.

So one regular IT joe can afford to buy a basic bimmer in India - but it is entirely out of his league to maintain it.

[penpavan]

Originally Posted by neoranjit

May be its because, he can get a 15/20 year loan for a 50 Lakh house but not on a 20 Lakh car.

Very valid. Even if somebody gave that loan, somehow people feel it is worth to carry the burden of a 50L loan over 20 years for a HOME than 20 lac loan over 20 years for a car.

After all, house you buy for lifetime, BMW can still be replaced.

[sajo]

Originally Posted by penpavan

Very valid. Even if somebody gave that loan, somehow people feel it is worth to carry the burden of a 50L loan over 20 years for a HOME than 20 lac loan over 20 years for a car.

After all, house you buy for lifetime, BMW can still be replaced.

And the HOME appreciates in value, the BMW wont.

I am an average IT Joe. Maybe one of the averagest around. I work with other average Joes around me, and no one from my entire team (freshers to PMs) own a car. But being the petrolhead that I am, I just had to get one. I am sure you guys know that feeling.
When I bought my Swift without a loan last year, I could have, in theory, bought something a segment higher by getting a loan too, but I didnt. My middle-classness (and hatred of loans) held me back. And I am not sure that is a bad thing at all.
So till I have 30L cash in my account + a comfortable incoming financial cushion, I dont think I will be able to buy a BMW.

[mmxylorider]

Can He? Should He? Would He?
Yes. Why?. Probably not!

A regular Joe like most Indians would want to spend on non-depreciating asset like house, gold etc. A vehicle in most cases is a means of getting from point A to point B (Small car sales numbers?) For the enthusiast, there are the next segment cars upto 10L.

I would love to own a BMW/luxury card and can probably afford the cheapest one. BUT, my current cars serve the purpose. I don't have to worry about the high maintenance costs and if there was extra money left I can plonk it on some real estate somewhere.

I believe most of us plan for our dependents rather for ourselves rather than say Americans - who let their children work our their lifestyle.

As mentioned on the thread earlier, people entering the IT industry will not get the opportunities available to people who entered in 90s upto say 02-03. Shortage of onsite stints, rising costs of owning houses (which still would be the first saved for purchase big ticket item), competition at all levels, no SOPs will mean dream vehicles might just remain that - a dream!

[Firebird]

Oh boy!!! what a topic to discuss. Making me go weak on my knees....

Till now I spent 12 yrs on my life in IT and still I am in sub 10 lakhs...

I love the joy, and I want to own it one day. Would I be able to I dont know, may be I can plan a investment which will give me 24 lakhs on maturity which I can put in Beemer.

Still the conservative mindset will not allow me to take a plunge.

Reasons

1. Being salaried, will never be able to claim depreciation. Rather I need to float / register a firm to claim it.
2. I will buy it on loan, then would I avail another loan to take care of the service
3. In case the German start throwing tantrums, oh boy that will be dooms day for me
4. I cant expect MSIL / Hyundai resale.

Rest the time will decide how I move up the corporate ladder. I do have a scaled model on my Desk - BMW 330i - Black.

Best luck to me and others in my boat.

Edit - I will still try for 1 series if it lands in India. I am ready for 15 Lakh on BMW.

[selfdrive]

Another key difference here would be the absence of social security in India. This ensures that the average IT joe would worry about his pensions and invest accordingly to create a buffer for a rainy day.
After all till the advent of medical insurance, most families (with a Joe in the private sector as the only income) were only one major illness from either bankruptcy or moving down the ladder of 'standard of living'

At the end of the day, its not the possibility of the question but the feasibility. It is almost like asking would an average IT Joe ever enter politics or run for president? Perhaps even that is more feasible, but I guess thats the drift.

[Sajuanchorage]

If it is your dream, it will surely happen.
Rather than going with a heavy loan, pl consider few things:
1) Using a BMW is a luxury, so you should be finantially stable to enjoy this
2) Delay this luxury for next 3 years to bring additional income
3) Invest prudently atleast 50% of your income this year and next year
to double this , in close to two years (I have investments which already scored 100% in 7 months, so don't argue it is impossible)
4) At the end of 3rd year, you will find some fancy money to go for even a 5 series.

5) Spare parts are expenssive in India, but are Mercs spares available at 10-15% cost at Beharin
(you find your own ways to arrange it). Also you can enter into 3-5 year maintenance package.


Saju

[mm403]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Agreed, driving a car that's from a higher segment than your boss' or your senior mgmt can have some ramifications. More often than not you ARE perceived as a show off and hedonistic by your peers and even superiors. Honestly it was one more reason why I gave up the BMW 320D dream. If I ever buy one it will not be my regular commute for sure.

Regards,

I can talk from my personal experience. I had purchased a Honda City when my peers were having Santro, Zen and at that time I was in one of big 3 IT firms. I did get lots of snide remarks. IMHO looking at current scenario BMW 320D would be a dream

[kartikk]

I'm sure rentals will come to India soon, if you really get sucked into owning one then work your back side off there is no short easy way to reach out to it, else to get rid of the itch rent one, owning it for a few weeks would give you a fare idea on the nuances of driving one around in crowded city streets that Indian metros offer.

Like Subroto Baachi says in one of those teasers that are coming on CNBC life is getting defined by consuption, how many cars you own, which gated community you live in and so on, sad but true.

[benbsb29]

Who said a regular IT Joe in India cannot buy a BMW?! I did, and a M3 at that, in red.

I have also been fortunate in being able to provide it with safe covered parking. Here it is.

[Maverick1977]

The BMw's of today will be available for a fraction of their original cost in 10 years time. I know the technology would have grown leaps & bounds by then but judging the standards of the Indian Auto industry where even a safety item like ABS is not a standard. Probability is high that the equipment levels at that time in Indian cars will be comparable.
I am looking forward to buy the X1 in about 5 years time, if life becomes better it might even be a new one.
Disclaimer: I do not work in the IT or any high paying industry.

[tejus.s]

Superb thread! My IT life has kick started just a shade under 10 months from now. Having bought a Karizma with my measly salary, let me tell you, as pointed out, the purchase you can live with; fuel station trips, probably not!

All said and done, I guess if you are the sort of person who listens to your heart more than your head, it's not impossible. Also, the joy of buying something you truly like cannot be out down in words

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by mm403

I can talk from my personal experience. I had purchased a Honda City when my peers were having Santro, Zen and at that time I was in one of big 3 IT firms. I did get lots of snide remarks. IMHO looking at current scenario BMW 320D would be a dream

When I bought my first car in India (used Omni) in 1995, many of my TCS colleagues were little heckled. Of course, they explained away my indulgence by saying "Yeah, you are just back from US after 2 year stint and still a bachelor... you can afford it".

All this was over an used Omni.

I remember an incident while was working at huge MNC in NJ. A newly minted VP (they had hundreds) leased a Mercedes S series. On the very first day, he was seen alighting it, by none other than his boss who drove an E series. Next week, the same VP was driving a Cadillac. It either that or he would have lost his job.

So, yes. Driving a BMW into the office unless you have a job profile to go with it can be dangerous in a corporate setup. If the CEO comes in a BMW, nobody will give a second look. But a PM pulls up in a BMW, his higher ups will start wondering whether they are paying him too much.

Therefore, even people who can afford a BMW, don't really go for it.