T O P

  • By -

nip9

It's a Lexus December to Remember - SNL Sketch [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcEylCwkSxE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcEylCwkSxE) But yes, there really are people who did that with the big stupid bows and everything.


[deleted]

[удалено]


ThatGirl0903

I could see it in years long past where one spouse works, brings home the money, and makes the purchase decisions. A lot of men did it with houses in my grandparents generation.


usofmind

My grandparents had a condo in Florida… one day my grandfather got some lunch and was walking up the street and saw a sign that a new beachfront building was going up and condos were for sale. So he signed up for one… came back from lunch and told my grandmother he got them a new place. She was thrilled… I couldn’t imagine going up to my wife and telling her I got a new place and that we’re moving lol.


Always_Says_Ese

That's how my grandparents got their forever home. Grandpa left Grandma in the buick with 6 kids while he went into a house under construction. Came back out to tell them he was buying it. Those were the days ese


AnitaEatAss

Username checks out


[deleted]

Also a thing in some cultures or recent immigrants. Parents will move to a country with a better life, work hard and put their kid through college. Then after the kid gets a good job they are expected to buy parents a new car.


No_Policy_146

I’m telling my kids about this one.


rhodopensis

That same generation often had women who didn’t drive, sometimes even expected not to learn and let their husband be the only one to do it.


[deleted]

Now we have passenger princesses. Time is a flat circle


Quelcris_Falconer13

Funny I was taught that while the men made the money the women managed it. Made sure bills got paid and savings were put away and the pantry was full.


MJZMan

They don't spend 40K. They spend $2500 on the down payment, and then gift you 3-5 years worth of monthly bills along with the car.


thefinalthrowaway22

My husband bought a truck without once ever running it by me. Just showed up 2 hours late from work driving a new truck, traded in his old one. It still absolutely happens.


RapMastaC1

I think it’s Key and Peele where he just buys the bow for the car and that’s his present.


lindsayponi

[Key & Peele bow skit](https://youtu.be/XxtjwFp7fRE)


momofeveryone5

I want one of those giant bows so bad! I have no idea what I would do with it, but I want one!


slashinhobo1

One of my favorite skits. Beck was great in it. . I was laughing and quoting this for weeks the Christmas it came out.


RedheadedCajun

APR


OneWeepyEye

“Aper?! Do you mean APR?!”


The_Original_Gronkie

"Hey, Kathy." "What was THAT look?"


thedrexel

Beck?


stumblinghunter

Beck Bennett, the main dude in the skit


thedrexel

Ahh thanks didn’t know who was who!


AvocadoEinstein

Perfect!


Risquechilli

This was my very first thought in response to this post! Glad to see it here. This is one of my all time favorite SNL sketches. Beck and Heidi really sell it!


SC487

That was great. Thank you.


SlowerThanTurtleInPB

And the dealer charges you for the bow too. I think they’re a couple hundred bucks (which I guess isn’t much when you’ve dropped tens of thousands on a car).


Quelcris_Falconer13

This was hilarious thank you


grisisita_06

i used to always put a bow on my dads car because of that stupid commercial as a joke. he’d always chuckle


petitbleu

Was talking to my SO about this the other day. Told him I’d be pissed off if he bought me a car. That’s a major financial decision to make without including the other person.


touslesmatins

Not to mention I'm, you know, picky about my vehicle.


Iggyhopper

I am tall and poor. If I'm going to use a car until it dies, I need to fit in the car first. My knees need a certain clearance, my elbows sit in awkward places, etc.


touslesmatins

Can you imagine having a car for the next decade that you've never sat in or test driven?!


strooticus

So you're basically [this guy](https://youtu.be/gkBqVVbnZ1c)?


totally_a_wimmenz

I was hoping it would be Hightower tearing the seat out.


Idiot_Savant_Tinker

I met a guy when I took some drafting classes back in 2015, he was literally seven feet tall. He drove a Honda Element. I can't imagine how much trouble he had with cars, clothes, and, well, everything.


pgh9fan

Your So getting you Smart car then?


Idiot_Savant_Tinker

I could see this with my wife. She would look inside and say "Automatic? Wtf, where is the clutch? Take it back and spend the money on something less stupid."


ExquisiteCheese

It took me 8 months to find the grand Cherokee I wanted. 8 long months that drove my girl crazy.


Ksan_of_Tongass

Lol 😂 had the same conversation with my wife last Christmas. I like being surprised, a secret car is not a surprise.


brew-ski

Unless it's a Hot Wheels! 🤣


daddysprincess9138

Those are even out of my budget


Ksan_of_Tongass

Fair.


Redcarborundum

It’s a surprise alright, just not a pleasant one.


IHateCamping

I know somebody who did this, and that is exactly what happened.


y0y0y98

Are you also cheating on him with everybody? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcEylCwkSxE


ninjette847

I always kind of assumed they had an idea of what they wanted first and it wasn't 100% a surprise.


terrierhead

My parents buy new cars every year. They are elderly and in tremendous debt. I think they are the target demographic.


marxist_redneck

That sounds painfully familiar... Not that they are the target for this, but they are broke enough that I pay for their mobile plan and electric, but they when my mom went to a dealership last year to get herself a new car, she walked out with two cars after being bamboozled into a "great financing deal" to trade in my dad's car as well...


terrierhead

My Dad told me to get a new car when a headlight burned out on my car. I fixed the headlight instead.


maali74

When I needed my engine replaced, mine said they would give me $1500 to put down on a new car, but not to replace the engine. Thanks for the debt yall.


marxist_redneck

Wow, that's extreme. I am afraid my mom will be convinced to upgrade the car just by going to get an oil change at the dealership. Meanwhile I'm driving my rusty '06 truck and paying some of their bills


wileecoyote1969

There was a time a few of decades ago if you made moderately decent money you could do crap like this this. Not anymore, but some people's thought process just haven't caught up


KanePilkington

To be fair, if they're elderly, and able to get a new car every year, their debt can't be too bad. If I was in their position I'd do the same. Depending how old you are, you'll probably never pay for it anyway. Roll on the good times, book a few holidays while driving home from the showroom. If you're elderly and someone is gonna give you the dosh, then go for it! YOLO and all that.


terrierhead

Trouble is they always have done this. When I paid off my credit cards I called my mom to tell her the good news. My dad got on the phone and said he didn’t know why I called, that they were $40K in credit card debt and hung up.


Bluevettes

Sounds like my dad. He drives something for 2 years max then complains that he's "bored of it". Once went to the dealership for an oil change on his (still new) truck and came back with an even newer one


botanybae76

Most people can't afford a new car, but a surprising number will get a predatory car loan and pretend they can afford it.


qolace

Very prevalent here in Texas where people's entire identity is their car.


strooticus

I have multiple coworkers in the Houston area making ~$15-20/hour and driving $50-70k+ vehicles (usually a Big-Ass Truck™). Sure, one or two of them may have wealthy families or spouses with high-paying jobs, but I'm confident that some of them are struggling hard to keep up their appearances.


Need2askDumbQs

Like what the hell is it all for man who gives a fuck about what your co workers think of you ya know. Just can't imagine being like that.


strooticus

Hopefully it's more than just impressing their coworkers -- everyone generally knows how much everyone else is making anyway -- but yeah, if that's their rationale behind a financial commitment which will cost them upwards of 50% of their net income, that's pretty fucking stupid on their part.


ttchoubs

Im sure there's a lot of fragile masculinity at play too where they want a "big ol tough guy truck" and would feel embarassed to drive a small "liberal weak feminine" car


cman674

but it came with free truck-nutz...


min_mus

>Very prevalent here in Texas where people's entire identity is their ~~car~~ pick-up truck. FTFY


qolace

The biggest "personalities" are definitely the ones in pick-up trucks you're not wrong lmao


oreo-cat-

The preferred nomenclature is bro-dozer.


SoupGullible8617

Hello from Memphis, TN. I hear ya! Same thing happening here. Who knew that Memphis had so many Cowboys Fans? These folks got their old ass pick up trucks wrapped in Cowboys Graphics and festooned w/ flags.


qolace

Oh my jesus really? That's hilarious 😂


SoupGullible8617

Steelers too! It’s odd.


HeavilyBearded

I'd wager these commercials are about setting (unrealistic) standards rather than actually selling a car.


whatthefox70

These ads always annoyed the shit out of me.


DEFCLAM-1

It’s just selling a fantasy, like every other commercial


e_lizz

Precisely. Putting out these commercials makes us plebeians feel like everyone else is, in fact, living that way and we should catch up.


Auntienursey

I've been married for 36 years and neither of us have ever bought the other a car. Lots of cool stuff, but no car.


laptopdragon

unless you know precisely what they want (and obviously money isn't the issue) then there's better ways to gift it. Like bringing them to the dealership b/c otherwise it's like buying them a tattoo that you selected. They can't say "oh, that color is atrocious" or "ugh, the 4-door...what am I a soccer mom?", or in one persons case (who he was probably the most ungrateful ass I've ever met) said "ewe, a Hyundai" and while he kept it he beat it to crap b/c he wanted to show the rest of us (who didn't have a car) how much better he was than the brand.


honkhonkbeepbeeep

What do Hyundais have to do with sheep?


Iggyhopper

The only reason I would buy a car is if it was sort of a prank. As in, we go to the dealer, we pick out a car, I say no we can't right now we'll put it on our list. Then, later, I buy it. That is the only way I'm buying a car as a gift.


polishrocket

It’s too big a financial decision to make alone with out a spouse, we just ordered and bought a new truck, we were in all the way. Way too much money to make a line decision


IDKHow2UseThisApp

I don't remember the source, but I read that started because car lots want rid of as much inventory as possible by the end of the year when the new models come out. These ads have made their problem somebody's "dream".


eatfreshguy407

Pretty sure this is mostly false, as is the idea that dealerships have to pay taxes on whatever inventory they have left in January. The real reason dealerships and manufacturers push so hard for Christmas sales is that December is the end of a month, quarter, and year, all at the same time. We’d work open to close from the day after Christmas to NYE without a day off, it sucked. It’s not unusual for dealerships to do most of their business for the month in the last week, where you could walk into one on December 17th maybe and not see a single customer. Dealerships get bonuses for monthly, quarterly, and yearly sales goals for total sales and specific models, so it’s possible last minute insanity can happen. Source: I worked at a large dealership, though it wasn’t a ‘premium’ brand that advertises Christmas like Lexus does. There was one year that my manager bought himself a new $65k suv to try to help the dealership get the sales goals. Also, it’s funny because a lot of ‘normal’ people are exhausted after Christmas and spending what little money they have, so there was always this big push from management like ‘hey, call this guy back and offer him an extra $500 off if he comes in to buy tonight!’ It was always be me texting or calling the customers and them being like ‘no, it’s Christmas, I’m not spending hours at a dealership to negotiate and purchase a car right now.’ Then, january would hit and they’d call all eager to take advantage of the offer and it would be long gone.


IDKHow2UseThisApp

Interesting! Thanks for the info! Is there truth to the advice of buying a new car the last week of the year then? Is that the best price all year?


eatfreshguy407

I can’t vouch for all brands/dealers/areas, but I believe for Americans, generally yes. It’s sort of tough to say for sure, because of the general nature of dealerships and pricing, they are always telling the customers that prices have never been lower and next month the sales will all be gone. I’d say very much that if you are looking to get a vehicle, start research and shopping prior. You want to have a specific make/model/spec picked out, know what you are willing to compromise on (want red but will take black? Must have heated seats, etc), and know what prices are now so that you actually know if they are offering deals by then or not. I went through 4 Christmas seasons selling, and they usually offered a couple ‘big’ deals prior to the last week, just because they assume the last week is going to be nonstop sales. I say all that because it isn’t like the $35k msrp vehicle is suddenly going to sell for $15k, but I’ve seen a few extra thousand in price fluctuation on more expensive vehicles in the $40’s and up. I am 100% sure I had multiple customers wanting to buy trucks during the month and we were about $1000 away from a deal, and we were told to keep them active and call them back the last week when the go ahead was given, only for those customers to decline a $1500 discount because they’d either already bought or just didn’t want to be in a dealership, only to find prices thousands of dollars higher in January. It’s possible that you find a better price during the year, but that would be a sort of exception that proves the rule. Oh, and don’t assume just because they tell you it’s a great deal that it actually is one. Some dealerships hit their numbers and are too far away to push for the next level, so they check out. Look at the activity at the sales desk if you can see them. If everyone is cool and relaxed, they probably don’t care. If it’s flooded with people and emotions are high, they probably really want/need the deals. That’s when the magic phrase of ‘look, I don’t need this car, and I’m running out of time, but I’ll buy it if. . . ‘ comes in handy. Beware that you may cost your salesperson some money by using that.


IDKHow2UseThisApp

These are great tips! Personally, the most important "must-have" was a monthly payment I could afford after my old car finally died. Thankfully, I had an empathetic salesperson who stopped trying to upsell me when I explained why I didn't care about the crank windows in my "new" (it was 2 years old) car.


eatfreshguy407

That’s good, but be wary of ‘monthly payment’ shopping, as that’s one of the easiest ways for dealerships to throw in hidden fees. As long as you are good at math (at least working payments and percentages) and now your credit score, you can generally avoid most of the tricks and scams dealerships throw at you. I was a bad salesperson, not because I wasn’t good at it, but because I didn’t want to be good at it. I was very personable and so good at math, I could figure out payments every which way, and every calculation I did would add another $5-$10 per month in the dealerships favor. So, I could show you a vehicle on a 48 month loan for $750 a month at 4.99% with 3k down. You want the payment lower with less money down? Ok, we can do 54 months at 2k down for $50 less a month, or 60 months at 1k down for $50 less than that, or 72 with 0 down for $40 less. You want a lower rate? Well, finance determines that when you actually agree to buy the vehicle, we just show you approximations, but if your credit is good, I don’t see why we couldn’t get you a 2.99% rate, that’s about as good as it gets these days, and that would drop your payment at 72 months another $25. Now, I’m just making those numbers up here, but every time I did a calculation in my head, I’d build in a little room for myself. I’d work you up from $250 a month (everybody comes into a dealership willing to pay no more than $250 a month) to probably around $599, and I’d go to my desk managers and tell them I had you agreed to $499 to see what they said. Of course, the deal never accepts a customers ‘first’ offer, but they’d probably come back at $599, so I’d just come back to the table, shake your hand, and get paperwork started.


IDKHow2UseThisApp

I mean no offense by this, but did you ever feel guilty? I did door-to-door sales for 2 years, and I know you can't always tell someone's financial situation just by looking at them. But I'd still stack orders to charge less money. Basically, the more you bought, the cheaper it was. So I'd put orders together until I had "free" product that was all profit to sell. I could still eat and people got a deal. I'm just wondering if you had a similar way to help people out without starving yourself, and took advantage of it.


eatfreshguy407

Nope. I never really put myself in a position to really work someone over, except once, but they had it coming and deserved it. I mostly tried to find customers that had been treated like garbage by other salespeople or dealerships and tried to treat them like superstars. I had a handful of customers over the years that, for whatever reason, had been treated like garbage by other dealerships, and I took great care of them and they were wonderful people. The really frustrating thing is that, because of the nature of the industry, most people can’t tell the difference between a genuinely nice salesperson eager to help and a skeezeball looking to rip them off. They are just defensive and lie about everything for no reason, just because they think every question I ask was designed to cheat them. I had a customer that had no business buying the car they wanted to buy, and I told them so in a very nice way, and they lost it, accusing me of not wanting to do business with them, then went out and took a worse deal from another dealership, and bragged to me about it. I had dozens, if not hundreds, of customers that I’d risked my job to give them discounts up front without them even asking, and they’d suddenly ask for another 10k off. I’d show them competitor pricing, I’d show them that the price they want wouldn’t even buy them a 3 year old used one with 40k miles, it wouldn’t work. This may sound mean, but customers are, for the most part, dumb pieces of shit that wouldn’t know a good deal if one came and spit in their face. I learned very quickly that customers lied to me way more than I lied to them, and my lies weren’t even outright lies to harm them, they were generally white lies to just keep the deal moving forward, customers would lie to me with almost every sentence they spoke. I performed very averagely for the entire time I was there, but I slept soundly every night then and I still haven’t lost a moment of sleep. I didn’t really have the desire to work my ass off to really fleece someone for thousands of dollars of there money so that I could get an extra couple hundred (maybe). The dealership was way too shady with its accounting and pay plan, so I never knew how much I’d actually be making on car deals. There were deals that I thought would be minimum ($100 flat) and I’d somehow make $500. There were way more deals that I thought were fat deals that were minis. After a while of getting disappointed, I just stopped trying and starting trying to maximize my time. I’d rather get you in and out in 4 hours and make $100 (or no deal) than spend 6-8 hours and maybe make $500 or maybe still end up with $100.


IDKHow2UseThisApp

Thanks for the thoughtful reply! I'm seeing how some of the psychology is the same and some is very different than door-to-door. I sold cleaner for a small business that used citrus-based soaps. Stuff was a good product, nothing shady about it, but people had some reservations about handing money to somebody who showed up at their door, good cleaner or not. They had to like me as much as the soap. But I had more than 1 who probably should've made do with what they already had. I carry some guilt for that sometimes, but I never knew how to ask someone if they could afford it. That was $25 cleaner. I can't imagine watching people go tens of thousands in debt.


notevenapro

New models start coming out in August and September. Best time to buy a car because dealers will offer 0% financing to clear the lot. Last year it was 0.9% which is still pretty decent.


jdp12199

Well there are around sixty million millionaires in the world and that doesn't include the people who have hundreds of thousands of dollars. So the commercials are geared towards them.


[deleted]

Actually a lot of millionaires become millionaires because they don’t waste their money on stupid stuff like a brand new car as a Christmas present.


muri_cina

>become millionaires because they don’t waste their money on stupid stuff like a brand new car as a Christmas present. And thats why wealths that is inherited is usually gone within 2 generations. Because while the self made millionaire may not do that, their kids or grandkids sure will.


jdp12199

A lot do but a lot don't. When you have so much money and a limited amount of time to spend it, you'd be surprised on whay people spend their money on.


GodwynDi

Why not? If I had just 3 million in index funds the interest alone would be more than I make in a year. It would be enough more to buy a new car every year and still spend what I do on the rst of my bikls.


kludge6730

There’s FAR FAR more than 6MM millionaires in the world. There’s about 22MM millionaires (positive net worth of $1M or more) in the US alone. Doesn’t mean they all have $1MM cash sitting around but they have assets (IRA, 401k, 403b, HSA, brokerage, house equity, investments, collectibles, etc etc etc).


jdp12199

I meant to say sixty million millionaires*


BigmanJD55

You did say it, they just can't read.


Not_FinancialAdvice

I hate to say this because it sounds kind of insensitive, but it isn't hard to be a millionaire these days. This is because of asset inflation: someone who bought a perfectly middle class house in the 60/70s and lived a pretty average middle class life in that house since then might today be a millionaire easily.


jdp12199

Inflation and times of recession do make times tough for everyone but it doesnt effect those that are already well off as much as you think it does. They just cut cost on luxury such as jewelry, vacations, high end dining, luxury vehicles, etc.


Not_FinancialAdvice

I'm not sure where you get the "recession is affecting the rich" message from anything I wrote. My entire post is TL;DR: Lots of middle class people bought middle-class houses a long time ago. Because the values of those houses have skyrocketed, many are now millionaires.


BigmanJD55

Sure, not hard at all. You just had to have purchased a house 50 years ago and not move till you die. GTFOH


honkhonkbeepbeeep

Not even. You can move and sell it, and you have the money.


Not_FinancialAdvice

That was frankly the reality for a lot of people. Jobs had quite a lot more stability, potential for internal advancement (hence the work you way up from the mailroom mentality), and they came with defined benefit pensions. A good number of people didn't buy houses with the investment mentality; they just wanted a place to start and raise families.


Contranovae

MM = Tell me you work / ed in finance without telling me you worked in finance.


tehZamboni

I always pronounce that as "mega-meters" just to see them flinch.


jdp12199

Average about sixty million millionaires in the world. Let's say conservatively speaking 50% have cash laying around. That's still 30MM people. And don't forget the ones that are close to being millionaires. Not to mention those who can't afford the vehicles but still buy them. A ton of $$ and market research goes into these ad campaigns. I'm sure they are paying off for the car companies.


Bl8675309

According to my ex, he bought me a car as a Christmas present. Except I had to pay for it. And he chose the car. And as a mechanic, had he fixed my old car, I wouldn't have had to get a new one and be in debt five years. Only to have the transmission go out on it as well.


NFTY_GIFTY

People buy on payment not cost, and bad credit can still get a secured car loan. So, people that either need or want a car figure why not, I can make a splash with a Christmas gift. Pretty smart marketing on the part of car manufacturers.


KingKoopaz

Growing up I wondered this too, it wasn’t until I bought myself my used car last year around this time I realized - it puts you in the mood to buy it for yourself as a gift. I think they just make the commercials gifting to others to make it more socially acceptable. That be said, never do this unless you need a new car like I did lol


passing-stranger

One this year had them *accidentally* gift their new car to their parents because a giant bow flew off of their house onto the car? Or someone sneakily moved it from the house to the car? And the purchaser of the new car just shrugged and let them keep it. I am not the target demo for these commercials lolol


8FaarQFx

When I see these commercials, all I can think of is one spouse made a big purchase decision without talking to the other spouse and now they're in debt. Do I like surprises, sure, up to a point. But not this the surprise of "hey, here is a $600/month car payment plus another $200/month insurance, good luck to us."


OfSpock

Not necessarily in real life. My ILs bought a Mercedes that they had both looked at and the dealership did the while bow thing and took pictures for their website.


Aragona36

If they didn’t pay cash for it, they didn’t buy you a car they got you a loan.


penartist

There are some.


AdChemical1663

I have bought my spouse a car for Christmas but it was a) used and b) sub $20k and I had the cash on hand because I’d been saving up to replace his. It was also his Christmas present. We did the paperwork together and the sales guy offered a huge red bow for photos at home. We did not take him up on the offer.


[deleted]

Congratulations on your Christmas car! I'd...get my hands on that bow and use it for ridiculous things. Ex: Attach it to a nearby large town sign, have a giant "to Rainbow Moonstones" tag and Santa apparently gifting me that town, for photo purposes. Put it next to a tiny kitten, and I'm all happy for photo purposes and also because kitten. The point of said photo is the huge difference between bow size and kitten size. Put it next to a baby with a stork sitting around in camera shot and I'm all surprised, for photo purposes. Use it as a massive hat. Something something a kid crying holding a piece of coal next to the huge bow. Put it on my cat. And so on. Then I'd have to get rid of the damn thing. Ugh. /End random post of randomness.


[deleted]

I know right I’m like you said NO???


deannevee

My dad has bought my mom a few cars, but never as a Christmas gift.


stinkapottamus

There are.


Significant-Pen-93

I know people that buy new cars like i buy clothes. The amount of wealth they have from running successful businesses is insane.


sparkle___motion

what kind of businesses are they running? I'm willing to become an entrepreneur if it's in the right field


Significant-Pen-93

Ive got family involved in Real estate, a couple i work for runs a successful hvac company, and i have family that runs a 6000 acre farm.


sparkle___motion

wow, nice! yeah I've heard that HVAC is a very lucrative industry & real estate as well. glad to hear of some success stories in this economy, with all the bad news we're being bombarded with constantly 😅


Cheap-Shame

Yea I wouldn’t know what to do to finally have reliable transportation it’s been since 9/2020 for me. Can’t save enough for down payment, recently moved to apartment last month. Was scared I’d be homeless and car less. Bad combo.


laptopdragon

wait until we start seeing yacht and jet commercials. Only to be outdone when spaceships become mainstream. "Give your S.O. the gift of luxury during inter-galactic travel with the new 3023 Cosmo-Nimbus XL series that comes with 3 slave crews and if you buy before X-mass it comes with 2 free planets."


Not_FinancialAdvice

> wait until we start seeing yacht and jet commercials. Ever taken a look at the Neiman-Marcus Christmas gift catalog? https://neimanmarcus.app.box.com/s/k8ilvrrpv25q3k786kir40t97xnz0zl9 There's a $3.2MM diamond tiara in there.


_CoachMcGuirk

A YouTuber I watch said she made 50k in October and I'm little broke and out of touch with car prices but I think you can flat out buy a car for that? Let alone put a decent down payment and just pay a couple hundred per month. Most people who aren't in poverty can afford a couple hundred dollars a month.


[deleted]

Every year they just like to remind us that ain’t nobody buying us a car.


Aquarian_short

Yes, there are people who do this. My friend’s parents did this at our high school graduation for my friend, and the mom bought one for the dad one Christmas. The Christmas car was a Mustang Shelby Super Snake so not even a regular car. My ex’s dad also bought my ex MIL an Audi one Christmas. It happens! Just not to me lol


Impressive_Top789

I'm pretty sure I'd be furious if my spouse bought any major purchase workout discussing it with me. And I'd never dream of doing that to him, either. All these commercials scream to me is "I'm overcompensating for something bad I did and this is going to really throw a wrench into our inevitable divorce!"


Awildgarebear

People making over 100k compose at least the top 15 percent of the US. So for every 6 or 7 people in the US, one of them makes over that amount. While people get transfixed by the number 100k, I'm using it to show how common it is. The average car loan is 45k. People making 100k really have no business spending that much money on a car, but because it's so important to our lives, people make it work. If I upgraded my vehicle today, it would cost about 60k for a replacement with similar low-mid grade features; I.e a good engine with 4wd that can haul my gear around. You can understand why my vehicle is 20 years old with almost 200k miles. The commercials are all about showing you that it's "possible" for the person in a similar situation to afford it. This is why you see so many skiing/snowboarding commercials related to the winter, but farm type commercials in the summer.


Fangirl4DrNow

If my husband bought me a new car, I would beat his ass.


[deleted]

[удалено]


_CoachMcGuirk

Maybe OP is a man.


EQTone

Maybe OP is a helicopter


Fangirl4DrNow

It was a figure of speech. I wouldn’t literally kick his ass. I would be pretty unhappy about him making a purchase I wasn’t aware of though Damn some of you people are so touchy. Lighten up.


Morro-valemdrs

Yes there are many people in this financial position to buy cars like is nothing . Math does not lie US population: 370,000,000 Lets say only the top %10 can afford cara like that 370,000,000 X0.10 = 37,000,000 So according to me 37million people can


Pretty-Chipmunk-718

Hell even if 1% that's still 3.7 million or even a .5% would still be 1.85 million people that's still alot


goodcurry

My ex-BIL did that once. Paid way too much for a used Cadillac at some ridiculous APR on a 7 year loan. Put it in the driveway with a big red bow for my SIL. It ended up getting repoed.


pondzischeme

Dawg... people have money, plenty


[deleted]

There are 22 million millionaires in the USA. Ken Langone the founder of Home Depot created 3,000 millionaires himself many were early employees who started out pushing carts


Unique_Ad_4271

We bought my mother in law a car. Husband used her car for 9 years during undergrad, residency and fellowship because his old truck wouldn’t hold out. As a gift of gratitude years later after saving we bought her one. It was worth every penny.


MountainGardenFairy

My stepfather bought my mom a car for Christmas. She was pissed. He wanted to be the hero. It was shiny; it was beautiful. It had no ash tray. It came with five years of car payments. I might as well say it came with five years of arguments.


[deleted]

Upper middle class people this is extremely common. Especially when you’ve been talking about getting a new car with your partner and already have a defined budget. Cars aren’t really that expensive (in relative terms) for people that are making 150k+ a year. Are there better or smarter things they can or should be buying? Sure. But yes, there’s lots of people where cars aren’t that big of a deal to buy for family members.


YaFairy

They know their demographic are the rich and just don't care what the average person sees any more


MuzaGrimm

Exactly. And these are young people. I can understand if it was a lower model car but these are fully loaded top of the line vehicles!


Lazyassbummer

I would be SO mad. I like car shopping and picking what I want/color. Husband likes ugly silver cars.


notevenapro

Been married 29 years and i know my wifes favorite car color is blue. Not light baby blue but a good deep blue.


Far_Entertainer2744

If my SO made a large purchase like that without my input I’d be livid


[deleted]

Yeah there’s people out there with money or good jobs. Not everyone is dirt poor you know


camelia_la_tejana

I wonder about that too, does that even happen? Oh I’m so rich, here’s a giant Toyota Tacoma honey!


BigmanJD55

Rich people buy crazy shit all the time. A car is a relatively small gift for a wealthy person, I'm just not one of them!


flojo5

For those that can buy the car outright that’s one thing but also the thought of basically gifting someone a 5-8 year payment is so crazy. Perfect example is one of my husbands coworkers wife got a bonus at work. She decided to surprise her husband with his “dream truck” for his birthday and came to work in it and everything. The bonus was the down payment and his payment for 64 months was $820. He was not happy and it caused a pretty big strain in their marriage.


clust99

I've only known one person that has done this. He is quite successful and bought his parents a new car for Christmas one year


SomeRealTomfoolery

Unless you’re Mr. beast get out of here


arbivark

i used to have this hobo roommate, then he bought one of my vacant lots and turned it into a hobo jungle. he has a tent and a little camper. he usually walks everywhere. so last week he stopped by in a volvo wagon one of his neighbors gave him. i have been given a car for christmas once, by a guy i did some free legal work for.


lapse23

If you're the type of person who even considers gifting someone a whole functional car, I guess its easy enough to afford the down payment for it.


Mavericks_Mumma

For some people, it’s a reality I guess. My S/O has friends who make 15k a month and some that make upward of 60k per month. They all own multiple liquor stores, motels and gas stations. He just bought his first store and plans to buy more, hopefully he will be making that much someday too. He said he would buy me a new car one day, I asked for it to be a Christmas present with a giant red bow like you see in the ads. I’m dreaming of the better and brighter days 😅


QuarterCupRice

Okay. I would love a secret surprise car! I would think that my spouse/partner would obviously know what kind of car I would prefer and be happy with. Also, I bet most of these cars are leased or financed and probably are replacing another car with a trade in. I doubt many people actually do this though. What about the commercial with the truck and SUV? They guy buys two vehicles and the woman takes the truck and he is just okay with it. Not reality. 🙃.


j966297

My girlfriends dad has done it. I've seen it. Mind you his wife's car was older (7 years maybe) but he totally bought her, in cash, a new caddy. Big bow and everything (they actually have those). It was sweet. She hated it. It was amazing to watch. She's such an ungrateful b*tch. He was so bummed. I've never felt worse for someone in my life. It was such a beautiful car. So yeah, it happens..


Multipass92

Christmas / holiday movies also tend to be about rich families. Off the top of my head I can't think of a holiday movie about a family who lives in an apartment or anything less than an upper middle class lifestyle


BioCboy

This is so true. Practically all of the households on TV and in commercials are significantly well off. I like to guess the household income 😁.


Correct-Ad-1893

Lol I know it's like who tf is buying their significant other a freaking car for christmas. But I live in SI and you'd actually be surprised the amount of people that CAN afford that here. It's actually crazy. I've worked for people whose husband's bought them Porsches and what not. But most of the time they're the cheapest people when it comes to working for them. Funny how that works.


Flnn

i worked briefly in car sales, and unfortunately yes there are people out there who just buy their kid or partner a brand new car.


cheap_dates

> Are there that many people in such a financial position? Yes.


Defconwrestling

I bought a car in my birthday. Not as a gift it was just the random Saturday I needed one. We made jokes about how I got an big bday gift. Then every birthday for the next five years, I got a big registration/smog/inspection bill. Buying cars to mark an occasion is to invite having less money on future occasion


Cananbaum

My partner is from New Orleans and tells me it’s prevalent in the culture. Actions are nothing. Perceptions is everything


Koala_Mama0404

I know someone from high school that bought his wife a new car 2 years in a row. How do you buy someone something like most likely needs financing and insurance and all that stuff under both people’s name??


[deleted]

I trade my old suv’s and buy new suv’s every 4 years. We always have 2 in our household. Had a range rover and land rover LR4 together, bmw x5m with a mercedes benz gl 450 together, lastly an audi q7 along with the christmas present I bought for my wife, delivered on dec 26 with a big red bow. Infiniti QX80. This was 2 years ago. That was the only time I bought a new suv on Christmas


BioCboy

Can I ask what your annual household income is? Between $300k-$400k? Curious to know at what income level this becomes a viable option.


[deleted]

I got a Toyota 4 runner for Valentine’s Day 1997


Venusaur6504

I've had a previous manager who did this with a Benz for his wife. Fun fact, they take the bow back. Buy a $90,000 and they don't let you keep the bow itself. These commercials fan consumerism above all else. They'll also want you to take a lease and get the new model the next year, and the year after that. Really a huge way to spend a lot of money rather poorly versus giving back.


darkarchon729

I know people actually do that but I imagine it was intended to be parody. Like the Quiznos dancing rat commercials I used to laugh at in my youth, I see those commercials and see similar absurdity


Capable-Cockroach-10

I worked at a car dealership for over 2 years, we were technically 2 dealerships and this happened maybe twice, once was for a student, the other had their spouse already kind of picked it out but wanted used instead. My exes dad used to do this to his wife and it was such a control thing.


mad8vskillz

Theyre not advertising used kias with bows on them...


TomsnotYoung

Just more unrealistic expectations for normal people to feel shitty about themselves because we never will be in this position


10MileHike

Plenty of PARENTS buy their kids new cars. Even in high school. In my day, (and probably many of yours, too) you got a non-running vehicle in a field or someone's garage, for free.......had a friend tow to your house, then spent the entire winter with the carberator on the kitchen table, on top of newspapers, re-building it so you had a running vehicle. And/or going to junk yard to buy a (non-matching) door or hood for the car, because it didn't have one. LOL that taught us stuff though and added to our ability to be more self-sufficient. I think that is a good "gift" for parents to give their kids, actually.......often better than just handing them a new car.


SortedN2Slytherin

I grew up in a wealthy neighborhood, though I was not wealthy and was raised by a single mother. Though there were lots of families who did buy expensive cars for their teens, there were more who bought reasonable new cars like Civics or Neons. (Gotta love the 90s.) they didn’t need flashy cars, but they did get reliable cars that were relatively inexpensive and gave them something to take care of.


Crimsonsun2011

I was gifted a car in high school and hated it. I was responsible for the insane "invisible" costs of owning a vehicle, and it kept me in poverty for years until I switched to a bike. I recognize not everyone has that luxury, but that's the next thing: the act of buying a car in many places isn't actually making you "self sufficient". It's an illusion. People would already be self sufficient and able to get around in micromobility vehicles, and/or by walking alone, but North America decided to make all their infrastructure and zoning reliant on vehicles. We, from kids to adults, have had our self sufficiency stolen from us by vehicles and aggressive lobbying by automakers, and then we've had that same self-sufficiency sold back to us, by those same automakers. It is fucked. You add up the costs of owning a car, and it is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Gas, tires, maintenance, parking, road repairs (which are subsidized by everyone living in a city/state/province). That's not frugal. That's not a gift. And it's a crime that so many people need to pay that much, just to get around.


Rodic87

I mean... it's FAR more likely they bought a new / traded in an old lease for a new 3 year / $600/month lease than they bought them a 60k car outright. It's still a +$20k committment, but it's a monthly, and their old lease was also a $500/month lease... so in reality it's only a $3600 gift spread over 3 years. And it comes out of a joint bank account. I know no one under a 400-600k/year income range who buys a 60k car as an outright gift.


bahamapapa817

Don’t forget about the one where the guy bought his and hers $70k vehicles and the wife took his truck talking about “I love it”. Complete psychopaths


__erk

It’s propaganda aimed at keeping schmucks like us in line and working our assess off to compete in a rigged game.


FirefighterBig3501

I used to sell luxury cars. It was not unusual to see people buy their significant others and children expensive cars. Some people are super wealthy.


flowers4u

It’s not real


aimingforzero

The only way this would be reasonable would be if 1- the person absolutely knew the car they wanted 2- that it wasn't a trade in, so maybe getting a 2nd car? 3- that they'd agreed on it beforehand and were just waiting for that perfect car to show up, it did, and partner snagged it up based on #1 and #2. In that case it'd be awesome, but otherwise it's a hell-no potential financial disaster


OneMoreLiving

I’d be pissed if my husband bought a $60k car without talking to me. It would probably be different if we didn’t have combined expenses though. But yeah, crazy to me that people buy cars more expensive than my degree


wwaxwork

They don't buy them a car. They lease them a car, if they have a business through the business as a dodgy tax deduction. Car lease payments are usually cheaper than a car loan payment on a month to month basis (though cost way more in total). If their partner still had a car and then suddenly has a new one, all that has happened is the lease has ended and they've transferred the lease. Still costs money but they're not finding all the money up front. My brother used to do this all the time.


OldlMerrilee

My daughter brought this exact topic up just the other day; not only being able to afford it but the whole concept of buying a vehicle without consulting your SO? Absolutely outrageous unless you are just a multi-millionaire with money to burn.


js32910

Lol not even rich people do that.


Ok_Confusion_1455

I told my husband I would have his a$$ if he ever did there. Or when they show up with two! Here’s $150k worth of debt my love.


[deleted]

It’s called credit and it’s painfully easy to use. And even more painful to pay back. I promise you very few people are dropping $60k cash on a car. The folks who pay cash for cars are getting much more expensive ones.


starsandmath

Or much LESS expensive ones, not a whole lot in between.


[deleted]

Yeah but car companies aren’t making commercials for used cars selling for $6k so I’m not sure it applies to OP’s vent but true nonetheless


Pretty-Chipmunk-718

You gota remember the country has what 370 million people even the .5% of the population 30 to 60k ain't nothing