Does this first car make me look bad?

(2010-05-27 16:38:46) 1. Will Says: I want to start this off by saying my family is not rich, we're upper middle class if not just middle. Combined income between both parents is between $180-225k.

I'm 16, turning 17 very soon and today I went car-shopping with my mom. We get in the car and I was driving my mom says "where do u want to go look?" I said "I don't know it's your money, so you choose". She goes to a BMW dealer.

We go to the certified pre-owned department and she begins asking questions and stuff, all the while I'm embarrassed that I'm even shopping for a first car at a BMW dealer. She sees one that she likes and thinks I might like and its a 2007 328i coupe black on black with 17k miles for $28k. We go out to the lot to see it and I fell in love with this car; I would love to have it. However, I'm not spoiled whatsoever and I even turn down my weekly allowance of $40, I never ask her to buy anything for me and when she does spend money on me even buy me shoes I feel guilty. I just honestly hate taking her hard-earned money from her because she owns her own business and I see how hard she works everyday for it. You're probably reading this and thinking I'm lying too.

So now I have this dilemma. I know I don't want her spending so much money on my first car, I thought we were going to go look for something below $10k probably around $5k-$8k. I told her this and she said she would much rather spend the money now on a nice car that I would look good in and I won't have any major problems with for at least the first few years than waste her money on something cheaper that's "going to be in the shop more than on the road" as she put it.

Then we go down the road to the Audi dealer. She really liked and wanted to put a deposit down on a $33,000 A4. I literally had to say let's come back with dad so I could pull her out of the store and make her realize how crazy this is.

Now my secondary concern (after the expenses) is how spoiled and rich this would make me look to all my friends and family (we have the most money out of all of my family who are mostly bums of which 1/5 has a college degree). Today my mom mentioned to my sister, that she was looking at a BMW, but lied that the price was $18k, instead of 28. My sister laughed and gave that disapproving type of sarcastic giggle.

I think I forgot to mention some things, but I'll edit this if I did. Thanks for the responses.2. snoman_03 Says: I think you answered your own question there, especially in the last paragraph. Make a decision you can live with because what your friends think dosen`t matter. You are the one who has to live with it.

Common sense answer...get a good reliable car that you are happy with. For the $$ you are talking about, you could get a very nice new car and have coin left over for maintenance and insurance. What is insurance premium on a BMW for a 17 year old new driver. Also what is the theft rate on one of them as well...3. =]] Says: well dont get a bmw... they do have great performance and stuff but they are so much work.. everything is always breaking and youre always needing to take it into the shop and paying more money for it.. just saying..
youre still richer then a lot of people.. some old audis are pretty good and cheap and dont break down.. i have an audi A3 and its really nice. i havent had to take it into the shop except for like checkups and ive had it for a few years.. so your mom might be right with the whole 'going to be in the shop more than on the road'4. Murcie_LP640 Says: Besides the fact that it'll make you look spoiled, German cars (BMW, Audi, newer Mercedes-Benz) aren't the way to go for first cars. They're very nice, and have brilliant build quality, but if something DOES go wrong, even in the electrics, it's going to be a big job and a large sum of money to get fixed.

To really get the middle-ground of the situation (something that looks good but is understated and doesn't cost incredibly large sums of money to fix or buy), perhaps try a Japanese luxury brand like Infiniti or Lexus.

The Lexus IS350 and Infiniti G35 are both good examples of what I'm referring to. They don't have a fancy badge on it (hell, Lexus is Toyota owned and sourced), but they still have a fairly luxurious caliber to them and more importantly, they don't cost an arm and a leg to fix. Tag: Does this first car make me look bad?