I'm 26 and live in NYC. I don't need a car. I make a better than average salary (still < $80K), pay slightly below average rent (for NYC) and will have some cash from a recent IPO. I certainly consider myself, very, very lucky and I will try to invest this money wisely for the long-term. Now for the less rational, materialistic question. I really love cars. When I walk down the street I often look at all of the various autos lining the sidewalk. Specifically, I'm "craving" a BMW 323 or an A4 1.8. I like the design, execution and price of these 2 cars. My friends, girlfriend and family think that I'm nuts for considering a car when I don't need one (they are all nearly "anti-car" people). But, I'm imagining long weekend trips, and I could keep the car at my parents in the suburbs (so no garage fees-- I'm sure my mom won't complain ). This would actually be my the first car that I would own (I drove an '80 volvo borrowed from my parents in college), and I have this almost irrational desire. I don't have much interest in spending money on anything else except - good food and good vacations. Should I work harder to quench this desire, or give into this materialistic, irrational, expensive, (but fun) urge. I've been to almost every BMW and Audi dealership in the tri-state area to go on test-drives. Okay, I have a problem... I also love NYC and don't have plans to move away any time soon.

NT

Less than six figures is not a lot of money in the city, unless you've got rent control. Don't forget there are other expenses with owning a car like insurance, gas, and cleaning. If the IPO leaves you enough money to invest at least $10k, and still be able to buy an A4 or 323 outright, then it might not be crazy. Otherwise, I would say take some of it and buy an older car for weekends. A Porsche 944 or Alfa Romeo Spider would be a blast for weekend getaways. You can probably find decent specimens of both for around $10k-15k. I know it's hard to be fiscally responsible (I find it nearly impossible ;-)), but it's in your best interest.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

you sound like my bizzaro twin! im 26, live in nyc, above average salary, made some money off the market, etc..
for a while i was contemplating on rather to purchase a car or not.. and if so, what kind? i decided to purchase my 1.8TQM for those weekend excusions, dinners, etc.. its a perfect car! during hurricane Floyd, my baby held onto the road like a straphanger on the rail of the 1 and 9 going uptown!
my car is my hobby. its where i go to relax and release stress.. everyone needs something like this. for me, its my a4.
the downsides of owning a car in the city are parking, potholes, and other cars.
i was paying close to 300/month just for parking in the parking garage underneath my apartment. ive cracked 2 wheels, and bent 4 others. ive had a cab (or some other yellow car) hit me while i was parked on 12th street and ran.

if you do decide to buy a car, i highly recommend the a4. i was torn between the 328i and the a4, and i feel that i made the correct choice with my 1.8T.

one last word of advice.. if you get easily upset with traffic, get the tiptronic. i got mine in manual and there are times when im on the west side hwy wishing i had an auto =)

good luck,
brian

As others have mentioned, the cost of a car also includes insurance and parking (I am sure you won't want to leave your brand new A4 on the street on the weekends). Until last year I lived in Manhattan and I paid a small fortune for parking and insurance, but I am lucky and can afford it. I don't mean to offend you, but 80K in NYC is not so much that you should splurge on a new BMW or Audi, or any car for that matter. You are probably better off exercising some restraint and considering renting a car on the weekends if you want to take a road trip. The interest on the 30K will pay for plenty of rentals to get you out of the city and keep your sanity. In a few years you will probably find yourself much better positioned financially to take the plunge.

Just my opinion... hope it helps.

(Apologizing in advance for the length of this post).....Steve makes some excellent points about costs (parking and insurance), your salary relative to the cost of living in NYC and the availability of rentals as a cheaper and more practical alternative. I ditto all those. Having lived in NYC myself for 12 years, I did without a car for 7 of them and didn't miss having one. A weekend away? Rent something nice. I did that for years and enjoyed trying out different makes and models, getting first hand experience with them. You're in Manhattan, bro...you needn't rent a Taurus. Dinner out? C'mon, you're gonna eat in the city and cab it anyway. Owning a car in NYC when you don't really need one is an extravagance most people (including those who make multiples of your salary) choose not to afford because there are other options. I finally bought a car when I got a weekend place upstate. Then I needed a car. But the cost of parking in Manhattan was still, to me, prohibitive ( part of it was budget, but a lot of it was a generalized refusal to pay so much for a lousy parking space). Keeping the car with family in the burbs was impractical (and I think you'll find that to be the case, too....don't do that, it'll ruin any sense of get-up-and-just-go spontanaeity you might have). I looked and looked and finally through word of mouth discovered an acquaintance with a small, run-down building on the west side in the 50's....the whole first floor was a private garage. He kept his car there. And he had a few other friends who were paying $75 a month to garage their cars there. I jumped on board for the same price. Often you had to move someone else's car (maybe two) to get yours out. A little bit of a hassle, yes, but infinitely better than travelling to NJ, Westchester or LI just to retrieve a car kept at the parents' house. And I could count my parking savings every single month. Only in NYC, right? It worked beautifully for 5 years that way, until I moved to the burbs myself. I was very lucky to get in on that parking deal (people in other parts of the country may wonder what could be so great about paying $75 a month for such a setup, but anyone in Manhattan will know immediately what a steal it was). But the point of this story isn't to make you envious or to brag about my good fortune. My point is, even when I really needed a car I was realistic about the associated costs and realized that I STILL needed a special deal to handle the parking end of it. $300 a month+/- is a chunk of change. It's like financing or leasing another car! I'm not trying to convince you to not get that car you want. God knows the joy of owning and driving an A4 can outweigh a host of other burdens. But if all the ongoing costs in the aggregate (and let's not forget insurance) mean you can't afford to spend a weekend away playing at the casinos whenever you want, or to have that summer share in the Hamptons, or to take those skiing trips out west, or to do (or buy) whatever else makes you happy, well, is it worth it? Especially when you can rent everything from an Escort to a Bentley right there in Manhattan whenever you want to? Have you even investigated what weekend renting would cost, based on your predicted use? Sorry to sound so paternal, but my bottom line advice is: put it all in perspective, decide what your priorities really are and make the decision that's right for YOU. Sorry this ended up so long, but your situation brought back a lot of memories. Good luck!
Rick

I don't know how far your parents live in the suburbs, but taking a train to pick up the car could be a pain.

If you don't drive much and the car is not garaged nearby, renting a nice car for weekend getaways seems a good idea.

Nozomi, living in NYC and working outside of the city

All that old Detroit marketing about having your own car, getting out on the open road, cruising around with your friends, the personal freedom, blah blah blah blah, it's all true. I was the biggest public transportation freak around for a while, but I finally broke down and got an A4 so I could escape from the city every so often, it makes a big difference in your life and you'll start to use the car for everything.

But be prepared for all your anti-car friends to be asking for rides!

I have an Audi 2.8q here in Manhattan. I pay $400/month for parking. I bought it for weekend use and I find it is the rare weekend that I actually use it. I haven't even seen it for a month now, which is typical. Do I regret it? Not at all. My income is several times yours so there is no downside for me. When I do use it, I enjoy it and that is all that matters. If I were you, I would wait a few years and only do it when it is easily affordable. I lived here for years without a car and it was great. Find a cheaper hobby for now (get an Italian bicycle for $2500).

As to Audi versus BMW, they both seem great to me. I wanted quattro for those winter trips to Vermont. Also, there seem to be millions of BMWs in NYC so it could be hard to tell which one is yours.

I live in Los Angeles and have a grocery getter plus two sports cars. Plus my wife's SUV baby hauler. But if I lived in New York, no way I'd own anything.

Save the money til you can move to Scarsdale. Find a place that will rent you exotic cars...here in LA we can rent a TT, a Ferrari, a Porsche, a Viper, anything you could possibly want. I'm sure the same thing is available in NY.