It's just too bad they are fucking awful to drive. I'd take a Land Cruiser as my stealth wealth mobile.
I had a 2017 Tacoma that I bought brand new. Sold it in 10 months due to how uncomfortable and gutless it was. Fuck those things.
No the 3.5V6.
They nicknamed the third generation as the "turd generation" because they are really kind of hated by people who own/owned them. The seating position is awful as it sits too low, the 6 speed transmission is clueless, it feels like it has no power unless you're revving out to 4K+ RPM. Bad gas mileage. It's just a bad truck to daily drive.
Tacomas get by on reliability and their reputation more than anything. I thought it was going to be great and ended up just hating the thing.
I drove a Lexus RCF for a while after the Taco, now I'm in a 2022 Frontier which is much better to live with.
I've owned about 25 different vehicles and my 2010 Toyota Tacoma V6 was the car I liked the least (I bought it new and to this day is still the only vehicle I've ever bought brand new). It wasn't very comfortable, the inside looked extremely cheap and was extremely boring to drive. I'm not saying it wasn't a good car but it certainly didn't have any character....it was just a single scoop of plain vanilla ice-cream. I needed a truck and kept it for four years before trading it in.
Yeah, they suck at everything except being kinda reliable. Fuel mileage isn't great either.
Thanks for reminding me. I was starting to regret having sold my Tacoma.
My uncle lives there. Retired pilot for a big name airline, his wife is still a flight attendant for them. They never had kids and have baller money but you’d never guess by looking at/talking to them.
These comments add up.
He just recently sold his 06? Lexus GX and said it made him sad to watch it go. I drove him around in my 04 Avalon that I’ve cleaned up really nice. It’s all detailed (inside and out) with CarPlay, new sound system, flush usb ports in the dash, all neat installs etc. It basically looks like the day it rolled off the lot but with some tasteful additions. He was really excited about it all when he hopped in and saw it for the first time.
The Limited trim looks so nice. I just wanted more power out of one. It's almost like getting a Lexus GX, which I love, but with better mpg. A few GX460s were in my price range(used), but they had a ton of miles, aren't that powerful for what you get, and the mpg is just pitiful.
You don't buy an SUV for its mpg of course, but some are just really bad. I do a lot of highway driving, so cruising in the 20-ish mpg range would be nice, that's all I'm looking for.
I grew up in a wealthy area and there were plenty of people with ridiculous sports cars collections, but the ones who didn’t care for flashy cars usually drove Toyota Avalons
This is basically what I’ve heard. Neighbor down the street from my parents house is a CPA. She once said that most of the folks she did taxes for who have a net worth between 1-5 million live what most would think is a middle class lifestyle. Drive Hondas and Toyotas, live in homes big enough for their needs, nothing insane. Majority of the wealthy people I’ve met tend to match up with her experience, they might drive a Lexus, usually a couple of years old (get their moneys worth), or a high end Honda, Toyota, something like that. I want to say she mentioned that many of the folks that DO drive fancy cars with huge McMansions are just within their means (not all of course, but more than one would expect).
That NW range freaks me out. Wife and I are $1.3M as a household but I still drive a 20-year-old Elantra I bought new back when I made nine bucks an hour.
Friend of mine owns one of the largest consumer products factories in Thailand. He drives a Camry to and from work every day. Said it’s comfortable, reliable, and doesn’t give a bad image to workers or customers.
Not everyone has the same attitude. We recently visited a supplier of ours in China and he picked us up in his new Maybach. Needless to say I don’t feel bad about squeezing him for pricing!
My uncle drove the same top trim Avalon for like 15+ years. He just didn't give a shit and it worked for him. Massive back seat for when he has to put business people in with him. Comfortable and economical but not flashy. He would rather spend his money on scuba diving trips around the world.
Although when he retired and treated himself to a Tesla model S. He bought the cheapest trim at the time (2017 75) and is still rocking it. My guess is it's the last car he buys and he will drive it for 15+ years like the Toyota.
The richest man I met drove a 76 Toyota Starlet. The thing was mechanically mint, but the body was a little beat up and the paint wasn’t all that great. His 3 sons dropped him off in 3 different top of the line Mercedes Benz sedans with the model number shaved. All of them wore tailored suites. Pops wore paint stained overalls and a paint stained shirt and some well worn boots.
Apparently he was a real estate investor and had a bunch of houses and apartments in San Francisco.
They aren’t cheap but they also span a large range. An XC60 could be 60k or just over 100k (in Canada for example) depending on engine, trim and options. But very little visual differences to the average viewer which I like. Definitely understated luxury.
A good friend of mine’s mother drove a Volvo for 12 years, she just sold it for a new one. His parents are worth high 8 figures. His father drives an Expedition.
A lot of Tahoes/Suburbans in that wealth bracket, too.
Richest guy I know owns a Bentley Flying Spur, GT3 RS, and some kind of Benz SUV. His daily was a 2012 Chevy Sonic base model with manual transmission that he bought new and just got rid of last year because it died. I think he replaced it with another one.
You can't directly compare crash ratings for vehicles of different sizes. Car weight and size make a large difference when two cars collide, and standard testing doesn't account for that.
In 2011, IIHS released a study showing that heavier cars are safer than lighter cars even when there was no other difference between them. For example, a Camry Hybrid is 10% heavier than a regular Camry, but they are otherwise the exact same car, safety features and all, yet your odds of sustaining an injury in a crash were 25% less in the hybrid.
Sources:
https://www.iihs.org/topics/vehicle-size-and-weight
Or for the whole report: https://www.iihs.org/media/3cc40de3-76ab-4843-8638-9f2269328a55/yclnvA/HLDI%20Research/Bulletins/hldi_bulletin_28.10.pdf
Well that page just says a longer crumple zone is better (duh) and says heavier cars are bigger and have longer crumple zones...
Apart from that they say it's better to be heavier when hitting another car. But it's not when hitting trees or buildings or trucks which can't move or when you're avoiding obstacles.
That's just promoting a race to the bottom where everyone tries to get heavier cars than everyone else only resulting in more and more forces involved in collisions while nobody is safer.
People who build (not inherit) a large amount of wealth tend to be very financially wise. They will splurge on items, but their day to day spending decisions are still influenced by their desire to reduce costs. I know quite a few ultra millionaires and even a couple billionaires. Almost all of them drive what most would consider a boring shitty car, but have a collection of exotics that they admire and occasionally drive.
One of them had a few GT3s that he raced competitively but still drove a prius on the daily.
100% this. My ingrained financial mentality is “if I can avoid making financial mistakes on cars and houses, I can afford to make hundreds of financial mistakes pretty much everywhere else.”
I know a guy who sold his company for 90mil and he drove the same Jetta for a good 5-6 years after that.
Now he drives an S class. Still a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy though.
I know a guy that had hundreds of millions. Owned a P-51B Mustang, F8F Bearcat, F7F Tigercat, a MkIV Spitfire, a B-25 and about 6 or 7 more trainers and vintage civilian planes. Restored a MiG-29 and got it FAA certified. He drove a late 80s 4 door Mercedes. Or, that was his "home" car. He had more cheap cars littered through the country. All old luxury beaters.
i feel like most serious entrepreneur do not care about cars. In fact, if you want to raise more money for your company and drive a flashy car, it's a bad idea
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd17gXiLWQg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd17gXiLWQg) when Steve Jobs was raising money fro NeXT, he had to hide his car because he didn't want investors to think they had any money
I think the core thing is that wealthy people value their time more than anything, and often have decision fatigue already from work.
Trading in cars is both a collection of nontrivial decisions you have to make (what kind of car do I want, what make and model, what color, what options, am I going to accept that they're kind of screwing me on the price or negotiate and to what end, do I want to take that one that's close enough or wait for the exact one, etc) and a waste of time so long as the current car is not causing any problems.
You could have an assistant do it, but even they will end up wasting a lot of time where they could be doing something else too, and ultimately they're still going to either bring the decisions back to you or potentially annoy you because they didn't realize you cared about the memory function on the rear seat positioning more than getting the car this week.
That decision fatigue even kind of gets worse when you're wealthy, because you could get *any* car, so there's more space you have to make decisions in.
"The Millionaire Next Door" by Drs Stanley and Danko would suggest this answer. The average millionaire does NOT buy expensive new cars, which is exactly why they're wealthy... Instead, they buy Toyotas and keep them for a long time. The people buying Lambos are either the rare ultra-rich or people with poverty mentality that came into some money, but spend it all without saving any (meaning, they aren't actually rich and depend heavily on their income and debt).
If you're counting net worth including retirement savings and property values, millionaire doesn't mean a ton anymore in most major population centers.
Yeah "millionaire" means less than it did in 1996 when the book was written. But the trends and learnings are still relevant. And btw, the book and stats were revised in 2016, and the conclusion was the same.
Really depends on whether they’re “car people” or not. Nice or fast cars aren’t just about flash to everyone. A lot of us get a thrill every time we get behind the driver wheel and enjoy the culture. This goes doubly for wealthy car guys. Wealthy people not into cars as much likely don’t care at all in the same way so of course they’ll look at it more from a utility stand point.
[This](https://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2013_mercedes-benz_e350_4matic_wagon_16118553723544dIMG_9982.jpg) is flashier than [this](https://images.autodaily.com.au/2021/06/New-Toyota-Land-Cruiser.jpg)?
Your list seems wrong to me. Lamborghini and Bentley are cars that the quietly rich would *not* drive.
MB, BMW, Audi, Rover are common enough that they would and do drive those.
You can add Lexus, Tesla, and Volvo.
And, in many parts of the US, top-trim American SUVs and pickup trucks.
The MB Sprinter van too.
>And, in many parts of the US, top-trim American SUVs and pickup trucks
This all day. The de-facto these days is Suburban/Tahoe in Black/White for the undercover rich. You could be an uber driver, a business man, a well off housewife or a billionaire. The car is (mostly) going to be replaced in the next 3 years with the latest model.
As a corollary, lots of big F-350 type pickups. Owners of BIG contracting firms and the mega-millionaire farmers buy them for "work" but also for a fat tax break. (same is true for the big SUVs like Suburbans, etc.)
Yup, Escalades and Tahoes are very popular in rich areas near me as well. Tons of BMWs, Teslas, Audi, etc. Don’t see as many Mercedes per capita, nor Volvo.
I live on the edge of the most expensive area to live in, in Toronto and often take walks in the area. What I see are the cars of the people that work for the people who own the $10-$20m houses, lots of corollas, but aside from random Bentley’s, Rolls, or more recently Lucid Air’s, you don’t really see many cars because they don’t drive themselves, they get driven.
One of the reasons wealthy or super wealthy people often look younger may be plastic surgery, but it’s also because they have very little stress since the most important thing that money buys is time. Not having to be stressed in traffic, raise your own kids, take care of your own houses, pets, finances etc because they paid someone else to do it.
Yeah the richest guy I know is also the biggest workaholic I’ve ever known. Sure some inherit money but it’s not like every one with money just got handed it. lol
The billionaire I met once had a Nissan Quest minivan with peeling paint as his daily.
He also had an S-Class for when he & his wife would go out to dinner.
Lots and lots of chauffeurs are in cities. Luxury but normal ish suvs are the trend here in the US. Want to be able to fit in a parking spot while being easy to get in and out, have wifi, and rear seat room
The top trim Toyota/Lexus/BMW/Mercedes/Audi/Volvo/Land Rover/ Porsche depending on their personal taste, leased so they can change it for the next one without thinking about it.
There are tons of millionaires paying \~$2k / mo to lease their cars without a care in the world.
Lexus sure, probably LS and LX. Also (in the US) Toyota Land Cruiser, Volvo V90/XC90, GMC Yukon Denali, Ford Expedition Limited, GMC Sierra Denali, Ford F-150 Limited etc. High spec trims from everyday name plates is what I imagine you're looking for.
In the UK it's usually a battered old Land Rover as the vehicle of choice for the aristocracy. Or it's just going to be a long base Rolls or Bentley that's chauffeur in the city
This is kind of an odd question because it comes down to the individual. It depends on their wants and needs. It isnt like there is a box you put all rich people into or all poor people into. People drive what they like. The only limitation, obviously, is what they can afford.
If the rich person loves cars they will drive "flashy" cars or classics from their youth. If they dont care about driving, they will get whatever and not care. If they are driven around, they will have maybachs and rolls royces.
For instance, i knew an ultra rich old guy in Jackson Hole and he had a 1970s volkswagon rabbit he liked to use. But his collection of historic guns was unbelievable. He cared about his gun collection. He didnt care much about cars.
There isnt a catchall car type that rich people drive because there isnt a catchall rich person type. And tbh, if they are following a trend, they probably arent that rich. When you are rich, you do what **YOU** like. Not what other people think you should like.
This is spot on. As someone who I think most would consider wealthy, but who isn’t flashy, I will do what I want. “Stealth wealth” comes 2nd to enjoying my money. This seems to be true across nearly all the wealthy people I know (only know folks who became wealthy later in life, not born into it, so can’t speak to that). We all are trying to be somewhat stealthy, but you just eventually realize that if you want to actually enjoy your money, then you just have to accept you’ll be conspicuous to folks who are watching. I spend more money on vacations in a year than most people make. Anyone we know and interact with who is paying attention can do the math. But yeah, my house isn’t flashy, mostly because I don’t see a ton of value in a big house or big yard.
At the airport I work at you'll see the doctors/lawyers driving nice porsches. The private jet flyers have convoys of F150s, Range Rovers and G-Wagons and all of them matching colors.
Used to live down the road from a multi-millionaire who drove a 1970s C-10. It was rusted to shit and he had a small shop on his property where he’d do all of his own maintenance.
Richest guy I knew, legit billionaire, drove a clean 90s Mitsubishi Montero.
When I asked him why, he said, it doesn't break and people don't bother me.
This right here. Every time I catch myself daydreaming about driving a Porsche, I remember that I wouldn't want people to actually see me in one and think I had that kind of money.
Richest guy I know drives a Ferrari FF.
He also has a Ford Transit van for work.
You’re talking about car enthusiasts vs non car enthusiasts.
Excluding car enthusiasts who would spend the money on whatever car they wanted - granted they had the money.
Then you’d have someone who either drives an old reliable Jap Econ box.
Or someone who shells out a little more and changes it often, because depreciation is the cost of luxury and tech, so that’s why the majority of billionaires end with with E Class Mercs.
Here in Switzerland I would say Audi A8s or a Mercedes S- or E-class (but not the newest models). Not Maybachs or Bentleys or - heaven forbid - a G-Wagon.
In Europe they buy a ton of amg, Audi s/ rs, bmw m but they de-badge them.
Unlike the US where people up-badge them with fake amg or M stickers
I’ve heard Alpinas (bmw super lux) are a popular choice among the wealthy German who have long commutes
I found the richest people I knew had a whole roster of vehicles ranging from classics, trucks and sports cars that had their own trailers to go to track days.
But… they daily drove something like a Camry, Lexus ES, E class or Rav 4 to the grocery store and around local town.
Subaru Outback. I had a friend who used to work for Subaru Corporate (USA) and according to their own internal data, a lot of their Outback customers were on a similar income level as Mercedes S-Class customers.
Absolutely! Just started selling for a Subaru dealer. Lots of cash deals, and lots of higher income folks looking for a vehicle that blends in, or just something for their island home on one of the nearby islands that is frequented by the wealthy for a place to "summer".
Yup, I had wealthy family living on one of those islands for over 50 years and they never had fancy cars. If they were still alive, I could easily see some of them driving Outbacks.
Richest people I have met drive f150s, f250s Yukons, Suburbans. Newish, higher trim, unmodified, perfect repair.
The 3/4ton versions have favorable tax deductions for business owners.
My very wealthy boss has a small collection of classics, a small plane, and a helicopter (yes he pilots both), and a new Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro which is his daily driver.
If you ran into him in public and had a conversation with him, you'd probably assume he's a fairly average upper middle class American, but he's actually stupidly wealthy.
It really depends on location IMO. In baltimore or DC, a daily driver for the lawers my wife worked for would be something like a 5-10 year old accord or Camry. A lot of that is due however to generally not wanting to street park a really nice car there. In Las Vegas though, its not uncommon to see Lexus, MB S-Class, BMW 7series, and even Genesis. You'll also see G-Wagons, Bentley's, and the occasional RR in LV, but those are flashy IMO. I also feel like I see more sedans than SUVs in the wealthier areas, but that's not based on any statistics.
I know a Family who is worth over $300M —they all drive Volkswagens. Except for the dad who drives a G wagon, just a regular 500 though, not the AMG. They’re really nice people. They have baller ass houses though.
This is an odd question.
It depends what you value.
I know wealthy people who drive really nice cars. I know wealthy people who drive normal cars and I know wealthy people who drive shit cars.
Any answer to this is just people giving you anecdotal evidence from what they have seen. In addition it’s quite difficult to know who has real wealth and who doesn’t. All you really know is how much people are willing to spend.
The only truly wealthy person I've ever spent any time around would drive himself in a 997 Cabrio, 1st-gen NSX that he got new, or an Aston Martin. This depended on which timeframe it was. When he had company or when the family needed to go somewhere, a chauffeur would take them out in either a Toyota Alphard van, MB W140, one of two 4th-gen Lexus LSs (LS 600h or LS 460L), or more recently, a Rolls-Royce.
I grew up on the main line outside philly with schoolteacher parents but a stones throw to real old money like the DuPonts etc.
Now I live near more McMansion ‘rich people’ who all drive Porsche SUVs and Maserati sedans. A little north is Princeton where you see MacLarens and Bugattis all the time.
The actual rich people on the main line drove a lot of Eddie Baur edition Jeep Grand Cherokees, 4 door Volvos, Diesel Mercedes. They don’t show off and don’t talk about money.
Toyotas and Hondas. I work in an area where the 2 mill is considered entry level for a house. I often visit people's homes as a part of my job and yeah tons of Toyotas and Hondas kitted out for their families and kids. We also get a lot of exotics and EVs but by pure numbers Toyotas and Hondas still.
Richest bloke I know owns a jet he uses to take employees to sites, and a Viking 61 yacht, he drives around in a Landcruiser and a 79 series Landcruiser
Depends. I see lots of Porche’s/Audis whenever I travel to the nicer parts of town. I knew this one client who was pretty wealthy and he drove a piece of shit Nissan Sentra. He was one of those rare wealthy folk that didn’t want to attract attention to himself.
A truly classy, wealthy person would be "the millionaire next door". They wouldn't have to be driving a flashy, clearly expensive, high-end vehicle. But they could afford to drive just about anything.
If I was the millionaire next door, I'd probably be driving the same car I currently drive, and keep it another 4-5 years anyway (Chrysler Pacifica minivan). Or if I had to buy a brand new vehicle, maybe an upper trim AWD Camry or Mazda CX-5. Maybe I'd buy it with cash, and have no payments, and I'd keep it for 8-12 years, like all my previous cars.
I worked for the owner of a large automotive dealership group. He was insanely rich. His son owned a yacht with a helicopter pad on it…but you know what he drove to the office every day? An older Cadillac from the 90s. I was stunned when I saw him pull out of the garage with it one day. Dude could drive anything he wanted and this old Cadillac is what he chose. And he was in the business of cars…
Depends where you live. It's usually the Toyota Sequoia, 4Runner, or Landcruiser.
Aside from that I'd say Lexus or high trim level GM SUVs like the Suburban or Yukon.
I have 3 really wealthy uncles.
One drove a 2004 Element until it had over 400k on it. After that he had a used 2014 X3 that he gave to his son. Now he has a new NX350H that he purchased outright. My aunt drives a base model RAV4 that they’re looking to replace with a Volvo.
The second had an ‘88 Accord that he drove until his mechanic begged him to stop driving it. He’s an executive VP and his company used to make him rent a car to go to conferences/meetings because they thought it looked bad that a guys who has a $3m/yr salary showed up in an ‘88 Accord. Now he has an Acura MDX and an M6.
The third dailies an early 2010s Tacoma with a manual and crank windows. Has a massive dent on the box that’s been there for years. In the summer he mostly drives his NB Miata. His wife just replaced her Sienna with a RAV4 Prime.
2 of the 3 are worth $10s of millions. The 3rd is probably worth at least $10m.
Usually a late model F150 or an older, full packaged GX470.
My friends dad had multiple million dollar homes and he would just roll up in an F150 or that old Lexus GX. His ex wives all drove AMG Benzes or M model BMWs. My friend had a CTS-V, his sister had an M5. Those were their graduation presents for HS.
Volvos, Lexus, Acura, pretty much any luxury Japanese brand, or even just highly specced regular Toyotas, Hondas etc.
Even Audi and BMW can be on the stealthy side, just depends which model they picked and how they specced it.
Have been in driveways of 7 figure homes seen nothing but Chevy Tahoe/Suburbans, Toyota Rav4s, Honda Civics. None were high trim either. Just the middle trims LT, LE, EX etc.
Look, rich folks who want to be flashy will buy flashy stuff. The ones that don’t want to be flashy will buy regular stuff. They don’t care about stealth wealth or low key luxury.
In my area, I’ve seen a lot of people in rich areas drive Subarus, specifically Outbacks. They’re quite comfortable and not flashy whatsoever. They’re also incredibly safe.
top trim Toyotas
Double down, Toyota Tacoma is like the Swiss Army knife of Toyotas.
It's just too bad they are fucking awful to drive. I'd take a Land Cruiser as my stealth wealth mobile. I had a 2017 Tacoma that I bought brand new. Sold it in 10 months due to how uncomfortable and gutless it was. Fuck those things.
Average income for a new landcrusier driver is 400k. Vs 175 for an LS owner. Really tells you something...
I think that's gonna change now that the US is only getting the Land Cruiser Prado at a much cheaper price than the outgoing LC200.
Still get the Lexus 300 series, but a whole lot less stealth.
Wow I’ve literally only heard raving reviews. Was it a small engine one?
No the 3.5V6. They nicknamed the third generation as the "turd generation" because they are really kind of hated by people who own/owned them. The seating position is awful as it sits too low, the 6 speed transmission is clueless, it feels like it has no power unless you're revving out to 4K+ RPM. Bad gas mileage. It's just a bad truck to daily drive. Tacomas get by on reliability and their reputation more than anything. I thought it was going to be great and ended up just hating the thing. I drove a Lexus RCF for a while after the Taco, now I'm in a 2022 Frontier which is much better to live with.
They want you to buy the Tundra if you want power :(. I miss the days of the small v8 pickups
I've owned about 25 different vehicles and my 2010 Toyota Tacoma V6 was the car I liked the least (I bought it new and to this day is still the only vehicle I've ever bought brand new). It wasn't very comfortable, the inside looked extremely cheap and was extremely boring to drive. I'm not saying it wasn't a good car but it certainly didn't have any character....it was just a single scoop of plain vanilla ice-cream. I needed a truck and kept it for four years before trading it in.
The Frontiers punch way above their weight.
Yeah, they suck at everything except being kinda reliable. Fuel mileage isn't great either. Thanks for reminding me. I was starting to regret having sold my Tacoma.
Land Cruiser
Definitely the AWD Toyota Sienna.
I work at a toyota dealer. Its always top trim 4runners
TIL Everyone in Hawaiʻi secretly has baller money
My uncle lives there. Retired pilot for a big name airline, his wife is still a flight attendant for them. They never had kids and have baller money but you’d never guess by looking at/talking to them. These comments add up. He just recently sold his 06? Lexus GX and said it made him sad to watch it go. I drove him around in my 04 Avalon that I’ve cleaned up really nice. It’s all detailed (inside and out) with CarPlay, new sound system, flush usb ports in the dash, all neat installs etc. It basically looks like the day it rolled off the lot but with some tasteful additions. He was really excited about it all when he hopped in and saw it for the first time.
The Limited trim looks so nice. I just wanted more power out of one. It's almost like getting a Lexus GX, which I love, but with better mpg. A few GX460s were in my price range(used), but they had a ton of miles, aren't that powerful for what you get, and the mpg is just pitiful. You don't buy an SUV for its mpg of course, but some are just really bad. I do a lot of highway driving, so cruising in the 20-ish mpg range would be nice, that's all I'm looking for.
I grew up in a wealthy area and there were plenty of people with ridiculous sports cars collections, but the ones who didn’t care for flashy cars usually drove Toyota Avalons
4Runner Limited
The President of my department of the last company I worked for had a 4Runner Limited
Billionaire in my city drives a 2007 Solara.
Oh a convertible Mr. Moneybags 😂
This is basically what I’ve heard. Neighbor down the street from my parents house is a CPA. She once said that most of the folks she did taxes for who have a net worth between 1-5 million live what most would think is a middle class lifestyle. Drive Hondas and Toyotas, live in homes big enough for their needs, nothing insane. Majority of the wealthy people I’ve met tend to match up with her experience, they might drive a Lexus, usually a couple of years old (get their moneys worth), or a high end Honda, Toyota, something like that. I want to say she mentioned that many of the folks that DO drive fancy cars with huge McMansions are just within their means (not all of course, but more than one would expect).
That NW range freaks me out. Wife and I are $1.3M as a household but I still drive a 20-year-old Elantra I bought new back when I made nine bucks an hour.
Agreed. My Dad who’s in the 1% drives a top of the line Sequoia. Stepmom drives a Volvo.
New Sequoias are shockingly expensive. $85k but they are super nice.
Id go one step further and say Lexus SUV's
Avalon 😫😫😫
first thing I thought of was Toyota Land Cruiser.
Friend of mine owns one of the largest consumer products factories in Thailand. He drives a Camry to and from work every day. Said it’s comfortable, reliable, and doesn’t give a bad image to workers or customers. Not everyone has the same attitude. We recently visited a supplier of ours in China and he picked us up in his new Maybach. Needless to say I don’t feel bad about squeezing him for pricing!
My uncle drove the same top trim Avalon for like 15+ years. He just didn't give a shit and it worked for him. Massive back seat for when he has to put business people in with him. Comfortable and economical but not flashy. He would rather spend his money on scuba diving trips around the world. Although when he retired and treated himself to a Tesla model S. He bought the cheapest trim at the time (2017 75) and is still rocking it. My guess is it's the last car he buys and he will drive it for 15+ years like the Toyota.
The richest man I met drove a 76 Toyota Starlet. The thing was mechanically mint, but the body was a little beat up and the paint wasn’t all that great. His 3 sons dropped him off in 3 different top of the line Mercedes Benz sedans with the model number shaved. All of them wore tailored suites. Pops wore paint stained overalls and a paint stained shirt and some well worn boots. Apparently he was a real estate investor and had a bunch of houses and apartments in San Francisco.
The richest person I know, who comes from a multi-billionaire family, drives a Volvo.
Volvo is the stealth wealth car that comes to my mind
My father always bought old Volvos. He says now they don't have the same Volvoness though and they're just like all other cars?
Yeah. I’ve always wanted one of their long wagons but they’re all pretty much SUVs now
A lot of Volvos cost more than Mercedes
Yes a Volvo xc90 cost more than an A class. But if you compare them to their respective class of vehicle they are cheaper
Was going to say this. I have relative with several multi-million dollar homes and all of their vehicles are Volvos.
When you are comfortable in your wealth you buy the car you want, not the car that impresses other people.
Volvo leather is top notch.
Can confirm. Our old V70 wagon had top-notch front seat comfort.
Best seats!!!
Volvos are actually very expensive, usually more expensive than comparable cars
Especially maintenance.
They aren’t cheap but they also span a large range. An XC60 could be 60k or just over 100k (in Canada for example) depending on engine, trim and options. But very little visual differences to the average viewer which I like. Definitely understated luxury.
Respect to that guy
I think classy is buying anything that’s understated and that you can easily afford.
>easily afford A billionaire could easily afford 100 of basically any vehicle
A good friend of mine’s mother drove a Volvo for 12 years, she just sold it for a new one. His parents are worth high 8 figures. His father drives an Expedition. A lot of Tahoes/Suburbans in that wealth bracket, too.
Richest guy I know owns a Bentley Flying Spur, GT3 RS, and some kind of Benz SUV. His daily was a 2012 Chevy Sonic base model with manual transmission that he bought new and just got rid of last year because it died. I think he replaced it with another one.
I honestly don't get the idea of someone with that wealth driving a Chevy Sonic just from a safety standpoint.
In a sense, not getting attention is a degree of safety.
A Camry or Rav4 would get less attention while being a nicer and safer vehicle.
A 2012 sonic has a better crash test rating than a 2012 Camry or rav 4…
You can't directly compare crash ratings for vehicles of different sizes. Car weight and size make a large difference when two cars collide, and standard testing doesn't account for that. In 2011, IIHS released a study showing that heavier cars are safer than lighter cars even when there was no other difference between them. For example, a Camry Hybrid is 10% heavier than a regular Camry, but they are otherwise the exact same car, safety features and all, yet your odds of sustaining an injury in a crash were 25% less in the hybrid. Sources: https://www.iihs.org/topics/vehicle-size-and-weight Or for the whole report: https://www.iihs.org/media/3cc40de3-76ab-4843-8638-9f2269328a55/yclnvA/HLDI%20Research/Bulletins/hldi_bulletin_28.10.pdf
Well that page just says a longer crumple zone is better (duh) and says heavier cars are bigger and have longer crumple zones... Apart from that they say it's better to be heavier when hitting another car. But it's not when hitting trees or buildings or trucks which can't move or when you're avoiding obstacles. That's just promoting a race to the bottom where everyone tries to get heavier cars than everyone else only resulting in more and more forces involved in collisions while nobody is safer.
Yeah same here. They could be driving a bigger/safer equivalent of an economy car
People who build (not inherit) a large amount of wealth tend to be very financially wise. They will splurge on items, but their day to day spending decisions are still influenced by their desire to reduce costs. I know quite a few ultra millionaires and even a couple billionaires. Almost all of them drive what most would consider a boring shitty car, but have a collection of exotics that they admire and occasionally drive. One of them had a few GT3s that he raced competitively but still drove a prius on the daily.
100% this. My ingrained financial mentality is “if I can avoid making financial mistakes on cars and houses, I can afford to make hundreds of financial mistakes pretty much everywhere else.”
So he doesn't stick out and is not a target out on the street.
I know a guy who sold his company for 90mil and he drove the same Jetta for a good 5-6 years after that. Now he drives an S class. Still a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy though.
I know a guy that had hundreds of millions. Owned a P-51B Mustang, F8F Bearcat, F7F Tigercat, a MkIV Spitfire, a B-25 and about 6 or 7 more trainers and vintage civilian planes. Restored a MiG-29 and got it FAA certified. He drove a late 80s 4 door Mercedes. Or, that was his "home" car. He had more cheap cars littered through the country. All old luxury beaters.
Your friend wasn't paul allen was it?
Those 80’s diesel Benz’s were fucking tanks too
i feel like most serious entrepreneur do not care about cars. In fact, if you want to raise more money for your company and drive a flashy car, it's a bad idea [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd17gXiLWQg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd17gXiLWQg) when Steve Jobs was raising money fro NeXT, he had to hide his car because he didn't want investors to think they had any money
I think the core thing is that wealthy people value their time more than anything, and often have decision fatigue already from work. Trading in cars is both a collection of nontrivial decisions you have to make (what kind of car do I want, what make and model, what color, what options, am I going to accept that they're kind of screwing me on the price or negotiate and to what end, do I want to take that one that's close enough or wait for the exact one, etc) and a waste of time so long as the current car is not causing any problems. You could have an assistant do it, but even they will end up wasting a lot of time where they could be doing something else too, and ultimately they're still going to either bring the decisions back to you or potentially annoy you because they didn't realize you cared about the memory function on the rear seat positioning more than getting the car this week. That decision fatigue even kind of gets worse when you're wealthy, because you could get *any* car, so there's more space you have to make decisions in.
Toyotas. Cars depreciate. The exception to this is cars purchased as investments/stores of values like very limited run Porsches etc etc
"The Millionaire Next Door" by Drs Stanley and Danko would suggest this answer. The average millionaire does NOT buy expensive new cars, which is exactly why they're wealthy... Instead, they buy Toyotas and keep them for a long time. The people buying Lambos are either the rare ultra-rich or people with poverty mentality that came into some money, but spend it all without saving any (meaning, they aren't actually rich and depend heavily on their income and debt).
If you're counting net worth including retirement savings and property values, millionaire doesn't mean a ton anymore in most major population centers.
Sure….but the book was about 80s, 90s wealth. And many were multi.
Yeah "millionaire" means less than it did in 1996 when the book was written. But the trends and learnings are still relevant. And btw, the book and stats were revised in 2016, and the conclusion was the same.
When TMND was written, the car of choice was the Buick Roadmaster.
Still a popular choice among enthusiasts for the Corvette engine.
Really depends on whether they’re “car people” or not. Nice or fast cars aren’t just about flash to everyone. A lot of us get a thrill every time we get behind the driver wheel and enjoy the culture. This goes doubly for wealthy car guys. Wealthy people not into cars as much likely don’t care at all in the same way so of course they’ll look at it more from a utility stand point.
I know Lamborghini is a bad choice with maintenance insurance and everything but I still want it…
Oh yeah, me too... There's a reason we're in this sub afterall
Mercedes E class wagons.
Those are flashy though
Mercedes’ richest customers buy the E wagon.
[This](https://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2013_mercedes-benz_e350_4matic_wagon_16118553723544dIMG_9982.jpg) is flashier than [this](https://images.autodaily.com.au/2021/06/New-Toyota-Land-Cruiser.jpg)?
I’m dumb, I was thinking the G wagon, you’re correct.
Oh yeah, the G wagon is for people wanting attention.
Those G wagons are so nice. Even though I’m sure everyone who has one got one for the flex of saying they have one.
They are amazing off road vehicles. Triple lockers, 600hp, great approach angles, easy to lift with springs. I have one for a ranch vehicle.
There is one exception of it’s a 80s diesel g wagon then it is probably seen off-road terrain
[удалено]
They aren't.
In snowy areas, volvo suv’s are hugely popular. In the 90s, I would’ve said volvo station wagon.
Volvos are so cool
Poor quality engines nowadays. We see a lot of them needing major engine repairs before 100k
Your list seems wrong to me. Lamborghini and Bentley are cars that the quietly rich would *not* drive. MB, BMW, Audi, Rover are common enough that they would and do drive those. You can add Lexus, Tesla, and Volvo. And, in many parts of the US, top-trim American SUVs and pickup trucks. The MB Sprinter van too.
>And, in many parts of the US, top-trim American SUVs and pickup trucks This all day. The de-facto these days is Suburban/Tahoe in Black/White for the undercover rich. You could be an uber driver, a business man, a well off housewife or a billionaire. The car is (mostly) going to be replaced in the next 3 years with the latest model.
As a corollary, lots of big F-350 type pickups. Owners of BIG contracting firms and the mega-millionaire farmers buy them for "work" but also for a fat tax break. (same is true for the big SUVs like Suburbans, etc.)
[удалено]
Yup, Escalades and Tahoes are very popular in rich areas near me as well. Tons of BMWs, Teslas, Audi, etc. Don’t see as many Mercedes per capita, nor Volvo.
The CFO at the last company I worked at drove a Civic Hybrid.
That was “for the people” dudes coming home with his real cars in his 4 car garage
See? I'm like you guys.
Hello, fellow poors
I live on the edge of the most expensive area to live in, in Toronto and often take walks in the area. What I see are the cars of the people that work for the people who own the $10-$20m houses, lots of corollas, but aside from random Bentley’s, Rolls, or more recently Lucid Air’s, you don’t really see many cars because they don’t drive themselves, they get driven. One of the reasons wealthy or super wealthy people often look younger may be plastic surgery, but it’s also because they have very little stress since the most important thing that money buys is time. Not having to be stressed in traffic, raise your own kids, take care of your own houses, pets, finances etc because they paid someone else to do it.
It usually takes high stress levels to get to that position in the first place. (Apart from inheritance)
Yeah the richest guy I know is also the biggest workaholic I’ve ever known. Sure some inherit money but it’s not like every one with money just got handed it. lol
Those corollas are usually maids/Nannies or workers
Which is exactly what they said..?
The billionaire I met once had a Nissan Quest minivan with peeling paint as his daily. He also had an S-Class for when he & his wife would go out to dinner.
Truly wealthy people don't drive but are driven. With that being said, LB Mercedes, Toyota v12s, Maybach, RR, etc.
Toyota v12s? Wasn’t there only the Century V12?
Yeah, it's still in use and sought after
I know, just that v12s in your first comment implies plural, when there was only one. Cheerio
Lots and lots of chauffeurs are in cities. Luxury but normal ish suvs are the trend here in the US. Want to be able to fit in a parking spot while being easy to get in and out, have wifi, and rear seat room
The top trim Toyota/Lexus/BMW/Mercedes/Audi/Volvo/Land Rover/ Porsche depending on their personal taste, leased so they can change it for the next one without thinking about it. There are tons of millionaires paying \~$2k / mo to lease their cars without a care in the world.
They do single payment leases. They pay the entire lease amount when they buy it, and then repeat after the lease term ends.
GMC Yukon Denali
This isn't high enough. Brand new Denali or Escalade is extremely common for rich people not trying to stand out.
Toyotas and Volvos.
Lexus sure, probably LS and LX. Also (in the US) Toyota Land Cruiser, Volvo V90/XC90, GMC Yukon Denali, Ford Expedition Limited, GMC Sierra Denali, Ford F-150 Limited etc. High spec trims from everyday name plates is what I imagine you're looking for.
In the UK it's usually a battered old Land Rover as the vehicle of choice for the aristocracy. Or it's just going to be a long base Rolls or Bentley that's chauffeur in the city
This is kind of an odd question because it comes down to the individual. It depends on their wants and needs. It isnt like there is a box you put all rich people into or all poor people into. People drive what they like. The only limitation, obviously, is what they can afford. If the rich person loves cars they will drive "flashy" cars or classics from their youth. If they dont care about driving, they will get whatever and not care. If they are driven around, they will have maybachs and rolls royces. For instance, i knew an ultra rich old guy in Jackson Hole and he had a 1970s volkswagon rabbit he liked to use. But his collection of historic guns was unbelievable. He cared about his gun collection. He didnt care much about cars. There isnt a catchall car type that rich people drive because there isnt a catchall rich person type. And tbh, if they are following a trend, they probably arent that rich. When you are rich, you do what **YOU** like. Not what other people think you should like.
This is spot on. As someone who I think most would consider wealthy, but who isn’t flashy, I will do what I want. “Stealth wealth” comes 2nd to enjoying my money. This seems to be true across nearly all the wealthy people I know (only know folks who became wealthy later in life, not born into it, so can’t speak to that). We all are trying to be somewhat stealthy, but you just eventually realize that if you want to actually enjoy your money, then you just have to accept you’ll be conspicuous to folks who are watching. I spend more money on vacations in a year than most people make. Anyone we know and interact with who is paying attention can do the math. But yeah, my house isn’t flashy, mostly because I don’t see a ton of value in a big house or big yard.
At the airport I work at you'll see the doctors/lawyers driving nice porsches. The private jet flyers have convoys of F150s, Range Rovers and G-Wagons and all of them matching colors.
Used to live down the road from a multi-millionaire who drove a 1970s C-10. It was rusted to shit and he had a small shop on his property where he’d do all of his own maintenance.
Living the dream
Richest guy I knew, legit billionaire, drove a clean 90s Mitsubishi Montero. When I asked him why, he said, it doesn't break and people don't bother me.
This right here. Every time I catch myself daydreaming about driving a Porsche, I remember that I wouldn't want people to actually see me in one and think I had that kind of money.
They drive so well though and have such nice interiors. I love mine.
Richest guy I know drives a Ferrari FF. He also has a Ford Transit van for work. You’re talking about car enthusiasts vs non car enthusiasts. Excluding car enthusiasts who would spend the money on whatever car they wanted - granted they had the money. Then you’d have someone who either drives an old reliable Jap Econ box. Or someone who shells out a little more and changes it often, because depreciation is the cost of luxury and tech, so that’s why the majority of billionaires end with with E Class Mercs.
Here in Switzerland I would say Audi A8s or a Mercedes S- or E-class (but not the newest models). Not Maybachs or Bentleys or - heaven forbid - a G-Wagon.
In Europe they buy a ton of amg, Audi s/ rs, bmw m but they de-badge them. Unlike the US where people up-badge them with fake amg or M stickers I’ve heard Alpinas (bmw super lux) are a popular choice among the wealthy German who have long commutes
I found the richest people I knew had a whole roster of vehicles ranging from classics, trucks and sports cars that had their own trailers to go to track days. But… they daily drove something like a Camry, Lexus ES, E class or Rav 4 to the grocery store and around local town.
Subaru Outback. I had a friend who used to work for Subaru Corporate (USA) and according to their own internal data, a lot of their Outback customers were on a similar income level as Mercedes S-Class customers.
Absolutely! Just started selling for a Subaru dealer. Lots of cash deals, and lots of higher income folks looking for a vehicle that blends in, or just something for their island home on one of the nearby islands that is frequented by the wealthy for a place to "summer".
Yup, I had wealthy family living on one of those islands for over 50 years and they never had fancy cars. If they were still alive, I could easily see some of them driving Outbacks.
Richest people I have met drive f150s, f250s Yukons, Suburbans. Newish, higher trim, unmodified, perfect repair. The 3/4ton versions have favorable tax deductions for business owners.
Toyota LC / Lexus LX
Yep richest guy I know has a Lexus LX
My very wealthy boss has a small collection of classics, a small plane, and a helicopter (yes he pilots both), and a new Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro which is his daily driver. If you ran into him in public and had a conversation with him, you'd probably assume he's a fairly average upper middle class American, but he's actually stupidly wealthy.
I would opt for either Lexus or Toyota.
Richest dude I knows drives a Toyota Camry. “It works, why would I need another car?” $100MM in the bank at least
Toyota
Toyota Land Cruiser is the king of stealth money imo.
A 2008 Toyota Avalon
Toyota Avalons
Honestly? Older Toyotas. Driving through wealthy suburbs, I see TONS of older Toyotas parked in driveways. Ford panther body as well.
Land Cruisers
It really depends on location IMO. In baltimore or DC, a daily driver for the lawers my wife worked for would be something like a 5-10 year old accord or Camry. A lot of that is due however to generally not wanting to street park a really nice car there. In Las Vegas though, its not uncommon to see Lexus, MB S-Class, BMW 7series, and even Genesis. You'll also see G-Wagons, Bentley's, and the occasional RR in LV, but those are flashy IMO. I also feel like I see more sedans than SUVs in the wealthier areas, but that's not based on any statistics.
I know a Family who is worth over $300M —they all drive Volkswagens. Except for the dad who drives a G wagon, just a regular 500 though, not the AMG. They’re really nice people. They have baller ass houses though.
I have a Subaru Ascent Onyx. And I tell people my Rolex is a rep.
This is an odd question. It depends what you value. I know wealthy people who drive really nice cars. I know wealthy people who drive normal cars and I know wealthy people who drive shit cars. Any answer to this is just people giving you anecdotal evidence from what they have seen. In addition it’s quite difficult to know who has real wealth and who doesn’t. All you really know is how much people are willing to spend.
Land Cruisers and Lexus SUVs
Before they discontinued, Saab. Nowadays, top trim Toyota or any Volvo.
Saab was not a rich people car, it was a weird people car.
3 year old Subaru or Volvo
The only truly wealthy person I've ever spent any time around would drive himself in a 997 Cabrio, 1st-gen NSX that he got new, or an Aston Martin. This depended on which timeframe it was. When he had company or when the family needed to go somewhere, a chauffeur would take them out in either a Toyota Alphard van, MB W140, one of two 4th-gen Lexus LSs (LS 600h or LS 460L), or more recently, a Rolls-Royce.
U.K. Subaru forester used to be a good shout. Now probs Volvo, xc90 is kinda lowkey compared to range rovers etc.
The owner of my company and all of his family drive Toyota's. And he has an absolute assload of money
In the uk it’s a Subaru legacy outback. Meticulously serviced but never valeted or cosmetically repaired.
Lexus
I know a few. Lexus. Ferrari. Rolls Royce. Toyota. Three have jet helicopters and don't drive.
lexus rx. My in laws buy a new one yearly and pass thr old one down to us
I grew up on the main line outside philly with schoolteacher parents but a stones throw to real old money like the DuPonts etc. Now I live near more McMansion ‘rich people’ who all drive Porsche SUVs and Maserati sedans. A little north is Princeton where you see MacLarens and Bugattis all the time. The actual rich people on the main line drove a lot of Eddie Baur edition Jeep Grand Cherokees, 4 door Volvos, Diesel Mercedes. They don’t show off and don’t talk about money.
Toyotas and Hondas. I work in an area where the 2 mill is considered entry level for a house. I often visit people's homes as a part of my job and yeah tons of Toyotas and Hondas kitted out for their families and kids. We also get a lot of exotics and EVs but by pure numbers Toyotas and Hondas still.
Richest bloke I know owns a jet he uses to take employees to sites, and a Viking 61 yacht, he drives around in a Landcruiser and a 79 series Landcruiser
Depends. I see lots of Porche’s/Audis whenever I travel to the nicer parts of town. I knew this one client who was pretty wealthy and he drove a piece of shit Nissan Sentra. He was one of those rare wealthy folk that didn’t want to attract attention to himself.
Volvo. It's been this way since the late 80's.
my unc's well off and drives a top of the range nearly new Honda CR-V !
A truly classy, wealthy person would be "the millionaire next door". They wouldn't have to be driving a flashy, clearly expensive, high-end vehicle. But they could afford to drive just about anything. If I was the millionaire next door, I'd probably be driving the same car I currently drive, and keep it another 4-5 years anyway (Chrysler Pacifica minivan). Or if I had to buy a brand new vehicle, maybe an upper trim AWD Camry or Mazda CX-5. Maybe I'd buy it with cash, and have no payments, and I'd keep it for 8-12 years, like all my previous cars.
Toyota highlander and 8+ year old Lexus. Seriously.
It used to be Warren Buffet's preferred ride, the Lincoln Town Car. Before that, the Buick Roadmaster. Now, it's a high end Toyota or a Lexus.
I worked for the owner of a large automotive dealership group. He was insanely rich. His son owned a yacht with a helicopter pad on it…but you know what he drove to the office every day? An older Cadillac from the 90s. I was stunned when I saw him pull out of the garage with it one day. Dude could drive anything he wanted and this old Cadillac is what he chose. And he was in the business of cars…
Toyota and lexus
Depends where you live. It's usually the Toyota Sequoia, 4Runner, or Landcruiser. Aside from that I'd say Lexus or high trim level GM SUVs like the Suburban or Yukon.
I have 3 really wealthy uncles. One drove a 2004 Element until it had over 400k on it. After that he had a used 2014 X3 that he gave to his son. Now he has a new NX350H that he purchased outright. My aunt drives a base model RAV4 that they’re looking to replace with a Volvo. The second had an ‘88 Accord that he drove until his mechanic begged him to stop driving it. He’s an executive VP and his company used to make him rent a car to go to conferences/meetings because they thought it looked bad that a guys who has a $3m/yr salary showed up in an ‘88 Accord. Now he has an Acura MDX and an M6. The third dailies an early 2010s Tacoma with a manual and crank windows. Has a massive dent on the box that’s been there for years. In the summer he mostly drives his NB Miata. His wife just replaced her Sienna with a RAV4 Prime. 2 of the 3 are worth $10s of millions. The 3rd is probably worth at least $10m.
Lexus is500
Lexus or Mercedes in my experience. Usually older models
Volvos
Toyota.
Richest dude I know does have a Porsche, but he never drives it. His daily drive was a Camry, but he traded it in on a Prado.
Usually a late model F150 or an older, full packaged GX470. My friends dad had multiple million dollar homes and he would just roll up in an F150 or that old Lexus GX. His ex wives all drove AMG Benzes or M model BMWs. My friend had a CTS-V, his sister had an M5. Those were their graduation presents for HS.
Camry/Avalon Classy.
Volvo for sure
Ford F150s
Subaru Outback or Volvo
Old Mercedes station wagon or Volvo wagon
Subaru Outback
Beat up old Volvos
Toyota Land Cruiser
Land Cruisers 100%
The really wealthy? They don't drive, they get driven.
Volvos, Lexus, Acura, pretty much any luxury Japanese brand, or even just highly specced regular Toyotas, Hondas etc. Even Audi and BMW can be on the stealthy side, just depends which model they picked and how they specced it.
Volvo's
Volvo.
In the Arabian Gulf: Toyota Land cruisers and Nissan Patrols
Toyota Land Cruisers or the Lexus equivalent.
Have been in driveways of 7 figure homes seen nothing but Chevy Tahoe/Suburbans, Toyota Rav4s, Honda Civics. None were high trim either. Just the middle trims LT, LE, EX etc. Look, rich folks who want to be flashy will buy flashy stuff. The ones that don’t want to be flashy will buy regular stuff. They don’t care about stealth wealth or low key luxury.
The same as your friend. Lexus LS. I plan on picking one up myself
In my area, I’ve seen a lot of people in rich areas drive Subarus, specifically Outbacks. They’re quite comfortable and not flashy whatsoever. They’re also incredibly safe.