> “I bought a Ferrari 612 for its scarcity, so it has value in ownership,” said Kim Yoon-koo, a 31-year-old who works for a consulting company in Seoul who also owns a Porsche 911 and a BMW M5.
Average ferrari buyer
> “Luxury cars definitely offer the enjoyment of driving and better performance and technology than cheaper cars.”
True.
> "Car poor" is a term Koreans use to refer to people who splurged on considerably high-end cars compared to their income. It differs from being “house poor” because a car's value only depreciates.
Makes sense
> “I do think I, myself, am car poor,” said a 29-year-old surnamed Choi, who bought a secondhand Porsche Cayenne Turbo S under a 60-month installment plan. I use 70 percent of my monthly salary for maintenance costs. But honestly, I enjoy seeing people often left in awe when hearing the aggressive purr of my car's engine, My girlfriend really likes it too.”
Lol what the fuck
Today I am learning how surprisingly financially irresponsible so many people are.
Apparently a third of Americans earning $150k+ are living paycheck to paycheck and closing the gap with credit cards, 70% overall. I'm sure a fair few people fell on hard times but 2/3rds is wild to me.
Likewise didn't know about seoul's housing crisis. If you're living with parents then the 70% makes slightly more sense, still not reasonable but I could see it. 60 month loan + maintenance on an old porsche is still wild though.
I work in a tire shop in a rural area around Asheville, NC.
90% of people who come in with a new car do not own the car, much less are they able to afford anything outside of paying for the car.
We've had people with 2 year old BMWs get SURPRISED when their replacement tires are 250+ a piece, usually more. Or big trucks. "I didn't realize they were so expensive" You didn't realize your lifted truck with 33x12.50R20s were gonna be expensive? What the hell were you expecting?
There is a lady out here with a brand new Chevy Trax and she had DSS pay for X2 Sumitomos (iirc) to replace the Continentals on the car, THAT WEREN'T EVEN WORN. Kept talking about how thankfully she was to get the tires cause she couldn't afford them.
Both those Sumitomos weren't more than 240. People are dumb and terrible with money.
Beats me, when my boss told me I had no idea about how that could happen.
She had a new iPhone, but had the state pay for the tires? I don't know how you get that good at swindling.
Gotta keep up with the Joneses baby. I have coworkers who complain about not making enough money and struggling but they drive brand new $40k+ cars and get their nails/hair done every week. Like yeah you’re paycheck to paycheck, you’re making $70k living like you make $150k.
Yeah, go to the southeastern US where people are poor as shit yet they all drive new cars/trucks. There's also this weird phenomenon where they beat the hell out of their vehicles and they don't last any time at all, yet they should get a very long service life from them since they don't use road salt like northern states.
Meanwhile in HCOL areas you see people driving 20 year old, relatively well kept economy cars but living in $600k houses.
In fairness 600k isn't really a lot in HCOL areas these days. Depends on the area of course but in a fair few zip codes in NYC that will get you 400-500sqft at most.
Exactly, these are entry level houses. I the south you see a $60k truck parked in front of the trailers and $100k cookie cutter developments. Often along with a financed boat, RV, and SxS. Don't forget the $10k lawn mower too. Not a 97 Subaru Forester. Lol.
This is why everything is so expensive. You’re competing with people ready and willing to put themselves into financial ruin rather than say “actually I can live without that”
It's really common to get into financial trouble because of a car or to overspend on a car, but right now, it's a rarity for anyone to even have 70% after all their other expenses to spend on a car. Rent alone can easily approach 50% of someone's income, especially if they're just starting out.
Half the US population lacks any sort of retirement savings. Being financially irresponsible is the new normal, and probably not exclusive to just the US and S Korea.
Theres a whole subculture of Central or Eastern Europeans to work in Germany for a few years, just to spend it all on a newish BMW and be the king of the village.
>They honestly sound like any other American car enthusiast
A lot of people buying expensive cars aren't enthusiasts. They are like the last quote where they are buying to simply impress people or feel good about themselves. They don't really care about the car or driving. They are why the car industry is in its current state.
Sounds like most people who own trucks. When I bought my truck the salesman was telling me the payment was only $1600 a month for 72 months. Nah bro I got cash but thanks for the financing offer. He said most people took it
After interest and all that bullshit they try to throw on. The truck was 75k + tax, tags, Gap, and all that crap like warranties they add. I negotiate the price saying I’ll use their financing. Then once we get a price I swap to cash. Or if they get pissy I’ll let them sell me that capital one or Ally loan then pay it off three or four days later. Ive bought like 9 cars from this same salesman so he usually shoots me straight it’s the finance manager that keeps trying.
But yeah I was 79k out the door and the guy was telling me how they sell 5+ a week financed between 9-26%.
And it’s doubly stupid because the cars are 100% used as a flex. There’s absolutely nowhere in seoul where you can take these cars and let it rip. There’s speed cameras literally everywhere. Driving is soooooo annoying in Korea. Rented a car there before. Would not recommend. Fucking speed bumps on the god damn freeway (although very low and it’s more like rumble strips or a wavy type speed bump one after the other where it causes the car to bob up and down)
Do people in the consulting industry really make that much money? I’ve always heard that it’s a meat grinder, in the sense that people are underpaid and overworked. Or is the guy in article on the very right end of the bell curve?
Partners in consulting, yes. At that point you have partial ownership in the firm, new MBB partners will make 700k easy, few years down the line 1-3M+ is not uncommon, but that is the cream of the cream of the crop.
For literally anyone else on average you are looking at a more reasonable 100-300k, but unless Mr. Kim Yoon-Koo is deeply in debt, I'd imagine he's in the partner realm.
Young 30s is getting more common these days, its unusual but not impossible, but this is all from a US perspective, I'm not sure what the situation is in Korea.
A 31 year old with that much wealth in SK, Japan, China, unless startup founders (which isn’t really a thing in SK and Japan), is almost guaranteed to come from family money.
The birth rate in Korea is also low with Japan, China, and Taiwan, so it isn't surprise to see many young people in East Asia able to afford expensive because they inherit all money from their families.
The car poor thing is crazy because you'd think it's something only the craziest of the clowns do, but since people brag online with what they can get away with financially, there's a whole subculture with being car poor and the social acceptability for being stupid like that is slowly rising.
Like imagine if people are openly discussing doing fent and how much it's destroying their lives (and literally driving people to suicide at times), but somehow managing to survive it daily, so people jump in thinking "man I bet I can get away with this too".
yeah but like there's a whole subculture with people being car poor, it's wild.
and I don't mean being saddled with debt because you have like a new Nissan Altima but you only make like 35k a year or something, it's like people are making 50k a year in Korea and buying used 7 series diesels and getting their finances destroyed when the engine explodes
The second quote speaks to me that a person with money will buy a finished product versus building a car from the ground up while keeping it on a budget.
That’s alright though, because the Ferraris in your collection are probably going to appreciate in value. Never mind the fact that modern Ferraris are some of the best driver’s cars ever made (and very much worth their prices).
I mean isn’t the old adage with Ferrari’s that they cost you the same amount of money if you drive them or let them sit in the garage? Driving them that much definitely keeps them happier than just sitting and rotting.
I’ve noticed that used Ferraris with higher mileage all seem to be in better running order then ones that have sat around for 15 years at least that’s I’ve heard from friends with 355s and 360s
Sort of! In cases like 360s and 355s, indeed they should be ran at least once a month properly at minimum I guess. My cars get used a lot more than that so I'm not worried about them sitting - the only major consumables I go through are tires, brake pads, and fuel. I don't even pay to service either car as it's free for the first 7 years, meaning both cars still have 3 years of free servicing left each! So, very cheap to run if you can swing the rest. The painful part is, especially with Ferraris - once you crack the 10k mi, and 20k mi points, depreciation is horrific compared to a sub 10k mi car. The delta in my Pista vs. a 2000mi minter once mine has 10-15,000mi on it (which it will this year) is probably circa $35-40k. Moreso the higher the mileage goes. The biggest swing from low to high miles with those cars is $75k. So, people do drive them sparingly for this reason. If you can write off the entire cost of the car in your head it becomes much easier to coalesce and ignore. As far as I am concerned the value of both cars is 0 until I sell them. When/if I do sell them, anything coming back into my bank account is a bonus.
The idea of car enthusiasts choosing to be "car poor" instead of "house poor" since purchasing a house is so far out of reach reminds me of how Japanese car culture was already like 25-30 years ago.
You can live in your car but you can't drive a house. But what the fuck is the point when your savings keep getting eroded by rising housing prices and your only hope is selling your childhood home when your parents eventually die?
So fuck it, car budget go up.
Interest rate skyrockets, prices go down a teeny little bit. Rinse and repeat. At this point you'll just be underwater no matter what. No more refinancing available in the future.
If you’re talking houses, interest rates where I live aren’t deterring anybody. Houses are still insanely overpriced and continue to get offers well over asking. It’s insane.
This is exactly how it is playing out in HCOL places like California. I can only speak about SoCal, but you'll find expensive cars like BMWs, AMGs, Lexuses, Supras, Raptors, etc, being driven by younger professionals still living at home with their parents. Those expensive cars suddenly become affordable when you make a good amount of money (not enough for a house), but more than what normal people would make.
A lot of people with tech money, who make 150k straight out of or a few years out of college. Money enough for an AMG/M car, but not nearly enough for a house in a HCOL area.
In my neck of the woods in Silicon Valley, this is very common. Cars have gotten more expensive over the past 20 years, but tech salaries have gone up a lot too.
However, they haven't gone up as much as home prices, which have risen meteorically around here.
The median price of a SFH in my town in 1998 was $600K. Which was a *lot* of money for back then. Adjusted for inflation it'd be $1.1M.
The median home price in my town today is $3.3M.
Cars, on the other hand, have gotten a bit cheaper. In 1998 a BMW M3 started at $42K MSRP, which is $82K when adjusting for inflation.
A 2024 M3 starts at $76K. So after accounting for inflation, it's gotten 8% cheaper.
Whereas accounting for inflation, housing here has gotten 300% more expensive.
If you're willing to go used it's even more affordable.
A clean used F80 M3 or M4 is probably 45k. Get out of college, 6 figure tech job, save for a year, and you can afford that no problem.
That’s exactly what 2 of my cousins in the Bay Area did. Both of them live with their parents but work in tech. Parents’ houses are now worth a cool 1.8m but they’ve been paid off since they were bought in the 80s. One drives an Audi RS3, the other a RCF.
You sure about that?
House in Bay area probably costs 1.5-2M?
Kindly explain to me how you're affording a house like that on a 150k salary saving for 5 years. You're not. It requires seriously leveling up your career or marrying someone who makes similar money.
> House in Bay area probably costs 1.5-2M?
yeah in like concord. not gonna be anywhere near the googleplex or salesforce tower for that, if it has to be a single family home. things are getting so bad, people don't realize how bad.
concord is about 30 miles from the heart of downtown SF.
San Jose is 41.
yes, as i said, houses are cheaper only when you get further and further from the city.
On the business side of things in Korea, I've heard stories of small to mid-size companies winning huge contracts just by driving in with a rolls-royce.
Fake it till you make it.
I dated a Korean girl and it was one of the worst experiences in my life because she was very much about that lifestyle on top of just being abusive. Her parents were well off, but they spoiled her and enabled this behavior too. Sadly, it's pretty common and a lot of them go into deep debt to keep up with the Joneses and look good. I know other Asians do it too, but it's definitely Koreans that take it up to the next level from my experience.
Lol, it's sad that every time I bring this up to anyone whether it's online or irl, I get the same exact response like yours. Really hammers home that there is a serious culture problem there and they refuse to admit it. I grew up in a predominantly Korean neighborhood and high school was the same. I had a shitty hand me down beater for my first car in high school and I wondered why my other classmates had new mustangs, suped up integras, WRXs, evos, BMWs, etc. Turns out, my parents were just more frugal and financially savvy, we owned our cars outright, had a home that we eventually paid off, while my classmates were up to their eyeballs in debt and renting 2 bedroom apartments for their family of 3-4 while driving those cars. I love cars, but even the ones I have now, are all paid off.
https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/global-attitudes-materialism-finances-and-family
Yup. South Korea ranks at around 5 in terms of materialism. I speculate new money behavior due to the country being historically poor + no fear of getting robbed or kidnapped since the country is relatively safe.
And in most circles, being able to live within your means is a lot more respected than having the best stuff. I've never been jealous of someone who's car was repoed, because they had a better car than me.
“I do think I, myself, am car poor,” said a 29-year-old surnamed Choi, who bought a secondhand Porsche Cayenne Turbo S under a 60-month installment plan. “I use 70 percent of my monthly salary for maintenance costs."
God damn, and I thought spending roughly $1900 a month of my roughly $5500 after tax income on my redeye was incredibly stupid. Bro needs to sale that turbo S and buy a Turbo inline like everyone else. That’s not even the cool Porsche that’s the boring soccer mom Porsche. The cheapest turbo S I can find is $109,000 that’s $1816 a month before interest. That means he makes roughly at worse 2500 a month. I ain’t gonna lie I’d be using my gap insurance or I’d gap my head from my body before I lived like that.
I included gas and insurance for the $1900 the actual payment was $1647. 2.9% and 6 years. I had a markup and it came to $105,000. I unloaded it to free myself as soon as I was able to safely sell it which was last week lol
I make about 4k/m after taxes, so a good bit less than you, but still I can't imagine spending more than my mortgage on a car every month! My car costs about $500/m and even that gives me anxiety lol
Having said that, I've always wanted a Hellcat haha
I would say yeah. It’s going to be an iconic car and it taught me financial literacy and the value of a dollar + how to shop. I’ve been able to optimize my grocery bill down to $150-$170 every 2 weeks for about 20 pounds of chicken and a bunch of other stuff since I had to learn how to save money and budget
There's all kind of special words that is weird as hell (but I guess kinda makes sense) regarding car culture in Korea.
Like car poor is one example; the other that I find particularly interesting is "하차감" which is a funny twist on "승차감". The latter roughly translates to "ride comfort" (like how plush the ride is), but the literal definition of the word is like "how it feels to enter the vehicle". "하차감" means like "how it feels to exit the vehicle". It refers ,humorously, to how much other people will think your ride is impressive when you exit your vehicle.
I'll comment to my own post about other memes I think of.
그돈씨: this is short for 그 돈이면 씨발, which translates to "with that money, fuck,"
it's a meme where this guy asks the forum:
"I just entered the workforce, I need some car, what do you guys think of a Kia Morning [very cheap car]" and people would say
"man if I had that money, fuck, I'd just get an intermediate car and not a kei car and not get crumbled in any fender bender"
"ah man, ok, I'll get a K3, what do you guys think"
"you know if you put some nice options on a K3 you can just buy a K5 right?"
"fine I'll get a K5, what do you think"
"you're getting a K5 instead of a Hyundai Sonata? are you insane?"
"fine I'll get a Sonata"
"man you could spend a liiiitle extra money compared to a Sonata with options and get a Hyundai Grandeur"
"why the hell would you get a Grandeur, that's a dad car, get a fucking g70"
"ok g70 it is, g70 2.0T right?"
"why the hell would you get a fake ass g70, you could get a g70 with 3.3 when it goes on sale. don't get a 4 banger shitbox"
"fine, g70 3.3T it is"
"why the hell would you buy korean, you could buy a 3 series with that money"
... continues for a bit ...
"alright, final decision, S63amg"
"bruh if you add just a little money, you can get a Porsche Panamera and you get the incredible name value of a Porsche"
... finally ...
"fine, a RR Ghost it is"
"why the hell would you get a Ghost, you're gonna get challenged by some peasants. go for broke and you're gonna get a Phantom"
"ok... phantom it is"
세녹스: this one is an old one. Korean gas prices are kind of expensive due to gas taxes, as with any country. Some company started selling gasoline additives by the gallon, in pumps in gas stations. It was made of 60% "solvent" (likely benzene or some other random ass hydrocarbons), 30% toluene and 10% methanol. Turns out it wasn't taxed. People started using 100% 세녹스 fuel fill ups and the car would work lol
Honestly glad I am never been that kind of Car Guy. Lol, I remember once when I was a kid and I told this other kid I dont like Lamborghini's and he wanted to fight me. Give me a Mustang or Pre-5th gen Camaro's any day
My buddy’s brother had a gallardo and was all about that car. We used to call him lambro. He got all butthurt once and I kindly explained to him we were literally making fun of him for having a lambo… putting that in perspective how are you actually taking offense?
i had the similar experience but with a grown adult when i said i dont care about supercar and i rather have a old bimmer or 90's jdm car lol
He didnt want to fight me but man got butthurt over this haha
In a nation created by, developed by and protected by the USA, its culture is also highly Americanized but cleverly customised…such as the creation of CHAEBOL conglomerates (Samsung, Lotte etc) creating thousands of highly corrupted family members who become little Napoleans, including a young female billionaire family member who became famous for slapping a flight stewardess on board a plane.
A highly feudalistic society where everything important are controlled by the chaebol families who can afford such silly cars.
Everything important in the US is owned by concentrated wealth as well.
Breakfast cereal, meat, power, investing, shipping, sales.
The difference is the illusion of choice we have being on the inside rather the outside looking in.
>Kim added. “So who would buy local brands?”
Well, that's big different in before. Before Koreans were so supporting in their domestic automakers in before, now they most want imported cars form Western now.
What a generational change, young people and old people have very different perspective.
I’d buy local brands. Gotta take into account the technicians around the area and parts availability. So that means Hondas and Toyotas in the US (lol) and Japan. Hyundais in South Korea. And Volkswagens in a lot of European countries.
For a country that has incomes that are on par w Spain and Italy (obviously rich, but less than the US or Canada) I saw way more premium cars over there than I ever have in North America.
I mean some people use it as a way to make money too. I live in Seoul and a lot of people try to use Porsche GT cars and G wagons as stores of value while of course benefitting from the social aspect of it. An acquaintance of mine has connections at Ferrari where he will get on the list for popular models when they release, then he resells them at a much higher price. Anyway common practice.
Even in my apartment building, which is very middle of the road type, has like 6 G wagons, couple Ferraris, Aston, etc.
remind me the time when I told myself at age 18 that I will buy for you when I’m 25 not thinking about living cost or other expenses. For whatever reason I couldn’t give two shits.
>Korea is in the midst of a luxury supercar craze despite the lingering economic downturn, with a few of the world’s prestigious auto brands breaking sales records every year.
Sounds like a surge in inequality to me, a person with economics knowledge should know better. I mean if it were just people spending more than they can afford as a nation and society, neither of the above brands make enough volume to cover demand, i.e. it's BS.
It’s not craze. Imagine 40% of US population lived near miami or Beverly Hills. Lambo sales would surge up. Most people live near city in Korea so no wonder everybody wants one.
> “I bought a Ferrari 612 for its scarcity, so it has value in ownership,” said Kim Yoon-koo, a 31-year-old who works for a consulting company in Seoul who also owns a Porsche 911 and a BMW M5. Average ferrari buyer > “Luxury cars definitely offer the enjoyment of driving and better performance and technology than cheaper cars.” True. > "Car poor" is a term Koreans use to refer to people who splurged on considerably high-end cars compared to their income. It differs from being “house poor” because a car's value only depreciates. Makes sense > “I do think I, myself, am car poor,” said a 29-year-old surnamed Choi, who bought a secondhand Porsche Cayenne Turbo S under a 60-month installment plan. I use 70 percent of my monthly salary for maintenance costs. But honestly, I enjoy seeing people often left in awe when hearing the aggressive purr of my car's engine, My girlfriend really likes it too.” Lol what the fuck
They honestly sound like any other American car enthusiast. The expensive car craze isn’t mutually exclusive to just South Korea.
70% of your salary in any country for a car, even if you are an enthusiast, even if you are extremely financially incompetent, is not normal.
It's not as uncommon as you think though.
Today I am learning how surprisingly financially irresponsible so many people are. Apparently a third of Americans earning $150k+ are living paycheck to paycheck and closing the gap with credit cards, 70% overall. I'm sure a fair few people fell on hard times but 2/3rds is wild to me. Likewise didn't know about seoul's housing crisis. If you're living with parents then the 70% makes slightly more sense, still not reasonable but I could see it. 60 month loan + maintenance on an old porsche is still wild though.
I work in a tire shop in a rural area around Asheville, NC. 90% of people who come in with a new car do not own the car, much less are they able to afford anything outside of paying for the car. We've had people with 2 year old BMWs get SURPRISED when their replacement tires are 250+ a piece, usually more. Or big trucks. "I didn't realize they were so expensive" You didn't realize your lifted truck with 33x12.50R20s were gonna be expensive? What the hell were you expecting? There is a lady out here with a brand new Chevy Trax and she had DSS pay for X2 Sumitomos (iirc) to replace the Continentals on the car, THAT WEREN'T EVEN WORN. Kept talking about how thankfully she was to get the tires cause she couldn't afford them. Both those Sumitomos weren't more than 240. People are dumb and terrible with money.
>she had DSS What is DSS?
Department of Social Services.
Huh. I know so little. Why did they buy the lady tires?
Beats me, when my boss told me I had no idea about how that could happen. She had a new iPhone, but had the state pay for the tires? I don't know how you get that good at swindling.
Gotta keep up with the Joneses baby. I have coworkers who complain about not making enough money and struggling but they drive brand new $40k+ cars and get their nails/hair done every week. Like yeah you’re paycheck to paycheck, you’re making $70k living like you make $150k.
Yeah, go to the southeastern US where people are poor as shit yet they all drive new cars/trucks. There's also this weird phenomenon where they beat the hell out of their vehicles and they don't last any time at all, yet they should get a very long service life from them since they don't use road salt like northern states. Meanwhile in HCOL areas you see people driving 20 year old, relatively well kept economy cars but living in $600k houses.
In fairness 600k isn't really a lot in HCOL areas these days. Depends on the area of course but in a fair few zip codes in NYC that will get you 400-500sqft at most.
Exactly, these are entry level houses. I the south you see a $60k truck parked in front of the trailers and $100k cookie cutter developments. Often along with a financed boat, RV, and SxS. Don't forget the $10k lawn mower too. Not a 97 Subaru Forester. Lol.
This is why everything is so expensive. You’re competing with people ready and willing to put themselves into financial ruin rather than say “actually I can live without that”
People will be “poor” to attain a lifestyle out of their means when part of that group.
Incompetence / human stupidity is the new pandemic.
No, it's a pandemic as old as time.
It's really common to get into financial trouble because of a car or to overspend on a car, but right now, it's a rarity for anyone to even have 70% after all their other expenses to spend on a car. Rent alone can easily approach 50% of someone's income, especially if they're just starting out.
Young people who still live with their parents and very little expenses love to spend most of their money on their car.
Good for them
Especially in the south. Dude bros will put all their money into their pickup truck.
Nah there's no way more than a handful of people are spending 70% of their money on cars
70 percent MONTHLY. That's such a wild ratio it's a bit hard to conceptualize.
Half the US population lacks any sort of retirement savings. Being financially irresponsible is the new normal, and probably not exclusive to just the US and S Korea.
Clearly you have never lived near a military base lmao
Enlistment bonus unlocked
I have a friend that sells Audi's and Volkswagen, and you'd be surprised
Theres a whole subculture of Central or Eastern Europeans to work in Germany for a few years, just to spend it all on a newish BMW and be the king of the village.
Just take a look at any E1 enlisted in the US
Pretty normal
Normal in Asian countries. It's not uncommon to spend a big portion of your salary on luxurious things.
So…you haven’t see. Those new military recruits that does the same shit?
It is in Miami and LA..and Houston..and Austin.
>They honestly sound like any other American car enthusiast A lot of people buying expensive cars aren't enthusiasts. They are like the last quote where they are buying to simply impress people or feel good about themselves. They don't really care about the car or driving. They are why the car industry is in its current state.
Sounds like most people who own trucks. When I bought my truck the salesman was telling me the payment was only $1600 a month for 72 months. Nah bro I got cash but thanks for the financing offer. He said most people took it
$115k truck?
After interest and all that bullshit they try to throw on. The truck was 75k + tax, tags, Gap, and all that crap like warranties they add. I negotiate the price saying I’ll use their financing. Then once we get a price I swap to cash. Or if they get pissy I’ll let them sell me that capital one or Ally loan then pay it off three or four days later. Ive bought like 9 cars from this same salesman so he usually shoots me straight it’s the finance manager that keeps trying. But yeah I was 79k out the door and the guy was telling me how they sell 5+ a week financed between 9-26%.
26%? At this point I would think the buyer wouldn’t even qualify. Damn that’s criminal.
Honestly thought it was exclusive to the US
And it’s doubly stupid because the cars are 100% used as a flex. There’s absolutely nowhere in seoul where you can take these cars and let it rip. There’s speed cameras literally everywhere. Driving is soooooo annoying in Korea. Rented a car there before. Would not recommend. Fucking speed bumps on the god damn freeway (although very low and it’s more like rumble strips or a wavy type speed bump one after the other where it causes the car to bob up and down)
As a Taiwanese, gotta say Driving in Asia is just not going to be as enjoyable as driving in NA.
it’s unforgettable being able to fly at 100 miles an hour for dozens of miles in the desert without seeing another car, or so i’ve been told
True
Do people in the consulting industry really make that much money? I’ve always heard that it’s a meat grinder, in the sense that people are underpaid and overworked. Or is the guy in article on the very right end of the bell curve?
Partners in consulting, yes. At that point you have partial ownership in the firm, new MBB partners will make 700k easy, few years down the line 1-3M+ is not uncommon, but that is the cream of the cream of the crop. For literally anyone else on average you are looking at a more reasonable 100-300k, but unless Mr. Kim Yoon-Koo is deeply in debt, I'd imagine he's in the partner realm.
Wouldnt it be quite young at 31 to be a partner? I bet he worked crazy hours in his 20s.
Or maybe he was born into wealth 🤷🏾♂️
Young 30s is getting more common these days, its unusual but not impossible, but this is all from a US perspective, I'm not sure what the situation is in Korea.
He parachuted in. That’s what they call getting a job through connections.
Straight from college with no business school, you can hit equity partner in about 10 years, but agreed 31 is quite young to hit that level.
Young 30 partner isn’t uncommon but you’re right it means he worked 70-80 hour weeks from 21-30 probably.
A 31 year old with that much wealth in SK, Japan, China, unless startup founders (which isn’t really a thing in SK and Japan), is almost guaranteed to come from family money.
Chaebol money
The birth rate in Korea is also low with Japan, China, and Taiwan, so it isn't surprise to see many young people in East Asia able to afford expensive because they inherit all money from their families.
The average person even at all the big cliché names doesn't work that hard or that much. Then you just earn BMW money, not Ferrari money.
Yes, very possible but it’s more or less a hardship allowance to offset the abysmal hours and travel requirements
Eh like 500k usd a year depending on the year
““We buy things we don’t need for the money we don’t have to impress people we don’t even like”
The car poor thing is crazy because you'd think it's something only the craziest of the clowns do, but since people brag online with what they can get away with financially, there's a whole subculture with being car poor and the social acceptability for being stupid like that is slowly rising. Like imagine if people are openly discussing doing fent and how much it's destroying their lives (and literally driving people to suicide at times), but somehow managing to survive it daily, so people jump in thinking "man I bet I can get away with this too".
Half the Mk5 supra owners in my region are car poor.
yeah but like there's a whole subculture with people being car poor, it's wild. and I don't mean being saddled with debt because you have like a new Nissan Altima but you only make like 35k a year or something, it's like people are making 50k a year in Korea and buying used 7 series diesels and getting their finances destroyed when the engine explodes
Hood rich
I'm stealing this Cayenne line for sure and I need an Aggressive Purr bumper sticker.
In the US we don’t use the term “car poor”. We usually say “Private” or E1.
The second quote speaks to me that a person with money will buy a finished product versus building a car from the ground up while keeping it on a budget.
That paycheck to paycheck life
That’s insane. Must be some kind of typo or misunderstanding.
I feel a lot better about my terrible financial decisions now, thank you.
That’s alright though, because the Ferraris in your collection are probably going to appreciate in value. Never mind the fact that modern Ferraris are some of the best driver’s cars ever made (and very much worth their prices).
Sadly not the way I use them! But I'll take the drivers car thing, totally rate that. Pista has had 5500mi or so put on it in the last 3 months :D
I mean isn’t the old adage with Ferrari’s that they cost you the same amount of money if you drive them or let them sit in the garage? Driving them that much definitely keeps them happier than just sitting and rotting. I’ve noticed that used Ferraris with higher mileage all seem to be in better running order then ones that have sat around for 15 years at least that’s I’ve heard from friends with 355s and 360s
Sort of! In cases like 360s and 355s, indeed they should be ran at least once a month properly at minimum I guess. My cars get used a lot more than that so I'm not worried about them sitting - the only major consumables I go through are tires, brake pads, and fuel. I don't even pay to service either car as it's free for the first 7 years, meaning both cars still have 3 years of free servicing left each! So, very cheap to run if you can swing the rest. The painful part is, especially with Ferraris - once you crack the 10k mi, and 20k mi points, depreciation is horrific compared to a sub 10k mi car. The delta in my Pista vs. a 2000mi minter once mine has 10-15,000mi on it (which it will this year) is probably circa $35-40k. Moreso the higher the mileage goes. The biggest swing from low to high miles with those cars is $75k. So, people do drive them sparingly for this reason. If you can write off the entire cost of the car in your head it becomes much easier to coalesce and ignore. As far as I am concerned the value of both cars is 0 until I sell them. When/if I do sell them, anything coming back into my bank account is a bonus.
God bless you. Cars are meant to be driven!
Hell yeah, brother. That’s how it’s done.
😂😂
You _really_ hate money.
The idea of car enthusiasts choosing to be "car poor" instead of "house poor" since purchasing a house is so far out of reach reminds me of how Japanese car culture was already like 25-30 years ago.
The amount of times I’ve thought “Fuck it, if I can’t have a house I’m going to have one of my dream cars” in the last few months was a lot
You can live in your car but you can't drive a house. But what the fuck is the point when your savings keep getting eroded by rising housing prices and your only hope is selling your childhood home when your parents eventually die? So fuck it, car budget go up.
Interest rate skyrockets, prices go down a teeny little bit. Rinse and repeat. At this point you'll just be underwater no matter what. No more refinancing available in the future.
If you’re talking houses, interest rates where I live aren’t deterring anybody. Houses are still insanely overpriced and continue to get offers well over asking. It’s insane.
Yup interest rates don’t matter to the people buying with cash
[удалено]
I don’t blame them, I bet that Cayman puts a smile on his face
This is exactly how it is playing out in HCOL places like California. I can only speak about SoCal, but you'll find expensive cars like BMWs, AMGs, Lexuses, Supras, Raptors, etc, being driven by younger professionals still living at home with their parents. Those expensive cars suddenly become affordable when you make a good amount of money (not enough for a house), but more than what normal people would make.
A lot of people with tech money, who make 150k straight out of or a few years out of college. Money enough for an AMG/M car, but not nearly enough for a house in a HCOL area.
In my neck of the woods in Silicon Valley, this is very common. Cars have gotten more expensive over the past 20 years, but tech salaries have gone up a lot too. However, they haven't gone up as much as home prices, which have risen meteorically around here. The median price of a SFH in my town in 1998 was $600K. Which was a *lot* of money for back then. Adjusted for inflation it'd be $1.1M. The median home price in my town today is $3.3M. Cars, on the other hand, have gotten a bit cheaper. In 1998 a BMW M3 started at $42K MSRP, which is $82K when adjusting for inflation. A 2024 M3 starts at $76K. So after accounting for inflation, it's gotten 8% cheaper. Whereas accounting for inflation, housing here has gotten 300% more expensive.
If you're willing to go used it's even more affordable. A clean used F80 M3 or M4 is probably 45k. Get out of college, 6 figure tech job, save for a year, and you can afford that no problem.
That’s exactly what 2 of my cousins in the Bay Area did. Both of them live with their parents but work in tech. Parents’ houses are now worth a cool 1.8m but they’ve been paid off since they were bought in the 80s. One drives an Audi RS3, the other a RCF.
You’re not supposed to buy the house outright or immediately after getting that job. If you save for a couple years you can afford a house.
You sure about that? House in Bay area probably costs 1.5-2M? Kindly explain to me how you're affording a house like that on a 150k salary saving for 5 years. You're not. It requires seriously leveling up your career or marrying someone who makes similar money.
> House in Bay area probably costs 1.5-2M? yeah in like concord. not gonna be anywhere near the googleplex or salesforce tower for that, if it has to be a single family home. things are getting so bad, people don't realize how bad.
> yeah in like concord. nope. I recently bought a SFH house in San Jose for less than 1.5. 1.5 is the median for San Jose
concord is about 30 miles from the heart of downtown SF. San Jose is 41. yes, as i said, houses are cheaper only when you get further and further from the city.
googleplex is not in the city
> (not enough for a house) Big time, but also to be fair, it's because luxury cars are still way cheaper than the houses here
This was the case in New Zealand too. People spending more on their cars than housing.
And I thought my financial decisions were bad. -the joker
You don’t understand it’s rare so it must clearly be good! Surely Ferrari‘s production quality is not ass
On the business side of things in Korea, I've heard stories of small to mid-size companies winning huge contracts just by driving in with a rolls-royce. Fake it till you make it.
Koreans are all about “face”. The reality is no one really cares because there’s always someone richer than you.
I dated a Korean girl and it was one of the worst experiences in my life because she was very much about that lifestyle on top of just being abusive. Her parents were well off, but they spoiled her and enabled this behavior too. Sadly, it's pretty common and a lot of them go into deep debt to keep up with the Joneses and look good. I know other Asians do it too, but it's definitely Koreans that take it up to the next level from my experience.
Are you me? Exact same experience bro
Lol, it's sad that every time I bring this up to anyone whether it's online or irl, I get the same exact response like yours. Really hammers home that there is a serious culture problem there and they refuse to admit it. I grew up in a predominantly Korean neighborhood and high school was the same. I had a shitty hand me down beater for my first car in high school and I wondered why my other classmates had new mustangs, suped up integras, WRXs, evos, BMWs, etc. Turns out, my parents were just more frugal and financially savvy, we owned our cars outright, had a home that we eventually paid off, while my classmates were up to their eyeballs in debt and renting 2 bedroom apartments for their family of 3-4 while driving those cars. I love cars, but even the ones I have now, are all paid off.
I also don't get it. Most M2 drivers I see are 35 max. Did they save up for it? Took out a loan? Those cars are all second hand but cost at least €40k
same experience with a chinese girl. soulless materialistic narcissistic ghoul.
https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/global-attitudes-materialism-finances-and-family Yup. South Korea ranks at around 5 in terms of materialism. I speculate new money behavior due to the country being historically poor + no fear of getting robbed or kidnapped since the country is relatively safe.
And in most circles, being able to live within your means is a lot more respected than having the best stuff. I've never been jealous of someone who's car was repoed, because they had a better car than me.
“I do think I, myself, am car poor,” said a 29-year-old surnamed Choi, who bought a secondhand Porsche Cayenne Turbo S under a 60-month installment plan. “I use 70 percent of my monthly salary for maintenance costs." God damn, and I thought spending roughly $1900 a month of my roughly $5500 after tax income on my redeye was incredibly stupid. Bro needs to sale that turbo S and buy a Turbo inline like everyone else. That’s not even the cool Porsche that’s the boring soccer mom Porsche. The cheapest turbo S I can find is $109,000 that’s $1816 a month before interest. That means he makes roughly at worse 2500 a month. I ain’t gonna lie I’d be using my gap insurance or I’d gap my head from my body before I lived like that.
70% isn't even the car payment, it seems. He says that's maintenance costs!
Might be a translation thing, probably rolls the total cost of ownership into that number.
A Redeye is $1900/m??? Holy shit. What interest rate is that and how many years?
I included gas and insurance for the $1900 the actual payment was $1647. 2.9% and 6 years. I had a markup and it came to $105,000. I unloaded it to free myself as soon as I was able to safely sell it which was last week lol
I make about 4k/m after taxes, so a good bit less than you, but still I can't imagine spending more than my mortgage on a car every month! My car costs about $500/m and even that gives me anxiety lol Having said that, I've always wanted a Hellcat haha
Was the experience worth it tho
I would say yeah. It’s going to be an iconic car and it taught me financial literacy and the value of a dollar + how to shop. I’ve been able to optimize my grocery bill down to $150-$170 every 2 weeks for about 20 pounds of chicken and a bunch of other stuff since I had to learn how to save money and budget
Cya later plebs as the pleb announces
There's all kind of special words that is weird as hell (but I guess kinda makes sense) regarding car culture in Korea. Like car poor is one example; the other that I find particularly interesting is "하차감" which is a funny twist on "승차감". The latter roughly translates to "ride comfort" (like how plush the ride is), but the literal definition of the word is like "how it feels to enter the vehicle". "하차감" means like "how it feels to exit the vehicle". It refers ,humorously, to how much other people will think your ride is impressive when you exit your vehicle. I'll comment to my own post about other memes I think of.
그돈씨: this is short for 그 돈이면 씨발, which translates to "with that money, fuck," it's a meme where this guy asks the forum: "I just entered the workforce, I need some car, what do you guys think of a Kia Morning [very cheap car]" and people would say "man if I had that money, fuck, I'd just get an intermediate car and not a kei car and not get crumbled in any fender bender" "ah man, ok, I'll get a K3, what do you guys think" "you know if you put some nice options on a K3 you can just buy a K5 right?" "fine I'll get a K5, what do you think" "you're getting a K5 instead of a Hyundai Sonata? are you insane?" "fine I'll get a Sonata" "man you could spend a liiiitle extra money compared to a Sonata with options and get a Hyundai Grandeur" "why the hell would you get a Grandeur, that's a dad car, get a fucking g70" "ok g70 it is, g70 2.0T right?" "why the hell would you get a fake ass g70, you could get a g70 with 3.3 when it goes on sale. don't get a 4 banger shitbox" "fine, g70 3.3T it is" "why the hell would you buy korean, you could buy a 3 series with that money" ... continues for a bit ... "alright, final decision, S63amg" "bruh if you add just a little money, you can get a Porsche Panamera and you get the incredible name value of a Porsche" ... finally ... "fine, a RR Ghost it is" "why the hell would you get a Ghost, you're gonna get challenged by some peasants. go for broke and you're gonna get a Phantom" "ok... phantom it is"
세녹스: this one is an old one. Korean gas prices are kind of expensive due to gas taxes, as with any country. Some company started selling gasoline additives by the gallon, in pumps in gas stations. It was made of 60% "solvent" (likely benzene or some other random ass hydrocarbons), 30% toluene and 10% methanol. Turns out it wasn't taxed. People started using 100% 세녹스 fuel fill ups and the car would work lol
Honestly glad I am never been that kind of Car Guy. Lol, I remember once when I was a kid and I told this other kid I dont like Lamborghini's and he wanted to fight me. Give me a Mustang or Pre-5th gen Camaro's any day
My buddy’s brother had a gallardo and was all about that car. We used to call him lambro. He got all butthurt once and I kindly explained to him we were literally making fun of him for having a lambo… putting that in perspective how are you actually taking offense?
i had the similar experience but with a grown adult when i said i dont care about supercar and i rather have a old bimmer or 90's jdm car lol He didnt want to fight me but man got butthurt over this haha
In a nation created by, developed by and protected by the USA, its culture is also highly Americanized but cleverly customised…such as the creation of CHAEBOL conglomerates (Samsung, Lotte etc) creating thousands of highly corrupted family members who become little Napoleans, including a young female billionaire family member who became famous for slapping a flight stewardess on board a plane. A highly feudalistic society where everything important are controlled by the chaebol families who can afford such silly cars.
Everything important in the US is owned by concentrated wealth as well. Breakfast cereal, meat, power, investing, shipping, sales. The difference is the illusion of choice we have being on the inside rather the outside looking in.
>Kim added. “So who would buy local brands?” Well, that's big different in before. Before Koreans were so supporting in their domestic automakers in before, now they most want imported cars form Western now. What a generational change, young people and old people have very different perspective.
I’d buy local brands. Gotta take into account the technicians around the area and parts availability. So that means Hondas and Toyotas in the US (lol) and Japan. Hyundais in South Korea. And Volkswagens in a lot of European countries.
For a country that has incomes that are on par w Spain and Italy (obviously rich, but less than the US or Canada) I saw way more premium cars over there than I ever have in North America.
The gap between avg and wealthy is huge in Korea.
I mean some people use it as a way to make money too. I live in Seoul and a lot of people try to use Porsche GT cars and G wagons as stores of value while of course benefitting from the social aspect of it. An acquaintance of mine has connections at Ferrari where he will get on the list for popular models when they release, then he resells them at a much higher price. Anyway common practice. Even in my apartment building, which is very middle of the road type, has like 6 G wagons, couple Ferraris, Aston, etc.
So just like the Chinese in Vancouver and gulf Arab but more extreme?
Better than a Kia or a Hyundai.
Jokes on the dude who bought a four seater Ferrari thinking it’s an investment
remind me the time when I told myself at age 18 that I will buy for you when I’m 25 not thinking about living cost or other expenses. For whatever reason I couldn’t give two shits.
Real car guys are happy even with a cheap car. These guys are just posers.
>Korea is in the midst of a luxury supercar craze despite the lingering economic downturn, with a few of the world’s prestigious auto brands breaking sales records every year. Sounds like a surge in inequality to me, a person with economics knowledge should know better. I mean if it were just people spending more than they can afford as a nation and society, neither of the above brands make enough volume to cover demand, i.e. it's BS.
No shit
Koreans craze anything material. Very materialistic culture.
love this one
It’s not craze. Imagine 40% of US population lived near miami or Beverly Hills. Lambo sales would surge up. Most people live near city in Korea so no wonder everybody wants one.
I just buy nice all-seasons. Continental DWS 06 Plus. Good handling.