When You Spend Way Too Much On A Car ...

*This is a collaborative post.

Spending a lot of money on a vehicle is par for the course these days. Everyone seems to be doing it. 

But of course, when you try to keep up with the Joneses, it can lead to all sorts of regrets. When you bought the vehicle, you had nothing but love for it. But now you actually have to run and maintain it while living with the debt, you’re not sure what to do. 

That’s where this post can help. It looks at what happens when you spend too much on a car.

You Memorise Every Spec

One of the first things you do is memorise all the specs and features so you can justify the cost to yourself. You know you want something amazing, and you’re trying to help yourself feel better by knowing you paid for the best. 

Memorising every spec can be fun if you’re an enthusiast, but it is also a sign of regret. You spent too much, and you blew it. 

Your Car Payments Are The Same As Your Rent

Another sign you might be spending too much on a car is if your payments are the same as your rent. Usually, home costs should be double or triple car payments. But if yours are the same, it means you probably spent too much. 

Of course, you might be able to use PCP claimback to claw some of the money back. But whether you’ll ever really get even after purchasing an expensive vehicle isn’t clear. 

You Call It By A Name

Calling your expensive vehicle by a name as if it is a family member is another sign that perhaps you spent too much on a car. Getting all close and personal with it signifies attachment, usually related to the money you spend on it. 

You Justify It By Calling It An Investment

Another strategy is to justify it by calling it an “investment.” You see it in the same category as putting money into a business or paying for a vintage wine cellar. You know of course, that it will depreciate every year, but you treat it like something that will reward you in the future anyway. 

Unfortunately, for most vehicles, this is wishful thinking. Some cars can rise in value after you buy them, but they are vanishingly rare. 

You Get Mad At High Gas Prices

You also know you’ve spent too much on a car if you start getting mad at high gas prices. Paying for the vehicle itself is enough of an affront, you tell yourself, without having to fill up all the time because it guzzles gas like there’s no tomorrow. 

You Dream Of Selling It But Can’t

Finally, you know you’ve spent too much on a vehicle when you want to sell it but can’t. You know you should get rid of it for the financial benefits, but either nobody wants to buy it for a reasonable price or you can’t let it go for personal or sentimental reasons.