A rant on Fiestas and Millenials

"themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles" (themanwithsauce) 01/17/2014 at 11:32 • Filed to: Rant, Fiesta ST, Millenials, Financing, Economy, Come at me bro

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Well, I finally did it. I drove a Fiesta ST last night with the recaros and moonroof and everything. It was snowing, there was a lot of traffic, and people had been in accidents so I did very little hooning. I still liked the car. If I still like it under the least fun driving possible, I figure I'll love it when it's time to cut it loose. Mad props to Fox Ford for being zero-pressure and more than willing to let me order one as well as being very clear and concise about the discounts offered on the car and how I could get them. So I'm placing a deposit on my own Fiesta next weekend after the NAIAS. But this journey to a new car has bothered me a lot not because of anything I did, it's because of what everyone else has been saying to me along the way.

Now by everyone else, I don't mean other gearheads. I refer to my boss, my co-workers, and others like that. All of them are at least 15 years older than me and most are married with kids and a house and whatnot. My boss's words are the most infuriating because he not only reminds me about it CONSTANTLY but he drives a company car so it's easy for him to throw these words around. They all say the same thing "Well it's embarrassing to not be in a new car! You should be ashamed that you make so much money and still drive old cars!" Which is funny because I am quite heavily underpaid for my title and position but whatever..... My issue with that is blind ignorance to very very VERY recent history. The meltdown in 2009 was devastating to my college. We all HAD to be employed as a co-op to graduate. You could go a few terms without one, but you needed a sponsored and directed thesis from an employer to get your degree. I saw lots of people who had pissed away college loans and co-op savings on motorcycles and brand new cars lose them because they lost their job and had zero idea about savings or a budget. Meanwhile, those of us living with others in cheap rented houses and apartments driving cars we paid maybe a grand in cash for, just kept on going. It sucked though, losing your job and going through all of that pain and depression of feeling like you're not good enough. ANd I can only imagine it's more difficult when you have kids, a house payment, a car payment, and everything else. I at least slept every night in a room in my parent's house since I was trying to save money for school.

Fast forward a few years. Yes I now make "decent" money and I have "minimal" college debt. No, I'm not about to piss away thousands in interest and depreciation on a car I don't love just because someone else thinks I should be embarrassed at my older car with a rust spot (well.....trunk, in the jetta's case). Did we learn nothing from 4 years ago? That's money I don't really have. Yes I "have" it but at a great cost in other areas. And what pisses me off the most is it was THEIR GENERATION that caused all of this. My generation had very little buying power for the items that cause debt. Yes we buy lots of entertainment and electronics. Guess what? You pay cash for those things. Do you have 10 bucks? Then you can go see a movie. Do you have 200$? Then you can buy an iPod. Simple stuff, really. But I guess we've become such an idiotic and debt-ridden society that it is just expected that the first chance you get, you make major purchases on credit and the hope that your situation never ever gets worse, ever.

So guess what? I'm kind of glad "millenials" aren't jumping to buy brand new cars right away. It means our generation learned a few lessons. I've been putting money away and paying down my debt to increase my income to debt ratio. I am also putting down over 30% on my fiesta to get financing at 0% APR (well, rounded down to 0) so yes I will take your (nearly) free money while I continue to save and put away into a 401K. I waited until I could comfortably buy a car instead of just afford to. There is nothing wrong, and everything right about that strategy. My jtta was paid for in cash and has dirt cheap insurance rates which freed me of debt and let me put away the cash I felt I needed to get the right deal. Our generation just needs to be smarter about debt and financing than the previous to avoid all of this from crashing down again. That means new car sales aimed at "younger" buyers will suffer for a while. And I think we should be relieved that people are at least trying to be responsible now.

So please, everyone being critical of others not buying a new car right away, keep in mind that they are probably making the smarter choice. Thank you for putting up with this ran. Please enjoy this Mk2 escort rally car, which will be the inspiration for mods to my Fiesta

The Transporter > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 11:38

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Did we learn nothing from 4 years ago?

No.

thebigbossyboss > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 11:39

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Word. I think I might be a bit older (am I a milennial if I I was born in the late 80's?) than you but I share your sentiment completely. A LOT of my friends ask me why I drive my cavalier and ask me if I can afford anything better. Well, I could, but I just finished paying off my debt yesterday (literally!) SO ...I will continue to drive my car which I paid cash for 4 years ago. Word dawg, word.

offroadkarter > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 11:43

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Congrats on the fiesta ST

also, the next time your boss mentions what you drive, reply with "Well I could get something nicer if I wasn't so underpaid" and see what his reply is to that lol

Mosqvich > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 11:43

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Solid points indeed.

Stef Schrader > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 11:45

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Well said. If I hadn't gotten the Lulzcer for graduation, I'd have probably gotten a beater Miata and been perfectly happy riding around in a couple-thousand-dollar car that was paid for in cash moneh.

I'm also hesitant to get rid of the Lulzcer. It's paid for. It still runs. I like it. And most importantly, it's paid for .

maximillious > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 11:49

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Well said my friend. I too am a millennial and am working in a decent paying job. I have been since I turned 22. For years I drove an 05 civic SI that I got for a steal. I paid cash up front from a summer job that i made bank on after college. The car was perfect and I loved it. Then I lost my job and a week later the SI was totaled. Sure i could have gone out and bought a new car with the money I had saved, but I was unemployed and searching for new work, so I bought a very cheap SVT focus. Granted, I didnt love the car but I dealt with it and all the bullshit problems it had. As of june I was back in the workforce making good money, but I stuck with the SVT while I caught back up from my few months of unemployment. Then only a month ago I realized I had the money for a new, reliable and fun car. I went out and traded the SVT for a Focus ST (Fiesta was too small for my cycling lifestyle) I have the money to pay it off in cash right away, but went with the for financing to get the 500$ rebate and give a bump to my credit score (which it doesn't really need but that because i think of shit like this) Now i owe only a measly grand on the ST, (paid almost all of it off so interest charges wouldn't be high has I slowly pay off the last 1000.) Perhaps if the generations before us had managed their money the way you and I have we wouldn't have this huge crisis. Perhaps if people tried to have some restraint we could dig out of this hole a little faster. Congrats on the Fiesta ST, I hope to see a full review from you on it in the near future, when you get some time to slide it around a fresh snow covered parking lot!

mycarneverruns87 > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 11:50

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I'm picking up what you're puttin' down sir. I have always been super cautious with my money and just because I could "afford" something never meant I would buy it. I did come very close to trying to get a new Focus ST....someday. I loves those cars and you will enjoy the shit out of the Fiesta! I happily drive my 08 Focus and am saving money for other projects. Eventually it will be replaced but I am in no hurry. Most of my friends are very debt ridden for their own faults and I just don't want to be in that situation.

Quattro-luvr, Powered by Datsun & Stinger > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 11:51

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"You should be ashamed that you make so much money and still drive old cars"

I'm sorry to say this, but your boss is an asshole. That's a horrible thing to say to someone.

Jon-o > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 12:00

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I hope to be in your situation soon! Im still driving my old car and just graduated school and I'm working I want an ST so badly! Does Ford offer some good incentives on even the ST models?

Makoyouidiot > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 12:01

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Despite owning one new and one 2 year old cpo car, I agree with this post in pretty much every detail. Note: I am 25 and these two cars are my only debt, but I'm in a good place atm. If shit went down, I owe little enough on the cpo to get rid of it without taking a hit, then my wife and I can either carpool or I drive my project beater.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Quattro-luvr, Powered by Datsun & Stinger 01/17/2014 at 12:13

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Oh he's an asshole for many other reasons, but when I mentioned I was planning on test driving one that launched him into a 15 minute tirade on how it's about time I get something new because "you obviously have no pride driving around in that embarassment of an automobile" but thankfully I not only have thick skin, he is looking at an accord crosstour so I know his thoughts on cars mean shit. It's his thoughts on money I take offense to especially since he's both our division's salesman and "Unit manager" which means he is the head of our operations.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > offroadkarter 01/17/2014 at 12:14

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I did. He got mad since he knew I wanted to move to this side of the state more than I wanted every possible dollar. I've heard rumors he's debating between giving me a more substantial raise instead of the 2.1% or whatever is standard to try and keep me from jumping ship. But on the other hand, he might just say "screw it" and pay my crap until I leave.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Jon-o 01/17/2014 at 12:16

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Quite a few incentives at this moment. Ford is giving an extra 750 on any trade in to dealers so even if they only do the standard 500 or 1000$ for my jetta, it gets bumped up to 1250 or 1750 so I might just trade it in for extra $. Plus you get 500$ bonus for a first time buyer or 1000$ for being a full time student or recent graduate. They also said they mark their fiestas down about 500$ off MSRP to sell more of them so my dream fiesta has an MSRP of 25k but out the door I'm looking at paying 23k

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > The Transporter 01/17/2014 at 12:17

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Damn

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > maximillious 01/17/2014 at 12:18

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Well lead times on fiesta STs are 6-8 weeks minimum so hopefully the snow will be gone......but I did get a slight bit of air over railroad tracks when I opened it up on some clear road. I giggled a lot.

offroadkarter > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 12:19

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well no matter what happens, hopefully it works out in your favor. Sometimes jumping ship is the answer

Good luck with the new ST, its to bad we dont get the 2 door in the states but either way I'm sure you'l love it.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > offroadkarter 01/17/2014 at 12:24

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Yeah, I am getting really excited now and am already picking out winter wheels. I have a friend who works for hella who can give me a discount on some rally lights too.I am getting my friend's old blue mudflaps that he had on a BMW but took them off. So I'll have a rally fiesta!

offroadkarter > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 12:29

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Did you test drive the focus ST? I've only driven a normal focus and fiesta and had no complaints about either, I'd love to drive both ST's one day.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > offroadkarter 01/17/2014 at 12:38

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My friend has a focus ST and I didn't like the roughness of the drivetrain. It felt bulky even when I was just a passenger while the fiesta feels very light and responsive.

maximillious > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 12:39

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haha thats awesome! If there is still snow you might want to invest in some good winter tires, if the ones on the fiesta are anything like the ones on the focus you will be sliding like a hockey puck on anything more than an inch of snow

iaintafraidofnoghost > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 12:42

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Everyone is underpaid. Facts of life.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > iaintafraidofnoghost 01/17/2014 at 12:46

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True. SI should move to another city where there are more jobs in my field but I like Grand Rapids too much to leave unless forced to.

Quattro-luvr, Powered by Datsun & Stinger > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 13:10

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Phahahahahaha. "Embarrassment of a car", and he want a crosstour? That's really making a statement!

Hobbs, D. Hobbs. > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 13:32

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Yes, the way this should be: 2 doors (well, 3) only. Bring it to the US and I'll buy it,

JACU - I've got bonifides. > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 15:28

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Congratulations on the Fiesta! I owned an original back in '79.

Guys, I'm a late boomer. 56 years old. For the record not all of us from that generation were stupid with our money. Many of us ignored peer pressure, got down to brass tacks about how money really worked and kept our credit debt to a minimum while keeping our credit rating at the maximum. Doing so allowed much greater options when it came time to make the typical major purchases such as housing and automobiles. It also gave us confidence that we could survive economic downturns, which we (my wife and I) have done.

As such, I've never felt any responsibility for the current economic situation. In fact, while it's easy to blame a generation for what has happened, one must remember that it was mostly each individual's right to make the bad choices they did. It's true that many of those choices could not have been made if the options had not been made available, and some feel our federal government should have not allowed that to happen, but in a free market society, we have the right to prosper as we can, even if it's a detriment to the whole.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > JACU - I've got bonifides. 01/17/2014 at 17:04

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I don't mean that any individual caused or tried to prevent what happened, but what I meant from that is that this generation just inherited all this from the one(s) before us. I laugh and then die a little on the inside whenever I read about millenials because we have only had so much time to impact and change things. Maybe, *maaaaaaaaaaaaybe* about 5 years of us being a measureable amount of the skilled and professional labor force. Which also means only about 5 years or so of having the needs and means to purchase cars and property.

Some of the first millenials were also victims/idiots who were part of the collapse but there are also plenty of Gen-Xers like my parents who followed common sense. Both of them bought vehicles with my mom's GM discount back in 2002/2003. Both have been paid off for some time. My mom is just now looking at replacing her monte carlo and my dad bought an avalanche and would rather put money into restoring his old corvette than replace his truck. So I guess I follow in their footsteps since I've never seen a tow truck take away our car or come home to the lights not on or anything like that.

Side note, I am SHOCKED that it is apparently a normal thing to have 4 or 5 credit cards.....I just got my second my junior year of college and it was my first non-secured card since I got a 500$ secured card when I got my bank account in high school. I have a visa card, and a mastercard. I ditched my secured card when I moved out here and got a new one with my new bank out here. I see no reason why I would ever need 5 cards. How the hell do people walk around thinking that's okay?

NoahthePorscheGuy > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/17/2014 at 17:24

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At first I was worried this was going to be a rant against Fiesta driving millennial's. I would of been very offended. Good writeup and welcome to the club!

King Ginger, not writing for Business Insider > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/19/2014 at 12:31

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Millenials have the benefit of watching others fail in real time; this, coupled with availability of information means (assuming cynicism doesn't overwhelm ability), should indicate a more successful generation (once the boomers finally figure out that they can retire).

bmfbmf > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/19/2014 at 20:44

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Good for you. Tell your boss to suck it and come work for me, a 47 year-old Boomer/Gen Xer driving a 2009 Honda Fit. Yes, I could afford a BMW M3, yes, some days I want one, but I choose not too. Anyway, I pretty much zoom by most traffic as it is in my 5-speed 118 HP monster Fit!

It's all good, brother… be true to yourself!

titsinmymitts > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/23/2014 at 21:01

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I just ordered the Focus ST and am awaiting its arrival as well. Those lead times are a bitch, aren't they? I The Fiesta ST is a fantastic car. I honestly debate if I got the right ST model every once in a while. I do think the Fiesta has so much character and is quite ideal if you live in an urban environment. I definitely liked how the boost seemed to kick in harder than the Focus.

It is nice to see people our age saving their cash instead of splurging on all sorts of random crap via their credit cards. One thing I've noticed with my generation (Gen Y) is that we care much less about material items than we do about experiences. Vacations and paid time off work is much more important to my peers than owning a 70" LED TV or the latest 3-series. I'm a bit old hat in the fact that I care little for vacations and would much rather splurge a bit on a vehicle I could use and enjoy every day, rain or shine.

Kinetis > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/25/2014 at 14:14

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Spoken like a true salesman...