不,你不读消费者报告或机动趋势。 但是,无论你是否相信,您所选择的车可以影响你的水平,房地产投资的成功。 这是因为您所选择的汽车制造一种印象的人,你总是希望做出正确的印象。 当然,因为汽车是在浪费资产-他们很少增加值-您花更少的钱对他们来说,您有更多的投资,更实际的东西-如您的下一次交易。
我想这是因为最近我和我的妻子买了一辆汽车。 我们正在取代旧的斯巴鲁傲虎与...鼓辊,请...另一个斯巴鲁。
什么样的印象,我们要离开你的租户及其他人与我们的金融交易? 他们应该想到我们的实际。智能。正如小心美元。我们希望目前这些展示,因为我们是对抗刻板印象。 这种刻板印象,当然是我们大家都富-我们没有实际的工作很难-因为我们自己的房地产投资的资金是很容易给我们。 这几块钱在这里和那里是不是对我们十分重要。 当我们计较金钱,我们只是被急跳。
做出正确的印象

不要让您的住户看到它! - “
即使你是富人,也没有工作的硬-对你有好处! -你几乎可以肯定不希望您的承包商,尤其是您的房客这么认为。 同样,如果他们这样想,您的承包商更容易过高你。 您的租户更可能设法使迟交或利用你用其他的方式。 你当然不会允许这一点,但为什么处理的麻烦?
这是什么意思您的购车决策? 嗯,首先,这并不意味着你不能说,雷克萨斯或保时捷。 它只是意味着你应该永远不会采取任何地方的汽车业务。 它也并不意味着你不能舒服。 即使我的未来斯巴鲁加热座椅,电动车窗,等等。
人民的印象是你的车将完全由外部,特别是品牌。这意味着旧豪华车或跑车似乎将“富裕”到您的业务联系不是一个新的非豪华模式。 我想避免所有的奢侈品牌。 您特别要避免所有的跑车。 除了延续“丰富花花公子”刻板印象,他们只是不说,实际的landlording 。
If you must have a luxury brand, go American, and more than a few years old. An eight-year-old Lincoln or Cadillac will usually be beat up enough to not look overly impressive.
The most practical landlording vehicles are often pickup trucks, vans and SUVs. They never look ostentatious unless they’ve been tricked out with deer antlers and so on (think JR on “Dallas). They can carry a lot of stuff. Vehicles with four-wheel-drive can get almost anywhere.
Not only that, but if you really want to spend a lot of money for a comfortable and luxurious ride, a pickup truck can now be as comfortable as any car. But from the outside, it just looks like a pickup truck - not a bling-mobile that will send the wrong message.
So why aren’t I buying a pickup truck? I’d actually love to have one, but the little Subaru will hold everything I need for 99% of my landlording efforts. Of course this includes maintenance projects. It’ll also haul my two kids. If I need to tote a washing machine or something else equally bulky, there’s my wife’s Honda Pilot. However, the Subaru will get much better mileage than any of those other choices. And it sure doesn’t look ostentatious.
A Good Car is a Good Value
I define a good value as everything I need for the lowest possible price. Something that doesn’t suit my needs isn’ta good value - that’s why I won’t buy an old clunker that’ll leave me stranded 30 miles from home at midnight.
Once you’ve determined the best kind of vehicle, the next thing to consider is ownership costs. This is a combination of two factors. The first factor is cost of operation - gas, maintenance, and insurance. The second is depreciation. If you are like most small landlords and use your vehicle for both business and personal purposes, you probably figure your vehicle tax deduction based on mileage. The government includes cost of depreciation in the per-mile deduction - it’s currently 21 cents per mile for depreciation out of a total deduction of 50.5 cents per mile for the first half of 2008, 58.5 cents per mile for the second half. But in reality, cars obviously lose value at different rates. The most luxurious tend to lose value the fastest.
For example, let’s take a look at a couple of flashy rides from high-quality brands. A new BMW 528 will set you back about $55,000, but the five-year-old equivalent will be only about $21,000. A new Lexus LS 460 runs about $88,000. But the five-year-old is only $22,000. The BMW has lost more than half of its value (assuming a 2004 BMW cost less when it was new - it wasn’t that much less). The Lexus has lost almost 3/4 of its value.
By comparison, the Toyota Corolla is one of the most reliable and durable cars you can buy. (I’m not considering one, only because I really want the Subaru’s all-wheel-drive.) A new one will run about $15,000. The 2004 equivalent? About $9,000. That 2004 Toyota Corolla retained most of its resale value over five years and proved itself to be a much better value than most other cars.
Maintenance and insurance will cost a lot more as well. Just ask anybody who ever bought an old luxury ride. Replacement parts for a 1999 BMW aren’t any cheaper than for a new one.
Obviously these aren’t the only things you should consider when buying a car. But I find that most landlords don’t think nearly enough about the impression their choices make, and this is one way to do so. And considering the amount of time you spend thinking about your major investment decisions, shouldn’t you devote a little more to this important choice?
Talk to Your Tax Advisor
As you know, the domestic automakers are in serious trouble right now, and I expect the government to create some innovative incentives to try to encourage people to buy cars as part of their ongoing bailout efforts. That means we are likely to see tax changes which will affect your purchasing decisions. I used the Auto and Vehicle tables at Small Business Tax & Management and Edmunds.com for research, but you should ask your tax advisor for advice. Your advisor should be up on the latest changes.
Tags: attitudes , landlord , money , perception , real estate investing , rich