# What is the value of your car relative to the value of your home? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481 "2015-07-07T15:10:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/41 "2015-07-08T02:08:19Z")
I was going to say my truck is worth about 10% of my house but I looked up the Blue Book Value and it’s closer to 20%. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/42 "2015-07-08T08:02:03Z")
We live in an expensive area where posh cars get keyed. So our car is probably worth about 0.1% of the flat’s value. And it’s not even that cheap really! I know people with much cheaper cars. However, we have cheap rent, so it’d probably be about three months’ rent. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/43 "2015-07-08T08:54:44Z")
My 2000 Accord is definitely worth less than 1% of the value of our house. The 2009 Accord is probably somewhere in the 2-3% range, just guesstimating. I’m not bothering to look it up. ETA: A big variable here is, where are you in the life cycle of your vehicles? If I buy a new car next week for $25K and put the 2000 Accord out to pasture, then that ‘less than 1%’ will be replaced by a higher percentage. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/44 "2015-07-08T13:46:28Z")
My 2007 Fit is probably worth about 1% of our house currently assessed at a hair under $800K. But when I bought the house at $32K, I had just bought a car at $4K. That was in 1971 and five cars ago. When I bought the house, that was 2 years salary. Now it would be about 8 years salary and I just could not have swung it. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/45 "2015-07-08T13:53:04Z")
My car is worth about 0.57% of my house value. My wife’s car would be less, maybe 0.5%. (UK based) ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/46 "2015-07-08T14:02:07Z")
Around one percent, maybe. It’s twelve years old, but only has 30K miles on it. (I work at home.) ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/47 "2015-07-08T14:06:55Z")
If I total the purchase price all 4 of the cars I own[sub]let’s see - carry the 1, bring over the naught[/sub] they equal 8% of the value of my home. Individually, they range from 1% to 3%. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/48 "2015-07-08T14:15:17Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I know someone that drives a loaded 2015 Tahoe worth about $65k. Is it really still worth that after he’s driven it a while? > [@](#): > > They live in a mediocre 3BR 2BA house worth about $130k. Married with 2 kids. Is this average for your area? Maybe he spends a lot of time in the car and wanted something he loved? How long does he keep cars? > [@](#): > > The car I drive is worth about 6% of the value of my home. Any vehicle I drive is worth 100% more than the value of my home, because I don’t own a home. Property is ridiculously expensive where I live, and paying for treatment and prescriptions of my medical issues uses up most of my “disposable” income. Saving for a down payment is a long process, and I make too much money (and don’t have enough kids) to qualify for any financial assistance. I drive a nice 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe, leather interior, heated seats, good stereo, sunroof, AWD. I spend hours in it commuting and I want to be comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/49 "2015-07-08T14:17:00Z")
Interesting thread. I’m not sure this really tells you anything about anyone. A house is just a place to sleep to me. A car is part of me. That said, anyone that paid 60 grand for a Tahoe wants his head examined. My wife and I both have cars. Mine is new, hers is old; we both bought at the same time in 2008 but she hardly drives and I do 20,000 miles a year, so I just replaced mine. Combined market value is around $25,000. We paid $180K for our house in 2008, but that was near the peak of the market (and we’re in Florida.) Based on comparables in the area, it seems like we might just about be back to where we started. So the house is worth 7.2 times what the cars are worth, or the cars are worth 13.9% of the house. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/50 "2015-07-08T14:22:21Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Is it really still worth that after he’s driven it a while? Nothing depreciates faster, as a class, than “loaded” pickups and SUVs. Just maybe some other really loaded middlegrade cars. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/51 "2015-07-08T15:30:27Z")
Based on purchase prices, my car is worth about 6.6% of my house. Based on actual value, my car is worth about 2.1% of my house. ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/52 "2015-07-08T15:59:11Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I don’t know what the magic number is, but I would suspect if your car is worth more than 20% of your home value, then your priorities aren’t consistent with financial responsibility. It’s a lot more nuanced than this, and there is a bigger picture to consider. If you’re not trying to buy the absolute maximum house (at the risk of being house poor), or you’re not buying a house relative to the value of a car (or whatever else), then it throws this out the window. Myself, I qualified for more house, but chose not to buy more expensive, because having “more house” wasn’t an interest of mine. Having a roof over my head was the priority, followed by my garage/space requirements (because I enjoy cars). Anything larger would just mean more space to fill, more taxes, more upkeep, etc. for no real reason. I’d rather free up the money and time, and allocate it towards something I more care about, like the freedom to travel or toy with my cars. Ultimately, while the two are big purchases for many people (house and car), an irresponsible person is an irresponsible person, and the opposite is also true. Whatever it is you choose to prioritize from that point on, doesn’t change that basic principle. There are people with shoe collections worth more than their car, after all. If you’re financially stable and have planned your lifestyle, the % thing doesn’t really matter, within reason. ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/53 "2015-07-08T16:15:21Z")
Less than 5%. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/54 "2015-07-08T16:25:06Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > The problem with your system is that real estate prices vary so much by location but car prices are relatively stable. Right. I had the same car when I was paying $350/month as when I was paying $2400/month. And the car was a lot newer back when I was paying low rent. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/55 "2015-07-08T17:01:14Z")
Per Kelley Blue Book, our “new” car is worth about 1% of the house value. Expensive real estate, old car. Our other one is worth about 1/5 of that (very old car). Short of some pretty massive downsizing, and/or moving to a MUCH cheaper part of the country, there’s no way we’d ever have a car that was worth more than 5-6% of the house’s value. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/56 "2015-07-08T17:39:10Z")
My car is worth about 4% of my house. My truck is worth about .08% of my house. My motorcycle is about 1.3% of my house. So all together I’m at about 5.3%, still pretty good. I probably should get rid of a vehicle but can never decide which one, they all have their uses/benefits. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/57 "2015-07-08T17:57:17Z")
New, the car was about 6%. Combined with the RV, however, we’re now up to about 30%. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/58 "2015-07-08T17:59:00Z")
Unkown. Personally, I like it that way. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/59 "2015-07-08T18:11:27Z")
If the OP is trying to get to questions of soundness of household balance sheets and wisdom of purchase and expenditure mix, he sure took a sideways route to it. I’d be much more inclined to ask about gross & net worth vs. income & age. Likewise the portfolio mix between their owned residence and other asset classes. But yeah, for an ordinary workin’ class schmo age 30-something, having an expensive car and a small income and small house to boot is a sign they’re not destined for almost unspendable levels of riches in retirement. Throw in economically silly things like a spouse who’s not a profit center and maybe kid(s) and other critters with appetites and pretty soon you’re looking at a slo-mo financial disaster. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481/60 "2015-07-08T18:40:36Z")
My husbands and my car together, are under 5% of our house value but real estate is expensive here. Ironically if I lived further out of the city for cheaper real estate I would need a more expensive car to ensure I could commute successfully so if this measurement was used to judge my fiscal responsibility it would fail badly in this situation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-your-car-relative-to-the-value-of-your-home/724481.md?page=4)