Not sure about bike but I would get an Endless Pool before an expensive car for sure!

-Thread off-topic alert!

Hah - I was actually thinking about that, but given that most folks quote the endless pool as coming in at north of $35k, i figured that was too much of a stretch.

Y'all probably also know me as a regular Vasa erg poster, and the harder reality is that I can't possibly justify the purchase cost, maintenance costs and headaches, and space required to install an endless pool since I get such good results with my Vasa erg. I posted already in an earlier thread, but I seem to have lost next to nothing in my swimming since March despite only doing 1 open water swim and only 1.5-3hrs/wk on my erg when I finally got to swim in a real pool 2 weeks ago (for $500/night in a local resort, $$$). 10 x 200s with paddles were coming in at 1:22-1:25/pace, which is just about as fast as I go (ok I got tired by the 9th one which came in a bit slower!)

depends on the person and situation.

In general my suggestions usually follow (as a car dealer) that the amount you spend on your car should follow a scale of how long you are going to be spending in it per day/wk. (excluding "toys" like Jeeps/sports cars/etc)
For me, I generally am in my car less than 10 minutes/day (and I drive whatever has been slow to sell on the lot at the time) and what I would buy is a lot different than what I'd buy if I had a 2+ hour commute / traffic /etc to deal with every day.

That said... a $10k bike almost certainly never makes "sense" for anyone unless it's purely for flexing purposes.

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

I bought my car intending it to be a utility - I brought my TT with me to dealerships to make sure it fit in the car the way I wanted it to. If in this imaginary world I had enough disposable income to afford a luxury car (in my mind, that's a new, not new-to-me car? with the same qualifications as my current vehicle?) I would probably pick the bike every time. Not that I've got the engine to justify a $10k bike, but I'm sure I would get a lot more joy out of the bike than the car!

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KJ
Swim and Triathlon Coach
AllTerrainEndurance.com
KJ@allterrainendurance.com

If I were a better cyclist, the bike for sure. I’ve got automobile vanity/snobbery for sure, but I think that the experiential value of a bike that’s custom/souped up definitely wins over the love affair with a car.

Huh? The person is you.

To OP, just because the raw dollars are more palatable, I think a $10k bike is more likely. Although I actually paid about 1/2 of that, my current bike would cost just about that if you bought it new as it is currently specced.

I intrinsically agree with this statement - but then I thought about it, and does it make any less sense to be driving a $90k car (which is at least a $50k markup over a 'normal' priced car of same class)? It's not like folks driving $90k cars are mostly racing their car on the weekend.

i'd get the bike

in my experience a luxury car is the gift that keeps on taking (i.e.cost of maintenance, tires etc), while a nice bike is a gift that keeps on giving

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I'd take the car. Then sell it and buy as many 10k bikes as the proceeds allow.

Hah - let's assume the normal situation and that it's an either or situation. So in this case, you would be taking the bike, not the car (and pocketing the cash, but again, we're assuming enough disposable income here to not really need to worry about cash - even if we still like accumulating it!)

Lol. I should have made it pink.

I'd take the bike, then!

I'm a bike nut, but the people who laugh at people with $10k bikes are the ones blowing the money of 1/3 of a house on a car.

I mean, a decently equipped Corvette is $70k? Same for an Audi A6 with options? I've seen well optioned Audi SUV's well into the $80k range.

Not to mention the anal pounding you take on a luxury car on routine in-warranty maintenance, and the massive bills that come once all the fancy stuff starts failing after 3 years.

Sure, it is $10k on "a freaking bicycle". A pile of carbon and alloy bits versus a massive and complex machine. But $10k is still $60k less than a car like that.

In the day I knew plenty of average Joes and Janes that would own a $10k "fun car" they'd mess with. Shoot, I did! I had a 500whp Volkswagen.

It's less obscene to talk about $10k bicycles when you look into "tuner" upgrades to cars. People spend like $1500 on an exhaust, $1000 on a tune, $5000 to build an engine up. On top of the car.

I would spend $50k on a car before I spend $10k on a bike. However, I think I would buy a $10k bike on sale for $6.5k before I spent $50k for a car. There are deals to be had on $10k bikes. The same cannot be said for luxury cars.

You know what I meant

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

I drive a Ford Focus and have 6 high-end bikes. I think that answers the question.

Bike

A top of the line bike would bring me more enjoyment and pleasure than a top of the line car.

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Matt

Similar situation for me. Pretty sure the four bikes in my garage would sell for 3-4x what my car could (2001 RAV4 with 190k miles).

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Matt

Taking into account those caveats, I'll probably buy both without any particular order. In both cases the main point is the ability to spend large amounts of money on something everybody knows is cool. I'll take it, life needs a little moments of happiness.

But with bike I know exactly how I'm going to enjoy it. With a luxury car - not sure. Driving a Porsche 10 min to the pool on a road with 50 mph limit, potholes and frequent police control? Meh. I probably need a house in Malibu or something to properly enjoy it.

Bike
Still trying to get over the 18 mph speed hurdle. At my speed gotta look good. Besides with the bike only a minuscule portion of the population will be laughing behind my back.

I drive* a 14 year old Honda Element with 150,000+ miles on it and have 5 bikes, including a custom-made titanium road bike which wasn't too far from your benchmark number so I think you know my answer.

*Technically I don't have a car anymore as my kids now drive the Element but it should be back in my hands as soon as my youngest (senior) leaves for college in a year. Sometimes I get to drive my wife's Subaru though.

I wouldn’t buy either unless I could afford both. That being said, I’d buy the bike first (and did in real life)

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

Wouldn't buy a luxury car.

Would (and did) buy a higher HP Dodge and the expensive bike.

Neither. I don't want a luxury car. I barely drive my little electric car as it is. I don't need a 10K bike.

Does a decked out Sporsmobile camper conversion count as a luxury car? It is a Mercedes.

I’ll take that over a new mountain bike.