Comments on: Surprise Honey, I Just Added $60,000 to Our Debt

By: Omie

Omie — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:28:38 +0000

Mercedes and even Cadillac have similar commercials.

By: Omie

Omie — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:27:15 +0000

I suppose it is for all of those yuppie suburbanites who have money to burn. It caters to rich people, the poor schmucks that work for a living cannot afford the car. The commercial makes me hate Lexus.

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:46:16 +0000

I think my wife would gladly take the Lexus…she would use it to drive to the closest divorce attorney!

By: Justin

Justin — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:23:07 +0000

I didn’t realise the car was fully optioned. From the ads it looks like an RX to me, which start at 37K. Now, apart from that, yes, my wife would kill me too.

By: JB

JB — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 04:47:10 +0000

I don’t like the premise behind the commercial either and mere mortals could not go out and buy the car without repercussions. But the one couple I know of where someone got a car for xmas, the car purchase was planned, just not for a specific day. So when I watch that commercial I kinda thought they had talked about it and were going to buy a luxury sedan :)

By: Joseph Sangl

Joseph Sangl — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 23:51:26 +0000

Lexus knows that most Americans spend money with a short-term mindset. They might “know” that spending the money on a car that will drop in value like a rock is a bad idea, but they don’t have to pay the consequences of the decision in a massive way for years to come. They can enjoy the luxurious car immediately.

I have always laughed at these commercials when the announcer dude says “make this a December to remember …”

I can promise you it WOULD be a December to remember if I bought this stupid car without my bride’s input.

I have no problem with Lexus or owning a Lexus. I have a problem with the perceived deception between spouses.

By: Scope

Scope — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 05:00:08 +0000

Anyone who buys new is a chump anyways. Buy a 3-year old used.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 00:33:15 +0000

my wife and I are on a strict budget and after seeing the lexus commercial together, she told me that she wants me to surprise her with a car for christmas or her birthday some year, and I’m excited about it, and we’ll be paying cash.

we hope to make 250K this year and she currently drives a $1K (yes, that’s one thousand dollars)1996 ford escort. she’ll deserve more than whatever car I surprise her with, but it’ll probably be a $20K used Honda Pilot, not a $60K Lexus.

By: jim

jim — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:43:00 +0000

Yeah, I always thought these ads were ridiculous, it’s one thing to get jewelry without consulting… but a CAR!?!?!?! But I suppose it works because they always run those ads…

By: Tommy

Tommy — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 07:42:27 +0000

Blowing 60K on a car without consulting with the Mrs. would result in me having at least one or two new ones ripped in me within 30 secs.

By: Meg

Meg — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 02:20:59 +0000

Unfortunately, most people I know would be THRILLED if their spouses came home with a surprise Lexus. Women and men alike would likely view it as an extremelly generous and meaningful gift. On top of that they would LOVE the opportunity to brag about their spouses’ generosity (and simultaneously about their financial successes) to their friends.

Of course that all assumes that the couple make upwards of $150,000 a year. But many couples do, and many more don’t know/care much about what financial prudence would dictate. So no, I don’t think it’s completely outrageous, especially as materialistic consumption-promoting commercials go.

In fact, if I had all my financial ducks in a row and got a $200,000 bonus, I might consider such a purchase for my spouse under certain circumstances (like that I knew he wanted that exact car, and he hadn’t had a new car in years). And I certainly wouldn’t be mad if my high-earning spouse bought me a car–assuming again that our financial situation was stellar.

By: GeckoGirl

GeckoGirl — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:00:11 +0000

I guess I’m the lone voice of dissent here. Hubby and I put down about 60% on the last car we bought and hope to be able to pay cash for the next one. Therefore, if we were already in the market for a new car and he just came home with one, I wouldn’t necessarily be upset, provided the car he got was something that we’d already agreed upon. That would just mean he saved me the trouble of finding a car (we buy pre-owned) and haggling with the dealer.

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 07:52:45 +0000

i’m not sure what the usefulness of dissecting the commercial. Really, any commercial is going to portray a fantasy reality. Commercials are designed to illicit aspirational wants. These “luxury” commercials are designed to target those in the “aspirational” class, who have just enough extra income to afford a $60k car. They key for all of us is to disassociate a marketer’s idea of what we should want versus our real wants and needs. It doesn’t matter how much you make, if you can afford a $60k car and want to spend $60k on a car for whatever reason, so be it.

By: JHS

JHS — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 07:29:43 +0000

Considering that California is a community property state and encumbrances are also “community” if community assets are relied upon to pay/secure the debt, e.g., wages or salary, then my husband would be in deep trouble if he pulled such a stunt. What a ridiculous commercial (I haven’t actually seen it.)

Thanks for participating in this weeks’ Carnival of Family Life which will go live on Monday, January 24, 2007, at 12:01 a.m. (Pacific time). We have LOTS of wonderful entries this week and the Carnival is going to be fabulous! Be sure you drop by and check out some of the other entries.

How ’bout hosting one week? Have you signed up yet? The schedule is posted at Colloquium.

Happy Holidays!

By: Lazy Man

Lazy Man — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 05:06:30 +0000

Sam, I’m not so sure that Lexus is putting the commercial on TV to get Trump’s or Gates’ attention. Someone making 1M a year probably drives an even better car than a Lexus.

I’d draw the line at around 500K a year. As I previously mentioned, it doesn’t look like they are a 500K family. The commercial shows them as average couple, no hint of them being in the top 1% of earners.

By: Sam

Sam — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 03:14:26 +0000

# Dantheman55 responded:
“The commercial makes it tough to be a common middle class man, just as the diamond commercials do. Sam missed the point of your question. It wasn’t can you afford it? It was would you do it without your wife’s knowledge? Any sane man in a good marriage would say NO.”

Do you think Donald Trump clears it with his wife before he buys her a car? What about Bill Gates? if the answer is no, they can do whatever they want then where does the line get drawn? Does a person who makes 100 million a year need to get permission to spend 60k? What about someone who makes 10 million/year? What about 1 million/year?

By: anonymous

anonymous — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 20:02:42 +0000

‘Sam, if you make 500K and up, you probably already have a 60k car. I also don’t think the “soccer mom” portrayed in the commercial should be so against picking up the kid at practice if the dad is “staying at the office late” to make the 500k. In short, they are portrayed as an average couple in the commercial.’

baloney. They are not portrayed as an average couple, unless the ‘average couple’ lives in a 5000 sq. ft. house with a secluded drive and professionally trimmed hedges.

And as the spouse of a high-earner, I can testify that even if your spouse makes a mid 6-figure income, you still want them to do their fair share of the housework.

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 19:18:24 +0000

I spent $20k on a watch without telling my wife about it. was I naughty?

By: anonymous

anonymous — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 17:17:57 +0000

In all fairness, you’re making all kinds of assumptions from a 30 second commercial. Maybe they *had* talked about it. Maybe she’d been hinting that she wanted the car, they’d been discussing it and could afford it, but the actual purchase was a surprise?

And maybe, just maybe, they could even afford it.

I’ve surprised my wife with plenty of $100 purchases, and even $500 purchases. Heck, I surprised her with an engagement ring that cost a couple thousand dollars. For some people that would be too extravagant, but they fit well within our budget. But clearly there are people for whom a Lexus is well within reach.

By: Dantheman55

Dantheman55 — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 16:21:10 +0000

The commercial makes it tough to be a common middle class man, just as the diamond commercials do. Sam missed the point of your question. It wasn’t can you afford it? It was would you do it without your wife’s knowledge? Any sane man in a good marriage would say NO.