Your car works as a rough scoreboard of wealth, climbing from no car at all through a $10,000 starter and a family sedan to supercar collections and one-of-one builds that cost whatever the maker asks. The premise is simple: your car tells the world how well you are doing, so the video sorts cars into levels and describes who tends to drive each one. Price tags run from around $10,000 up to figures that have no ceiling.
Read it as a playful ladder, not a verdict. The levels below follow the video, including its rule of thumb for how much car a balance sheet can carry.
Watch the full video here, or skip to the breakdown below.
The car levels of wealth at a glance
- Level 0: No car (0:20)
- Level 1: Cheap old car (around $10,000 or less) (0:56)
- Level 2: Leather-interior old second-hand car ($10,000 to $20,000) (1:55)
- Level 3: Under five years old, plus a second car for the spouse ($25,000 to $40,000) (3:04)
- Level 4: Luxury second-hand or brand-new mid-range ($40,000 to $70,000) (4:14)
- Level 5: Brand-new luxury car ($100,000 to $150,000) (5:08)
- Level 6: Brand-new luxury his-and-her cars (over $200,000 combined) (6:42)
- Level 7: G-Wagon, Maybach, Bentley or the cheapest Ferrari ($175,000 to $300,000) (7:30)
- Level 8: Rolls-Royce or supercar ($400,000 to $1.2 million) (8:35)
- Level 9: Supercar collection (5 million dollars and up) (9:22)
- Level 10: One-of-a-kind bespoke (10:39)
Level 0: No car
You are a student, still at your parents’ place, in a dorm or in a cheap rental. You walk, take the subway or the bus, and now and then an Uber, though rides have become so expensive that walking wins.
You might dream of a bike or of a car someday, but the money is not there, and the thought of maintenance, insurance and parking puts you off. You cannot take on another thing to look after when you cannot yet fully look after yourself.
Level 1: Cheap old car (around $10,000 or less)
This is the starter car, something like a 2006 Toyota Camry, Honda Accord or Civic. You learned on your parents’ car, but now you are a real driver. Not flashy, but it gets you from A to B.
Friends ask for lifts and you split the fuel. The tank is never full, and 20 dollars counts as gas money. The car probably came as a hand-me-down, it lacks modern extras, and you made it yours with a sticker. You wash it yourself, and you look at pricier cars thinking they all have the same four wheels.
The cheapest car still beats the most expensive walk.
Level 2: Leather-interior old second-hand car ($10,000 to $20,000)
This is the first real upgrade. The old car had too many problems, and you now have a job and a predictable income. A house is out of reach, but a much better car is not.
You pull savings together and browse listings at night. A model over ten years old is fine if it has leather seats, working Apple CarPlay and ideally a sunroof. It has a sporty vibe, you want it to impress potential partners, and you take pride in it because you bought it yourself. The line behind that pride: the kid who buys his own Toyota is more successful than the one flexing in daddy’s Range Rover.
Level 3: Under five years old, plus a second car for the spouse ($25,000 to $40,000)
You are maturing financially, and a five-year-old car feels like a spaceship. This is likely your biggest single purchase so far, but tomorrow looks brighter than today, so you splurge.
You are established at work and have a partner. You have shared one car while thinking about a mortgage, but with housing prices what they are, that decision is postponed. With no kids yet and some disposable income, you buy a second car, probably on a loan while the first is nearly paid off. Two cars in the driveway feel good, especially when you remember the bus.
Level 4: Luxury second-hand or brand-new mid-range ($40,000 to $70,000)
This is usually where the middle class peaks in car-buying power, because it is where smart money stops. The video’s view is that a car over $100,000 does not make sense unless it is a work truck.
This is the main family car: a minivan, a Ford 150, a Volvo, a mid-range Mercedes or a Tesla Model 3. You could have pushed for more, but you hold a management role and did not want to send the wrong message. The mortgage, kids, travel and hobbies also need their share of the budget.
Level 5: Brand-new luxury car ($100,000 to $150,000)
This is the first time you feel like you are spending a lot on a car. Think Range Rover Sport, BMW X5, Volvo XC90, Porsche Cayenne or Tesla Model X, or a lightly used Porsche 911. Think of it as the dream you can justify, usually by buying through your company on an operating lease.
It signals to everyone from your past that you made it. One common mistake, per the video, is buying this car before the house, and it offers a rule to avoid it:
- The car should be worth 10 to 15% of the value of the house you live in
- It should rarely exceed 20% of your primary residence, or 10% of your entire real-estate portfolio
- Put simply, do not buy a $100,000-plus car if you are not worth over 1 million dollars
Plenty of people drive cars worth more than their homes, and many end up broke within five years of the purchase.
Level 6: Brand-new luxury his-and-her cars (over $200,000 combined)
Now there are two cars, a big one and a fun one, one for you and one for your partner, costing over $200,000 together. Your family says you are rich and you half believe it.
Gone are the condo days. You live in a house, with a garage, probably a pool. Your friends are into cars and you are already thinking about the next upgrade. Lately you have been eyeing older cars and the idea of a collection, but you put it off and upgrade your main driver again.
Level 7: G-Wagon, Maybach, Bentley or the cheapest Ferrari ($175,000 to $300,000)
This level has one of two names: comfort or flex. You always wanted a G-Wagon and now you can comfortably afford it. For sophisticated city life you pick a Maybach, which you can afford a driver for, or a Bentley Continental GT or Flying Spur.
You are a millionaire with a net worth the video puts between 2.5 and 5 million dollars, and you earned over 500,000 dollars last year. On the sport route, expect a Ferrari Roma, an Aston Martin or a Porsche GT3 RS. They are loud and rigid to drive, but they get the attention you are after.
Level 8: Rolls-Royce or supercar ($400,000 to $1.2 million)
If the entry point is a Lamborghini Urus or a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, it gets expensive fast. You can afford a proper Ferrari.
You run an established business that is printing cash and juggle several projects. You live in one of the best zip codes in your country, and people recognize your car in traffic. Bugatti and Pagani are still out of range, but you have plenty of options. The video puts net worth at 10 to 25 million dollars and last year’s income above 1 million.
Level 9: Supercar collection (5 million dollars and up)
Five million dollars in cars sounds like a lot, but two or three will do it. A McLaren P1 is about 2.5 million, a Bugatti Chiron about 3.5 million, and add a Koenigsegg Regera at 4.4 million and you are past 10.
To get here you sold a company for over 100 million dollars or found a glitch in the simulation. You are on TV and in magazines, or you are an athlete, a celebrity or a popular business owner. As an adult you also learn how costly a collection is to maintain each year, and that every mile lowers a car’s value. Treat it as a passion project, not a business.
Level 10: One-of-a-kind bespoke
The price is whatever you are willing to pay the car company. Elite clients of brands such as Rolls-Royce, Bugatti, Koenigsegg or Ferrari can receive a custom offer for a one-of-one piece built for them. That is how you get the 23 million dollar Rolls-Royce Boat Tail, or the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet, the video’s favorite modern car.
Some cars at this level are not even road-legal. You can buy an F1 car for around 15 million dollars and see how fast you lap. They tend to appreciate like art because they are collectibles and exhibition pieces. You do not need to be a billionaire, but the brand has to see you as a genuine fan.
Bonus: no car, again
If there were a Level 11, it would be no car again, from the opposite side. You do not own or drive one. Whenever you need a car, one is waiting. You do not know which, where it is parked or when the oil was last changed. You get in and it drops you off, and it is not a rideshare because nobody else has been in it.
Think royal families, heads of state and top business tycoons. They mention the car only when it falls short of their expectations, and then the whole machine around them finds an alternative. The ladder starts with no car and ends there too, from a very different place.
FAQ
What does your car say about your level of wealth?
The video treats it as a rough scoreboard: a car under about $10,000 signals a starter, $40,000 to $70,000 is typical middle-class peak, and $100,000 or more suggests a much higher net worth.
How much should you spend on a car compared to your house?
According to the video, a car should be 10 to 15% of your home’s value, rarely over 20% of your primary residence or 10% of your real-estate portfolio.
When does a $100,000 car make sense?
Only if you are worth over 1 million dollars, in the video’s view. People who buy one before the house often end up broke within five years.
How much is a supercar collection?
Five million dollars or more. A McLaren P1 at about 2.5 million, a Bugatti Chiron at about 3.5 million and a Koenigsegg Regera at 4.4 million already pass 10 million.
What is the highest level of the car wealth ladder?
Bespoke one-of-one builds for elite clients, such as the 23 million dollar Rolls-Royce Boat Tail. The video adds a bonus level: owning no car and being driven everywhere.
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