Right now, I'm driving a 2001 Saturn 4-door-paid for. Previously a 1998 Saturn 4-door-paid for. Before that a 1994 Saturn-paid for. I have been driving 2nd-hand cars and I'm loving it. Cash-paid for! Leasing is not a smart move (who here watches Suse Orman). You can't drive a clunker but you don't have to spend BIG bucks - good Lord. Unless you're selling $1million+ homes ALL the time. Wouldn't you rather have that money in your bank account than the tax write-off? A car is the worst depreciating asset in the world (well, other than real estate in some parts of the country right now).

Course, I don't really care because if someone (client) made a comment, a not-nice comment, do you know what my comment back would be? "Guess how much money I've got in the bank."

Do you know anyone on the east coast but not in salt or snow country that has a Saturn Vue - the lastest model for sale? Now, that's what I wanted next but the Saturns are gone now...sigh.

Well, I'm still driving that 2003 medium metallic blue Chevy Tahoe that I bought new in Aug. 2003. Best car I have ever owned. Turned over 100,000 miles back in May. Runs like a champ.

I don't haul around buyers very often - usually meet them at the location I'm showing. But, if I'm showing a handful, we will take mine or theirs, whichever they prefer.

I am not into new construction homes or high-end customers. Nothing wrong with those, just not my niche. I am into working class people who have saved up some money and/or cleaned up their credit who are now buying their first or second house. They give me a nice, warm feeling inside. I don't make a lot of money on those types of commissions, but I'm not going hungry & the bills are getting paid -- and I have plenty of rental income, so I'm fine with that.

I drive a 2008 BMW X6 when I am showing nice properties. If I'm going out to show some junkers I will drive my 2003 dodge ram.

I drive a silver 2004 Jaguar X-type. I think it is a great RE car...4-door but somewhat sporty. The bottom line is that it is paid for.

I have to agree with the posters about what type of business you're conducting should dictate what type of car you drive. I mean, literally... if you're showing and contracting high end properties - you can not only afford the high end car, but your clients might expect that. If you're showing first time home buyers around, you might intimidate them with a flashy car. It's all a balance!

The high end buyer could well have come from middle class parents and wouldn't have a problem with a Camry or Accord.
It's what he grew up with.

I completely agree. I drive a 2011 VW CC, and not only does it look good to the client, it gives me a little boost of confidence.

Cars have been a social symbol for a long time, and while it may be shallow to care about such things, people who have responded before me are right, clients care about that, first impressions are everything.

My next Realtor-mobile is at this moment on a transport carrier on its way to me from St. Louis: a baby blue 1964 suicide-door Lincoln Continental.

Mechanically and cosmetically immaculate, very distinctive in appearance, and--of significant importance--a fraction of what a new car would cost. Better yet, even after I've loaded some miles onto the car, I'll still be able to sell it in a few years without losing so much as a dime in value.

Constantly throwing money away on brand-new cars is just silly in my opinion.

Sweet ride. Jealous in VA.

Such a classic. Is it a hard top or a convertible?

Personally, more a fan of the hardtops. I don't know why, especially living in California. I just tend to like hard tops more. The only example of a convertible I like more than the hardtop is the Jaguar E-Type.

I'm a big fan of driving clean old cars too.

It could be "both" because in that time period, I think that Ford Motor still offered what was called a "Hard Top Convertible" with the "Hard Top" mechanically lifted and stowed away in the trunk . . . . at least on Thunderbirds, Lincolns, Mustangs, Cougars and some big Fords.

An expensive contraption in its time, but fun to watch . . . . and something else to go wrong. I don't think any other manufacturer ever offered that feature.

Thanks, Doin'. Patrick, I've always loved convertibles, but this one's a hardtop. The lines on the hardtop Conti do look a little classier than the convertible in my opinion. I wasn't even looking for a Lincoln but I happened to run across it online and it met all my specs for both condition and price, so I said what the heck and bought it.

In general, I think convertibles look better than the hardtops when the top is down...but the hardtops always look better than the convertibles when the top is up. My next classic is going to be a Cadillac convertible (yes, I like my classics enormous and cushy), but I just couldn't find one I really liked in my price range this time around.

By the way, one very nice intangible factor of riding around in an old car is that it's a total conversation magnet. When I had my last car (a '63 Caddy hardtop coupe), people used to stop and talk to me all the time. And car shows/cruise nights can be great ways to meet and casually converse with large numbers of people (i.e., potential leads).

One of my old cars that fits in the "wish I still had it" category is a 1958 Chevy convertible. That was the year they had a rounded looking rear fender (earlier were more pointy and in 1959 they looked like wings). Of course I beat the hell out of it and then got a 1962 MGB convertible.

I miss my Iroc Z28 Camaro.

And my Yugo is still a POS...