8 Film Characters Who Can’t Afford Their Cars

We have all been there, we are watching that famous film and idealising over driving that plush car in it and soon had a reality check that its way over our budget. Well believe it or not but according to Moneyshake’s recent study, 8 famous film characters can’t actually afford their iconic motors. 

How much should you spend on a car? It’s recommended to pay 15-20% of your salary on a new motor, plus extras like insurance and maintenance. Moneyshake compared the salaries of popular film characters to see how they’d manage if they were to do the same and pay off their car in 1 year.

Their research reveals that this cost-savvy approach simply wouldn’t work in fiction. Explore our findings below to see the 8 motor movie stars who couldn’t afford their cars. We also spoke to expert Ron Hay, President & CEO of Mod Bargains to see how much their performance mods would cost.

Top Findings

• It would take Bond 126 years to afford a new Aston Martin DB5

• Batman’s $1 million salary isn’t enough for the Batmobile

• Dr. Emmett Brown is the thriftiest driver, paying the DeLorean off in 1 year 

• Dominic Toretto’s performance mods would set him back £220k

• Batman has the highest insurance policy at nearly $28k per year

8 film characters who couldn’t afford their cars

Cost of Film Characters Insurance Premium

1. Batman, The Batman - $27,850

2. James Bond, No Time to Die - $9,063

3. Driver, Drive - $5,098

4. Baby, Baby Driver - $4,960

5. Max Rockatansky, Mad Max - $4,510

6. Dr. Emmett Brown, Back to the Future - $3,466

7. Dominic Toretto, F9 - $1,574

8. K/Joe, Blade Runner 2049 - $1,398

Batman has the highest insurance policy at nearly $28k per year

Not only do film stars have to fork out high prices for their movie motors, but their insurance is extortionate, too. With his prestigious and pricey Batmobile, Batman’s premium is the highest at $27,850. 

Time Needed To Pay Off Their Cars

It would take Bond 126 years to save up for an Aston Martin DB5

When using the 15% rule, it would take even the richest film characters years to save up for their favourite car. With his high-priced DB5, Bond would take the longest.

At the thriftier end, Back to the Future’s Dr. Emmett Brown would take the least amount of time to save. As a well-paid scientist who chose a cheaper DeLorean, Doc would only need a year before he could buy his time machine motor outright.

Further Analysis On The 8 Famous Movie Cars

Batman’s $1 million salary isn’t enough for the Batmobile

Batmobile price: $2.4 million

Annual insurance: $28k

As the CEO of Bruce Wayne Enterprises, Batman earns $1 million per year, according to a recent study. In the upcoming 2022 film The Batman, he’s swapped the Tumbler for a futuristic car that looks like a cross between a Dodge Charge and Ford Mustang.

Since the original Batmobile, a modified Lincoln Futura also by Ford cost $250k to build in 1954 – that’s $2.4 million adjusted for today – Batman would need to earn over $16 million if he wanted to comfortably afford it paying 15% per month, plus his $28k insurance premium. Alternatively, Batman could save for 16 years to buy the Batmobile outright.

James Bond would need to earn $9.3 million to afford a new Aston Martin DB5

Aston Martin DB5 price: $1.4 million

Annual insurance: $9k

The latest Bond instalment No Time to Die will feature four Aston Martins – the Valhalla, the DBS Superlegga, the V8 and the DB5. Mod expert Ron Hays says the classic DB5 is ‘at least a £1 million build. There is no way that old car can perform any of the stunts performed by Bond.’

‘In order to do so, the car would be completely made from scratch. A special chassis made of carbon fiber would be used to keep the car lightweight (2,200 lbs, about half the weight of a modern day car). The suspension would be changed from a live axle to a completely modern day suspension, plus the motor increased in power from its 4-cylinder to a V6.

‘The only original part on the car is the shell for the appearance, giving this specially-built car an approximate cost of £1 million, not including the fancy missiles and specially fitted 007 gadgets!’

According to a recent MI6 job ad, an Intelligence Officer will earn just less than $61.5k a year. So, if Bond wanted to buy his beloved DB5, it would take 153 years to save up, if putting away 15% of his salary. Hopefully, MI6 will foot the bill – especially with his insurance costing $9k.

The No Time to Die trailer also reveals Bond’s DB5 scratched and shot at, which could cost James Bond his annual salary in repair costs.

K/Joe from Blade Runner 2049 would save for 11 years to buy a Spinner

Spinner price: $99k

Annual insurance: $1.4k

Spinners – the flying cars from the Blade Runner films – don’t come cheap, not even for police officer K, nicknamed Joe, whose own spinner is Peugeot-branded in Blade Runner 2049. While we don’t know how much the futuristic car would cost, if we compare it to Peugeot’s latest innovation, the e-Legend, Joe would need to save for 11 years on his $59k policeman salary to buy it. 

Dominic Toretto’s Dodge Charger is cheaper, but speed mods cost $301k

Dodge Charger 500 price: $51k

Annual insurance: $1.6k

Professional speed racers are said to earn just short of $200k, which means Dominic Toretto from the Fast and Furious Franchise would only need to save for 2 years to buy his F9 Dodge Charger. However, that’s just if he wanted to buy the car and pay for his insurance.

Ron Hay says, “Toretto would have sent his 1970 Dodge Charger to a Resto Mod shop that removed every part, redid the chassis, plus a full motor build, full drivetrain, body tub, custom wheels and slick tyres. This would be approximately 2-3 years of labour at a cost of $250k-$301k for a 900HP straightline beast that can do a quarter of a mile in 9 seconds.”

Mad Max would need to save for 6 years for his Ford Falcon XB

Ford Falcon XB price: $50k

Annual insurance: $4.5k

Max Rockatansky of Mad Max drives the Interceptor, a Ford Falcon XB that costs around $50k to buy outright. Before leaving the Main Force Patrol, officer Max would have earned around $58.5k, meaning it would take around 6 years of saving before he could drive his yellow motor.

Baby Driver star may return to crime to drive his Subaru Impreza with $8k mods

Subaru Impreza price: $47k

Annual insurance: $5k

After leaving behind a life of crime, ex-getaway driver Baby would be earning around $23k a year while delivering pizzas. But if the Baby Driver character wanted to buy a new Subaru Impreza, his choice of car in the film, he’d need to save for 14 years before he could afford it.

That’s not to mention the price of his $5k insurance, which is likely higher as a young driver, plus his performance mods. Ron Hay explains, ‘This seemingly factory-looking vehicle has a lot of other hidden modifications to help it perform – mostly rally spec suspension modification with very little power added. This would cost approximately $8k in modifications for a car that is about 300HP but, if in the right hands of a skilled driver, can do some incredible stunts.’

Dr. Emmett Brown is the thriftiest film character

DeLorean price: $44k

Annual insurance: $3.5k

With a high salary and a cheaper car, Back to the Future’s Dr. Emmett Brown is the most cost-savvy star. As a scientist, Doc will earn around $208k, but his DeLorean is only $43.6k to buy. Even with his $3.5k insurance policy, Doc would be able to save up enough to buy his time machine in just 1 year.

Drive star has the cheapest car at $42 thousand dollars

Chevrolet Malibu price: $42k

Annual insurance: $5k

Opting for a Chevrolet Malibu, the unnamed driver from Drive has the cheapest car in all movies analysed, costing $42k to buy. As a mechanic, the driver can probably complete any repairs himself, so at least his maintenance costs would be low.

Find more motor research and entertainment in the Moneyshake blog, from the price of more pop culture cars to how many motors are made in a minute by the biggest manufacturers. And if you don’t want to wait to buy a new car like these film stars, see our latest car lease deals available.

Methodology

We compared multiple sources to create character profiles, their salary data and car buying costs. Where the character is not from the UK, their salary has been analysed from their respective country and converted to GBP using XE.com. Exchange rate at the time of calculations was £1 to $1.3678.

Insurance quotes were created through Compare the Market by using the fictional profile and an average policy price recorded. For all characters, where an element of the profile could not be exact from a reputable source, the closest match has been provided. All data collected in January 2021

Data correct as of February 2021.