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Mercedes-Benzes are very expensive to maintain properly. Many people find themselves with older luxury cars that they can't afford to maintain. They simply drive them with the CELs on until they blow up or can't pass emissions. You also should not discount the possibility that the delivery driver might be a wealthy person's child. Many of my friends drive Benzes, BMWs, Jaguars, etc. for Uber, Lyft, and Postmates. They are often hand-me-downs or gifts from parents.
There is this.
I have had an Audi, BMW, and 2x Jaguar XJ. (Currently none, as it's not feasible to travel the world with a car)
I *actually* maintained them. It had its unhappy moments (Jaguar #2). It was costly. Even the tires and oil are more expensive, due to wheel size, engine oil fill quantity, and the preference for synthetic.
It killed me, in particular, when I saw an old Jag being abused/neglected. The worst was when I was cruising home from Kailua beach (HI), and I *heard* before I *saw* a Jaguar S type being used for food delivery (aloha2go, I believe). The rear suspension was completely shot, and I heard it going over the speedbumps.
[quote=BugsyPal;52493733]Cannot speak for elsewhere but here in NYC the Escalade has become limousine of choice for a certain demographic, and that has rolled on down to Uber.
Outside our very best private schools you find a sea of Range Rovers (driven by moms or dads) and Escalades (by family driver) waiting to pick up children after school.[/QUO
It just seemed odd for a man who can afford a car like that to have a relatively low paying part-time job. I’m pretty sure that the drivers to pick up the kids outside the private schools don’t actually own the vehicles.
I work in engineering... and I make a solidly middle class income. Most pizza delivery guys drive nicer vehicles than mine.
It's a matter of priorities. I'd rather spend money on investments than vehicles, and I kinda enjoy the challenge of keeping my old beater running WAY past its design life.
Most people would rather spend that money on nice vehicles rather than prepare for the future. That's their business. Life is choices
I work in engineering... and I make a solidly middle class income. Most pizza delivery guys drive nicer vehicles than mine.
It's a matter of priorities. I'd rather spend money on investments than vehicles, and I kinda enjoy the challenge of keeping my old beater running WAY past its design life.
Most people would rather spend that money on nice vehicles rather than prepare for the future. That's their business. Life is choices
I highly doubt he bought the Mercedes with pizza delivery money.
Bentleys are a little different, they do not depreciate like other cars, I find it hard to believe a cashier at McDs could afford even an older Bentley.
A new 2005 Bentley Continental GT started at $225K. They can be had all day long now for $40K. That's a $185K drop - enough to buy a modest home in some areas. A new 2005 BMW 530 was around $55K. They're currently going for around $5K, a $50K drop. Sure, as a percentage of its price new, the Bentley depreciated a little less than the BMW (82% vs 91%), but in absolute dollars there is no comparison. You can't spend percents, you spend dollars. Bentleys aren't a "little different" - they suffer the same massive depreciation as all luxury cars. I do agree that it's hard to believe a McDonald's cashier can afford an old Bentley. It's not like a bank is going to lend someone $40K for an 18 year old car, so said cashier would likely have to pay cash. Anyone capable of saving $40K on a McDonald's cashier income is probably smart enough not to blow it on an old luxury car.
That car can be had for less then $15k, it’s just most people associate Mercedes with being successful. Who really cares what others think on it? But if customers who tip when the pizza is delivered (rather then online as I always do) it probably isn’t the best delivery car. I helped my good Sicilian friend out at his pizza shop by doing a delivery for him at lunch. So yes, a Porsche that was $120k new showed up to a business to drop 5 pizzas off. They didn’t see my vehicle and surprisingly I’ve been the only person at his shop to get tipped by the company I delivered to.
This, my brother who is a longtime mechanic sees this all the time in his shop. People, especially kids, buy a fancy used luxury car and the first time it breaks it cost them five times what it would on a econobox to fix. Not unusual for them to be left at the shop and mechanic liens put on them. Some people fall in love with the idea of driving a luxury car but have no idea of the cost of repairs and maintenance.
I lived in a very rural area, famous for being full of extreme commuters, who would travel 100 miles each way to the NYC area. A lot of these people had marginal to fair jobs in the city, and endured the drive for the much lower cost of living. Many found it necessary to drive a "status" car like a Mercedes. When the recession hit, a lot of these folks were stuck with big payments on cars that they could barely afford in the first place, and now found themselves dealing with a depressed economy, and a car that is extremely expensive to fix and maintain. For the next several years I watched high end cars and SUVs that were flogged and hammered, to the point it was tough to watch. A Big Mercedes sedan, creaking to the school bus stop with the engine ticking, a busted windshield, and a layer of unwashed crud all over the thing. A Porsche Cayenne with bald tires and road rashed rims. A seven series BMW with a bumper cover laced together with zip ties. It was quite a sight. People were taking cars that cost $70K on up, when new, and literally driving them until they fell apart, then walking away. Pretty much confirms that you might be able to afford a used, high end German ride, but you better be willing to spend thousands a year in repairs, and maintenance that would of been a quarter of that cost, if you were cruising in a Camry.
What's the issue? We have seven pages of threads responding from a point of perception and not reality. The pizza delivery driver is driving a second hand older car worth much less that your 5 year old Toyotas and Fords. The title of thread should be "PIZZA DRIVER DRIVES OLD USED CAR". Not as sexy is it?
In Europe Mercedes are used as taxis - vinyl seats, no options, crappy small engines. Hat's off for Mercedes marketing it as some unapproachable luxury car in the US but it just ain't so. They compete with Volkswagens in Europe. Go buy a ten year old Mercedes if you guys want, it's not THAT expensive. Just be prepared to service it yourself.
Cannot speak for elsewhere but here in NYC the Escalade has become limousine of choice for a certain demographic, and that has rolled on down to Uber.
Outside our very best private schools you find a sea of Range Rovers (driven by moms or dads) and Escalades (by family driver) waiting to pick up children after school.[/QUO
It just seemed odd for a man who can afford a car like that to have a relatively low paying part-time job. I’m pretty sure that the drivers to pick up the kids outside the private schools don’t actually own the vehicles.
No, those personal drivers likely not, but the Uber guys do own their own *uber* large SUVs such as the Escalade.
In certain markets Uber "Black" is very, very popular. Again with those huge SUVs having long become the de facto "limo" for a certain demographic plenty of people prefer to book Escalades, Yukons and so forth.
No, those personal drivers likely not, but the Uber guys do own their own *uber* large SUVs such as the Escalade.
In certain markets Uber "Black" is very, very popular. Again with those huge SUVs having long become the de facto "limo" for a certain demographic plenty of people prefer to book Escalades, Yukons and so baforth.
I'm far from any city, there would be no market for them to buy fancy cars down here. I don't ever do Uber Black or anything but the cheapest version. This was the man's own vehicle, I'm sure.
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