Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My "really rich" boss drives a 2010 Ford Focus with a stick shift. Before that it was a '95 Ford Contour that he bought new. (He also has a 97 Ford F-150 long bed/short cab for "truck stuff.")
He only replaced the Contour because it broke down and needed a $1,000 repair (on a $1,000 car). Despite working at the Ford Ranger plant in St. Paul for many years, he's a numbers guy, not a car guy. He bought Fords because of his employee discount.
Driving a Mercedes is really a status symbol. People making any where from 30k to 500k/year drive em to show that they have a little extra money to throw around (either because the car is expensive to buy or maintain, lol). I personally think people driving the beat up Mercedes with shined up tires looked ridiculous.
I have anecdotal evidence that really rich people don't give an eff what they drive as long as its comfortable and reliable. Mom is a paralegal at a real estate law firm. Lots of ridiculously rich people come in there. They drive anything from a Civic to a Focus, to a 3 series or a Bentley.
Its about your tastes and what you can afford. Some people like to show off. Some like to have the newest and greatest. Some just need something simple to meet their needs.
In my life the people I've known with the most money were the most humble. Whereas the people only making <100k were always trying to show what little they had.
Mercedes-Benz for a variety of reasons. It's a company that has perhaps been the most innovative and that has the longest history. There's a legacy. Plus, if one is going to pay cash for a car they plan on driving for many years, why not buy a brand that produces cars with great longevity? Take gentle care of a Mercedes and it will last forever. The engineering is supreme and a Mercedes well taken care of will drive like it did new for many, many years. Obviously, this concept doesn't relate with middle-class buyers who buy into newness, 'change', the latest gadgetry, and feel the need to 'upgrade' every 5 years or so. See 'My Ford Touch' for an example of corporate bait. Beyond a certain point, a car is just a means to an end, and some folks just want the best and to not mess with getting a new car every several years. Beyond that, some folks prefer traditional rear-wheel drive, which Audi doesn't provide. Audi produces great cars though. They aren't far behind Mercedes. I think a preference for Mercedes boils down to educated research - the best or nothing.
Well I have a Mercedes a Cadillac and a Lincoln and my mom has a Mercedes, but we are far from rich. lol. Hers is a 1988 and mine is a 1993. I can only dream of being rich. lol.
Obviously you are trolling, but i'll bite. "Really rich" people tend to drive anything and everything. Driving a high end vehicle doesn't always indicate much about a persons wealth, but rather their taste. A vast amount "rich" people prefer not to draw attention or are willing to sink that much in liability; instead they opt to drive rather "average" vehicles.
I don't know about that. Maybe it's different where you live, but in New Jersey where I grew up, the vast majority of the rich people had fancy newer luxury cars. I should know. When I moved to the town where my parents still live to this day, I was 8 years old and it turned out that I was the poor kid in town, despite how their house cost over $300,000 and today is worth around $500,000 even after the tank in housing prices. We came to town with two Buicks (one Regal and one Grand National) that were only one year old, which my parents bought with cash. I STILL got made fun of, for being the poor kid... many things were quoted, including the fact that my parents couldn't afford to drive a Mercedes.
Rich people drive Mercedes cars because they make a statement. Back in the 80's, Mercedes vehicles were the most reliable cars you could get. In those days, it could be honestly said by someone that he bought a Mercedes because it was the best and most reliable car money could buy. These days they are among the LEAST reliable cars money can buy, but people still buy them... for the statement made by that three-pointed star on the grille.
I used to teach the child of a guy who was a lawyer at a Manhattan law firm. He drove a two-year-old Kia Rio Cinco, which was a fine commuter car given the length of his commute. His law firm determined that his vehicle was detrimental to the prestigious image of their firm, so they chipped in and helped him buy a new car... a Mercedes E55 AMG.
It's all about image... and some people want to flaunt their wealth.
Now, you take a guy like me... I could afford a Mercedes too... but instead I drive around in a 16-year-old truck with 215,000 miles and no rear window on its camper shell. I prefer to look like I don't have anything worth stealing, and that truck in my driveway tells any potential burglar that a gun lives at my house (along with a redneck who isn't afraid to use it). If I had a new Mercedes in the driveway, that'd tell potential burglars that lots of other expensive stuff (that they could easily pawn for drug money) lives at my house... even if that isn't true. It'd earn me a much higher risk of break-in, for sure. (They'd find that I have very little worth stealing, but once they're inside, they'd take whatever they thought could buy them some coke.)
But it is true that a gun lives at my house. That is the image I want to project.
... and in the case of my Mercedes which is a W140 chassis, is a complex and costly car to maintain, so if you dont buy one with tons of records and the trouble areas already addressed, you will go broke in a hurry of you are not well to do to start with. lol. They are fine cars and built like tanks with top notch build quality, but I would have never bought mine had I not known for sure that the major trouble areas had already been addressed.
I think mostly people like BMW, Audi and Mercedes cars. This cars are choice of mostly all people. It's not true that rich people get Mercedes and poor people get audi.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
