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yes, that is true, but there are also a surprisingly large amount of people who are phenomenally wealthy ( in fact a number are even on the top of the world's most wealthy people) who drive rather mundane cars. The issue being discussed is whether they're overpriced, and that can be taken in many ways, whether its additional price is really worth that much more over a "ordinary" car that more or less does the same thing.
Yep went to a multimillionaire's house to purchase a really nice grand piano a couple of years ago. My co-worker who knew him told me he is a multimillionaire in terms of net worth. Guess what car he had out there? Mercury Mountaineer (wife's car) Mitsubishi Galant Ralliart (his car), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (son's car) and a Hyundai Tiburon (daughter's car) but he did have a row of motorcycles.
Apparently he bought his children's vehicles on the same day for their 16th birthday as they are fraternal twins. I still don't believe my co-worker to this day that he says he is a multimillionaire (millionaire would be far more reasonable and believable) because his home is large but not over the top nor is his vehicles. However my co-worker does insist on it.
I guess it is relative. If you don't have a mortgage, don't like to eat out or drink, don't have other hobbies, etc. then you can pay more for a luxury car if that is what you enjoy. But I'm generally speaking of the well-rounded American who does all of the above things.
Obviously the major difference would be people with children vs. people without them. That is a big cost.
The reasons you stated are exactly why using gross income as any kind of guide doesn't make a lot of sense.
Us Americans are lucky to have such cheap cars. In Australia a top of the range Land Cruiser costs $125K, the same model costs $80K stateside. BMW X6M, $200K vs$90K. I for one am thankful. But to each his own.
Us Americans are lucky to have such cheap cars. In Australia a top of the range Land Cruiser costs $125K, the same model costs $80K stateside. BMW X6M, $200K vs$90K. I for one am thankful. But to each his own.
Could you buy it here and ship it back to help save money? My friend is from Iraq and lives in Minnesota and he and his brother own a junkyard in Kurdistan (northern Iraq) and are constantly shipping cars and parts back to there. Though you can only ship 2009 and newer cars there.
Could you buy it here and ship it back to help save money? My friend is from Iraq and lives in Minnesota and he and his brother own a junkyard in Kurdistan (northern Iraq) and are constantly shipping cars and parts back to there. Though you can only ship 2009 and newer cars there.
For some countries you could but in Oz which he is talking about it would be best to make sure it's RHD because it has to be unless it's over 25 or so years old.
For some countries you could but in Oz which he is talking about it would be best to make sure it's RHD because it has to be unless it's over 25 or so years old.
I believe that there would be some extra tax as well, many people would have the same idea and the government needs to make their money. Quite an astute decision as well. The man complaining about the price of a new Mercedes will likely receive hostile responses from bloggers and citizens alike.
someone did make a good point in another thread... today's cars last 200k miles if taken care of... my 2000 grand am, a car with supposedly 'bad' reliability, has actually had very good reliability and I've hardly had to spend anything on it the last 10 years.. tie rods, new serpentine belt, brakes/rotors, tires, power window regulator which I did myself for 40 bucks, wiper switch I did myself for 40 bucks... just make sure to not take it to the dealer to have it serviced post warranty, find an honest mechanic that won't invent up things that are wrong with it. My GM has the usual GM problems such as a leaking intake gasket but it's been leaking like 7 years now, only slowly, and only externally, only in the winter, not into the engine oil, so it's something the mechanic says to not worry about.. the dealer would have screamed 'replace' and there goes 800 bucks. Consequently I have not had to flush my coolant in a long time, I just top off every winter.
Getting back to the point, if you actually keep your new car until the wheels fall off, inflation adjusted we get at least as much if not more for our money today.... trouble is, people rarely keep their car that long, they find a reason to get rid of it, and buy another one.. I've resisted that just to see how long this grand am will last... 13 years and 150k miles later, still going strong. I did have the transmission fluid pan and filter changed at 100k too (not a 'flush')
Also a lot of that technology in the luxury cars trickles down to the less expensive cars, similar to how it works with road bikes, so luxury cars are nothing to be jealous about. Be thankful someone can afford them. : )
Very interesting thread. I think luxury cars are overpriced this is why I will only buy used cars anyway. I can't afford a new Infinity G37, but I can afford a used one.
OP: Any new car is overpriced. Luxury or not, they are all overpriced, and all depreciate, this is why I will never buy a new car again.
Any new car is overpriced. Luxury or not, they are all overpriced, and all depreciate, this is why I will never buy a new car again.
And for every one person that says that there's another who got burned buying a used car and will never buy used again and says "any used car is a potential for trouble, so I always buy new".
For my money, I believe the best deal is a new car on it's last year prior to a new model coming out. They're usually very competitively priced (huge rebates) with the one/two year old low mileage equivalent of the same model and options, if you can even find the used equivalent.
Either way, it's all a matter of personal opinion and experience, there's no right answer.
when buying luxury cars, some great deals can be had when buying used.
ofcourse, warranty is of prime importance here. More so, when the car has a gazillion computers and electronics spread all over, besides handling the vital functions.
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