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Second, someone who buys a Roll's Royce is ostensibly doing so for the theoretical social cache that it confers. In other words, they do it to increase social status toward the end of benefitting from more and better social relationships with people of both high and low social status. Even if you hate someone for owning a Roll's Royce, you would likely treat them better in response to their perceived higher status. The underlying strategy would be that they would be able to benefit you one day from their position of higher status. Why people purchase status symbols is no mystery, and most normal people don't hate those who drive status symbols.
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I don't agree. My long dead grandfather drove a Rolls Royce as long as I knew him and didn't give a rats ass what anyone thought of him. He'd never spend that kind of money on a car just so it would impress anyone else.
He drove a Rolls Royce because he simply loved driving a Rolls Royce.
My mother still his last 1974 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. He thought the Corniche was for tackpots.
I get a good laugh everytime I see someone driving one of these new high-tech, luxury, gadgety cars, as my brother is an auto mechanic, charging $120 an hour, and he clues me into what it costs to repair these cars today. He laughs all the way to the bank, repairing these cars!
To replace these cutesy LED lights today can cost you a fortune! And lose that Fob to your keyless car can cost up to $1000! And many headlights you can't replace yourself, you have to take your car to a dealer, where they have to remove the bumper to replace a bulb! Small wonder you see so many cars on the roads today missing a tail light or head light!!! They can't afford to get it fixed!
The computer goes out, and?
I've know it for too long: Simplicity is a sure sign of maturity! And luxury!
This is why so many high end luxury cars are leased...
This is why so many high end luxury cars are leased...
How do you know that?
It does seem like that would be true, but I would think the reason is that luxury cars correlate with middle-to-high income and that the choice to lease does too. I just don't see many individuals with lower-to-moderate income choosing to lease vehicles and therefore you would see a higher proportion of luxury cars leased.
Great ad. Greater disclaimer: "Do not throw megaphones or metaphors out your window."
City-data posters, or people who closely associate with city-data posters and thus are referenced in the anecdotes of city-data posters, are not necessarily representative of the population at large. I'd hypothesize that most people buying luxury cars are driven primarily by a desire to be envied, not out of genuine appreciation for the German engineering (or the Japanese rebranding of Toyota as Lexus or Nissan as Infiniti, as mentioned above in the former instance). American muscle is a different story...I'm talking luxury cars here.
cyberphonics, your comment is intriguing. Any specific content you'd recommend?
While I agree with the first half of your statement and agree, two things stick out to me here.
1. True high end thread count sheets are truly the bomb and the cotton is like silk. With 300 count thread sheets there are 300 threads per square inch. With true thousand count, there are 1000 threads per square inch and they are very expensive, $1000 for just the flat sheet. What companies started doing (not the high end like Pratesi or Frette) they started twisting the threads to manipulate a higher count so you actually end up with a 300 count that is labeled 1000 count. Does that make sense? They are cheap, scratchy and actually much worse than an actual true 300 thread count. That's what I've read. The exaggerated counts include the individual strands that comprise the thread, rather than the threads themselves. Seems like outright fraud to me.
It would require a life changing experience for me to spend $1000+ for a set of sheets, regardless of how much money I have!
2. Restaurants jack up the price on cheap, obscure wine all the time hoping we will not know the difference. Unless you know your wine, go for the second cheapest on the wine list. I seldom buy wine at restaurants. I had a buddy who considers himself to be a wine connoisseur (but who couldn't pick the $40 wine he brought to my party from the $12 bottle I already had, in several tests) and I didn't appreciate what he brought.
I really agree with the last line you wrote.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PJA
ICAM! When I can I do look for deals but I won't sacrifice quality for price. If I save money by buying cheap but have to keep replacing the cheap items, I will end up wasting more than saving. Now if something is cheap in price but still good quality, then I will buy it.
ICAM? Whazzat?
Quote:
Originally Posted by The b8nk
The same with cars. If you really think a kia last and performs the same after 200k miles as a BMW then lol you are sadly mistaken (please dont give me ONE example of your friends that one time whos Bimmer blew up after 50k, we are talking the overall).
One thing to consider is the cost of ownership of that BMW over 200K. Two good friends own an import repair shop and are always telling me how crazy expensive even basic repairs can be on those cars.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Billy_J
Many people want to have a fancy car or a big fancy house. So if you get a fancy car or big fancy house, how do you think other people will react to that?
How will other people treat you when they see you driving around in a fancy car?
The answer is they hate you! (Because you have something they can't have. ) Is this true for everyone single person? Or just you and your rich-people-hating buddy?
So if that is the case, then why do people want to be hated by other people???
For a clue, here is someone's thinking about this I found on the internet... ["I got jealous when I see people driving luxurious cars like BMW, Mercedes Benz. I feel totally worthless and feel bad about myself because they have better car than me. What can I do to gain self-esteem?"]
Something else interesting is that you can buy a used Rolls Royce for around $10,000 - much LESS than many "average" cars on the road! Yet someone driving a $20,000 "average" looking car will "road rage" the $10,000 Rolls Royce car!
A used Rolls for $10K isn't exactly something to brag about.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MOKAN
How do you know that?
It does seem like that would be true, but I would think the reason is that luxury cars correlate with middle-to-high income and that the choice to lease does too. I just don't see many individuals with lower-to-moderate income choosing to lease vehicles and therefore you would see a higher proportion of luxury cars leased.
People of all incomes lease to get in to cars they can't afford to buy. Consider why there are so many 20-somethings driving 3 series BMWs. Plus many of the older more established people write real luxury cars off through the businesses they own.
It does seem like that would be true, but I would think the reason is that luxury cars correlate with middle-to-high income and that the choice to lease does too. I just don't see many individuals with lower-to-moderate income choosing to lease vehicles and therefore you would see a higher proportion of luxury cars leased.
I grew up around the family automobile business in the San Francisco Bay Area and the trend to leasing High End vehicles is alive and well.
Many simply do not want to own after the warranty is up and leasing provides the luxury experience for a relatively fixed expense.
You're right... I don't have current stats for nationwide...
The only new car I have ever bought is German and since I was working in Germany at the time it made sense...
The plan was to sell it Stateside after... I liked the car so much I decided to keep it... 12 years old and so far zero issues... oil changes tires and a battery.
I have a friend who grew up poor and married a very wealthy man. She had to have a Mercedes so her husband bought her one but it turned out to be a lemon (who knew?) and she has driven Acuras ever since. Last time she bought a vehicle she told me that she really liked the styling on the Buick, but she knew she wouldn't be happy driving it because it wasn't considered upscale. So she gets points for self-awareness. When her son was contemplating joining a fraternity, I heard her tell him that she knew he wouldn't be happy unless he joined a "top-tier" frat because that's just how they are.
It's funny though, because she's basically a redneck and lots of people find her offputting. In conversation with a group of acquaintances, she will always do the fake complaining/bragging thing about how much something cost. "Oh, my son wanted to go to Spring Break in Wherever and that ended up costing $2,500" with an eye-roll. Or, "I told my daughter to get a dress for the prom and she ended up spending $400 on the dress and $200 on the shoes! What are you gonna do?" I've known her long enough and well enough to know that she doesn't say these things by accident. She needs to put out there that she has more money than anyone in the room. I guess she takes the uncomfortable pauses that often follow as jealousy (which she likes) rather than aggravation. So, to answer the OP's question, people who surround themselves with upscale items to impress other people don't care if the other people are jealous or resentful or don't like them. They want the jealousy and don't care about the rest.
Obviously, this is one story about one person. People have other motivations for the consumer choices they make. But with the woman I'm talking about, I'm sure that 90% of the choices she makes are with the intention of one-upping someone else, at least in her mind.
For years I drove the same car I paid $800 for as a student... even as engineering director.
One day my Boss pulled me aside and said she knows what she pays me and I can certainly afford a new car... mind you my 72 Valiant had good paint, no rust or dents and was always clean...
I told her my frugal ways have saved the company many tens of thousands of dollars and I simply cannot buy into replacing a perfectly functional vehicle because someone might be embarrassed... she thought about and said never mind.
This in the same company where the receptionist drove a $50,000 pickup that got repossessed when she could no longer afford the payment, gas and insurance on $12 and hour.
Admittedly my pickup is a huge waste of money. Yeah it costs 50k, gets embarrassing fuel milage, and I tow near nothing with it but I enjoy the ride. And isn't that what life is about???
You can't take money with you to the here after. Some say I'm too generous paying for other's things, paying for vacations, food, etc. But I'm doing alright. My retirement is planned and secure. And here I'm left with extra money to do as I will.
The older I get, the more emphasis I place on memories and my own well being and piece of mind.
What you must ask yourself is who you want to be looking back over your life at age 95. The guy with a couple million in the bank and a blurred history of work and overtime, or the guy with a couple thousand and memories of a Samoan beach, a Siberian tour, a walk through Paris, whatever may be. Giving your children things you never had. Taking your wife on a weekend vacation just because. Money, nice things, it is all relative. Admittedly there is a thin line between the dark of it, of drawing happiness from objects exclusively and the beauty of embracing the moments those objects might foster.
Seems to me people at either extremes are never very happy.
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(Because you have something they can't have. 
) Is this true for everyone single person? Or just you and your rich-people-hating buddy? 
