"luxury" cars - why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would someone buy a 70-150k car when a 35k car gets you around just fine? Seems like a waste to me. I have a friend who just bought a Mercedes and I don't think k I could bring myself to do it. I know everyone's values are different but if I got a raise, I would go on vacation and save some.

Why spend $35K on a car when a $15K car gets you around just fine? Seems like a waste to me. I have a friend who just bought a new fully loaded Accord and I don't think I could bring myself to do it when base level Civic gets me to the same place. I know everyone's values are different but if I got a raise, I would go on vacation and same some.

[Anonymous]

We just bought a luxury car, a Tesla S P100D. Paid cash. We don’t have a mortgage, education is fully funded, etc. Retired.

Can’t take the money with you when you are dead so why not?!? Love our new car! Worth the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would someone buy a 70-150k car when a 35k car gets you around just fine? Seems like a waste to me. I have a friend who just bought a Mercedes and I don't think k I could bring myself to do it. I know everyone's values are different but if I got a raise, I would go on vacation and save some.

Why spend $35K on a car when a $15K car gets you around just fine? Seems like a waste to me. I have a friend who just bought a new fully loaded Accord and I don't think I could bring myself to do it when base level Civic gets me to the same place. I know everyone's values are different but if I got a raise, I would go on vacation and same some.

Why have a car? The bus gets you around just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would someone buy a 70-150k car when a 35k car gets you around just fine? Seems like a waste to me. I have a friend who just bought a Mercedes and I don't think k I could bring myself to do it. I know everyone's values are different but if I got a raise, I would go on vacation and save some.

Why spend $35K on a car when a $15K car gets you around just fine? Seems like a waste to me. I have a friend who just bought a new fully loaded Accord and I don't think I could bring myself to do it when base level Civic gets me to the same place. I know everyone's values are different but if I got a raise, I would go on vacation and same some.

Why have a car? The bus gets you around just fine.

Why take the bus? Walk!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would someone buy a 70-150k car when a 35k car gets you around just fine? Seems like a waste to me. I have a friend who just bought a Mercedes and I don't think k I could bring myself to do it. I know everyone's values are different but if I got a raise, I would go on vacation and save some.

Why spend $35K on a car when a $15K car gets you around just fine? Seems like a waste to me. I have a friend who just bought a new fully loaded Accord and I don't think I could bring myself to do it when base level Civic gets me to the same place. I know everyone's values are different but if I got a raise, I would go on vacation and same some.

Why have a car? The bus gets you around just fine.

Why take the bus? Walk!

And get some free exercise. No gym membership required.

[Anonymous]

Status symbols are very important to many people.

I make double what I made a few years ago and I can't tell you how many people are shocked I drive a 10 year old car and still live in the same house. There is an expectation that you show off your income with purchases.

I have no interest in anything luxury and I don't care if people think I am poor or not as rich as them.

[Anonymous]

Ok, the reductio ad absurdum is over now.

I hear you, OP. I think the answer is, because all the other partners/neighbors/moms at carpool have one. It’s why all the parents at certain private schools end up driving the exact same Range Rover or Escalade. People will pay a huge amount of money to fit in.

[Anonymous]

No no no. It’s the awesome pull in service centers. Either get a loner even nicer than your car or hang out in the lounge with free drinks and snacks, nice leather seating, big screen TVs, clean restrooms, work stations if needed, etc.

Oh and I do love the air conditioned seats. And hot/cold cup holders.

[Anonymous]

People like what they like.

[Anonymous]

Cars mean different things to different people. Ask yourself why you care so much about what other people do with their money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:-Comfort (seat warmers, softer ride, don’t feel potholes, etc)

-More features, including safety features

If you look at cars now, they have come a long way from cars with back-up cameras. DH just bought a $65k car because he has a ridiculous daily commute and it has features like auto drive in traffic (it slows down and speeds up, brakes for you if someone brakes fast), and sensors all around so you always know if there’s someone in your blind spot, or if a kid runs out into the street when you’re backing up, thinks like that. ..

Relying on auto drive is a bad idea. Sounds like he wants the car to drive for him. That's dangerous. He should take the train!

I have one like this. You have to keep your hands on the wheel or it will disengage. The car has faster reflexes than a human.

In the market for a new car. What kind of car is this please?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would someone buy a 70-150k car when a 35k car gets you around just fine? Seems like a waste to me. I have a friend who just bought a Mercedes and I don't think k I could bring myself to do it. I know everyone's values are different but if I got a raise, I would go on vacation and save some.

Psst: here's a little secret

Ready?

Some people can afford it

For many people in the DMV, 35k is a weekly income. Not really worth cheaping out then is it

According to this 2014 NYTimes article, the median income of a luxury car owner is less than 100K.

It is certainly not those earning $1M+/year that are driving luxury car sales.

All the market research I've read suggests it's more around 750

I'm sorry (not really) but consumption rises with income. Income elasticity of demand. Fundamental principle of economics.

[Anonymous]

I never thought I would buy a car over $30k, or a car made by an american company for that matter...but then I just spent nearly $60k on a Tesla model 3 and decided all our future cars will be an EV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would someone buy a 70-150k car when a 35k car gets you around just fine? Seems like a waste to me. I have a friend who just bought a Mercedes and I don't think k I could bring myself to do it. I know everyone's values are different but if I got a raise, I would go on vacation and save some.

Psst: here's a little secret

Ready?

Some people can afford it

For many people in the DMV, 35k is a weekly income. Not really worth cheaping out then is it

According to this 2014 NYTimes article, the median income of a luxury car owner is less than 100K.

It is certainly not those earning $1M+/year that are driving luxury car sales.

All the market research I've read suggests it's more around 750

I'm sorry (not really) but consumption rises with income. Income elasticity of demand. Fundamental principle of economics.

Here's the link, and an excerpt from the article. I think what some are puzzling over is why luxury cars sell so well to people with relatively modest incomes.

Luxury automakers from Audi to Mercedes-Benz reported record sales last year. Their vehicles made up more than one million of the 16 million sold in the United States in 2013, adding to the millions of older luxury vehicles already speeding along America’s highways.

So the question is, Who is buying all those very expensive cars? Perhaps surprisingly, the answer in many cases is people who are not all that well off, especially when regional income differences are taken into account.

In data prepared for The New York Times, Kantar Media TGI, a market research firm, found that the income reported by people buying luxury goods — not just cars, but designer kitchen appliances and luxury vacations, too — was not particularly high compared with the price of these goods, and that purchases of specific luxury goods varied considerably by region.

The median annual income of a luxury car owner in the United States, for example, is $99,364, while a Mercedes C-Class sedan, the carmaker’s entry-level vehicle and its most popular model, starts at around $40,000.

[Anonymous]

‘Luxury’ houses-why?