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Phone desirability is certainly.something of a mystery to me.
Cars make more sense because, in part, you need to consider resale value of buying outright.
There is also generally quite a strong link between how a brand is perceived and how pleasant (not reliable, not efficient, pleasant) their cars are. A Mercedes is a much nicer place to be than a Peugeot. Or, to make it even more obvious, an Audi is nicer than a Seat. Where people come unstuck is thinking luxury = reliability. The price difference between, say, an Audi A3 and a Seat Leon is largely down to the trim being much better and has no link to engineering.
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There is also generally quite a strong link between how a brand is perceived and how pleasant (not reliable, not efficient, pleasant) their cars are. A Mercedes is a much nicer place to be than a Peugeot. Or, to make it even more obvious, an Audi is nicer than a Seat. Where people come unstuck is thinking luxury = reliability. The price difference between, say, an Audi A3 and a Seat Leon is largely down to the trim being much better and has no link to engineering.
Folk may daily spend an hour in their car, 8 hours in bed, and 15 hours at home/work. Yet we spend disproportionately on cars to have comfy seat coverings and new gizmos - many of which we don't like anyway (electric parking brakes, lane keeping tech etc).
Few homes are wholly contemporary. The age and condition of furniture, technology, kitchens and bathrooms may be a mix of new(ish) to old, worn, needing replacement, lacking modern functionality etc.
Often they will be 10+++ years old. Most never attain antique status. If the same attitude prevailed with cars they would be kept for 10-20 years until the cost of repair or repeated failures prompts replacement.
Conclusion - car manufacturers are obviously doing a better job in promoting aspirational acquisition than kitchen, bathroom, and furniture manufacti=urers,
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I agree with the phone example.
I had bought a Google pixel 8a but unable to make calls.
Used one of my older phones with 2 sim cards in it as I have 2 numbers.. One private only.
By mistake put through the washing machine.. DOH..
Looking for a cheap phone as they don't last long with me.
Xiaomi redmi 14C at Argos for £79.
It has a big screen. Excellent battery life and does all I need.
Same goes for the Korando.
No point chasing a £33000 Kia or Hyundai when what I have does the job.
No one really knows what it is as I debadged it to remove the alphabet soup on the tailgate.
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TerryW makes some intersting points, for those who buy new high end cars regularly with their own money taxed before they receive it would be interesting to work out how much buying furnishing and running their homes has cost over say a 30 year period and compare to how much their cars have cost when all costs are included.
Those motoring figures alone would probably make sobering reading, but if one then subtracted the increase in house value (assuming you bought) over those 30 years...well maybe it would be best not to work those figures out.
Phone wise, for years i stuck to cheap Nokia or similar simple phones, avoided smart as no need, probably more than 8 years ago i bought a CAT S41 (builder quality) smart phone reason being increasing need of google traffic on the move, wifey's high end smart phones the battery lasts barely a day between charges and the phone itself too fragile for the use i put them to so wasn't going down that road, once dropped in water for barely a second saw one of hers kaput within hours.
The CAT is still going strong despite being bashed around crushed dropped multiple times subjected to various soakings and the battery (large enough to have the facility to charge other phones from it) still lasts several days of regular use, no idea which company makes CAT phones but i'll have another if this one doesn't see me out.
Our issued (not iphone but probably their biggest competitor) company smart phones almost none of us use, just awful frustrating slow things oversized too, a brand i considered buying all those years ago, so very glad i didn't.
Products i do prefer to buy branded, include cars (Toyota preferably used) and household white goods (Miele Siemens or similar well built), previous poor experiences of others and overall positive experiences of these brands guide my choices, its been interesting to see Toyota reputation in particular soar over the last few years among the general motoring public who buy their own cars, is that through shared experiences among friends and colleagues i wonder (or noticing every taxi driver and his dog arn't wrong) or have the' expert' reviewers finally cottoned on too.
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I buy hardly used 2-4 years out of date Iphones...limit being £100.
They last 3 to 6 years an data transport to the next is easy.. Current SE model 2 is two years old (in my use) Unused when bought as used.
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Cars. Japanese
White goods. German or John Lewis (they are AEG models)
Phone. Iphone, but as above I buy ones 3-4 models old. My current one is an XS I've had for 3 years. Battery is starting to degrade so it will either be a new battery or maybe a 12 if I can find one cheap enough.
Business phone is a Samsung which after 4 years I still can't use. The interface for doing anything is terrible. Even turning it off takes three separate operations!
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My phone - a used alcatel pixie 4, bought many yrs ago for £30, no monthly charge, pay-as-you-go with orange. Hardly ever used - main function to receive authorisation codes when accessing banking, etc. and to carry when cycling if needed for an emergency.
My 'forever' cars - a second hand aluminium 2005 Audi A8 cost £12k in 2014 and a nearly new Ziebarted 1980 TR7 DHC cost £4250 in 1981.
Mrs F has the fancy iphone and new(ish) car - a 2019 Peugeot 2008 which we expect to last as long as our Mk1 Focus did (21yrs).
The VW Phaeton was a classic example of badge markdown - or perhaps Bentley is a classic example of badge mark-up; VW engine, VW (ZF) gearbox, VW (audi) fourwheel drive and VW comfy seats.
It's a triumph of SMMT marketing that vast swathes of motorists have been persuaded to part with several hundred pounds a month to have a car.
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<< Few homes are wholly contemporary. The age and condition of furniture, technology, kitchens and bathrooms may be a mix of new(ish) to old, worn, needing replacement, lacking modern functionality etc. >>
While mentioning kitchens and bathrooms, you seem to imply,that progress moves forever upwards. I suggest that the concept of functionality has been largely absent from bathroom fittings for 12 years or more. Some basins are so stupidly flat that they can contain very little water, and most current plumbing has a rectangular cross-section which offers no advantage whatever. And I see no point in parking an old-style standalone bath in the middle of a room, which therefore has to be fairly spacious.
The public can be endlessly gullible, can't they ? Cars, too :-)
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<most current plumbing has a rectangular cross-section which offers no advantage whatever.
Eh?
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This is fundamentally down to how society perceives someone's worth.
Big companies spend billions of £ to embed the idea in people's mind that acquiring certain brands will signal others that they are successful/rich/[whatever].
There is a proverb that poor stay poor by trying to live like rich and rich stay rich by living like poor :-)
I don't think there is any more snobbery associated with mobile phones. There are just 2 options - iPhone or Android. All Android phones are mostly same with few hardware spec differences. In a way technology is a great leveller as both rich & poor can often access same technology at a lower price point.
Since we post in a car forum, we are already outliers in society hence we may struggle to understand how general public thinks on cars. Most public think cars as washing machines which they can ride and wear as jewellery.
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Most public think cars as washing machines which they can ride and wear as jewellery.
Yep. someone ilocally, renting very expensively for years and years, but always done the debt thing with all the baubles and come unstuck, can remember bailiffs outside, but could have owned a house by now by being a bit more moderate.
5 of them latest iphones, full Sky package inc Footie, the list goes on. Drunken parties.
Each to their own choice.
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<< most current plumbing has a rectangular cross-section which offers no advantage whatever. Eh? >>
Adam - have you not looked at any taps or associated fittings lately ? Nearly all are square or close to it. 'Tradittionally' most parts chrome plated were circular or oval. No doubt any shape of pipe will carry water adequately, but sections with corners are harder to keep clean and less comfortable to handle.
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<< most current plumbing has a rectangular cross-section which offers no advantage whatever. Eh? >>
Adam - have you not looked at any taps or associated fittings lately ? Nearly all are square or close to it. 'Tradittionally' most parts chrome plated were circular or oval. No doubt any shape of pipe will carry water adequately, but sections with corners are harder to keep clean and less comfortable to handle.
How the hell do you tighten the nuts?
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<< How the hell do you tighten the nuts? >>
LOL, Adam. I'm talking about the shiny chrome bits that users see and touch, not the hidden bits !
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