With all the different factors such as oil prices, congestion, parking, corporate social responsibility, environmental concerns, company car schemes etc, is it just a matter of time before luxury cars are extinct?
Currently, since a lot of big cars with big engines depreciate so rapidly, they are good value for money at 3-5 years old.
Will this continue to be the case?
Will the government make harsher changes to taxes to motivate you out of that 10 year old 7 series and into a newer small car?
Some industry planners have mentioned that the UK luxury car market will shrink by 25% over the next few years.
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Will the government make harsher changes to taxes to motivate you out of that 10 year old 7 series and into a newer small car?
And if they do, will it also apply to ministerial cars;)
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And if they do, will it also apply to ministerial cars;)
That's why they're buying these hybrid things. Mind you....oh never mind.
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You can make a good argument that since so much of a car's "carbon footprint" is created during manufacture, the most environmentally friendly form of motoring is to buy a car that will last a long time. An extra few years life will quickly outweigh a few less mpg.
These sorts of cars are usually at the luxury end of the market, although I do not see why they have to be..
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One of my mates bought a new Bentley last year - he had to wait several months for delivery because of the huge demand for the various models of the marque.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Depends what you mean by luxury. A luxury feature or addition on todays car, is standard fit on mainstream cars in 5 years time.
Leather, auto, climate control, sat nav, etc etc all finding a way into main stream cars. Interior space? cars are more space efficient all the time. Horsepower? standard cars more powerfull year by year, refinement? ditto
so what is a luxury car?
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I meant LUXURY CAR, as in those which are at the top end of the market, i.e. 7 series, S class, Bentley, Maybach, cars which are priced way out of the reach of everyday folk.
Anyway, the leather on a Bentley is NOT the same as the leather on a Ford Mondeo Ghis X.
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You mean there are ford cows and maybach cows?
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Ford cows, Maybach dogs and bambis.
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You mean there are ford cows and maybach cows?
Look for the blue oval ear-tag ;)
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>> You mean there are ford cows and maybach cows?
IIRC the publicity blurb on RR or Bentley said their cows are from Sweden? where they are kept in barbed wire free enclosures thus the hides are less scared.
Must say I have not studied, up close, my Mondeo seats.
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I was merely making the point that just because equipment that was standard on a luxury car 5 years ago, and is now standard on mainstream cars doesn't mean it's of the same quality.
According to wikipedia,
A luxury car is a relatively expensive car. They are sometimes targets of special taxes. In contrast to a sports car, economy car or utility vehicle, luxury cars place more emphasis on comfort, appearance, and amenities than on performance, economy, or utility.
A 2000 BMW 750iL with a heated steering wheel is definitely a luxury car ;-)
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>>doesn't mean it's of the same quality.>>
Quite correct. It's probably far superior in view of five further years of development along with lower prices due to economy of manufacture arising from increased demand.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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>>doesn't mean it's of the same quality.>> Quite correct. It's probably far superior in view of five further years of development along with lower prices due to economy of manufacture arising from increased demand. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Plus it's slammed together by robots instead of slowly cobbled together by Hobbit craftsmen...
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>>Plus it's slammed together by robots instead of slowly cobbled together by Hobbit craftsmen...>>
You are slightly amiss - the reference was to the equipment levels, not the vehicle itself...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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All I know is the baby goat-skin lining in my shoes is a lot softer and yet seems harder-wearing than the cow leather in next-door's Mondeo. I'm prepared to believe that Maybach uses a couple of acres of baby goats, or the skin of something similarly doe-eyed, while Ford, erm, doesn't.
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Well everyone, you can all be rest assured that herds of new born doe eyed baby goats are safe, according to the Mayback web site the leather is Cow Hide....
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Well everyone, you can all be rest assured that herds of new born doe eyed baby goats are safe, according to the Mayback web site the leather is Cow Hide....
I wish I'd read your reply last night as I might have slept better. The worry was terrible.
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Can't see it myself. Costs that matter to you and me are either drops in the financial ocean or just a few quid on a monthly charge that the company cash flow can easily cope with. So the idea that the luxury car market will shrink by a quarter seems over the top.
The biggest hassle for the uber-rich is time, and they'll use technology or other modes of travel to overcome congestion that threatens distance travel.
You'll probably see some changes in power units (and it may well be that alternative fuels make their first appearance at that end of the market) because logic suggests an expensive car can also be technologically ground-breaking.
But value is a relative equation. Once it's written down in the books it's been paid for. The pukka wealthy often hang on to them for year after year anyway.
Unlike the footballers...
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Most truly rich people work on the principle of "If you've got it, flaunt it" (and I would if I had it) so there will always be a market for luxury cars. And if demand went down slightly the remaining punters probably wouldn't give a second thought to the resulting price increase that might be necessary to maintain the manufacturer's overall profit.
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L\'escargot.
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>Most truly rich people work on the principle of "If you've got it, flaunt it" (and I would if I had it)
Strongly disagree. Those are footballers, lottery winners, and celebrities. The truly rich of my acquaintance have many non-rich friends (including me) and play down their immense wealth in order to become and remain friends with people they like. Money is not a novelty to them and spending it does not give the thrill that it does for the non-rich who have a windfall of some kind. I also don't think these people are the ones being targeted by bling-merchants like Bentley (if they are it's not working).
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I wouldn't call myself rich but just over a year ago we had enough savings to buy, say, a brand-new Land Rover Discovery TDV6. But we used it to pay off our mortgage and I still drive round in an 11 year-old car worth £1000 at most!!
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