Hilarious finding about Audi drivers

motorguy

fred990 wrote: »

You may jest but I regularly walk past houses that you can see straight into that look like complete s..t holes. On the drive a gleaming new Audi (or similar) with it's hand stitched fine Nappa leather! Bonkers, better accommodation outside than in! Still, as long as it keeps them on the hamster wheel....

Could be a company car. Lots of companies offer them. Its not like people can say "sorry can you just give me an entry level Fiesta instead as i dont live in the sort of neighbourhood that warrants an Audi".

fred246

I do live in the sort of neighborhood that does warrant an Audi but I haven't got one. I remember my wife saying that if we ever sold the house we'd have to get someone else to park on the drive for the estate agents photos! We bought it on an open day and there were lots of prestige cars there with people saying "if only we had the money". I was there in my old hatchback "where do I sign?"

Robisere

fred246 wrote: »

I do live in the sort of neighborhood that does warrant an Audi but I haven't got one. I remember my wife saying that if we ever sold the house we'd have to get someone else to park on the drive for the estate agents photos! We bought it on an open day and there were lots of prestige cars there with people saying "if only we had the money". I was there in my old hatchback "where do I sign?"

Quite right: Bricks and mortar do not depreciate, but any car driven out of a showroom, has depreciated before it gets to the end of the street. Doesn't mean that those who can afford the depreciation (or think they can) should not buy whatever they want. It's their money.


But you had your priorities sorted there, Fred.:D

fred246

Robisere wrote: »

Bricks and mortar do not depreciate

Looking back we bought it just at the bottom of a steep increase in house prices. A couple of years later it was worth hundreds of thousands more and would have been totally unaffordable to us. To me a nice house totally transforms your life - a car couldn't do that.

motorguy

fred246 wrote: »

L

To me a nice house totally transforms your life

Agreed

We built ours on a site in the country so its to our specification and needs, but with a view to resale capability should we ever decide we want to downsize.

Wanderingpomm

westernpromise wrote: »

This completely fits with my perception of Audi drivers as vacuous cretins obsessed with shiny bling but without a brain cell in their heads?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/should-rent-next-car/?li_source=LI&li_medium=li-recommendation-widget
PCP was mostly used for new vehicles, under four years old, with Audis the most popular choice.

Why am I not surprised that Audi drivers would hock themselves up to the neck to drive an Audi they don't own? Are they (gasp!) a bit shallow and thick?

No, this just fits with your clearly bigoted and narrowed minded views.

Robisere

Wanderingpomm wrote: »

No, this just fits with your clearly bigoted and narrowed minded views.

:T:) Totally agree.

Stoke

fred246 wrote: »

When I started investing in the stockmarket 7% was quoted as average return. I could borrow at 0% (credit card) or 2% (mortgage) to invest. Should I borrow to invest? Quite sensible really but potentially dangerous. Stockmarket could crash. So these people buying expensive cars on finance are borrowing to purchase an item whose price is GUARANTEED to crash. The more expensive the car the more you lose. I don't think anyone is anti Audi/BMW/Merc but money savers are anti-expensive cars. Cars are just a device to move you around. It can be done very cheaply or very expensively.

What are you saying? That certain brands indicate 'expensive motoring' while others indicate 'cheaper motoring'? Only when buying from new.... and not everyone buys from new.

Buy a second hand B6 Audi A4 from 2002 or a brand new Dacia Sandero and I can assure you, the Dacia will cost more, even with long term repairs and running costs of the older vehicle..... but you'll at least experience some level of luxury in the Audi. Which car would I rather own? The Audi, despite the 15 year age gap..... I personally wouldn't be seen dead in Dacia and that's nothing to do with brand snobbery (I was driving a £200 Mazda Demio up until a month or two ago). Their cars are ugly, they are slow, they have a reputation for rusting, unreliability and they have interior trim that looks like it started life as a 2 litre bottle of Pepsi. Why pay good/decent money for that? You could spend similar money on a second hand BMW or Audi and enjoy some level of refinement. Sometimes it's not about being a snob..... rather it's about the fact you spend hours of your car..... why not do it in some level of comfort?

As for my remark, well there is definitely a feeling of anti-brand snobbery on MSE and it has become annoying and borderline deafening in the past 12-18 months. I have seen (and highlighted in the past) two almost identical threads go completely differently, quite evidently due to the OP's choice of vehicle. I really don't see why this should be the case. If someone wants to own an Audi, they should go for it, assuming they have the means to do so. I only have an issue with people who finance themselves up to the eyeballs then struggle with repayments. That is often inexcusable and can be predicted..... so why it happens I don't know.

I am a 'money saver' hence I use this forum. I am tight as hell (even though I've recently fallen on my feet financially with my job). I have, however, recently bought my first BMW. Not new, of course..... but similar money to a new Dacia Sandero. Am I happy? Over the moon. It's comfortable and it's enjoyable to drive, and hopefully, it'll be reliable. Have I changed because of it? No.... and it's nothing to do with the brand. If Dacia made a fairly comfortable and pleasant to drive vehicle, I might consider one..... they don't.

Stoke

fred246 wrote: »

I think we can all agree that if someone wants to waste a load of money on an expensive car that's up to them. People have the freedom to waste it however they like.

Waste? Sorry.... why is it a waste? Honestly, what is more wasteful than buying a car (like a Sandero) and utterly hating it, and yourself, every day you own it? It's not about sitting there going "I wish I was that businessman in his Audi", it's about sitting there going "why did I buy this piece of absolute !!!!? Why did I spend my hard earned money on this utter junk?". Sorry, but there's no other way to describe current Dacia's unless I'm missing something. I have no issue with people who buy them. They serve a purpose. They are dirt cheap motoring for the sake of dirt cheap motoring. They're like a modern day Yugo or Polonez. For some people, that's fine, but for many, a little more comfort is desired.

I was given a lift in a standard Sandero the other day via Uber, and genuinely, it worse than the £200 Mazda I was driving until a few months back. It was uncomfortable, under-powered, and the interior trim was as bad as any car I've probably ever been in and I remember my dads Montego. Cars are tactile and how it feels matters.......

I'd rather go and spend a few grand more and buy the Suzuki Celerio to be honest (at least they are well made).... or better yet, buy a second hand motor with some actual level of quality.

Stoke

warehouse wrote: »

The whole car ownership thing to me is just a case of the kings new clothes, I seem to be the only one who can see the madness.

So you have a car that's newer than mine, costs much more than mine, makes you feel really important and classy. You think your better than others because the car you drive "says" so.

Yet mine gets from a to b at a fraction of the cost of yours and was purchased after most of the depreciation had gone.

I love seeing the expensive cars o the roads, may as well have "fool" written on the roof.

Just buy a nice old car then? Luxo-bangernomics. Buy a B6 A4 or an E36/E46 BMW?

This is what I'm trying to get through..... you don't have to drive around in a terrible car just to save a few quid. There's a 52 reg Lexus IS200 near me currently for £800..... and a 56 reg Ford Ka (the ones that start to rust when humidity hits above 55%) for the same price.

For gods sake buy the bloody Lexus!!!