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Classic Cars Buying Luxury used cars
411 messages, Last post on Jul 13, 2009 at 10:22 AM
You are in the Classic Cars Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Dec 24, 2008 5:09 pm) |
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"It could be..." Maybe, but aren't Infinities, Acuras, and RWD Lexuses similarly narrowly engineered? I assume you make a distinction between precisely engineered and narrowly engineered for performance, because one could argue that ordinary Toyotas and Hondas, as well as other cars today, are precisely engineered. Toyotas and Hondas, especially, are known for having close tolerances. I'm thinking that they're perhaps comparable to at least the near-luxury models from Germany, in terms of precision. I know what I'm about to say is probably controversial, but I'm wondering whether the German luxury brand manufacturers charge more for parts because they're less efficient than the Japanese and Americans, and must subsidize their margins on car sales by charging more for parts. And might the less frequent maintenance intervals for the leading Japanese brands, for timing belts, water pumps, and even drive belts and hoses be due to their superior quality?
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Dec 24, 2008 8:53 pm) I think where there is no excuse to be made for German cars is in the electronics. They just don't have that down apparently. You buy a Toyota, or even a Scion, and you turn the key and drive away and hardly touch the thing for the next 100, 000 miles; but a German car, you'd be lucky to make it a year without some electrical failure. |
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Fortunately for the German cars, their Japanese and American counterparts tend to be more generic and less exciting to drive, which permits the German auto makers to charge more to those who want to drive something that's less ordinary, and more engaging. This is a much narrower niche of the market than the one for economical and reliable transportation modules, but that niche is apparently sufficient to satisfy the German luxury brands. Volkswagen, on the other hand, is much more ambitious, in terms of volume. If Audi, BMW and Mercedes have reason to be concerned with the possibility that the Japanese brands could eventually succeed in adding excitement and more heritage to their cars, the Japanese should be concerned that VW could match them on reliability and price, in the next few years. |
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Dec 27, 2008 9:30 pm)  A key to older luxury cars is parts availability. This is why old Audis are cast off - parts can be insanely hard to find - and this is part of why old MB can soldier on forever, as one can get parts for a 50 year old car right from the dealer. Having aftermarket support helps too. A sidemarker bulb on my E55 died yesterday, so when I was out shopping I thought I'd pick one up. I looked in the little book, it gave me the bulb code...I thought the one it referenced seemed odd somehow, but the book said so...I got it home, popped the lens off - not even close. That kind of thing can be a problem too.
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Replying to: fintail (Dec 28, 2008 10:46 am)
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Dec 28, 2008 11:04 am) |
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Speaking of used lux, here's some depreciation...maybe a little miled up for my tastes, but that's a decent price. This economy is destroying the residuals of highline cars.
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Replying to: fintail (Dec 28, 2008 3:32 pm) Just for instance, on this particular car: Alternator = $1170 + 2.2 labor = (in california) + tax = $1, 560. 00 Starter: $525 + 1.2 labor = $729 Stability Control Module: $1,190 + .5 hr = $1, 355.00 Radiator: $488 + coolant + 2.6 hr labor = $986.00
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With repair expenses like that, my guess is that the majority of people who buy these used cars have little idea about what they're getting into. How could it be otherwise? The economics of owning such a car just make no sense. And with the number of complex electronic features increasing yearly, It'll only get worse. Of course, this recession will sober up some would-be buyers. I wish Mercedes, BMW and Audi would each offer one model in North America with fewer electronic features (call it the Mercedes E350DR, for deep recession...I guess now you know why I haven't been extended an offer to be Marketing Manager for Daimler Benz NA).
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