Luxury BMWs a debt trap

[Deltaberry]

An intresting news article reg luxury cars (if bought on finance).
I wonder who buys these cars on CASH......... Celebraties ?

Article quotes "People could be made bankrupt for as little as $5000"

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/luxury-bmws-a-debt-trap/story-e6frf7l6-1226008724162

Hahaha only idiots buy luxury cars with debt...

 

[sash]

Once a year.

The reason I raise this is because most European cars require servicing every 6 months. So do cars like Hondas and Mazdas. Definitely need to do it if it within warranty once off you could do it once a year.

I drive less than 10k a year and service only once a year or so. The Sonata I drive a built to go even without regular servicing but it is recommended.

The European cars are another issue....they require regular servicing even out of warranty otherwise you could be lumbered with very expensive repairs.

Servicing cars like BMWs could cost $600 a pop so 2 services a year $1200 assuming no parts need replacing. Just not worth it. My Sonata costs about $200-300 per service once a year. Original parts are readily available and resonably priced.

How often do you service your car? Or do you just not drive much? Once every 6 months sounds like a very reasonable service interval. I service my car every 3-4 months... and it’s a BMW... *runs away from thread

 

[evand]

Thats fine. Either you cant afford it or you don't want to pay it. Big deal. Why do you keep flogging your 'white goods appliance on wheels' Sonata.

Hyundais are for fans of money, BMW's are for fans of cars.

Servicing cars like BMWs could cost $600 a pop so 2 services a year $1200 assuming no parts need replacing. Just not worth it. My Sonata costs about $200-300 per service once a year. Original parts are readily available and resonably priced.

 

[sash]

Gee ...you must be having an identity crisis.....is your name Zed_Kid??

he asked a question and I am responding to it.

For the record...did you do a specification comparison between the two cars??

Thats fine. Either you cant afford it or you don't want to pay it. Big deal. Why do you keep flogging your 'white goods appliance on wheels' Sonata.

Hyundais are for fans of money, BMW's are for fans of cars.

 

[Corey Batt]

I agree with Evand, you're comparing apples to oranges.

BMW, Audi, Merc's, Porsche, TVR, the list goes on. These cars are designed for people who like cars. Hyundai, Kia etc are for people who need a car.

And then theres subsets. A 3 series BMW is much easier to maintain than a Mazda RX-7. Not all cars are designed for as little maintenance as possible.

Especially rev head cars

 

[evand]

No. Its not about specs, its about quality.

Its a great feeling to have when every time you get in your car its a bit of an occasion. And you're looking forward to weekend drives. For the actual drive.

Im a bit of a car nut tho. Always have been. And have owned many European cars over the years.

BMW's services arent $600 each. They alternate between minor and major services. The major being app. $600 and the minor about $200.

They dont need services every 6 months, the service intervals depend on the driving style. At least this is the case with my BMW when i owned it.

Heres my current drive(s)

I dont know how to get the pic in the post as a full pic.

Gee ...you must be having an identity crisis.....is your name Zed_Kid??

he asked a question and I am responding to it.

For the record...did you do a specification comparison between the two cars??

 

[jaycee]

How often do you service your car? Or do you just not drive much? Once every 6 months sounds like a very reasonable service interval. I service my car every 3-4 months... and it’s a BMW... *runs away from thread

I thought servicing your car twice yearly was pretty normal too

I would asume a 7 series or M% to gcost more to serivce as I would an Aston AMrtin or an S ser4ies MErc which retails at over $500k

But it does not cost $600 to serivce for example a 3 series bmw, which ocsts more than the hyundai

 

[Player]

Agree with others here that it's not always about the money. It can be about quality and if keeping a long-ish time, then buying quality will end up being about the money as the car usually lasts longer and has fewer reliability issues

I've had European cars before and I must say my favourite was an E class Mercedes. My current drive is a US marque although it is made in Austria. It's 11 years old and a very quality vehicle.

I have never bought a Korean car although read and understand that they have lifted their game a lot. I have owned Japanese and local cars also.

I service at the nominated kilometere schedule and always change oil and filter every six months regardless of km's travelled.

There is nothing like the reassuring "thunk" sound that a German car makes when closing the doors. Even the luxury Japanese marques cannot match that sound. Horses for courses at the end of the day.

I will be in the market this year for a replacement vehicle and requiring an SUV type set-up I am spoilt for choice. I may purchase an X-5 or depending on how some property transactions go, would be just as happy buying, say the new Ford Territory coming out in a few months (finally in Deisel) and delaying the german luxsury purchase; not becuase I can't afford it, but because other priorities will surface on the investment horizon over the next 12-24 months that are more important right now. A Ghia would be less than half the price of the Beemer and for good reason; I wouldn't keep a Ford for as long as a BMW or Merc or even my current wheels for that matter.

Then again, I would just as happily buy another Grand Cherokee, new model is out and it's cheaper than when I bought mine 11 years ago. Not made in Austria though, so quality may be different as it's assembly is back in Detroit.

Oh, and back to the original slant of the thread about BMW financing and difficulties with repayments, there will always be a proportion of the population who cannot afford trinketts and get into trouble trying to look rich or successful rather than initially focusing on having an asset backing behind them first. They would never read the fine print and consequences of not living up to their obligations.

 

[Ausprop]

where did this euro 6 month servicing myth come from? probably a hyundai owner! my audi is annually and the dealer provides it free, then washes it and lends me a new audi for the day whilst they do it

 

[zed_kid]

I thought servicing your car twice yearly was pretty normal too

I would asume a 7 series or M% to gcost more to serivce as I would an Aston AMrtin or an S ser4ies MErc which retails at over $500k

But it does not cost $600 to serivce for example a 3 series bmw, which ocsts more than the hyundai

If anyone here has a BMW don’t take it to the stealership for servicing. I pay $200 for minor $600-800 for major with a genius indy mechanic. 3 series non-M.

 

[jaycee]

If anyone here has a BMW don’t take it to the stealership for servicing. I pay $200 for minor $600-800 for major with a genius indy mechanic. 3 series non-M.

Swiss Auto's in Osbonre Park Perth....

Only reason to take a 7 yr old car to a deal4rshp is to walk aroudn and the palce and pretend you can afford to be there and buy a >$100k care when you can't ! And you probably won't be able to afford one any time soon either, if you pay extra for every service !

 

[zed_kid]

Swiss Auto's in Osbonre Park Perth....

Only reason to take a 7 yr old car to a deal4rshp is to walk aroudn and the palce and pretend you can afford to be there and buy a >$100k care when you can't ! And you probably won't be able to afford one any time soon either, if you pay extra for every service !

lol yeah that plus you also might score a cup of coffee / tea. I do like how at the dealerships they give a courtesy car, but I like the savings a lot more

 

[jaycee]

lol yeah that plus you also might score a cup of coffee / tea. I do like how at the dealerships they give a courtesy car, but I like the savings a lot more

When I first got my 2nd hand 2 door bmw, after a week or so, I checked the water level.. it was low.. I got all worried LOL and rang Auto Classic in Perth asking what brand coolant I should top it up with..

They told me to come in & they'd do a free fluids check &top up for free.. I said yeah it's not under warranty, the very polite lady explained that was no issue.. Whe I got there, I didn't know where to park it exactly so I ended up just outside the dealership on the street & walked in..

Saw the girl at reception who took my details and keys and told me to help myself to coffe/tea etc look around the showroom..I tried to explain where I left the car, she sort of cut me and said "Don't worry about it, they'll find it" She then came over to tell me it was all finished & what they filled up.

Customer service was great and what it felt like "it should be" for such a brand.

 

[Wunderbar]

If you can afford a BMW/Audi/Merc, then do it! Helps with tax deductions

 

[K4K4M]

BMW, Audi, Merc's, Porsche, These cars are designed for people who like cars.
Hyundai, Kia etc are for people who need a car.

very well said - just add XR6 Turbo in the first list........

 

[65fbk]

To put it into perspective, I'd be interested to see what % of gross income the crowd here would spent on a car, either used or new.

My last new car purchase 3 years ago cost 11% of my gross (job) annual income for that year. I'm looking at replacing it and considering a used euro, but am having trouble allowing myself to even spend 20% of one years gross earnings....

Then I read the BMW repossession story and see that some of these clowns spent up to a full years income.

 

[BayView]

To put it into perspective, I'd be interested to see what % of gross income the crowd here would spent on a car, either used or new.

There was a whole chapter on this topic in "The Millionaire Next Door", and I think the average was something like 10% of income was spent on a car.

Basically; not a lot on the car - given their wealth.

 

[Corey Batt]

I'm being a bit cheap right now, spending 10k on next car this year. Hopefully will have it built by July.

But I'd rather a 10k resto to a 30k Comformadore

 

[Indifference]

To put it into perspective, I'd be interested to see what % of gross income the crowd here would spent on a car, either used or new.

I recently bought a Ford Mustang. 5.5% of gross but it is 5 yrs old.

I could have bought a brand new one at twice the price, but I would rather spend the difference on other toys and holidays I once spent 50% on a car under novated lease... I enjoyed it for 5 yrs, but will never spend such a high ratio again. I only pay cash these days

 

[65fbk]

There was a whole chapter on this topic in "The Millionaire Next Door", and I think the average was something like 10% of income was spent on a car.

Basically; not a lot on the car - given their wealth.

I have that book, it's a good read, albeit a little out of date and only American content.