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This is something I've been noticing more and more too. This is NOT in reply to anyone in particular; rather an observation of many service customers and people I have met and have talked to. ANd what I've seen on the board.
"My car is eating me alive".
"I had to spend five hundred dollars to get it SERVICED!"
Ever wonder why the ghetto is packed with beautiful cars that have fallen into disrepair? You should see our city tow lot. There are Lexuses, Mercedes-Benzes, Bimmers, Volvos, you name it. Mostly with minor operational problems, if any.
The bottom line is, the people could NOT afford the $1000 to make it run again. And a thou is not a big problem if you're paying for someone to fix your LS400. Or your Saab.
Or your Volvo.
Granted, you can save tons of money working yourself. But if you're not doing the work yourself, then you HAVE to pay for it.
I like the "new cars are cheaper" arguement too. Besides the initial cost (or if you make payments), you have to pony up bucks for insurance and scheduled maintenance right off the bat. Uh oh... 3000 miles, you're due for an oil change. Sure, it's only $30, but you'd better do it to keep the warranty.
At 30,000 miles, your car needs brakes. Uh oh... oh well, only $600.
But as long as it's in the shop, how about the 30,000 maintenance. That's a cheap one, only $500, plus the brake job of course.
Now we're clear until 60,000 miles.
But at 40,000 miles, you're spinning tires every time it rains. Time for a $400 set of tires.
*phew*, clear until sixty thousand miles again.
Now it's sixty thousand miles, and the 60k "service" costs you only $1800. Lucky. But unfortunately you need front brakes again, and now rear brakes too. That's OK, sir/ma'am, it'll only add $1100 onto the price tag of the 60k check up.
OK, now we're free and clear for another thirty thou. And so the story goes.
This wouldn't be an issue if people were complaining about their Corollas eating them to death at $1000 here and $1500 there. But these are Volvos, and the last time I checked, most post-90 Volvos have appointments worthy of $40,000 cars now. My 92 wagon stickered at almost $27k in 1992. Now? SImilarly equipped cars are around $40k. And up.
So, buy a new forty thousand dollar car and where are you? Is the used car REALLY eating you to death? In light of the NEW cost of THAT car now, it really isn't costing you much at all. But the bottom line that people don't seem to understand is, when you buy a more or less premium car, there is a certain price that accompanies it.
It's never an apples to apples comparison. A Volvo 940 Option 1 wagon, for example (1993: just under 30k) has to be compared to a similar car now. You can't compare today's Hyundai Accent to a ten year old luxury car. And you don't buy a new Volvo when you buy a new Hyundai.
It's a new Hyundai.
There was the discussion a while back in OPINIONS, about who was driving old(er) Volvos. I said that it was the conservative, wealthy faction. Out here, it is. People with bank, but who don't want to dump forty or fifty thou on a new car when their old car is good. Sure it needs a thousand dollars of work here, five hundred there. People EXPECT that. Things don't last without caring for them, and if you don't care for them yourself, you have to pay someone at x dollars per hour to do so. Expensive, but simple.
I always recommend people buy used luxury cars with the following formula: Two thirds/one third. Two thirds for the car, one third for the upkeep, repairs, etc. If you buy a $20,000 Mercedes (used), then plan thirty grand out of your budget. You'll likely come in UNDER that even after a few years of driving, but you might not.
Sometimes I think certain marques impart a sense of security, that the cars are impervious to wear and tear. Volvo is definitely one of them, and so is Toyota (curiously). People were always blown away when their Toyota blew it's third power window regulator, but that was totally common.
If someone's driving an old beater, then they would obviously expect to be exempt from the general expenses of maintaining a car well. My brother drives a Volvo, and spends about $100/year on maintenance (and repairs too). But his car is a bucket. Perfection isn't free. Imperfection is, relatively speaking.
Don't get me wrong; I'm very frugal in many ways. Most RWD Volvos are very reasonable to maintain, even very nice examples. I cut few corners with maintenance and I spend a fair amount of money doing so. Volvos are not CHEAP compared to other cars either. But they're cheap compared to other, similarly appointed European cars. And that is my point.
The bottom line is, nice things do cost money to buy and to keep up. Either that, or a significant amount of time.
--
1992 940 wagon, 72k
make people envious; smile often.
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