Recent purchases - Part II

Originally Posted by Meis

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That's completely the opposite of what the argument is about. The point is that people think of the 40k+ car as sensible and not as much of a luxury as the purchase of the $500 shoes.

It's that they don't think of the 40k+ car as extravagant but think the shoes are.

How much the item depreciates in value over time factors into purchases

Baller sneakers are nice and all but aren't as fun as driving a nice car.

stop ******* talking about cars

I rather have europes public transportation system than have a bunch of douchebags driving SUVs.

Originally Posted by Uncontrol

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stop ******* talking about cars

There will be 6 more pages of car discussion to catch up to all the dork talk about video games.

Originally Posted by nahneun

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How much the item depreciates in value over time factors into purchases

Really, you think about this when you are making a purchase? This has to be the least baller thing of all time.

Got my wife a Kate Spade purse she wanted. I think that Kate Spade is the handbag equivalent of a Corolla or a Civic.

^ exactly.

almost everything gets worse and inherently drops in value with time. buy what you want now; **** the future.

^Truth For me, if I find myself thinking about the resale value of an item before I buy it, I find that it's not really a piece worth pursuing. In reality it's just something nice but not enough to get my blood pumping. I try not to buy anything that doesn't make me go because I know I'll just get tired of it after the honeymoon phase.

i wasn't saying i did it. i was just explaining the why one might rationalize purchasing an expensive car as opposed to purchasing an expensive article of clothing.

Originally Posted by nahneun

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i wasn't saying i did it. i was just explaining the why one might rationalize purchasing an expensive car as opposed to purchasing an expensive article of clothing.

A car loses 50% of its value the moment you drive it off the lot.

Originally Posted by LA Guy

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A car loses 50% of its value the moment you drive it off the lot.

That's exaggerating...

Originally Posted by LA Guy

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A car loses 50% of its value the moment you drive it off the lot.
definitely not. maybe 30%, but not 50%. my dad's 2007 lexus was offered 20k in 2011 at the same dealership we bought it from. are you telling me within the span of 4 years and after accruing some ten thousands of miles, it has only depreciated about 5% more in value? -_-; then what, do you say, is the value of an article of clothing after it's been bought and can't be returned? we are a group of fashion hobbyists. our perceptions of the value of clothing are vastly different from those of most. most people consider clothes a necessity good and not a luxury good. expensive cars, on the other hand, are veblen goods. for that reason, cars are far more useful as a form of social investment than clothes are. very few people care that you are wearing lanvins, mmm, dior, etc. most will only care that you are wearing clothing that fits properly and is clean and probably won't give a **** if it's from gap, h&m, or zara. everyone will recognize a ferrari, rolls royce, lamborghini, etc..

Yeah when you buy that a new Civic for 20k, there's no way you're getting more than 10k back....

I think LA just hit the wrong digit. Maybe 10% or 20% depending on the brand.

Originally Posted by BB1

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A more interesting question is why do so many people feel their car is a reflection of themselves, similar to how clothing is often viewed?

With clothing the link is far more direct since people will frequently mistake a perfect fitting, well styled outfit as being one in the same as the person wearing it. The psychologist J. C. Flugel even coined the term "confluence" to describe this phenomena of mistaking one's clothing as being an actual part of the person themselves. But with a car this association is far weaker.

Yet in American society most people spend hugely disproportionate amounts of their income on new cars every few years, and relatively little on clothing. If you spend a while watching the cars come and go in a parking lot, it is not difficult to spot $40,000+ new vehicles with the people getting out of them looking like they buy all their clothing form Walmart or Costco.

To the average American a $500 pair of shoes is an unthinkable level of luxury! (Recall the big deal made a couple years ago over John McCain's $500 shoes). Yet a $40,000 car is seen as very sensible to many or perhaps even a level of luxury that one deserves, never mind that $15,000 cars exist that might suit their transportation needs too.

How did we get this point? Why the difference?

Says the guy who drives an NSX

If my Japan move still happens, I am thinking about buying really mint pre-1990'ish collectible cars over there and driving them for a couple years til the registration runs out, and then shipping them to America and plating them as historics through the 25 year old car thing and then eventually selling them on ebay with high BIN's or something. Could probably break even or make a little money if I get good deals on some cars. Original AMG Hammer coupes, BMW 2002 turbos, there's a mint E30 M3 with 30,000km's on the clock and a spotless interior for sale on yahoo, cars like that.