Young people and sensible boring saloons

[AshBurrows]

What's the deal?

I'm not old really, but all of my friends about a decade ago wanted civic type Rs/Golf GTIs/Astra VXRs/etc and then Evos/Skylines/etc. Now it seems as though a huger percentage of youngish people aspire to own something insanely dull and slow?

Is it because of insurance on anything remotely fun/quick?
Is it to give the illusion of success? (Being a rep is aspirational if so?!)
Perceived reliability?

My wife's little brother is spending a fortune to finance a 4 year old base spec C220D and I just cannot see the appeal. This is what got me thinking.

I could understand it if it was a brutal, showy C63 or something, but not this.

It's quite funny to see something my dad would have bought getting ragged through a town and sounding like it's running on ballbearings.

I'm sure there's a fair few people on here who have kids that age or are that age themselves that can shed some light on it.

[AshBurrows]

rsbmw said:

Once you're over about 25 and in a professional type of job, you look a bit of a tool showing up in your chav'd up type-R!

I'm talking 18-25ish people I reckon.
Also I'll still rock up to jobs in a caged up aero'd track car well into my 30s.

[AshBurrows]

I guess since I like cars quite a bit it makes it impossible to imagine that mindset.
So any base spec BMW/Merc outranks say a Phaeton or a Legend or something? Even though objectively they offer far far far superior levels of "luxury." World's gone mad.

[AshBurrows]

CraigyMc said:

It's depressing what we've done to this generation.

Yeah, it raises a far more profound and philosophical question. What made people become so obsessed with image and brands?

[AshBurrows]

Hudson said:

Some people don't actually care. I'd wager your average 20 something would rather lease a car with a warranty and use it to ferry their hipster mates down to starbucks instead of buying a £300 shed that may have fetched 55k two decades ago and spending their weekends fixing it. Bear in mind on PH you are surrounded by car enthusiasts (...mostly) and therefore it is biased towards that mindset.

Different strokes 'n all that.

It isn't this since most are just outside warranty. The sweet spot seems to be between 3 and 5 years old around my way.

[AshBurrows]

HorneyMX5 said:

This. In Spades.

38 here and an Account Manager in IT SaaS products. Did 18 months in a red typeR, have turned up to work in my sprint car covered in stickers on numerous occasions and yesterday parked my Jimny in the car park covered floor to roof in Salisbury Plain. The stuffy types were aghast "what happens if you are called out to see a customer today?", er.... I stop via a car wash? I pop home and pick the Yeti? I get the train?

Everyone who doesn't have the David Brent Book of Getting On In Business And Buying Your First Grey Audi* stuffed up their anus thought it was funny and wanted to find out what I'd been doing with it.

• I know it's easy to pick on them but really the management spaces in my place are all Grey or black A4s, A5s, 5 Series tourings etc.

Hahaha. Brill.

[AshBurrows]

iphonedyou said:

Another thread for PHers to judge others?

These are like Brexit threads, but more numerous.

No it isn't though. It was a genuine question about younger people and their introduction to cars. I think it's quite interesting.
But as always a few people get a bee in their bonnet.

[AshBurrows]

TurboHatchback said:

I'm 27 and I own an Audi A6 (bought when I was 25). 'Image' and 'brand' had nothing to do with the purchase, it was simply a magnificent car that offered an unmatched array of capabilities for the price. I've also owned knobbly 4x4s, old man coupes, hot hatches etc and I couldn't care less what other people think of them or their appropriateness for my age.

Haha ok

[AshBurrows]

Audemars said:

Its because every model/brand you have listed is chavvy. Focus RS, Type Rs etc with their halfords look just scream lower class citizen. Most would rather get the bus.

Don't feed this boring troll. He's the "sweet 6 figgy job" dweeb haha.

[AshBurrows]

NickCQ said:

OK, strong reaction to my comment. My point was that if I was someone's boss and I suggested that they should present themselves professionally, I'd think they were a tool if they said to me 'I don't give a crap what you think, I'm an individual, I can drive what I like coz I've got my human rights'...

Woah. What?! Hahaha.

[AshBurrows]

Oh good, it's turned into every other thread on PH. Great stuff.