Why do people buy expensive cars and not maintain them?
Discussion
Evanivitch said:
On the reverse, why do many people maintain their cars far more then the manufacturer's recommended intervals?
People do strange things for many different reasons. You can't explain it in one answer!
I tend to ride/drive my vehicles quite enthusiastically. A few hundred pounds spent on maintenance gives me peace of mind that they are less likely to fail. I try and treat my vehicles with mechanical sympathy too for the same reason.People do strange things for many different reasons. You can't explain it in one answer!
AussieFozzy said:
This may come as a surprise to many of you, but a vast number of people are actually spectacularly stupid.
Often times the more wealthy someone is the more stupid they are.
It is worse than that as there are lots of intelligent but ignorant people out there (and often ignorant out of a complete lack of curiosity). Often times the more wealthy someone is the more stupid they are.
Evanivitch said:
On the reverse, why do many people maintain their cars far more then the manufacturer's recommended intervals?
People do strange things for many different reasons. You can't explain it in one answer!
Over the last couple of years I have spent more servicing/maintaining my car than I paid for her. People do strange things for many different reasons. You can't explain it in one answer!
Because I am a "car person".
Oil and filter change after every track day, tyres, brake discs, pads etc, etc. I subject my car to more than what is expected on the road so I take care of things accordingly.
People who buy the cars listed by the OP tend to be "status people" living the Instabook life. Affordable payments, first services included with the purchase great they can convince their kin they are ballers until they have to pay for servicing, maintenance and consumables they fall flat of their fake faces and try to sell.
When you consider a set of Aston Martin V8 (DB9) brake discs and pads are £2,000 (supply only you can add £120 pr hour to fit them) and a general service starts at £650 it's no wonder these cars fall at the wayside.
Owning a car is a lot like having a dog. If you can't cover the food, vet's, insurance and other bills you would expect from a Great Dane get a Jack Russel instead.
Cars can take a lot of abuse/neglect and if you have £2k-£3k, even if you're running an Aston as a status symbol, you'd rather spend it on a Rolex or designer clothes. I know plenty people like that.
Remember servicing is invisible, there's no clues to that cash you've spent and if you can get away for that bit longer to delay the work..why not.
Another aspect could be people are afraid of main dealers, that 'not wanting to be ripped off' if you don't know anything about cars and its oily bits.
Remember servicing is invisible, there's no clues to that cash you've spent and if you can get away for that bit longer to delay the work..why not.
Another aspect could be people are afraid of main dealers, that 'not wanting to be ripped off' if you don't know anything about cars and its oily bits.
Next week I'll be self servicing my E class.
- Rear discs and pads
- Oil/oil filter
- Air filters
- Cabin filter
- Fuel filter
- Thermostat
- Re-seat one injector
That lot of parts cost me about £300. My Mrs was aghast at the thought of spending that on a car that works exactly as it should do (apart from running a touch cool and some very early signs of the mercedes "black death"; both things you can't really see or feel).
She's deffo not stupid, just has precisely zero mechanical empathy and if didn't have me around would literally just drive her cars until they seized up.
- Rear discs and pads
- Oil/oil filter
- Air filters
- Cabin filter
- Fuel filter
- Thermostat
- Re-seat one injector
That lot of parts cost me about £300. My Mrs was aghast at the thought of spending that on a car that works exactly as it should do (apart from running a touch cool and some very early signs of the mercedes "black death"; both things you can't really see or feel).
She's deffo not stupid, just has precisely zero mechanical empathy and if didn't have me around would literally just drive her cars until they seized up.
Evanivitch said:
On the reverse, why do many people maintain their cars far more then the manufacturer's recommended intervals?
People do strange things for many different reasons. You can't explain it in one answer!
Never had a seriously modded car I take it.People do strange things for many different reasons. You can't explain it in one answer!
When you start adding power there are two kinds of modded car owners... Those who maintain it meticulously and those who fix it regularly. When I had my modded 200sx, I was getting it serviced every 5000 KM. The services cost me A$130 every 8 or so months when I racked up another 5000 KM. A replacement SR20DET is A$2000, mods to get it back to where I had it, another A$1500. From modding it to selling it, I didn't have a single breakdown or serious engine issue with my 200sx.
There's no harm from over servicing. Granted for a standard econo-box hatch it's probably completely unnecessary but for performance cars, it can help prevent a problem further down the road.
dave_s13 said:
Next week I'll be self servicing my E class.
- Rear discs and pads
- Oil/oil filter
- Air filters
- Cabin filter
- Fuel filter
- Thermostat
- Re-seat one injector
That lot of parts cost me about £300. My Mrs was aghast at the thought of spending that on a car that works exactly as it should do (
Get a quote for that work from a dealer and she'll think you're amazing!- Rear discs and pads
- Oil/oil filter
- Air filters
- Cabin filter
- Fuel filter
- Thermostat
- Re-seat one injector
That lot of parts cost me about £300. My Mrs was aghast at the thought of spending that on a car that works exactly as it should do (
There is a Bentley CGT near me that for the last few months has been driven round at a crawl, someone who knows the driver told me that it's because the engine warning light comes on if driven at more than a crawl. History of the car showed warranted work to the tune of £12k in the last two years so the current owner now it's out of warranty is afraid to take it to the dealership. I don't know the owner but he looks a lot like the instagram look at how rich I am type.
I drive past a CGT on the way to work and wondered why it rarely moved. Mot checker shows that last year it had an engine management light and the Mot hasn’t been renewed this year. Having said that the car sometimes isn’t there and I have seen it being driven on the road - without an MOT!
Edited by greysquirrel on Monday 25th June 10:33
Mushroom12 said:
Hoofy said:
More likely they can barely afford the car in the first place so have no spare cash to maintain it.
Oh they can afford it, it's just something else getting in the way. What’s the length between services though supposing the car had a service 4yrs earlier but had only covered 1000 miles since
For example I got my golf serviced last March and it’s set to every 20k for a service and every 10k for an oil change or 2yrs whichever comes first
So between last March and today I’ve covered 4000 miles in it now it won’t get serviced till next March so it will have gone 2yrs between services but only covered about 8k miles
For example I got my golf serviced last March and it’s set to every 20k for a service and every 10k for an oil change or 2yrs whichever comes first
So between last March and today I’ve covered 4000 miles in it now it won’t get serviced till next March so it will have gone 2yrs between services but only covered about 8k miles
warch said:
Properly wealthy people can afford to buy something, not look after it and then take the hit when they sell it or if it breaks.
Plebs who buy this sort of car obsess about maintaining it, keeping the mileage down, changing the oil every ten minutes and hang around it in carparks in case anyone parks near it.
there is some truth in this Plebs who buy this sort of car obsess about maintaining it, keeping the mileage down, changing the oil every ten minutes and hang around it in carparks in case anyone parks near it.
When I bought my E500, the parking sensors didn't work. The guy I bought it from was a driveway trader who claimed to have been a salesman at Mercedes his whole life.
It cost £50 to have my local indy plug it in to STAR and diagnose 1 faulty transducer, then something like £100 to supply, paint and fit a new one. The seller could have got that back several times over if he'd done it, as it would have gone from "good condition, almost everything works" to "excellent condition, everything works".
That aside, people don't like spending money on things they think are boring. The key is some people recognise the money needs spending anyway, and others don't. It is surprising how many people don't.
It cost £50 to have my local indy plug it in to STAR and diagnose 1 faulty transducer, then something like £100 to supply, paint and fit a new one. The seller could have got that back several times over if he'd done it, as it would have gone from "good condition, almost everything works" to "excellent condition, everything works".
That aside, people don't like spending money on things they think are boring. The key is some people recognise the money needs spending anyway, and others don't. It is surprising how many people don't.
I see it with some TVRs, whilst most owners I know are fastidious in their upkeep there are a fair few that you see and wonder how they ever got to the state they are now in. I'm not just talking about basic servicing but rotten through chassis, corrosion to brake ancillaries, manky engines. Preventative maintenance is key to any performance car and for various reasons a lot of owners just don't bother.
captain_cynic said:
Evanivitch said:
On the reverse, why do many people maintain their cars far more then the manufacturer's recommended intervals?
People do strange things for many different reasons. You can't explain it in one answer!
Never had a seriously modded car I take it.People do strange things for many different reasons. You can't explain it in one answer!
When you start adding power there are two kinds of modded car owners... Those who maintain it meticulously and those who fix it regularly. When I had my modded 200sx, I was getting it serviced every 5000 KM. The services cost me A$130 every 8 or so months when I racked up another 5000 KM. A replacement SR20DET is A$2000, mods to get it back to where I had it, another A$1500. From modding it to selling it, I didn't have a single breakdown or serious engine issue with my 200sx.
There's no harm from over servicing. Granted for a standard econo-box hatch it's probably completely unnecessary but for performance cars, it can help prevent a problem further down the road.
I have a 4 pot 2 Litre Turbo in my Mini and the service intervals on that are every 19k miles/2 years. It just shows how quickly things move on. I still miss my 200 now.
greysquirrel said:
I drive past a CGT on the way to work and wondered why it rarely moved. Mot checker shows that last year it had an engine management light and the Mot hasn’t been renewed this year. Having said that the car sometimes isn’t there and I have seen it being driven on the road - without an MOT!
White one?Edited by greysquirrel on Monday 25th June 10:33
Sheepshanks said:
dave_s13 said:
Next week I'll be self servicing my E class.
- Rear discs and pads
- Oil/oil filter
- Air filters
- Cabin filter
- Fuel filter
- Thermostat
- Re-seat one injector
That lot of parts cost me about £300. My Mrs was aghast at the thought of spending that on a car that works exactly as it should do (
Get a quote for that work from a dealer and she'll think you're amazing!- Rear discs and pads
- Oil/oil filter
- Air filters
- Cabin filter
- Fuel filter
- Thermostat
- Re-seat one injector
That lot of parts cost me about £300. My Mrs was aghast at the thought of spending that on a car that works exactly as it should do (
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