Driving a better car than your boss
Discussion
AtticusFinch said:
I was once invited to a bigish company with a spec to supply a £50k car for the boss.
He okayed the deal and then said he really didn't want such a extravagant car. His junior directors had specified the car, because they felt uncomfortable ordering £40k motors for themselves when the MD was driving an elderly Mondeo and would have quite happily gone home in a works van if anyone "allowed" him.
Sad isn't it.
good work by the car salesman. if the chairman moves up it leaves room all the way down. Maybe even the field guys who need and use them get something they can live with.He okayed the deal and then said he really didn't want such a extravagant car. His junior directors had specified the car, because they felt uncomfortable ordering £40k motors for themselves when the MD was driving an elderly Mondeo and would have quite happily gone home in a works van if anyone "allowed" him.
Sad isn't it.
I've had better cars than my last 3 bosses, my last boss had a real chip on his shoulder that me and 3 colleagues had better cars than him. He had an old Mazda 6, so he went and bought a new Mazda 6 and then thought he had the best car in the department (the other cars were a TT, 320d and Toyota land cruiser, all fairly new).
He was a right tw@ though!
He was a right tw@ though!
Biker's Nemesis said:
Never watched that movie but now I want to watch it 
It looks like a good, funny version of 50 shades...I work with, for the most part, very non car people. Couple of t4/5 vw vans which are cool, but no other performance stuff. Most have families, so the cars are for a different purpose.
What makes me laugh is when you turn up in something not particularly valuable, but which is perceived as being so. I bought a standard dark metallic green e36 328i coupe a few years back and was roundly ridiculed by a fellow staff member for buying such an expensive car, despite it being a third of the screen price of his small french hatchback.
What makes me laugh is when you turn up in something not particularly valuable, but which is perceived as being so. I bought a standard dark metallic green e36 328i coupe a few years back and was roundly ridiculed by a fellow staff member for buying such an expensive car, despite it being a third of the screen price of his small french hatchback.
Everything in my work carpark is pretty boring and diesel, but that's probably because my employer's job is to protect the environment.
So yes, on the very rare days that I drive my 57 plate XKR in to work, I think it does raise a few eyebrows...
MX-5 and 250R Ninja help balance it out though.
So yes, on the very rare days that I drive my 57 plate XKR in to work, I think it does raise a few eyebrows...
MX-5 and 250R Ninja help balance it out though.
crazy about cars said:
Biker's Nemesis said:
Never watched that movie but now I want to watch it It looks like a good, funny version of 50 shades...It's strange in my company. We all work at home so not much talk is done about cars. However, as everyone has a car allowance, we generally end up with inevitable discussion on how to spend it. I use mine to run 2 cars. My boss runs a 7 series, my peers run all manor of stuff. One an XF, one a god awful ford kuga and the self confessed tightwad Indian guy a old high miler 5 series. The best paid guy in my team drives a dozen year old focus.
People don't really care, but we do have a basic rule that it won't be tolerated to have an unreliable car. As on site meetings and subsequent sales make all our salaries.
People don't really care, but we do have a basic rule that it won't be tolerated to have an unreliable car. As on site meetings and subsequent sales make all our salaries.
Not now no, but I have been in previous employment where this has happened,
I started at an oil service company a few years ago, as pretty much the lowest of the low, arrived in my van and did so everyday, nothing fancy just the same as the firm ran as their own vehicles, then I started sharing the car with the OH a few times a week,
My boss ran a diesel Corsa that I initially fobbed off as his wife's car, he wasn't impressed at that, less so when I parked my E91 330d in the car park, as it was full of dull Mondeos, Hondas and vauxhalls the arrival of the BMW was a talking point within the company.
I left not long after, it was the worst job I've ever had
I started at an oil service company a few years ago, as pretty much the lowest of the low, arrived in my van and did so everyday, nothing fancy just the same as the firm ran as their own vehicles, then I started sharing the car with the OH a few times a week,
My boss ran a diesel Corsa that I initially fobbed off as his wife's car, he wasn't impressed at that, less so when I parked my E91 330d in the car park, as it was full of dull Mondeos, Hondas and vauxhalls the arrival of the BMW was a talking point within the company.
I left not long after, it was the worst job I've ever had
Riley Blue said:
I thought all PHers were bosses - and powerfully built with goatee beards etc.
Everyone has a boss, even the self employed. We just call them the client. I've never had a boss who didn't have a car better than me, especially the £6.64 I paid for a mk2 cavalier, where I joked with my boss, who had just spent £2K on tyres for his X5, that All the cars I'd ever owned and there have been many added up to less than a full service at a bmw dealership.
At the same time I had a staff of 25, and I remember a conversation with a lad of about 28 who had a young kid, with his girlfriend and lived in a s
tty part of runcorn (runcorn is stty, but the stty parts are worse) in a rented flat, but had bought a second hand A3 S-line on finance, at £270 a month, and was bragging how much better than my car was (obviously!!) except, a few days later I had to inform him that overtime was being cut and he'd probably loose £400 a month in take home, as he was doing so many hours. Despite him having a really nice car, I tried to make sure if there was overtime, he was first on the list, because his whole life suddenly became very stressful.
I'm the boss of my own company now but back when I was in gainful employment in the Construction industry my last few car's were a lot more expensive and 'better' (subjective) than my peers and line managers; often on a par with the MD's car.
There was definitely some animosity towards me because of this: often had comments about how I must earn 'too much' and 'how do I manage that?'
Thing is, my wife earns a fantastic wage as a senior Director in a large international company and I was a Director of a company before I moved to the UK so had a bit invested. So the 12 years in good 'ol England where I worked for someone else my middle management position didn't reflect the car/house situation at home and some colleagues disliked it.
There was definitely some animosity towards me because of this: often had comments about how I must earn 'too much' and 'how do I manage that?'
Thing is, my wife earns a fantastic wage as a senior Director in a large international company and I was a Director of a company before I moved to the UK so had a bit invested. So the 12 years in good 'ol England where I worked for someone else my middle management position didn't reflect the car/house situation at home and some colleagues disliked it.
New POD said:
At the same time I had a staff of 25, and I remember a conversation with a lad of about 28 who had a young kid, with his girlfriend and lived in a stty part of runcorn (runcorn is stty, but the stty parts are worse) in a rented flat, but had bought a second hand A3 S-line on finance, at £270 a month, and was bragging how much better than my car was (obviously!!) except, a few days later I had to inform him that overtime was being cut and he'd probably loose £400 a month in take home, as he was doing so many hours.
Despite him having a really nice car, I tried to make sure if there was overtime, he was first on the list, because his whole life suddenly became very stressful.
£270/month is a good price to pay on finance if the car is around 2-3 years old and it's proper finance not the PCP type deal. tty part of runcorn (runcorn is stty, but the stty parts are worse) in a rented flat, but had bought a second hand A3 S-line on finance, at £270 a month, and was bragging how much better than my car was (obviously!!) except, a few days later I had to inform him that overtime was being cut and he'd probably loose £400 a month in take home, as he was doing so many hours. Despite him having a really nice car, I tried to make sure if there was overtime, he was first on the list, because his whole life suddenly became very stressful.
However, if my pay depends on O/T or commission I'd be very careful in taking out any loans...
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