"So how much did that set you back m8?"
Discussion
GG89 said:
I'm honestly struggling to think of a scenario where someone would 'aggressively' ask how much your car was.
Perhaps aggressive is not the correct word, but absolute knob head is maybe more accurate, like this:'Oi, what make of car is that m8'
'It's a TVR, great cars, its my pride and joy'
'Oh, hahahaha, bet it brakes down all the time? my mate had one and left him stranded a lot and cost him a fortune to run'
'No, it's been quite reliable in-fact'
'What did you pay for that thing then? Bet it costs you LOADS on fuel m8'
'More than I tell my wife, have a nice day'
Etc...
Countdown said:
johnwilliams77 said:
You psychological geniuses have nailed it! We are all
Insecure. Tada!
Not really. I just don't understand the point of being secretive. Insecure. Tada!
Q. “What did that cost you, mate?”
A. “It was just over £XXk, I paid a bit more than average because it’s got FSH/Alloys/Pet tiger/whatever”
Why make things complicated?
Q. "is it raining outside mate?"
A. "Why? Are you thinking of going outside?
A. "I could tell you but I'd have to kill you"
A. "Well, it's somewhere between snow blizzards and the sahara"
It is not about being secretive, it is (to some) a personal thing and not a lot of people like to discuss money as
a.) it is rude
b.) it can be uncomfortable being put into a position to discuss how well you are doing for yourself (relative)
I go back to my earlier point. It is really no different to asking how many previous partners your current partner has had. Cor she's nice guv, bet she's got a bit of experience now, how many she's had?
Clearly you don't get the issue some of us have. I have no idea about your age or background but perhaps you are younger, who knows but it's as rude as asking how much do you earn. Mr Bateman clearly answered this but if anyone asks me I just say enough to pay the bills.
johnwilliams77 said:
GG89 said:
I'm honestly struggling to think of a scenario where someone would 'aggressively' ask how much your car was.
Perhaps aggressive is not the correct word, but absolute knob head is maybe more accurate, like this:'Oi, what make of car is that m8'
'It's a TVR, great cars, its my pride and joy'
'Oh, hahahaha, bet it brakes down all the time? my mate had one and left him stranded a lot and cost him a fortune to run'
'No, it's been quite reliable in-fact'
'What did you pay for that thing then? Bet it costs you LOADS on fuel m8'
'More than I tell my wife, have a nice day'
Etc...
I do think the early post in here about knowing the cost of everything but the value of nothing fits in with this thread.
Culture has generally become more materialistic and I think its no surprise this seems to have happened side by side with the evolution of social media. It's all about braggability now and that seems largely to be the aim of the game in day to day life. It has, of course, always existed but now with the audience being global rather than the blokes down the local pub, it seems more prevalent than ever.
Cars used to be appreciated by petrolheads by and large and the questions that flowed were more to do with the performance than how wealthy you were. The same went with many expensive hobby apparatus.
Nowadays it seems more about how much everything cost rather than about what it does.
Culture has generally become more materialistic and I think its no surprise this seems to have happened side by side with the evolution of social media. It's all about braggability now and that seems largely to be the aim of the game in day to day life. It has, of course, always existed but now with the audience being global rather than the blokes down the local pub, it seems more prevalent than ever.
Cars used to be appreciated by petrolheads by and large and the questions that flowed were more to do with the performance than how wealthy you were. The same went with many expensive hobby apparatus.
Nowadays it seems more about how much everything cost rather than about what it does.
George Smiley said:
Countdown said:
johnwilliams77 said:
You psychological geniuses have nailed it! We are all
Insecure. Tada!
Not really. I just don't understand the point of being secretive. Insecure. Tada!
Q. “What did that cost you, mate?”
A. “It was just over £XXk, I paid a bit more than average because it’s got FSH/Alloys/Pet tiger/whatever”
Why make things complicated?
Q. "is it raining outside mate?"
A. "Why? Are you thinking of going outside?
A. "I could tell you but I'd have to kill you"
A. "Well, it's somewhere between snow blizzards and the sahara"
It is not about being secretive, it is (to some) a personal thing and not a lot of people like to discuss money as
a.) it is rude
b.) it can be uncomfortable being put into a position to discuss how well you are doing for yourself (relative)
I go back to my earlier point. It is really no different to asking how many previous partners your current partner has had. Cor she's nice guv, bet she's got a bit of experience now, how many she's had?
Clearly you don't get the issue some of us have. I have no idea about your age or background but perhaps you are younger, who knows but it's as rude as asking how much do you earn. Mr Bateman clearly answered this but if anyone asks me I just say enough to pay the bills.
ked your wife you are definitely a troubled soul.
Bangers that big!GG89 said:
Well I could make a ridiculous scenario up in my head like the one above but realistic ones I'm struggling for.
You've clearly never owned a TVR or a Lotus. Conversations like that happen with depressing regularity and they're pretty tedious. Shnozz said:
I do think the early post in here about knowing the cost of everything but the value of nothing fits in with this thread.
Culture has generally become more materialistic and I think its no surprise this seems to have happened side by side with the evolution of social media. It's all about braggability now and that seems largely to be the aim of the game in day to day life. It has, of course, always existed but now with the audience being global rather than the blokes down the local pub, it seems more prevalent than ever.
Cars used to be appreciated by petrolheads by and large and the questions that flowed were more to do with the performance than how wealthy you were. The same went with many expensive hobby apparatus.
Nowadays it seems more about how much everything cost rather than about what it does.
Absolutely. Culture has generally become more materialistic and I think its no surprise this seems to have happened side by side with the evolution of social media. It's all about braggability now and that seems largely to be the aim of the game in day to day life. It has, of course, always existed but now with the audience being global rather than the blokes down the local pub, it seems more prevalent than ever.
Cars used to be appreciated by petrolheads by and large and the questions that flowed were more to do with the performance than how wealthy you were. The same went with many expensive hobby apparatus.
Nowadays it seems more about how much everything cost rather than about what it does.
You can generally tell from the way the question is phrased as to where the person is coming from.
I was getting my latest pride and joy cleaned the other day. I had to use a local hand car wash (where they take a reasonable amount of care) as I have knackered my back.
The chap, who earns pennies, was admiring it.
"Nice car."
"Thanks"
"What did you pay for it?"
First question, second sentence. Now it cost a lot. An embarrassingly large amount from anyone's perspective - but especially to someone who cannot be far off the minimum wage. I wouldn't feel comfortable telling him the truth - I'd sound like a twunt (it is an idiotic thing to spend that much on a car). Hell there are very few people I'd tell, if any.
The chap, who earns pennies, was admiring it.
"Nice car."
"Thanks"
"What did you pay for it?"
First question, second sentence. Now it cost a lot. An embarrassingly large amount from anyone's perspective - but especially to someone who cannot be far off the minimum wage. I wouldn't feel comfortable telling him the truth - I'd sound like a twunt (it is an idiotic thing to spend that much on a car). Hell there are very few people I'd tell, if any.
Depends on the situation and how the question is posed.
Using the example from earlier: in a petrol station, with no prior conversation, ‘too much!’ or something similar.
Asked by a friend or someone who was showing some genuine interest in the car, I would have no qualms answering truthfully.
But, I don’t encounter this much, and even when out with friends with much nicer and more expensive cars, it doesn’t seem to happen much either.
I have to agree with other posters though, that I would rather someone asked about my ownership of the car or some details about it, even something basic like ‘how fast does that go then?’, rather than the price of it, as that is much more interesting to me than how much something costs.
That being said, it can become depressing the amount of times I am asked how much power my Supra has, as most people who know a little bit about them expect them all to be stupid power levels, and some have seemed disappointed when I have replied with ‘around 400 horsepower’.
It did lead to an amusing exchange though. I had taken the car out for the evening and happened across a Lamborghini Aventador SV. I caught the car up and found out quite how fast a 740 horsepower Lamborghini was.
We both stopped to refuel at the same petrol station, and I got talking to the passenger. He commented that both he and the driver had spotted my car in the distance, and were wondering whether it was going to be some ridiculous 1000 horsepower monster, and weren’t too sure whether to have a play or not. They were both pleasantly surprised when they thoroughly showed my car up!
Lovely Esprit by the way, OP! How much did that set you back?
Using the example from earlier: in a petrol station, with no prior conversation, ‘too much!’ or something similar.
Asked by a friend or someone who was showing some genuine interest in the car, I would have no qualms answering truthfully.
But, I don’t encounter this much, and even when out with friends with much nicer and more expensive cars, it doesn’t seem to happen much either.
I have to agree with other posters though, that I would rather someone asked about my ownership of the car or some details about it, even something basic like ‘how fast does that go then?’, rather than the price of it, as that is much more interesting to me than how much something costs.
That being said, it can become depressing the amount of times I am asked how much power my Supra has, as most people who know a little bit about them expect them all to be stupid power levels, and some have seemed disappointed when I have replied with ‘around 400 horsepower’.
It did lead to an amusing exchange though. I had taken the car out for the evening and happened across a Lamborghini Aventador SV. I caught the car up and found out quite how fast a 740 horsepower Lamborghini was.
We both stopped to refuel at the same petrol station, and I got talking to the passenger. He commented that both he and the driver had spotted my car in the distance, and were wondering whether it was going to be some ridiculous 1000 horsepower monster, and weren’t too sure whether to have a play or not. They were both pleasantly surprised when they thoroughly showed my car up!
Lovely Esprit by the way, OP! How much did that set you back?
AstonZagato said:
I was getting my latest pride and joy cleaned the other day. I had to use a local hand car wash (where they take a reasonable amount of care) as I have knackered my back.
The chap, who earns pennies, was admiring it.
"Nice car."
"Thanks"
"What did you pay for it?"
First question, second sentence. Now it cost a lot. An embarrassingly large amount from anyone's perspective - but especially to someone who cannot be far off the minimum wage. I wouldn't feel comfortable telling him the truth - I'd sound like a twunt (it is an idiotic thing to spend that much on a car). Hell there are very few people I'd tell, if any.
Don't you state exactly how much you paid for the Aston in your PH 'garage'?The chap, who earns pennies, was admiring it.
"Nice car."
"Thanks"
"What did you pay for it?"
First question, second sentence. Now it cost a lot. An embarrassingly large amount from anyone's perspective - but especially to someone who cannot be far off the minimum wage. I wouldn't feel comfortable telling him the truth - I'd sound like a twunt (it is an idiotic thing to spend that much on a car). Hell there are very few people I'd tell, if any.
But yes I agree with you that it can be uncomfortable. I wouldn't know as I've never outright owned a car worth more than £5k. Although people are shocked when they learn they've been that cheap.
Bradley1500 said:
Lovely Esprit by the way, OP! How much did that set you back?
I remortgaged my house to buy it in 2003. There, that sounds really really stupid said out loud doesn't it?
If I told that to someone on the street who didn't "get it" he'd be telling his mates what a jerk he met today. I only feel vaguely comfortable mentioning it on here amongst mainly like minded souls (and a couple of cretins obviously).
Ironically way back then I didn't mind telling people. A couple of years afterwards however, a TV producer who had read my comment on this very forum rang me at home (seriously). She was making a programme about the positive side of the housing boom, and would I mind appearing to show the benefits of spiralling debt. At this point it was obvious that being "normal, upfront, straightforward and honest" to use words used in this thread, would open me up for nationwide scrutiny and/or ridicule.
Cars aren't a rational purchase like a house, they involve emotions that differ from person to person. Like it or not you and your motivations are judged by them.
Loose_Cannon said:
Bradley1500 said:
Lovely Esprit by the way, OP! How much did that set you back?
I remortgaged my house to buy it in 2003. There, that sounds really really stupid said out loud doesn't it?
If I told that to someone on the street who didn't "get it" he'd be telling his mates what a jerk he met today. I only feel vaguely comfortable mentioning it on here amongst mainly like minded souls (and a couple of cretins obviously).
Ironically way back then I didn't mind telling people. A couple of years afterwards however, a TV producer who had read my comment on this very forum rang me at home (seriously). She was making a programme about the positive side of the housing boom, and would I mind appearing to show the benefits of spiralling debt. At this point it was obvious that being "normal, upfront, straightforward and honest" to use words used in this thread, would open me up for nationwide scrutiny and/or ridicule.
Cars aren't a rational purchase like a house, they involve emotions that differ from person to person. Like it or not you and your motivations are judged by them.
I don’t know what an Esprit GT3 would have cost in 2003, but I do know Esprits have been appreciating recently, so it could turn out to be an astute buying decision eventually.
If you’re not comfortable with discussing values that is your prerogative, but I wouldn’t concern yourself with what random people think of you or would be telling their friends.
The TV show is a different matter though, and I agree, not something I would fancy being a part of.
I am generally not particularly interesting in the cost of things, but I was recently at Goodwood FoS and got chatting to the owner of a Ferrari F40 LM in the Paddocks. I did wonder what one would cost today considering its rarity, but I didn’t ask.
Bradley1500 said:
I am generally not particularly interesting in the cost of things, but I was recently at Goodwood FoS and got chatting to the owner of a Ferrari F40 LM in the Paddocks. I did wonder what one would cost today considering its rarity, but I didn’t ask.
Ironically, one time I did discuss the value of my Sagaris is when the random stranger said "I hope you won't think me rude, and I quite understand if you'd rather not say, but what do you think it might be worth right now? I know they're very rare and I have no idea"The Esprit was a massive purchase, second only to the house and only eclipsed recently in the sharp-intake-of-breath category.
Never mind total strangers, I learned that when owning a frivolous/expensive car your own family can start treating you differently and offering unsolicited opinions and questions.
In our case many appeared concerned that the toddlers would be home alone eating cola cubes and micro chips whilst we swanned about in our selfish 2 seater. The occasional bit of pocket money from parents stopped, as did much assistance with family holidays and babysitting.
It was only after a few years of the children being whisked about in leather-lined Volvo safety with occasional trips to Disneyland that we were downgraded as "parents from hell" and people asked about the Lotus in a nice way. Bizarre, and this is from people who allegedly know you well.
Never mind total strangers, I learned that when owning a frivolous/expensive car your own family can start treating you differently and offering unsolicited opinions and questions.
In our case many appeared concerned that the toddlers would be home alone eating cola cubes and micro chips whilst we swanned about in our selfish 2 seater. The occasional bit of pocket money from parents stopped, as did much assistance with family holidays and babysitting.
It was only after a few years of the children being whisked about in leather-lined Volvo safety with occasional trips to Disneyland that we were downgraded as "parents from hell" and people asked about the Lotus in a nice way. Bizarre, and this is from people who allegedly know you well.
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