Why do buyers of £50k cars care about MPG?
Discussion
I think that I only consider good mpg for my commuting car.
eg, driving back and too to Germany I liked a big car so bought an MB CLS 320i diesel with decent 43 mpg and good range - 1 tank of fuel.
Commuting in England I bought a BMW i3S. A bit of electricary.
The reason being that I like to minimize how much I have to spend for work.
For holidays I only look at mpg to calculate/estimate how much fuel cost will be to drive to Spain in my TVR Tuscan at ca., 28 mpg.
eg, driving back and too to Germany I liked a big car so bought an MB CLS 320i diesel with decent 43 mpg and good range - 1 tank of fuel.
Commuting in England I bought a BMW i3S. A bit of electricary.
The reason being that I like to minimize how much I have to spend for work.
For holidays I only look at mpg to calculate/estimate how much fuel cost will be to drive to Spain in my TVR Tuscan at ca., 28 mpg.
Quite probably. A guy I worked with at a small ‘indi’ went on to sell new Hondas at an established rural franchise. It was a short time ago when some cars had zero tax and others £20. He was surprised how many deals on £30k and upwards new cars fell through when they did not fall into this category. Maybe a case of ‘I didn’t get where I am by paying over the odds......”
Lester H said:
Quite probably. A guy I worked with at a small ‘indi’ went on to sell new Hondas at an established rural franchise. It was a short time ago when some cars had zero tax and others £20. He was surprised how many deals on £30k and upwards new cars fell through when they did not fall into this category. Maybe a case of ‘I didn’t get where I am by paying over the odds......”
People are just irrational when it comes to money. They can "see" the cost of RFL and the cost of filling up but can't "see" depreciation. So they land themselves with a vast bill for the latter and save a few pennies on the former.As others have pointed out, this means that people like me, who do low mileage, can pick up some tremendous V8-powered bargains.
I've done the sums and the new car equivalent would be 1.9 soot chucker. Err....absolutely no thank you. Ever.
Jaguar steve said:
Why?
Because they're the sort of people who've been up all night for two consecutive nights anxiously spreadsheeting absolutely every cost involved in running a car anybody could think of, even down to working out exactly how much every second of use of the screenwashers adds to their annual water bill and how many times a year they could get away with sneaking a 50p piece out of the kids money box for the forecourt air compressor to ensure the tyres are always at the absolute optimum pressure to save a pipette of fuel each week.
Even though they've been nursing a semi between glancing out the window at the empty space on the drive and flicking back and fourth between the Very Shiny Car online configurator and the spreadsheet no matter how they jiggle the numbers the final column tells them they can't quite afford it.
But another spreadsheet tells them if they go without holidays and feed their kids beans on toast for the next three years and flog all their toys on Gumtree they might just be able to scrape into a £50k car with a respectable number of option boxes ticked bracket so they can tell all their friends and workmates.
Decisions. Decisions.
I'll give it 5 minutes before sergeant major sweeping generalisation is all over this post with more contradictory guff. Because they're the sort of people who've been up all night for two consecutive nights anxiously spreadsheeting absolutely every cost involved in running a car anybody could think of, even down to working out exactly how much every second of use of the screenwashers adds to their annual water bill and how many times a year they could get away with sneaking a 50p piece out of the kids money box for the forecourt air compressor to ensure the tyres are always at the absolute optimum pressure to save a pipette of fuel each week.
Even though they've been nursing a semi between glancing out the window at the empty space on the drive and flicking back and fourth between the Very Shiny Car online configurator and the spreadsheet no matter how they jiggle the numbers the final column tells them they can't quite afford it.
But another spreadsheet tells them if they go without holidays and feed their kids beans on toast for the next three years and flog all their toys on Gumtree they might just be able to scrape into a £50k car with a respectable number of option boxes ticked bracket so they can tell all their friends and workmates.
Decisions. Decisions.
On autocar - Steve sutcliffe (IIRC) was talking the differences E63 S v M5 Competition pack both epic cars.
Then the other tester flagged the cost £100k starting prices - to which the response was no one buys card like this for cash it’s all PCP / monthlies and GFV. Can you afford £18a month more gets you air cooled massaging seats for example not £8k extra.
Anyway fuel consumption the ball ache of a high performance car is range (on some with smaller fuel tanks) so filling up every 3/4 days with super petrol too it’s a PITA / time consuming.
Then the other tester flagged the cost £100k starting prices - to which the response was no one buys card like this for cash it’s all PCP / monthlies and GFV. Can you afford £18a month more gets you air cooled massaging seats for example not £8k extra.
Anyway fuel consumption the ball ache of a high performance car is range (on some with smaller fuel tanks) so filling up every 3/4 days with super petrol too it’s a PITA / time consuming.
Debaser said:
I think it’s much more about range than mpg.
This. I utterly hate fuel ups. I need to fill up tomorrow and between 7 meetings and my commute, a diversion via a petrol station is more irritating then you think.
Queuing behind numpties (finish fueling, walk past pay at pump to go in, do shopping, come out, get into car... faff with mirrors, check bag, check mirrors again, adjust seat, buckle up, check mirrors,pull away, pause, allow people to cross forecourt, drive off) .... to then spend 5mins filling up, hands smelling of diesel to get back onto my route.
Snipers on petrol forecourts, should be modern day natural selection/population control.
I actually bought a £50k+ car and while I’m not so concerned about costs that I need something doing 40mpg+ if it drops too far below 30 mpg the faff of planning fill ups is hassle that I can do without – the car runs on super unleaded which some stations don’t stock. Years ago I drove a full fat V8 for a while and the need to buy fuel every 200 miles became a nuisance. When I was car shopping I had to rule out the F-Pace SVR for this reason. I’m sure the engine is fantastic but the need for frequent fill ups when doing my long journeys would be a proper nuisance and made me rule out the car. Plus the boy racer add-ons and tyres as thick as a sheet of paper are not what I want but that’s going down another track. As things have gone over the last year the Macan has delivered 30mpg or better on most of my journeys which is good for a heavy 3.0 V6 petrol.
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