I could afford it, but I’d much rather put that money into my mortgage, pension, or an investment account. But then I don’t get much pleasure out of cars. If I loved nice cars then I might think it’s worth spending disposable income on one.
Completely agree here. I came from a family that loved its fancy cars, but the practical difference between an average car and a high-end luxury model is pretty minimal. Until you need to fix the latter.
> ... but the practical difference between an average car and a high-end luxury model is pretty minimal. Until you need to fix the latter.
You're right: broken gearbox on mine was a solid 15 K EUR at least. But... I paid zero.
My solution is simple: I buy a high-end luxury car used (four to five years old) but I then religiously pay every year for the official extended manufacturer warranty.
I pay 1400 EUR per year for that warranty but then any yellow or red light on the dashboard, any issue (sunroof not opening, sound system speaker broken, NAV issue, anything really), I bring it to any official dealership, in any country in the world and they fix it (it's already been at least to dealerships in Belgium (various little issues), France (gearbox but they didn't fix it: they didn't believe me it was broken), Germany (gearbox replaced), Spain (wipers broke down after a 1700 km road trip under heavy rain: like... it was just too much for the motor 15 hours non-stop), Andorra (yellow light, forgot what it was) and Poland (headlight was getting old and cranky, this summer)).
Car is now 12 y/o and 115 000 miles / 190 000 km and I just renewed the warranty for another two years, unlimited mileage.
For that's the thing with high-end luxury cars too: you have fancy stuff like a warranty valid until 15 years old and 350 000 miles / 400 000 km if you want (if I were to bring it in two years in Sep 2027 with 400 000 km and a broken engine, they'd be forced to replace it just like they were forced to replace the gearbox).
And that warranty is valid in any country in the world. And they give you a spare vehicle. And you've got assistance taking care of everything should you be stuck. For 120 EUR / month on a used car to me it's a no-brainer.
And in two years I'll just sell the car for 15 K EUR or something and buy another high-end luxury car, used (four or five years old), again.
I think for people who enjoy high-end cars but don't want to deal with the stress of having an engine or a gearbox breaking, a used high-end luxury car with an extended warranty is a good solution.
Practically I give to you that it's still just metal on four wheels.
The business model of most higher-end makes has evolved: the first customer leases the car for 3-4 years and then returns it to the dealer, who turns around and sells it to a customer with a full warranty for another 3-4 years.
So modern lux cars are actually pretty well-made and pretty reliable these days. The only catch is that they’re designed with the assumption that all maintenance will be done at the dealer and that the driver never sees a bill.
Once you exit that - do maintenance elsewhere or not under warranty, the costs become ridiculous and people start skipping necessary items. So the car breaks down and the repairs are even more ridiculous. So off to the junkyard it goes.
Stay inside the dealer+warranty bubble and you have a pretty good time, although many people will question your sanity buying an expensive extended warranty for a 12-year old car ;)
