Safety. Husband was hit driving his Audi, Audi was totaled. Other party (Ford Truck) was totaled and driver went to the hospital in an ambulance. Husband was shaken and sore, but not injured. Passenger compartment of the Audi was intact, the rest of the car was not. The seats all shifted 10-15 degrees to the right, which is where my husband got a couple of scratches on his right leg from the center console.
That’s not a function of luxury, but of how the car was built. A red light runner hit my wife when she was driving my Saturn, and he hit it right on the passenger side door. It was reenforced there, and she was only in the emergency room for a few hours and then did some physical therapy. Not a luxury car, just a well-made one.
It all depends on how much the price difference is worth to us. If I were as rich as hell I’d fly first class all the time since the incremental cost wouldn’t mean much to me. The incremental value of a luxury car is pretty low - I’d like the safety features, not the leather seats. So I never buy one even though I could afford it. And I stay in much nicer hotels when work is paying.
1960 DJIA was ~615
Current Dow is at 17,400 or thereabouts. (17,373.38 on 7/7/2015)
So a Dow index fund would have made nearly exactly the same return as the Rolex, and not be nearly so easy to lose, damage, or have stolen in a mugging.
Index funds are investing 101, hardly rocket science. Many of the Dow stocks would have been paying dividends as well as the equity appreciation, enough to more than offset the fees, which are typically very low with index funds. If these dividends were rolled into purchasing additional shares, then there would be a significant compounding effect.
Note that I am using an average of many stocks, not one peak performer. I could cherry pick steller perfoming stocks and have a much higher return, which is essentially what you have done with the Rolex. Did vintage Breitlings appreciate like that? How would you have known in 1960 that Rolex was the marque that was going to become collectable? How have an average of the 10 top watch brands in 1960 fared?
I don’t like leather seats. Are there any luxury cars without leather seats? Maybe there are a a few .
I’m not arguing that. I’m just kicking my ass for NOT buying one in 1968. (Yes I thought about. Instead I bought a cheaper watch)
At 74", yes, yes it worth a couple of hundred more on a five hour DTW-LAS flight. We hot a hot meal (not cereal), got on and off the plane first, and there’s a lot more shoulder room, too (not just leg room). It used to be that I got these seats free with status, but these days all my status is on Chinese airlines.
Contrasting this, though, it’s not worth the $8000 difference to fly business class on Delta from PVG-DTW, and business class is awesome. On the company’s dime, it’s awesome, but as awesome as it is, it’s not $8000 of awesome. On the other hand, Economy Plus is a couple of hundred extra dollars, and while not as nice as domestic first class, it’s a bargain for a 14 hour flight.
I want my wristwatch to accurately tell me what time it is, and to look and feel comfortable on my wrist. Anything beyond that is unnecessary.
Not everyone feels the way you do.
really? Well fuck me! I didn’t know that!
There’s also customer service. I don’t expect that if my Honda Pilot (which is the nicest, most expensive vehicle I’ve ever owned, and it feels much more luxurious, solid, and comforrable than my Saturns, Kia, Suburus or even my old Honda Civic) is ever recalled, I’ll take it to the dealer and they’ll simply hand me keys to a new Pilot. But apparently Lexus did that for their drivers once. Their other recalls, they send a repair guy out to the owner’s house to do repairs instead of bothering the owner with the trouble of bringing it in for repairs, another benefit I don’t expect to enjoy.
I don’t expect a “free luxury car spa” with my dealership provided maintenance, or even a free loaner while it’s being serviced, since I declined to pay for that extra coverage on my warranty.
Sometimes, one enjoys having one’s ass licked, or so I can imagine. Not a benefit of the luxury vehicle itself, but of luxury car ownership, for sure.
Unnecessary, yet, but the OP asked, “Is there **any **point … besides the prestige?”
So far, in other goods, people have brought up functionality, reliability, comfort, and beauty. You’ve touched on all those points, except beauty.
Right, but you can get all that with a Timex. They aren’t complete shit, they’re decent watches that achieve their main function perfectly acceptably. Pick the one that looks right for you.
I don’t even pay attention to brands in situations like this, I look for what does everything I need in my price bracket. I think of myself as an average consumer, in that regard, though I don’t know if I really am (or how that would be measured).
Sometimes I wonder if my attitude would change if I was wealthier, where price was no longer the deciding factor.
I like the look of an old Timex - solid, functional, clean - but I wouldn’t call them beautiful.
My Volvo doesnt have them.
I have only had one luxury car and I loved it. It is the favorite car of my life.
However, they are not only initially expensive. They are ongoing expensive. Tags, repairs. But it was a wonderful driving machine with the best sound and heated seats and the BEST CUPHOLDERS EVER.
I drive a used BMW that cost the same as an average econobox. I also have a Toyota just a year older that I’ve had for much longer. The difference is remarkable. I MUCH prefer the bimmer to the yota. It has so many features that average cars are just now catching up to. It is much more comfortable and I can drive for hours. It is a mich smoother ride and easier to drive. It is much faster which makes for easier passes and freeway merging. It is made with higher quality materials. It feels safer to me because it is loaded with safety features and due to the high quality materials. Driving the yota is a chore. Driving the bimmer is so much fun that I go on drives for no reason. I could go on. I will always stick with luxury from now on.
Sure, the prestige may be cool, but the cars are just better imo.
Wow, no wonder my dad reaches across to every door to unlock them for passengers and still doesn’t get that cars now have a button to unlock all of 'em… He’s not even that old!
Their what? What were they driving, large pickups?