Author Topic: Benzee, Ahhdee, Beemer,... (Read 2886 times)

21Rouge · « **on:** June 30, 2009, 05:29:42 pm »

Lately my son has this goofy game of calling out brand names of certain high end vehicles. Using his short forms, I think so far it is restricted to Caddys, Beemers, Benzees, and Ahhdees. For a while it was amusing but now it is tiresome

....too much of him talking while in the car with me. It got to the point where I insisted he couldn't call out BMW unless it was a 500 series or 'greater'; we soon had to make similar restrictions to the others. But then it kind of hit me. It may be obvious to all of you but there are alot of people out there who drive very expensive vehicles

. This may seem naive but how can and do so many people afford vehicles greater than say $50k

Maybe I have my pricing wrong here but wouldn't many of the cars from these brands be in excess of $50k?:

Lexus, Cadillac, Audi, MB, BMW, Porche (we see alot of those Cayenne),....

I think our family does well but I couldn't imagine at this point in my life with kids off to university, buying transportation for more than $50k. On the surface it does appear that there are many wealthy people out there

or people that value greatly an expensive vehicle.

initial_D · « **Reply #1 on:** June 30, 2009, 05:33:04 pm »

You must live in the wealthy part of the country.

We have mostly 3/4 diesel trucks here.

21Rouge · « **Reply #2 on:** June 30, 2009, 05:36:32 pm »

Quote from: initial_D on June 30, 2009, 05:33:04 pm

You must live in the wealthy part of the country.

I should have given my location...the GTorontoArea

ovr50 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 30, 2009, 05:52:53 pm »

Quote from: 21Rouge on June 30, 2009, 05:29:42 pm

Lately my son has this goofy game of calling out brand names of certain high end vehicles. Using his short forms, I think so far it is restricted to Caddys, Beemers, Benzees, and Ahhdees. For a while it was amusing but now it is tiresome ....too much of him talking while in the car with me. It got to the point where I insisted he couldn't call out BMW unless it was a 500 series or 'greater'; we soon had to make similar restrictions to the others. But then it kind of hit me . It may be obvious to all of you but there are alot of people out there who drive very expensive vehicles . This may seem very naive but how can and do so many people afford vehicles greater than say $50k Maybe I have my pricing wrong here but wouldn't many of the cars from these brands be in excess of $50k?:

Lexus, Cadillac, Audi, MB, BMW, Porche (we see alot of those Cayenne),....

I think our family does well but I couldnt imagine at this point in my life (late 40s) buying transportation for $50k. There are for sure many wealthy people out there .

Certainly there will be many vehicles in excess of $50K, especially in the CofU, the GTA.

No surprise there.

What initial_d didn't say was that most of those 3/4 ton Diesel trucks he sees are also in excess of $50k...

Since your son is learning to call out names of cars, instruct him that BMWs are "Bimmers", not "Beemers".

And many buyers opt for the "never-never" financing plans such as 6 or 7 year car loans and leasing deals. This allows them to drive a vehicle above their means.

21Rouge · « **Reply #4 on:** June 30, 2009, 05:58:54 pm »

Quote from: ovr50 on June 30, 2009, 05:52:53 pm

Since your son is learning to call out names of cars, instruct him that BMWs are "Bimmers", not "Beemers".

And between you and I

why is it Bimmer and not Beemer?

Quote from: ovr50 on June 30, 2009, 05:52:53 pm

And many buyers opt for the "never-never" financing plans such as 6 or 7 year car loans and leasing deals. This allows them to drive a vehicle above their means.

And so with such a timeline what would a typical monthly payment be?

johngenx · « **Reply #5 on:** June 30, 2009, 06:01:13 pm »

In old school parlance, Bimmer is car, Beemer is bike. Yuppies can say whatever they like, I don't know any of them anymore anyway...

tpl · « **Reply #6 on:** June 30, 2009, 06:18:55 pm »

There are many people in TO who can afford $1000 to $1500 a month lease or purchase for a car or even more I'd bet.
My BMW was close to $60K incl taxes. in 2003 and I bought it over 3 years. Before I retired. No kids, no mortgage, no other outgoings. Good salary and in a couple of previous years, good profit sharing. Retirement fund uptodate. And I was just a poor underpaid manager at a consultancy... not a rich Lawyer/Banker/Entrepreneur/ property developer/drug dealer.

dr_spock · « **Reply #7 on:** June 30, 2009, 07:12:55 pm »

We switched to spot the Jeep from Punch Buggy. That was a very bad idea. We're back to Punch Buggy. Much easier since there are way too many Jeeps, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, etc. in our area.

ovr50 · « **Reply #8 on:** June 30, 2009, 07:13:38 pm »

Quote from: 21Rouge on June 30, 2009, 05:58:54 pm

Quote from: ovr50 on June 30, 2009, 05:52:53 pm

Since your son is learning to call out names of cars, instruct him that BMWs are "Bimmers", not "Beemers".

And between you and I why is it Bimmer and not Beemer?

Quote from: ovr50 on June 30, 2009, 05:52:53 pm
And many buyers opt for the "never-never" financing plans such as 6 or 7 year car loans and leasing deals. This allows them to drive a vehicle above their means.

And so with such a timeline what would a typical monthly payment be?

I think John and tpl have answered your questions.

The monthly pymt on such long loans will depend on how much is put down, and what the purchase price and interest rates are. As tpl says, many ppl can afford over a $1000/month on these things, and some of them just keep rolling negative equity into each new deal. It truly is the "never-never" forever.

21Rouge · « **Reply #9 on:** June 30, 2009, 07:24:57 pm »

Quote from: tpl on June 30, 2009, 06:18:55 pm

There are many people in TO who can afford $1000 to $1500 a month lease or purchase for a car or even more I'd bet.

Getting close to a quasi mortgage payment for some; almost like an inexpensive 2nd home.

21Rouge · « **Reply #10 on:** June 30, 2009, 07:31:25 pm »

Quote from: tpl on June 30, 2009, 06:18:55 pm

My BMW was close to $60K incl taxes. in 2003 and I bought it over 3 years.

From your signature it doesnt appear you have the BMW anymore?

Did you like it while you had it? Was it worth the money?

tpl · « **Reply #11 on:** June 30, 2009, 07:40:09 pm »

Getting close in magnitude indeed. I have never financed a car more than 36 months. Now I am retired its cash for cars all the way.

We have been wondering about a pied a terre as we sold our cottage in 2003. Paris is sadly too expensive unless the stock market has another big bubble( like the TSX going to 20,000 )or the Euro going to par with the looney ... but a small condo in downtown Montreal would be nice. Question is of course; how much would we use it. ( and this is where a high speed train TO to Montreal would come in useful)

So yes witha "2nd home" it would be cheap cars from then on.

Quote from: 21Rouge on June 30, 2009, 07:31:25 pm

Quote from: tpl on June 30, 2009, 06:18:55 pm

My BMW was close to $60K incl taxes. in 2003 and I bought it over 3 years.

From your signature it doesnt appear you have the BMW anymore?

Did you like it while you had it? Was it worth the money?

Yes I did and I thought so... If I had NOT chosen to retire early ( at 60) I would have probably bought a 2nd one and when I did get rid of it the main ( 80% reason ) I did not buy another was that: No coupes in a colour and with manual and leather available for at least 3 months, maybe 5 months. The local dealer pissed me off, seriously greasy sales manager ( imho). Very poor trade in. The 20% reason was that a GTI was 1/2 the price and having had 2 GTIs previously I DO like VWs

airbalancer · « **Reply #12 on:** June 30, 2009, 07:50:14 pm »

$1Cdn=0.61 euro

safristi · « **Reply #13 on:** July 01, 2009, 12:00:40 pm »

why OWN a piede a terre...costing $100's of K's when ya can rent one for those special moments..........................or even splurge on a 5 star hotel fer a few days................I remeber having the cottage bug 10 years after coming to Canada...and i shoulda /coulda bought a decent small Muskoka BIG LAKE property for around $20K........having missed that we rented many a Summer in various cottage areas...........lots of variety and freebies...some with speedboats thrown in fer free.......and visited numerous "resorts"...most of the local cottagers were be_moaning the Taxes,,,Upkeep etc......$200,000 buys a lot of "FUN" places and no responsibilities........enjoy the variety and then walk away at the end of the week/weekend................IMHO

ovr50 · « **Reply #14 on:** July 01, 2009, 01:30:46 pm »

Quote from: safristi on July 01, 2009, 12:00:40 pm

why OWN a piede a terre...costing $100's of K's when ya can rent one for those special moments..........................or even splurge on a 5 star hotel fer a few days................I remeber having the cottage bug 10 years after coming to Canada...and i shoulda /coulda bought a decent small Muskoka BIG LAKE property for around $20K........having missed that we rented many a Summer in various cottage areas...........lots of variety and freebies...some with speedboats thrown in fer free.......and visited numerous "resorts"...most of the local cottagers were be_moaning the Taxes,,,Upkeep etc......$200,000 buys a lot of "FUN" places and no responsibilities........enjoy the variety and then walk away at the end of the week/weekend................IMHO

We actually agree on something......

Those are my feelings exactly.

tpl · « **Reply #15 on:** July 01, 2009, 01:34:28 pm »

Quote from: safristi on July 01, 2009, 12:00:40 pm

why OWN a piede a terre...costing $100's of K's when ya can rent one for those special moments..........................or even splurge on a 5 star hotel fer a few days................I remeber having the cottage bug 10 years after coming to Canada...and i shoulda /coulda bought a decent small Muskoka BIG LAKE property for around $20K........having missed that we rented many a Summer in various cottage areas...........lots of variety and freebies...some with speedboats thrown in fer free.......and visited numerous "resorts"...most of the local cottagers were be_moaning the Taxes,,,Upkeep etc......$200,000 buys a lot of "FUN" places and no responsibilities........enjoy the variety and then walk away at the end of the week/weekend................IMHO

For the same reason as I would not lease a car or rent an apartment. I do see your point saf and I'll agree that it the most logical thing to do. What I REALLY want would be a 80-100 sq metre apt on a reasonable street on the right bank in Paris. That would appreciate even in bad times and I'd get to go to my favorite city without having to stay in a hotel ( i HATE hotels) or arrange a rental every time. And of course it would be available for our friends.

@OVR. One mans drink is another mans poison.

ovr50 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 01, 2009, 01:47:17 pm »

One mans drink is another mans poison.

That is true....

random006 · « **Reply #17 on:** July 01, 2009, 04:21:34 pm »

Quote from: johngenx on June 30, 2009, 06:01:13 pm

In old school parlance, Bimmer is car, Beemer is bike. Yuppies can say whatever they like, I don't know any of them anymore anyway...

Didn't know that. Thanks!

OTOH, I've always called them BuMWs. Don't ask me why; it's just what came to me one day. Maybe due to some of the ~~idiots~~, er, ~~yuppies~~, I mean people with more money than brains behind the wheel?

Marko · « **Reply #18 on:** July 01, 2009, 05:39:29 pm »

Quote from: 21Rouge on June 30, 2009, 05:29:42 pm

This may seem naive but how can and do so many people afford vehicles greater than say $50k Maybe I have my pricing wrong here but wouldn't many of the cars from these brands be in excess of $50k?:

Lexus, Cadillac, Audi, MB, BMW, Porche (we see alot of those Cayenne),....

I think our family does well but I couldn't imagine at this point in my life (late 40s) buying transportation for more than $50k. There are for sure many wealthy people out there or people that value greatly an expensive vehicle.

A lot of them could've been bought used.

For example, here is a 2002 Mercedes S500 for $12,400: http://www.trader.ca/Search/Details.asp?mknm=740&Region=-1&subcategory=&CAT=1&ADID=7817824&ADS=7817824|

Very few who saw that car on the street would think it's worth only that much.

samej · « **Reply #19 on:** July 01, 2009, 09:11:55 pm »

Quote from: Marko on July 01, 2009, 05:39:29 pm

Quote from: 21Rouge on June 30, 2009, 05:29:42 pm
This may seem naive but how can and do so many people afford vehicles greater than say $50k Maybe I have my pricing wrong here but wouldn't many of the cars from these brands be in excess of $50k?:

Lexus, Cadillac, Audi, MB, BMW, Porche (we see alot of those Cayenne),....

I think our family does well but I couldn't imagine at this point in my life (late 40s) buying transportation for more than $50k. There are for sure many wealthy people out there or people that value greatly an expensive vehicle.

A lot of them could've been bought used.

For example, here is a 2002 Mercedes S500 for $12,400: http://www.trader.ca/Search/Details.asp?mknm=740&Region=-1&subcategory=&CAT=1&ADID=7817824&ADS=7817824|

Very few who saw that car on the street would think it's worth only that much.

As someone on the wrong side of 45 and just recently now one of those "bmw yuppie" drivers I empathize. My previous 6 vehicles After Children were all responsible family vehicles: 5 Japanese + 1 Swede, family sedans, 1 station wagon, 1 mini-van (current second vehicle).

But I've always enjoyed cars, been a subscriber to car rags since my teens, prided myself on my double clutch heel and toe skills, etc. but logic and practicality ruled once kids came along. For me it was a matter for saying, this time: "hey - this one's for me" and voila, I driving a 2007 BMW, originally well over $50k+, for what a Honda Odyssey EX-L would cost me new.

I've only had the car for 2 weeks but to quote a cadillac ad, "when you turn on your car, does it return the favour?"... "Yes", which is not something I would say since the 80's

My 8 year pronouced the bimmer "a sweeeet ride, dad!" but also ruled any road trips with the entire family would be in the mini-van (3 kids, the older 2 are teens) :-)