Would you buy a $300,000 car?

[samhexum]

The mayor of Niagra Falls told the New York Times that investigators are eyeing a possible mechanical failure that caused the car to accelerate to at least 100 mph before flying over a fence and crashing into the border crossing booth.  Police told The Buffalo News that it was a 2022 Bentley sedan, which has been valued at around $300,000.

The wealthy New York couple inside -- Kurt Villani and his wife Monica, both 53  --  were on their way to see KISS in concert in Toronto, a gig that was canceled when Paul Stanley came down with the flu. Obviously, Stanley got his covid and RSV shots, but forgot about the flu.  Sad.

 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

7 hours ago, BSR said:

Like I said, either you're a car guy, or you're not.  It's quite obvious you're not.

I'm a big believer in letting people enjoy their hard-earned money.  If you can't enjoy your money, why bother working?  Just because a guy spends his money in a way I wouldn't, I'm not going make nasty assumptions about the guy.

Live and let live.

Exactly.  Just let people be 👍

You earn your money, you spend it as you wish.  They're doing you zero harm.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

2 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

My clients SPEND more than a million a year. In NYC $30M in assets is nothing

 

This is 100% true.  

There's having money and then there's having fuck you money. 

Manhattan- along with London, Tokyo and Hong Kong- are fuck you money cities.

[+ Charlie]

In 1984 my partner and I bought a new Toyota Corolla to replace our old one. In 1985, we happened to get an unexpected financial windfall. I wanted to put the money into a retirement account. He said, "No, I want to buy a Mercedes." I asked why, since we had just bought a new car. He said, "I would like to own a really nice car for once in my life." So I gave in, and for the next 23 years we owned only Mercedes sedans, which were a pleasure to drive. When the last one was twelve years old and had 113 thousand miles on it, we decided to get something more practical, so we bought a Toyota Prius. I hated driving it. When we were ready for our next car, we went back to the Mercedes dealer, and bought an SUV. After six years, I was sick of the expense of the constant services and gas guzzling. A year ago, we traded it for a relative cheap Nissan SUV (in fact, it cost more than our first Mercedes). I have no regrets, because to my surprise, I think it handles much better than the Mercedes, and it gets much better gas mileage. And besides, the Mercedes didn't make our cocks any bigger.

[samhexum]

1 minute ago, Charlie said:

And besides, the Mercedes didn't make our cocks any bigger.

Not to you maybe, but had you tried to pick up a young lovely to have a three-way with, it may well have to him.

[Luv2play]

I've driven a Bentley exactly twice in my life. Belonged to a friend of mine in Orlando. At that time, 23 years ago, it was a $100, 000 car or so. Handled beautifully and felt like a Sherman tank in terms of solidity.

I can't imagine it getting out of control especially in an urban setting but then today it probably has a lot more electronics than a quarter century ago.  Maybe it's like the Boeing plane that a few years ago lost control and the pilots couldn't control it.

[Rudynate]

On 11/6/2023 at 5:46 AM, caramelsub said:

Target to me is actually upscale, at least compared to walmart where I normally shop for basic items. I know many people with money who shop at Target.

I used to love those Mossimo t-shrirts that they had at Target. The colors were great, the fit was nice and they only cost $9.00.  One time, a woman made a snarky remark about my Target t-shirt, wanting to show me that I wasn' t fooling HER, with my Target T-shirts.  I thought it was a kind of a cheap shot, but I didn't really care who knew that I bought t-shirts from Target. 

[Rudynate]

On 11/6/2023 at 7:20 AM, Vin_Marco said:

Probably the difference between a hotel room at a regular Marriott, and somewhere like Claridges and the Savoy... all would provide a comfy bed but the latter would probably make you feel a lil better 😂 Not everything that's exceedingly expensive is worth it but often times you really do get what you pay for. 

Staying at Claridge's is one of my bucket list items. 

[caramelsub]

16 minutes ago, Rudynate said:

I used to love those Mossimo t-shrirts that they had at Target. The colors were great, the fit was nice and they only cost $9.00.  One time, a woman made a snarky remark about my Target t-shirt, wanting to show me that I wasn' t fooling HER, with my Target T-shirts.  I thought it was a kind of a cheap shot, but I didn't really care who knew that I bought t-shirts from Target. 

When I was in high school back in the day, someone once teased me for wearing a Mossimo watch from Target. After that incident I saved up to buy myself a Fossil watch which were popular at the time. 😂 

Edited November 25, 2023 by caramelsub

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, Rudynate said:

Staying at Claridge's is one of my bucket list items. 

It's nice... I've stayed there twice but honestly, I enjoyed the Savoy a bit more... can't go wrong with either. 

[Rudynate]

10 minutes ago, Vin_Marco said:

It's nice... I've stayed there twice but honestly, I enjoyed the Savoy a bit more... can't go wrong with either. 

I LIKE nice hotels - it's one of my guilty pleasures.  I would like to stay at the Savoy, but I haven't romanticized it like I have Claridge's.

[+ Mrprofessional]

There is a legitimate difference between Honda/nissan (it will get you there sorta) cars and the higher end Audi BMW Mercedes. Better design better drive better feel on road. Like riding in  business  class vs coach.  Porsche definitely drives like a dream if you love driving a powerful car. 

But no knowledge of whether the extreme high end cars are worth it.  I doubt it. 

[pubic_assistance]

I bought an expensive automobile after two very good years in business. Not so much to "show off" but to NOT have to deal with the problems of breaking-down on the road like all my other cars did.

It's now 18 years later and I haven't had one problem with it. Runs like a dream. Well worth the investment.

Edited November 25, 2023 by pubic_assistance
grammar

[SouthOfTheBorder]

From the NYT article about the Niagara Falls Bentley crash - it notes multiple recalls for defective parts & workmanship on Bentleys last few years.  
Sounds like a real bargain at $300,000+  the random acceleration thing must be really fun 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received no complaints about the 2022 Flying Spur, but Bentley issued three recalls involving the car’s seatbelts, airbags and entertainment systems, according to the agency’s website. None involved acceleration

Ms. Bronner said Wednesday’s incident was not tied to a recall in 2021 of some models over a risk that their accelerator pedals could become stuck. She said there had been no such problem on left-hand drive cars, the kind sold in the United States and Canada.

Edited November 26, 2023 by SouthOfTheBorder

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

On 11/25/2023 at 11:38 PM, SouthOfTheBorder said:

From the NYT article about the Niagara Falls Bentley crash - it notes multiple recalls for defective parts & workmanship on Bentleys last few years.  
Sounds like a real bargain at $300,000+  the random acceleration thing must be really fun 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received no complaints about the 2022 Flying Spur, but Bentley issued three recalls involving the car’s seatbelts, airbags and entertainment systems, according to the agency’s website. None involved acceleration

Ms. Bronner said Wednesday’s incident was not tied to a recall in 2021 of some models over a risk that their accelerator pedals could become stuck. She said there had been no such problem on left-hand drive cars, the kind sold in the United States and Canada.

Do you realize how many recalls nearly EVERY vehicle line has for things exactly like this?

It's a machine.  Shit happens.  It's not perfect...  Never will be.  This is why these NHTSA recalls exist.

You set an alert.  You call your dealer when you get a notification.

My current vehicle is a little less than half of this price and it needed a couple of recalls issues taken care of.

[pubic_assistance]

19 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

My current vehicle is a little less than half of this price and it needed a couple of recalls issues taken care of.

My ride is less than a THIRD of this and I've never had a recall. 

 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

17 minutes ago, pubic_assistance said:

My ride is less than a THIRD of this and I've never had a recall. 

 

Ok.  

Congrats.

I never equated price with quality.  I just said it's a machine and machines are fallible.

Edited November 28, 2023 by BenjaminNicholas

[pubic_assistance]

2 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

... it's a machine and machines are fallible.

Which is why I'm never buying a self driving car.

[samhexum]

[SouthOfTheBorder]

From Slate, re: Niagra Bentley crash 

 

It does make you wonder, though: Why on earth would someone want to own a car—one meant to be driven on regular old roads in, for example, upstate New York, where its driver operated a small local chain of hardware stores—that can go a reported 175 miles per hour? That’s 110 miles per hour faster than the highest posted speed limit in the state of New York. It’s about 107 miles per hour faster than the highest posted speed limit in Ontario, where the driver hoped to attend a KISS concert. Heck, that’s 90 miles per hour faster than the highest posted speed limit in all of America (on state Highway 130 outside Austin, Texas). Unfortunately, we can’t ask Kurt P. Villani, 53, of Grand Island, New York, or his wife, Monica Villani, also 53, why they bought a car that can go that fast, because they both died horribly when the car exploded.
 

They Died at an Absurd Speed at Niagara Falls. Why Did Their Vehicle Let Them?
Automakers are happy to sell you a Bentley that drives 175 miles per hour. But we don’t have to allow it.

Read in Slate: https://apple.news/AIKHAObp1SFqNmUSOkOtPrw

 

[+ Funguy]

Very happy with my Mustang convertible - great looking (black/black/black), fun to drive, faster than my friend's corvette - not that it's needed, but a gas guzzler.

It's a 2020 but with my problems in 2021 it barely got driven and I now only have 6,200 miles on it - a gem!

[CuriousByNature]

I would only buy a $300K car if I was able to to drive it through the poorest part of town and not feel incredibly guilty for spending that kind of money on a vehicle - when in reality I could have spent less than $50K on a new car AND used the balance to help a lot of people in challenging situations.  

[BSR]

15 hours ago, CuriousByNature said:

I would only buy a $300K car if I was able to to drive it through the poorest part of town and not feel incredibly guilty for spending that kind of money on a vehicle - when in reality I could have spent less than $50K on a new car AND used the balance to help a lot of people in challenging situations.  

Driving a $300,000 car in the poorest part of town, well before guilt set in, you would be carjacked and probably beaten to a pulp.

Edited December 1, 2023 by BSR
Wording

[+ José Soplanucas]

6 hours ago, BSR said:

Driving a $300,000 car in the poorest part of town, well before guilt set in, you would be carjacked and probably beaten to a pulp.

Did you understand the point @CuriousByNature was making, Bright One?

[BSR]

6 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

Did you understand the point @CuriousByNature was making, Bright One?

Yes, but you apparently missed the point I was making, Spark Plug.