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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Driving / January 2007Where do expensive cars go?
At one time it seemed like every other car on the road was an Infinity J30. Yesterday I saw one for the first time in what seems like years. What happens to all these relatively expensive Infinities, BMWs, Mercedes, Jags?? It seems like they all just disappear when they are 5 years old. Yet I still see American cars from the 80's on the streets all the time. Seems like it puts the lie to the notion that the "imports" are better vehicles. > At one time it seemed like every other car on the road was an Infinity > J30. Yesterday I saw one for the first time in what seems like years. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > streets all the time. Seems like it puts the lie to the notion that > the "imports" are better vehicles. The go to poorer neighborhoods. Places where people who want expensive cars but cannot afford them new buy them used and then run them into the ground. In the chicago area, I see them new mostly in the north burbs... I see them in middle age mostly in the south burbs. They become beaters and I see them like that all over. Then I see them in the U-pull it junkyards. After that, I don't think they are cars any more. >> At one time it seemed like every other car on the road was an Infinity >> J30. Yesterday I saw one for the first time in what seems like years. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >them like that all over. Then I see them in the U-pull it junkyards. >After that, I don't think they are cars any more. Out here I just don't see them. I would have thought they would go down the food chain but they just seem to disappear. It's like they depreciate to $5000 and then the next step is $0 and poof. >>>At one time it seemed like every other car on the road was an Infinity >>>J30. Yesterday I saw one for the first time in what seems like years. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > down the food chain but they just seem to disappear. It's like they > depreciate to $5000 and then the next step is $0 and poof. That may be the case... the people who buy $5000 used cars likely don't want to pay Infiniti/BMW/Mercedes/Jag parts prices when something breaks. nate  Signaturereplace "fly" with "com" to reply. http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel > That may be the case... the people who buy $5000 used cars likely don't > want to pay Infiniti/BMW/Mercedes/Jag parts prices when something breaks. Maybe many get shipped off to other countries. They don't make it to the U-pull in great numbers. That's why I was so surprised to see 3-4 BMWs without really looking in a lesser u-pull yard yesterday. Vintage appeared to be 70s through 80s, but that's a lot of BMWs for a u-pull. Most must get kept for the more profitable full-serve parts operations like the SN95 mustangs are. I have never seen an SN95 mustang in self-serve and the oldest ones are now 13. coil-on-plug crown vics are now showing up in self serve (99 up), but I have yet to see a 94 mustang. >> That may be the case... the people who buy $5000 used cars likely don't >> want to pay Infiniti/BMW/Mercedes/Jag parts prices when something breaks. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >self-serve and the oldest ones are now 13. coil-on-plug crown vics are >now showing up in self serve (99 up), but I have yet to see a 94 mustang. The newest mustang I've ever seen at my local U-pull-it are the fox bodies. I went looking for Camaro parts once and even those were not to be found newer then early 90's > > Out here I just don't see them. I would have thought they would go > > down the food chain but they just seem to disappear. It's like they > > depreciate to $5000 and then the next step is $0 and poof. > > That may be the case... the people who buy $5000 used cars likely don't > want to pay Infiniti/BMW/Mercedes/Jag parts prices when something breaks. Jeez, Nate; did you forget you know me? -- C.R. Krieger '88 535is > At one time it seemed like every other car on the road was an Infinity > J30. Yesterday I saw one for the first time in what seems like years. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > streets all the time. Seems like it puts the lie to the notion that > the "imports" are better vehicles. I think that the people that buy those kinds of cars also can't bear to be seen in a 3 year old car. I know I have a friend with a 10 year old Infiniti (whatever the big one is) but he's an exception. I don't honestly know what happens to them when their first owners tire of them. nate Signaturereplace "fly" with "com" to reply. http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel > > At one time it seemed like every other car on the road was an Infinity > > J30. Yesterday I saw one for the first time in what seems like years. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > I don't honestly know what happens to them when their first owners tire > of them. Do Saabs count as expensive ? Their owners certainly tend to be proud of their longevity. I've little doubt mine could last 'til it's 20 or so. Did you hear about the 17 y/o million miler ? http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/press/060918.html http://www.trollhattansaab.net/archives/2007/01/million_mile_sa.html http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/18/saab-offering-free-car-to-members-of-the-mill ion-mile-club/ Graham > At one time it seemed like every other car on the road was an Infinity > J30. Yesterday I saw one for the first time in what seems like years. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > streets all the time. Seems like it puts the lie to the notion that > the "imports" are better vehicles. You see American 'beaters'. OTOH, their BMW contemporaries are often well cared-for and garaged, like mine. I am not alone. Check in over at www.mye28.com to see how many old $30-$50,000 '80s BMWs like the 5 Series are still around. When you start to consider numbers, recall how many there were in the first place. There were only slightly more than 3600 '87-'88 BMW 535is models built. I've personally owned three of 'em over the past 6 years, and I'm not the only one to have had several. They are a helluva lot more durable, in most ways, than '80s domestics, and they're easy and quite reasonable to maintain. -- C.R. Krieger '88 535is > > At one time it seemed like every other car on the road was an Infinity > > J30. Yesterday I saw one for the first time in what seems like years. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > helluva lot more durable, in most ways, than '80s domestics, and > they're easy and quite reasonable to maintain. Right. My '95 Audi S6 was one of about 6000 or so made between '92 and '97, and only the 92-95.5 cars made it to the U.S. That 6k figure is worldwide production. At $50k@ when new, you just didn't see a huge market for those guys in the early to mid 90s. That was a real boatload of dough for a car in those days. It's a pretty big chunk nowadays. Mine is more of a play car, so it doesn't get daily service. It spends more days than not in the garage. There are many of these cars that have well over 200k miles on the clock, and still running like champs. Mostly, they don't dip below about $4.5k/car - that's the price where parting out can make you more money that having a whole car. That's a pretty steep entry point to be considered a "beater." And maintenance and repairs on these guys can eat you alive if you aren't willing to swing your own wrenches. I suspect that there are quite a few luxury cars in this sort of category, and aren't seen for exactly these reasons. E.P. |
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