Burning question : Luxury vs top of the range Vehicles

[Rahimdad]

I have this burning question within me. I have owned several Top of the range vehicles which come with Leather Seats, heated seats, sun roof, premium audio system, programmable keys for each driver, key-less entry, remote start, rear entertainment system, climate control. What I have never owned is a luxury vehicle to the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Porche, Maserati or the likes. I would like to know what is the difference between driving a car worth over half a million Dirhams vs a Top of the Range vehicle costing one fifth the price. I would also like to know if it is worth it and why?

[Barry]

Out of your list, I have owned BMW and Mercedes. BMW 318, 2 M3s, Mercedes C180, C220CDI and 190E. I didn't buy them new, I could never afford to, I'm a mechanic. I bought them when they were older and depreciation kicked in. To me, the BMWs were nothing special, they felt cheap and just had that badge that everyone seems to list after. The M3s were fast. Properly fast. Around 300 bhp, rwd and lsd. Good fun to lift the handbrake at 70-80 mph and do big slides but in terms of engineering, very basic. The Mercedes were in a completely different league when it comes to engineering and comfort. You don't really drive a Mercedes, you gently waft along in it. With regards to engineering, I was forever noticing little things that must have taken hours to design like the way the heater linkages were so over engineered when something simple would have worked or the way half the dashboard had to come out to change the radio. I've never owned Porsche or Maserati but I have driven them. The 911 was probably one of the worst driving cars I've driven. I'll never understand why they thought it was a good idea to hang the engine out over the back wheels. Very prone to snap oversteer. One wrong move and you're sliding backwards. The Maserati is a wired one. It's like a Ferrari but it's not like a Ferrari. Half the engineering is there but it feels like they got lazy come lunch time and wanted to come home so they started cutting corners.

When it comes to expensive cars versus really expensive cars, I think 90% of it is just showing off and saying I have more money than you because most of the time there is a cheaper car that will easily outperform it.

[shadow79]

My 2 cents are as long as you know how to push buttons of your ride...you can out perform anything because its all in the mind nothings physical its all in the head.....

[Rahimdad]

Wow @Barry very detailed, yet from a very mechanical point of view, I don't think the BMW 318 or M3 or Merc 190E or 220E fit that bill of luxury which I was referring too, I did mention a car costing half a million or more of a showroom floor. However I am getting some idea from your post but would like more details on how a luxury vehicle costing half a million or more is better than a Top of the range costing a fifth of that price tag.

@shadow79 pushing buttons is luxury to you, performance aside, what makes a luxury car worth the value you pay as compared to a much cheaper vehicle which has most of the lavish features from a luxury vehicle.

[shadow79]

Finishing craftsmanship and workmanship I see details in small small things....

[Barry]

Like Saleem says, it's the little touches. Things like leather being hand stitched and parts being assembled by a person rather than a robot.

Heres me in a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti I worked on. No other reason for posting other than to show off. 

 

[Gaurav]

It's a very interesting question and quiet valid curiosity and concern. 

Based on my few car ownership, I can share my experience and reasoning to best of my thinking and hope that satisfy your curiosity.

1. Range Rover: Super comfortable, that I have never driven that level of comfortable car / suv yet. First time my wife sat in it and reacted this car has cotton wheels or it's flying above the tarmac. I know it's EAS (electronic Air Suspension) is awesome, but there a lot of other things, engineering and efforts required to achieve that level of comfort from seats, chassis balancing, engine and other component weight distribution, viewing angles, ergonomic cabin design to reach almost everything within one hand reach, very high quality and durable stuff used (leather, plastic, rubber, door seals, sound proofing etc.)
    
2. Mercedes ML 500: Not as comfy Range rover for sure, but cabin inside is extremely beautiful and elegant to keep the Mercedes standard alive. Meticulously crafted details from leather finishes, stitches, bezels, dials, etc is just too pretty and inviting you to stay inside as long as you need. Instead of being 5.0 NA engine still it gave awesome fuel mileage than all my other full size SUV's I have owned. That's engineering marvel and it cost big money on R&D any day.
    
3. Porsche Cayenne Turbo: Slightly uncomfortable, due to more sporty suspension and cornering ability but amazing accurately response to transfer 3 ton metal into a beast when need arise with a just a tad harder push of a gas pedal. I was totally impressive with Porsche engineering more than anything else. Designing engine, gearbox, 4x4, and torque management band were just absolute brilliant that comes with endless hours of research, patience, knowledge and practice. All this cost a fortune to perfect every mili-second delay or cornering perfection at over 100 kmph without skidding the 3 ton beast.

In a nut shell, what I feel that every premium luxury car has something or the other thing to offer as per your taste as a main component (USP) and then followed by overall higher grade of material used, hand crafted (in some cases), carefully appointed sound system, head lights and tail lights and with endless introduction of newer technology.

[Barry]

RE: @Gaurav post, a point I would like to bring up is cost vs reliability. 

Ive never worked on a cayenne properly. This biggest job I've ever done on one is fitting rim protectors and a diagnostic report. I know a few people who have owned them but none of them have ever let me drive. Maybe they're scared of my driving style lol but the fact I've never seen one in for proper work might say they're reliable. Maybe. I don't know. 

I have owned a Range Rover though, a P38 and I've worked on many from the classic to the latest model. All had major faults and not cheap fixes either. But I'm a mechanic, I usually only see cars when they're broken but I've noticed range rovers have a particularly high failure rate. Also the Mercedes ML, they seem to be plagued by electrical faults. Particularly the 350. It's not too long ago I lost half a day trying to diagnose a misfire on one and spent 3 hours monitoring coil voltages trying to find out what was wrong. 

But anyway, I digress, I think the more you spend on a car, the less reliable it will be. Look at cars like sunnys or yaris (yarii?) they just need oil changes and they run forever. A Maserati Quattroporte I looked at stopped shifting gears because they hadn't strapped the relays in the boot down properly. Dealer wanted 5k to repair!

[treks]

I agree with @Barry. Having hand-stitched leather seats and a well-appointed sound system  does not make any car a good car. I have some experience working on luxury vehicles, and as Barry says, the more luxurious they are, the more likely they are to have issues with reliability-  issues that always come with huge repair bills.

To my mind, there is very little point in having a 3-ton beast that can corner reasonably well when you can't trust the electronics that keeps it running. Similarly, there is absolutely no point in having a vehicle that "floats" above the tarmac when you can't trust the suspension to keep its air charge contained.

Then there is he issue with depreciation rates. This class of vehicle lose their value far more rapidly than any "common vehicle" ever will. In fact, the depreciation on a two year old Range rover is enough to buy a new Yaris with. From a mechanic's point of view, luxury vehicles are often nothing more than expensive exercises in poor taste, if not poor design, considering the types of failures as well as the regularity of failures these vehicles suffer from.

[Rahimdad]

Thank you @shadow79, @Barry, @Gaurav and @treks for some amazing insights

I was reading somewhere that the cost of making these vehicles is not so high with all the attention to details, but these vehicles are built with the help of designers, so its like the difference of having 3 suits at US$ 150, or Armani suit for US$ 2000/-, label that matters. BMW are the ones that make their designers kind of celebrities, like Fisker designed the BMW Z8.