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Will Model S be the most expensive car you have ever owned?

Will Model S be the most expensive car you have owned?

  • Yes

    Votes: 198 83.2%
  • No

    Votes: 40 16.8%

  • Total voters
    238
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LOL, we are hoping they will be too busy checking out the car to give us a ticket in NZ
  • "Hello, Officer."
  • "Do you know how fast you were going?"
  • "55?"
  • "More than that."
  • "Hm, when I took the test drive it was capped at 75. And I was passing some folks just now.... Hm, was I really going 75?"
  • "More than that."
  • "The car wasn't even making any noise, so I figured I was fine."
  • "You were going 123."
  • "Really? Holy cow. It felt like 55. So smooth. Are you sure?"
 
Exactly. I find polls like this quite misleading.

Also, "most spent" doesn't mean "are you stretching"...there've been polls related to the latter but ultimately also misleading IMHO.

I agree - this poll is far from scientific - but it taps into a really strong phenomenon that exists for the Model S - namely, that people who never had the desire in the past to spend over $50,000 for a car are now buying this car in droves. I happen to know an ultra high net worth individual whose most expensive car before this was a Ford F-150. He's getting a Model S (for a multitude of reasons) and spending more than double the price of any previous car (or truck).

My point is simply when you look at the Model S, its addressable market is much greater than the luxury car segment. I would expect that as many as half the people buying this car have never spent more than $50,000 on a car before. I liken it to the iPhone - very few people saw the need to spend $400 on a smartphone before the iPhone was introduced. Pundits at the time said "look at how tiny the market is for expensive phones, Apple will fail." Now look at that market.

It would great to have a follow up poll which says " how expensive was your last car before Model S?". I think that would be very telling.
 
This is a fascinating trend if it is accurate. I was never really planning on getting the Roadster (got tired of waiting for the Model S) so that aside, the most expensive car I had before was a Volvo S80 I had for a decade that got replaced by a Jetta. I know this isn't the same situation as above though.
 
My 2c.

This will be my most expensive car ever. My last one, my Lexus was $50k new.

I have always reacted, when seeing a car in front of me, badged up, at around $100,000-$120,000 like the top of the line Merc 550, and asked myself, why would anyone put $120k into a depreciating object. A car gets you from A to B. Full stop. So for $35,000 I can get a new decent car. Add $15,000 for luxuries and that's it. I am still pouring money down the drain. Plus maintenance, gas, parking, etc. etc.

But with the Tesla, I feel its a whole different ball game.

While it's still not an investment ... (although compared to my house it is!) ... it's a lot closer. I determine its resale value will be FAR GREATER in 5 years than any gas guzzler. After all "how may miles you have on it" is hardly relevant. Battery condition is about all. Being alumin(i)um, it will not rust. (If Leaf were aluminium different story.) Saves me thousands of $ on gas and maintenance.

So I am not surprised that quite a few here are telling us that it is the most expensive.

Define "expensive". Up front cost? Or add the long term costs.

I'd love to know the real 5 year TCO on an SL-550 compared to a Model S. (Of course with the S it is speculative but barring major issues pretty predictable.)
 
Model S is about the same as when the iPhone came out.

Most people where saying no one would buy a $600 phone. Well, I think we can safely say today that they were wrong. People realized how much value it had. It wasn't just a phone, it was as you took your laptop, your GPS, your phone, your address book, your games and even more into one pocket.

When the crowd realized it was pretty cheap for the value, they bought it in mass, they found the money.

Same with the S. Look at the value compare to any other car, the more you drive, the cheaper it gets. They will find the money, value is there.
 
I agree - this poll is far from scientific - but it taps into a really strong phenomenon that exists for the Model S - namely, that people who never had the desire in the past to spend over $50,000 for a car are now buying this car in droves. I happen to know an ultra high net worth individual whose most expensive car before this was a Ford F-150. He's getting a Model S (for a multitude of reasons) and spending more than double the price of any previous car (or truck).

My point is simply when you look at the Model S, its addressable market is much greater than the luxury car segment. I would expect that as many as half the people buying this car have never spent more than $50,000 on a car before. I liken it to the iPhone - very few people saw the need to spend $400 on a smartphone before the iPhone was introduced. Pundits at the time said "look at how tiny the market is for expensive phones, Apple will fail." Now look at that market.

It would great to have a follow up poll which says " how expensive was your last car before Model S?". I think that would be very telling.

Spot on WhiteKnight. For the iPhone though, it was about new cutting edge technology (which in itself is a draw for early adopters), but also that it addressed/solved so many services/features that a cellphone never had before.

With the Model S, it's this, and yet even more. It addresses emotional needs too. Like playing a piece in environmental assistance, or geo political reduction in foreign oil, or financial offsets of electricity vs. gas dollars spent, etc.

And whether anyone of these you really don't care about, it's in the back of your mind that it addresses them all, all good, all noble... That this car then becomes worth more than the normal premium you would pay for any other car.
 
Spot on WhiteKnight. For the iPhone though, it was about new cutting edge technology (which in itself is a draw for early adopters), but also that it addressed/solved so many services/features that a cellphone never had before.

With the Model S, it's this, and yet even more. It addresses emotional needs too. Like playing a piece in environmental assistance, or geo political reduction in foreign oil, or financial offsets of electricity vs. gas dollars spent, etc.

And whether anyone of these you really don't care about, it's in the back of your mind that it addresses them all, all good, all noble... That this car then becomes worth more than the normal premium you would pay for any other car.

Totally agree. When I look at this from a budgeting perspective it's like $550 per month is what I pay for my car now. Save possibly as much as $250 per month in gas. Then I'm looking at $300 or more per month in additional outlays for the Model X (in my case) and I look at that as "Hobby Expense." In other words I would be spending that much to say "I'm on the cutting edge. I'm driving the future. I'm OPEC-free. I'm Smog-free." and then all the conversations and stuff that come from that. I went to a 4th of July parade here in Atlanta and they had a whole section devoted to Electric Cars. I'm not going to be invited to drive my Mazda6 in the parade but with the Model X I will be. And everyone knows the Model S/X Club will be way cooler and exciting than the Mazda6 Club (if there is a Mazda6 club). Never thought about searching for a club to join for any other of my cars. :smile:
 
Out of curiosity what was your last most expensive car?

I've never owned a luxury car, and I certainly don't own three Roadsters. :wink:

I bought a PT Cruiser for about $16k. My Model S's upfront costs including taxes and fees will a cost a little over $116K. I apologize that my math was off. :redface:

I should have stated the Model S is over 7Xs my last most expensive car.

Larry
 
Let's see... Honda Accord - bought for $3800 circa 1978. big money for a college kid, but I starting working when I was 11 or 12 (not full time!). next was a second hand Datsun 280z for about 5k. next was a new Honda Prelude for about 12k if memory serves. Next was a Chrysler Eagle Vision sedan - can't remember what i paid for that. And next was a 1999 Mercedes E320 4-matic, which I bought with about 10k miles on it for $38k and which now has about 256,000 miles. (none of this counts the wife's cars, but only three). So that's really five cars in 35 years or so.

So a sig performance will easily be the most expensive car I have ever purchased by a country mile....and may have less creature comfort than my Mercedes. I also recognize that even the regular signature is not necessarily a financial push vs. luxury brands unless gasoline prices go up a lot (a 50-75k premium will buy a lot of gas, service, and repairs!) But someone has to go first....and in my mind, the benefits of proving that electric is feasible on a large scale are numerous and hugely worthwhile to our society. So I consider it, perhaps foolishly, as a donation to progress and the betterment of the human condition. We will all be better off when our cities are not filled with fumes and our young soldiers and sailors are not dying halfway around the world because a geographic accident put huge amounts of hydrocarbons in proximity to religious zealots. Plus, then I get to drive around in a really, really cool and fast car.
 
My current and only car I have purchased myself is my 2008 Mustang V6, which was 25k when I bought it. It's now worth considerably less. I am still bouncing between getting the 160 to 300 mile range as I have the luxury of waiting (High reservation number), but I suspect to spend 80k to 90k. I never thought I would ever spend more then 25k for a car. Seriously, I am still not a car person and I don't specifically want or need luxury, plus its nice to have your car paid off quickly. :)

It will take me a lot longer to pay of my Tesla, but it will be worth it I feel. To the consideration of whether someone is "Stretching" for this car, I don't think even that is a good measure. Like many things in finance, its largely up to the opinion of the person on what is stretching for them. For me, I would consider a 1000 dollar car payment stretching, but that's only because I don't want to pay over 700 for the car a month. I'd rather put my money into other investments.
 
My last new car was a 1989 Pontiac Turbo Grand Prix that I paid $24K for. I will never buy a new car again that needs a smog inspection.

Right now I drive a pair of Fieros I bought used and a used Ford van for the big stuff. The Fieros will be sold when the Tesla is available (next May I'm guessing).

So yes, this is far and away the most expensive car I have ever bought and I intend it to be the last car I will ever buy. I am delaying retirement 3 years to pay for it.
 
Definitely not my intent to be misleading...just to find out how many are going to venture into new territory for this car. It is unique on so many levels!

I hear ya--and sorry for being terse before, I should've elaborated a bit. I didn't feel you were intentionally misleading, no! But it's a complex issue, and your own initial post talked about "stretching"--sounding like you're interpreting the answers in that light, partially (and implying that's how to read the answers) . . . but you didn't ask that Q, so this poll tells us nothing about that. It really sounds like you had 3-4 Qs but just asked the one. ;-) Not a bad Q, just doesn't really mean anything without more info, IMHO.

Regardless, the comments sparked by the poll are, as ever, the most interesting part to me. And they clarify why some people answered Yes or No. Always interesting stuff.