What Makes a Premium Marque Car Worth It?

[Midpack]

What is the definition of a premium car?

I was getting at the 'rationalization process' which might be fairly universal, and I can't speak for others definition of premium. But in my little world premium examples: BMW 5, Mercedes E, Audi 6, any Porsche, Lexus RC/GS and above.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I owned two Mercedes, and on my second Jaguar. They were all cheap as I got them used. All needed a good bit of work initially, all of which I did myself.


I do like the comforts, handling, low end torque for getting moving in a hurry (perceived as power when stomping on the gas pedal),_for me very low cost of ongoing ownership. This scenario works well for DIY. If someone uses credit cards as tools, not so good of a deal.

My first Benz I had for six years, the second for over 20. First Jaguar had for seven years, the current one is going on five years, purch price $3000.- and about $800.- in parts, to get it up to snuff. Since then only a set of tires and the annual oil change and annual inspections mandate by PA. No mor repairs since buying it, exc. the initial. All along also had full size GM pickup trucks.

We have similar car-buying philosophies. I've driven a '95 BMW 540i since 2005. It stranded me twice in 12 years. I do nearly all my own work.

To me, the selling point of a "premium" car is the seats. I can't sit in a Toyota for more than 100 miles without my arse aching. Honda seats are better, but they can't match the seats in a Benz (neither can BMW's).

 

[braumeister]

What is the definition of a premium car?

Boy, is that ever subjective.
I know people who could easily afford high end cars but drive an old beater because it makes them happy.

I used to know a guy who had two Rolls-Royces (same car in different colors) but they were his daily drivers.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I bought a German car ONCE- and there was a never ending stream of recalls and really weird (and expensive) stuff breaking on it. The dealership was an hours drive away, and I spent an absurd amount of time in the service waiting room- they NEVER had loaner cars available). I backed into a property marking stake and it made a small hole the size of a dime in my plastic bumper. The dealership wanted $1700 to fix it. I put a bumper sticker over it and sold it, never to buy a German car again.

After that, I buy cars based on Consumer Reports reliability surveys. Its been mostly Hondas and Toyotas. This last time around I bought a Mazda 6 and its fun to drive and most importantly, does not break. Won't need to replace it till 12 year old is driving age- will probably pass it along to him.

 

[MichaelB]

I was getting at the 'rationalization process' which might be fairly universal, and I can't speak for others definition of premium. But in my little world premium examples: BMW 5, Mercedes E, Audi 6, any Porsche, Lexus RC/GS and above.

Got it. Not trying to stir things up, just understand the perspective.

Boy, is that ever subjective.
I know people who could easily afford high end cars but drive an old beater because it makes them happy.

I used to know a guy who had two Rolls-Royces (same car in different colors) but they were his daily drivers.

I know and agree - and can remember a time in my life when 4 wheels and a working motor qualified it as premium.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I have an Infiniti that is getting close to 100K miles but in all honesty, it rides and performs almost as well as when it was new. I initially thought that when it gives up the ghost (and that could be a while!) I would go more in the direction of "utility or appliance" type car and the overwhelming choice for that would be (if I had to replace the G-ride today) a 2013 Toyota Corolla. BUT...I don't know that I could actually pull the trigger.

I very much enjoy the sportiness of the G ride and it has been the most dependable car I have ever owned, so I would most likely buy another Infiniti that is a couple of years old and stop fretting over the "added cost" of the Infiniti brand-plate.

 

[Bestwifeever]

What is the definition of a premium car?

I was stuck at "marque"--obviously I don't know nothing about car mystique .

Our Acura MDX is the priciest car we will ever own but cost a few thousand less than the cars being discussed here as "premium marque." We talked to our Honda guy about the new Honda CRV vs the new Acura RDX and he said luxury cars don't loosen up as time goes on--they start out quiet and stay quiet. Certainly true of the Acura we own. It's supercomfortable with a big (for us) engine but you can hear a pin drop, at 13 years old.

Our German cousins drive Audis and VWs--no Mercedes or BMWs for them. Not sure why, but they could certainly afford them.

When I see a nice car on the street I don't assign a status to the owner, I just think, "nice car!" If people love them and can afford them, why not.

 

[braumeister]

I buy cars based on Consumer Reports reliability surveys. Its been mostly Hondas and Toyotas. This last time around I bought a Mazda 6 and its fun to drive and most importantly, does not break. Won't need to replace it till 12 year old is driving age- will probably pass it along to him.

You have lots of company, but I still laugh when I read about CR car recommendations.

Back in the 70s I needed a car but didn't have a lot of money so I decided to rely on CR as a trusted source. They gave one new model such a glowing rave review that it was a no-brainer for me to buy one. Absolutely the worst car I've ever owned. It spent nearly as much time in the shop as on the road, and I got to be a whiz at making roadside repairs. Carried all sorts of spare parts in the trunk, just because I had to -- I could go through two clutch cables in 1,000 miles. I've taken their reviews with a big grain of salt ever since.

 

[HF63]

I owned two Mercedes, and on my second Jaguar. They were all cheap as I got them used. All needed a good bit of work initially, all of which I did myself.


I do like the comforts, handling, low end torque for getting moving in a hurry (perceived as power when stomping on the gas pedal),_for me very low cost of ongoing ownership. This scenario works well for DIY. If someone uses credit cards as tools, not so good of a deal.

My first Benz I had for six years, the second for over 20. First Jaguar had for seven years, the current one is going on five years, purch price $3000.- and about $800.- in parts, to get it up to snuff. Since then only a set of tires and the annual oil change and annual inspections mandate by PA. No mor repairs since buying it, exc. the initial. All along also had full size GM pickup trucks.

I like the new styling of the new Jaguar's, if you where on the market for one which model will you consider?

 

[Midpack]

I bought a German car ONCE- and there was a never ending stream of recalls and really weird (and expensive) stuff breaking on it. The dealership was an hours drive away, and I spent an absurd amount of time in the service waiting room- they NEVER had loaner cars available). I backed into a property marking stake and it made a small hole the size of a dime in my plastic bumper. The dealership wanted $1700 to fix it. I put a bumper sticker over it and sold it, never to buy a German car again.

You're welcome to your conclusion, but it seems a little unfair to indict all German cars. If you had problems with a Ford Fiesta, and concluded you'd 'never buy an American car again,' would that makes sense.

 

[meierlde]

Since I did my own out-of warranty repairs, I generally went with main stream vehicles. They seem to have parts that are stocked at the local parts places and are lower cost. For example, a friend just had his Smart car in for a fuel pump. A rather pedestrian vehicle that has an premium sales outlet, Mercedes Benz. The OEM fuel pump repair was 1150+ Pump alone was >330 Labor was 800 for a couple of hours work. Alternatively, the OEM pump for my 2000 GMC ran me $160 to DIY 2 years ago. My point is premium cars get premium repair costs.

One thing to note here is that the fuel injectors might be at the combustion chamber which is call direct injection and these fuel pumps are very expensive because the pressure has to be higher than the compression on the chamber.

Lots of new cars from Honda, Toyota's have started to migrate to this because of better fuel economy. I have started to hear of some problems with the valves getting all junk up with carbon.

If I was looking for a new set of wheels, I will avoid cars this direct injection and CVT transmissions.

To take this a bit further buy a car from the US big 3 and any podunk down will likley have dealers for the car. My town of 20k in a county of 45k only has the 3 us car dealers. My sister had a Subaru that had a problem here and no local mechanic would touch it so they put it on a trailer and hauled it home. Or buy the extended towing from AAA to get to a town with service facilities.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

You're welcome to your conclusion, but it seems a little unfair to indict all German cars. If you had problems with a Ford Fiesta, and concluded you'd 'never buy an American car again,' would that makes sense.

You are right there. I din't really mean that the way it came out. Before buying that car, I thought that looking good was important. After that car, I realize there is nothing I hate more than a high maintenance car- no matter how good it looks. So now I shop for low maintenance cars.

I have a friend who works for a German company, and he laughed at me when I was complaining about my car troubles. He did say that German engineers believe that machines should be serviced regularly, and Japanese designed cars don't require the same level of service. I have no idea if he's right as I know very little about cars.

German autos don't seem to show up in the Consumer reports most reliable list as often as the ones I have been buying.

 

[Midpack]

You are right there. I din't really mean that the way it came out. Before buying that car, I thought that looking good was important. After that car, I realize there is nothing I hate more than a high maintenance car- no matter how good it looks. So now I shop for low maintenance cars.

I have a friend who works for a German company, and he laughed at me when I was complaining about my car troubles. He did say that German engineers believe that machines should be serviced regularly, and Japanese designed cars don't require the same level of service. I have no idea if he's right as I know very little about cars.

German autos don't seem to show up in the Consumer reports most reliable list as often as the ones I have been buying.

Why not name the brand? I've owned a BMW and an Audi, my Dad had a Mercedes and a BMW that I know very well. Maintenance and repairs on all of them were very expensive**. But the BMW's and the Audi were arguably as reliable as the 7 Hondas and Toyotas we've owned. The Mercedes was not at all. I've had a bad experience with Nissan and Volvo too. IOW, not all German cars are the same, and Consumer Reports doesn't rank all German makes and models the same either.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

You have lots of company, but I still laugh when I read about CR car recommendations.

Back in the 70s I needed a car but didn't have a lot of money so I decided to rely on CR as a trusted source. They gave one new model such a glowing rave review that it was a no-brainer for me to buy one. Absolutely the worst car I've ever owned. It spent nearly as much time in the shop as on the road, and I got to be a whiz at making roadside repairs. Carried all sorts of spare parts in the trunk, just because I had to -- I could go through two clutch cables in 1,000 miles. I've taken their reviews with a big grain of salt ever since.

For sure! I use True Delta for reliability reporting...it's compiled from actual owners and I have found that the way they collect the information only adds to the reliability of the reporting. As far as CR, I put them in the same category as JD Power "Initial Quality"....which is useless to me.

 

[jimbee]

You're welcome to your conclusion, but it seems a little unfair to indict all German cars. If you had problems with a Ford Fiesta, and concluded you'd 'never buy an American car again,' would that makes sense.

A lot of people do that.

 

[Jerry1]

I can't speak to all models, but I'd take a Buick over a Cadillac. I just have never seen the value for the extra cost. I would guess that it would be similar with a Ford vs a Lincoln. At the very high end, I just can't see it. There are a number of cars I'd like to have/drive, but for daily driving, they just don't cut it. For example, where can you drive a Ferrari? Not in Michigan. You hit a pot hole with that at high speed and you're both dead. Speaking of speed, a lot of the high end cars are not useful on the ordinary road. Sure, they'd be fun at a track, but the maximum speed is around 70mph which is about 3rd gear for some of those cars.

For me to own more than a dependable, well optioned sedan or SUV, I'd have to have access to a large garage for storage and a track for having some fun.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Why not name the brand?

It was a VW passat wagon actually. And I have to admit that CR recommended it. My BIL owned the same year model- though not the wagon and basically ignored all of the recalls. He laughed at me for taking it in for the recall that said the seat warmers could set the car on fire, as we live in the deep south and never turn them on anyway!

 

[ERD50]

What is the definition of a premium car?

Boy, is that ever subjective.
...

Subjective and personal. I really don't understand how what someone else thinks about these things can help the OP at all. We all place different values on different things.

I was stuck at "marque"--obviously I don't know nothing about car mystique . .

You're not alone! Wasn't that a Ford, or Mercury?

-ERD50

 

[Sunset]

......
When I see a nice car on the street I don't assign a status to the owner, I just think, "nice car!" If people love them and can afford them, why not.

For me, when I was poor it was "oh look that must be a rich person" because I couldn't buy one.
Now it might be "oh look a nice car" because now I can buy one if I want.

 

[Sunset]

I don't care what other people think either. But two of the (semi) premium cars we owned were just noticeably more fun to drive. Though I drove them that way consciously about 1% of the time, the other 99% any car would've done.
......

My most fun car to drive was my lada, it was from Russia, brought back by a Service man. All the controls were in Russian. It felt very Exotic

That thing had torque, I could easily spin my tires from a stop, and of course it was manual shift for that fun racing a truck type of experience.

It did cost me $1,500 and was 4 years old, but it was great !

 

[Texas Proud]

I usually think of marque as the 'up' brand.... Lexus/Toyota, Acura/Honda etc... but there are some marque brands that do not have a 'down' brand like Mercedes and BMW....

I to not think it is like it used to be where they had cheap cars in the up brand that were not as good as the top of the down brands... to me, it is the car that matters and what I am looking to have...

Right now I have one kid at driving age and one coming in a few years... so when I totaled my Acura that I loved, I did not replace it... I have cheap Hyundai and a nice Honda.... I do not see the benefit of buying up unless you cannot get it on the down brand... that is why I bought an Acura... it was a sport sedan with 6 speed manual and there was nothing offered like it in the down brand... however, I have driven the current version and I do not think it has the 'sport' aspect anymore and I did not like the seating etc... so no value for me to go 'up'...

 

[calmloki]

Last night I followed a McLaren out of our area - today saw a British racing green older Morgan near InN'Out. I'd call both those pretty premium.

 

[capjak]

To me, a car is a car.
I don't really get "impressed" until I see a Lamborghini on the road, which I consider a "premium marque" car.

It's also pretty impressive to see a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud pull up beside you.

Due to reliability and repair costs, I often consider BMW's to be a sucker's car.

I have had Lexus/Toyota/Honda/Ford/Mercury/Chevy and I can say my BMW has been my favorite but it is only 4 years old and has a Zero issues, I have friends with 250,000 miles on their BMWs but obviously the sample size is small.

Love the BMW style and choice of different suspensions from sport mode to comfort mode depending on your mood. I have a 3 series Msport. model Love It. And all Maintenance (excludes tires) are included for the first 4 years and 50,000 miles (of course I paid a lot of $$$ to purchase it new)

 

[Marita40]

Obviously not a "premium" car but I've owned a series of VW Golf/Rabbits since 1974. I bought my current Rabbit in 2007. Except for one Golf that had an oil leak I've never done anything except routine maintenance. Never a breakdown, always start on the coldest MN days. They are zippy, have a roomy hatch, comfortable, and efficient. I for one am sold on German cars!

 

[GravitySucks]

Which brands/models have you found to be best for seat comfort?

My most comfortable highway cruisers have been:

05 Cadillac DeVille
00 Chevy Impala
14 Toyota Camry

I'd love to hear others as seat comfort on a half hour test drive vs. a 16 hour run is never revealing.