In 1994 the first agency of Mercedes Benz in Guadalajara. It was a glass pyramid, similar – all the proportion kept – to that of the Louvre museum in Paris. At the inauguration, I was accompanied by some soccer friends, including Roberto Assis, who played for Los Tecos and would later be the employer of his much more skilled brother, Ronaldinho Gaucho. When they uncovered the E-Class, with its four oval headlights, a mutual friend told him, obviously joking: “Driving one of those must be like kissing Brooke Shields”, the beauty reference of the time. He immediately replied: “It is not”. And that he replies: “Have you kissed Brooke Shields yet?”After everyone laughed, he said no, but that he had driven the Mercedes. Perhaps whoever has kissed the American actress at that time will think the same way. Or not. The point is that, at that moment, both represented something so distant that it sounded impossible. Like him, many have dreamed of driving a luxury car, almost always German or Italian, but few were able to make that dream come true. Today, with many used cars priced lower than a new subcompact, this seems tempting to some. It’s worth it? Well, maybe yes.
The sensible side of our brain tells us not to. The reasons are economic, since it is more expensive and difficult to maintain a luxury car than a normal one. The difficulty of finding auto parts and mechanics who know how to work with them is much greater and this increases the cost. The parts are also more expensive and if you have a major repair, such as the need to change a transmission, that repair can be more expensive than the market value of the car, which would make it unfeasible to keep that car. But come on, if you need to swap out the automatic transmission on a 2013 Jetta, it’s probably going to cost more than the car as well, leaving us with the eternal dilemma of whether to follow the brain or the heart. And when feeling enters the equation, things can get complicated. Or not.
The risk and advantages of a used
The biggest risk of buying a used car is possible hidden defects. It is important to look at it carefully, find out the actual date of manufacture (at the base of the seat belts you can see), the documents in order and the care with which it was maintained, which is very noticeable looking at the neatness of the interior. Actual mileage is also important, as many tamper with it. A scanner at an agency can tell you the truth about that or a simple look at the service card. If they don’t have it, be wary. And this is valid for any car.
But when we get into luxury territory, the overhaul is even more important, due to maintenance and repair costs.
Sure, a luxury car costs more to maintain and I don’t think anyone would think otherwise. the american site bigsmobile.com estimates that the maintenance of a Porsche 911 can cost 2,200 dollars per yearwhile that of a Sling It would cost around $730. Sure, it’s an important difference, but there’s also a very strong gap in ride quality, materials and technology in the Porsche, that maybe it is worth paying for it. A AudiFor example, the same site estimates at $1,300 per year. Doesn’t sound so bad anymore, does it?
Of course, it must be taken into account that the older it is, the more difficult it will be to sell the Porsche or the Audi and the easier it will be to find a new owner for the Honda.. Those who prefer to enjoy life today will say that no one can take away what they have danced. Rational people like me… I understand, we prefer to remain prudent.
But even I have to admit that at least from time to time you have to treat yourself, or life will pass through us bland and tasteless as a public accountant’s speech. With a calculated risk, checking the condition, the year of manufacture of the model in question and how reliable the manufacturer was then, it may be worth it. Of course, I’m not talking about a Bugati, whose cost to change the oil is 20 thousand dollars, but a BMW 5 Series, an Audi A4 or something closer to reality for many, it can be interesting, because not everything should be guided by the brain in this life.
