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If only you’d worked harder at school...


sierraman

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If you'll permit me, this is a result of the British preoccupation with class and snobbery about anything regarded as pauperish. Weirdly this has nothing to actual posh people, lots of upper class types drive ancient dilapidated cars because they won't waste money replacing something merely because it is old.

I think it is a modern upwardly mobile working class thing, where conspicuous consumption is equated with social status. How better to let everyone know how well you are doing than to have a 20plate SUV on your drive? The housing association estate at the far end of my village is an exercise in oneupmanship, everyone has newish or late plate crossovers and pickups. Someone even had a 993 911 for about a week (until it shat it's gearbox).   

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1 minute ago, warch said:

If you'll permit me, this is a result of the British preoccupation with class and snobbery about anything regarded as pauperish. Weirdly this has nothing to actual posh people, lots of upper class types drive ancient dilapidated cars because they won't waste money replacing something merely because it is old.

I think it is a modern upwardly mobile working class thing, where conspicuous consumption is equated with social status. How better to let everyone know how well you are doing than to have a 20plate SUV on your drive? The housing association estate at the far end of my village is an exercise in oneupmanship, everyone has newish or late plate crossovers and pickups. Someone even had a 993 911 for about a week (until it shat it's gearbox).   

This is very, very true.  It's almost upsetting to see.

I live in/near lower income areas, and people I know for a fact are skint as fuck mostly drive brand new financed cars and are stuck in a cycle of debt because of it - it seems to be the way now. Especially around ages 21 - 28 it seems that everyone needs to keep up with their mates new purchase of a 68 plate Focus ST by getting an RS - that will most likely either be gone in 3 years, crashed, or modified without the bank knowing.

Best bit is the look on their faces when I outrun them in a 30 year old MX5 - but that's by the by....

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22 hours ago, SmokinWaffle said:

 Especially around ages 21 - 28 it seems that everyone needs to keep up with their mates new purchase of a 68 plate Focus ST by getting an RS

In my 20s I was mostly the only one of my mates who had a car at all, despite them all earning way more than me.  I confess I did try to stay at the upper-spec end of the market (9 year old Granada 3.0GL for example) but only because I liked the power and comfort, and still do.  I paid as little as possible for them, usually two digits, and didn't care how old they were as long as they worked.  Didn't care about make, either; Ford Tax was a thing even then so I usually ended up with "others."

I haven't changed.  Well I sort-of have: in the last 20 years or so I've spoiled myself with Volvo, Jag and Cadillac, and now anything else is "lesser" and not to be regarded as a full-time fleet member.

Both my step-kids, and my sister, seem to prefer new, my sister being the only one not under the VAG spell (she currently has a tiny 17-plate Peugeot, and seems to like the brand as she's had a few before).  Where did I go wrong??????

 

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3 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

In my 20s I was mostly the only one of my mates who had a car at all, despite them all earning way more than me.  I confess I did try to stay at the upper-spec end of the market (9 year old Granada 3.0GL for example) but only because I liked the power and comfort, and still do.  I paid as little as possible for them, usually two digits, and didn't care how old they were as long as they worked.  Didn't care about make, either; Ford Tax was a thing even then so I usually ended up with "others."

I'm very much the same, I'm in my late 20's now (gulp) but since my first car I've never wanted to spend the earth. I've had Old Puntos, Hillman Hunter, a few cars I got for sub £200 as dailies. Owning a depreciating asset just doesn't appeal to me. A lot of people my age range don't understand.

I currently have a 1.7 Citoren BX as a daily and a supercharged MX5 as a fun car - and both of those cars bring me so much joy - for 1/8th of the cost of some of the stuff people younger than me get in debt for.

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I've had this discussion, several times, with the wife and the cars I get. All her friends (or their partners) are driving around in fairly new (if not new) Audi's, Fiat 500's, etc. While she's pootling about in my near-10 year old Peugeot 107. Why can't I get one of these new flashy cars? Why do I always buy shit? Fact is my 107 was on finance, it's the only new car I've ever owned, and I wouldn't do it again. There's literally no point in buying newer cars that either don't trust you to drive them, or are so fecking heavy they cost the earth in brake pad changes and new tyres. 

I'd go further than just the British preoccupation with class and snobbery. I'd go as far to say it goes back to school with all the bullying etc. You don't have the latest pair of trainers, your mom's so poor she shops at Aldi. That's from my own experience anyway. I was never poor, just had parents who didn't see the point in spending loads of money on something that can be had for less.

I know as far as I'm concerned, I'm in my own race. No one, other than Gordon Murrary with that gorgeous T.50 of his, has anything I really want. I don't feel the need to compete, I simply don't have to compete. I see those people who do feel the need to compete and I feel sorry for them. They're financed to hell, meaning most of their wage is going on the object rather than living their lives. Often, especially now actually, with uncertainty with jobs can they even afford to live? A friend of mine works on the line at JLR, and they're all on 70% at the moment. He's alright as he's not an idiot with money. But he tells me of a girl who does his job and has a brand new Range Rover Velar on finance. The proper 5 litre supercharged small penis massager. She can barely afford to stick £20 very few days in it to get it to work. Doesn't go out, and if she does she's pre-loading with drink and relying on equally daft men to buy her drinks.

People today lack fulfillment in their own lives. They see things on Instagram and they want what the other person has. They forget that the photo they see was probably the best one out of a hundred taken that week and filtered to hell. The person, again, is probably either borrowing the car or house, or is beyond the eye balls in debt to sustain this. And they only do it for the attention, which they're getting. The wife has someone on her instagram, who's a friend of a friend, and I see her looking at the posts and the girl is always there in her big massive house with her big fake boobs out. And the wife gets a bit down about it, because the wife thinks she's good looking and wishes we could have that. The house is straight out of an Ikea catalog, and her tits are fake. I lost my rag with her the once about her and I showed her all the other posts. Every, single, post, is of her with her tits out, in front of something expensive. She has all the warmth and charm of a sodden teddy bear on a toddler's grave. There's nothing in her life, when you look at it, that is actually meaningful.

There's also the fact that, in my area, it's full of fancy expensive cars. Here's the thing: if everyone is driving luxury cars, the car is no longer a luxury. It's a commodity. It's common as muck so you're paying a Waitrose premium for driving a Tesco Finest cars. Arguably an older car, with only 10 left in the UK, is far more of a luxury by the virtue of it's rarity than a £100,000 Merc. Yes, I am calling my Lada a luxury car. Get over it.

People who participate in this bullshit of perpetual car finance deals just can't handle the fact of standing out on their own on their own two feet. And this is why I think school has something to do with it. I was bullied I think nearly every day until I left, because I never had any interest in what other kids liked. I was rocking a walkman tape deck when they were using CD players. I was wearing Hi-Tecs when they were in Nikes. And I suffered for it really. I think I tried once to fit in, and I wasn't happy. So from then on to now, I live by the mantra of "Paddle your own canoe". So yeah, I might rock around in a crayoned Corolla, I don't care. I don't have the threat of the PCP man coming to reposses it. 

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**trigger warning - possible man in pub bollocks**


Working as a home delivery driver for a budget food retailer during a pandemic takes me to a whole spectrum of people. Our core customer base are in lower income areas, social/local authority housing. Due to the unavailability of delivery slots at pretty much everywhere else, though, I’ve also been to pretty much everything else - typical new build Barratt estate type stuff, fancy gated community immaculately kept exclusive type stuff, massive country piles with huge gravel driveways, etc etc. 

In the very lowest income areas, no car is the most common situation, followed closely by a brand new one which I (with no prior knowledge or anything, just a presumptive cunt) assume is Motability. Then the odd bit of  5-10 year old stuff which is probably on sub prime finance.  The odd banger knocking about - usually outside the houses that are better kept and usually in half decent condition!

Moving into the new build estates, you’ll struggle to find anything more than 3/4 years old. PCP is king here I suppose.   Even the second or third car is pretty new, despite there being nowhere to park the fucking thing.  Car wise, the social housing and the owner occupied / private rented doesn’t seem to have much difference really. 

The gated community is a surprise - you’ll have a pair of 10 year old cars on most of the driveways. If there is a 20 plate, there’s a 10/60 plate next to it. Assuming these are people that buy cars brand new and keep them for as long as they can before they start being a hindrance. Seriously expensive seriously desirable housing but the car is a tool and school fees cost money you know!

Country pile - utility is key. Age and condition matter not. 
 

Having said all that - some people just want an appliance that works every time they need it to and think this means having a new car. Let them be. 

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I've never owned anything remotely new, or expensive - I think my 89 Orion was the newest at the time when I bought it at 9 years old, £250.

All my cars have been in the £0-250 range, with the exception of my Beetle which I bought with a redundancy payment.

I'd rather buy cheap but well maintained older cars and look after them myself, I suppose I should be grateful to the snobs for not wanting those cars

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From my not inconsiderable experience in a past life of debt collection and arrears, poor financial decisions such as buying a brand new car or slashing £1000 on a new sofa over paying your loan or clearing your overdraft is an indicator of an underlying issue and possibly vulnerability.

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Capitalism, innit. Can't have an ever expanding economy if people aren't buying stuff they don't need. 

If there weren't hoards of voracious supporters of wanton consumption, we'd be living in (my) socialist utopia. This sort of behaviour is simply people being good little capitalist lap dogs.

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45 minutes ago, warch said:

If you'll permit me, this is a result of the British preoccupation with class and snobbery about anything regarded as pauperish. Weirdly this has nothing to actual posh people, lots of upper class types drive ancient dilapidated cars because they won't waste money replacing something merely because it is old.

I think it is a modern upwardly mobile working class thing, where conspicuous consumption is equated with social status. How better to let everyone know how well you are doing than to have a 20plate SUV on your drive? The housing association estate at the far end of my village is an exercise in oneupmanship, everyone has newish or late plate crossovers and pickups. Someone even had a 993 911 for about a week (until it shat it's gearbox).   

A young guy in my place makes £300 a week, he stays at home and pays £500ish something a month for a M2 on PCP ?

Folk are genuinely amazed when I rock up with some of the nicer chod I've bought from here when I happily tell them it cost less than their new iPhone 11 Pro Max deluxe omega £££££ edition

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4 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Link? ???

Can't risk being found out I'm afraid. I'll remember this though, so if the wife and I ever do part (and all her friends go with her) I'll happily post the pics.

1 minute ago, SRi05 said:

Folk are genuinely amazed when I rock up with some of the nicer chod I've bought from here when I happily tell them it cost less than their new iPhone 11 Pro Max deluxe omega £££££ edition

I've had that twice, with my £35 Subaru Legacy and the RAV4 I got from KruJoe. I think a friend of the wife's couldn't understand how it cost less than the monthly payment of her Audi A1!

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It reminds me a bit of the documentary in the early 90’s ‘A-B of Modern Motoring’, there was a chap and his family, he’d had a successful business, it’d gone to the wall sadly and the poor bastard had lost the lot. Anyway, he’d resorted to renting a yellow Cortina Estate, his wife commenting that it was like having a placard round her neck saying ‘we are poor’. I think that says a lot,  he’d done the sensible thing and lived within his means but society deems it to not be ‘living your best life’ (that phrase really fucks me off as it’s grammatically incorrect).

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14 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

From my not inconsiderable experience in a past life of debt collection and arrears, poor financial decisions such as buying a brand new car or slashing £1000 on a new sofa over paying your loan or clearing your overdraft is an indicator of an underlying issue and possibly vulnerability.

I think you are right there, it’s a lack somewhere along the line with satisfaction or contentment. I’ve met hundreds of people who literally couldn’t see insolvency coming, when it was obvious to the casual onlooker.

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1 hour ago, warch said:

If you'll permit me, this is a result of the British preoccupation with class and snobbery about anything regarded as pauperish. Weirdly this has nothing to actual posh people, lots of upper class types drive ancient dilapidated cars because they won't waste money replacing something merely because it is old.

The second-poshest person I've ever met was when I worked at John Lewis.  I carried his shopping half-way around Bluewater to his knackered, red Sierra.  This was back in 2008, so even then it was on old car and most of them had disappeared.

The poshest person I've ever met owned and lived in an ancestral castle...

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5 minutes ago, ChampionRabbit said:

Capitalism, innit. Can't have an ever expanding economy if people aren't buying stuff they don't need. 

If there weren't hoards of voracious supporters of wanton consumption, we'd be living in (my) socialist utopia. This sort of behaviour is simply people being good little capitalist lap dogs.

This.

The tragedy of it is, that the economic hamster wheel would still keep spinning if people just backed off a bit. Not to the extent of becoming Buddhist monks, or ascetic hermits, but just that...self awareness that leads to a more honest answer to 'do I really need that exact one, and can I really afford it?' It's not difficult, and it would be better for us all collectively if we allowed the hamster wheel to slow down just a little. 

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Just now, sgtberbatov said:

Can't risk being found out I'm afraid. I'll remember this though, so if the wife and I ever do part (and all her friends go with her) I'll happily post the pics.

I've had that twice, with my £35 Subaru Legacy and the RAV4 I got from KruJoe.

I paid £1500 for a Jag X300 from a shiter a couple of years ago, the most I've ever paid for a car I might add. It was mint. People in work thought I'd won the lottery ?

Also had a lovely 92 Honda Prelude which cost around £700ish and had loads of attention. I remember a guy stopping to take a photo of it once when I was stopped at traffic lights.

The red Saab floppy top the wife now drives also has the OMG SPORTSCAR HOWMUCH£££££ reaction from the £200 a month Corsa PCP brigade.

 

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My car is the oldest in my school's carpark by nearly 20 years. The rest of the vehicles there are massive bulbous SUVs promenading up and down to show how successful they are/better than everybody else's. All my classmates wish to have a Mini or Audi or BMW, not even anything sensible or cheap to buy outright like an Aygo! Nobody is interested anymore in the idea of utility and simplicity, it's all about bigger is better. Seems to be a bit of a fad to me, much like people carriers were the family cars of the early 2000s. Where have all the people carriers gone? I'd wager they were replaced by an SUV crossover thing.

13 minutes ago, sierraman said:

It reminds me a bit of the documentary in the early 90’s ‘A-B of Modern Motoring’, there was a chap and his family, he’d had a successful business, it’d gone to the wall sadly and the poor bastard had lost the lot. Anyway, he’d resorted to renting a yellow Cortina Estate, his wife commenting that it was like having a placard round her neck saying ‘we are poor’. I think that says a lot,  he’d done the sensible thing and lived within his means but society deems it to not be ‘living your best life’ (that phrase really fucks me off as it’s grammatically incorrect).

From A to B: Tales Of Modern Motoring (1993) - AutoShite - Autoshite

This is a good one
From A to B: Tales Of Modern Motoring (1993) - AutoShite - Autoshite
When Father Fumbler was a sales rep, one of his colleagues plonked this photo down on his desk. The one-upmanship battle with the reps' company cars has shifted to the general public and their big SUV status symbols. In fact, it's summed up brilliantly in the episode's introduction:
"The thing about your company car is it's a very specific sign to everybody to what level you've reached within the company."

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5 minutes ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

The second-poshest person I've ever met was when I worked at John Lewis.  I carried his shopping half-way around Bluewater to his knackered, red Sierra.  This was back in 2008, so even then it was on old car and most of them had disappeared.

The poshest person I've ever met owned and lived in an ancestral castle...

I used to work admin in a lawyers office 5 years ago. Most of the partners had 911's, M4's, one even had a fucking Rolls.

One of the older guys who was easily a millionaire drove a rusty old Avensis. Always liked him ?

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Its their life and their money, if they want to spend it on shiny trinkets and PCP'd cars then that is no concern of mine. Once someone is 18 years old, the presumption is that they are mentally capable of making life choices including how they spend the money they have earned or received.

People have different priorities, thats their absolute right.

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image.thumb.jpeg.77d5f99fd8624e647d686651d14d018d.jpegDespite being skint, they all actually look happy and healthy. I bet they all look back now and think about the time dad had that ice creams in that crappy yellow Cortina as opposed to remembering the time dad had his head in his hands at the kitchen table worrying about paying for his new Mondeo. 

Quite like how it’s ‘in the moment’ not staged like every photo you see now is. 

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Just now, Stanky said:

Its their life and their money, if they want to spend it on shiny trinkets and PCP'd cars then that is no concern of mine. Once someone is 18 years old, the presumption is that they are mentally capable of making life choices including how they spend the money they have earned or received.

People have different priorities, thats their absolute right.

That's a nice thought out point. I'll remember that in future!

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