[zybar]

If we all (humans) applied this sort of logic, Vegas wouldn't exist.   

That would be really bad!!   

George

[MaxCast]

Nice new car = rich, making too much money.
Old car = poor quality, shotty work.

It's true, it happened to me.

I guess we all should drive a Camry to releve this stress in out brain.

I drive on old pickup truck and a scooter.   I hope that doesn't say anything about the quality of my work.   

It does not say anything about the quality of your work.  But, the old truck may keep a customer from coming into your store if you had one like being talked about here.

sts, what would you think seeing a rusty old Chevette in the parking lot every morning? 

[sts9fan]

oh I can't judge my reaction this way. If you want I will give you my route to and from work and you can plant the car. That way it will be a real gut reaction.

[MaxCast]

oh I can't judge my reaction this way. If you want I will give you my route to and from work and you can plant the car. That way it will be a real gut reaction.

sure, and while I'm in town we can catch a Yankee game 

[sts9fan]

sure, and while I'm in town we can catch a Yankee game 

Absolutely

[Doublej]

I did read the thread.

"Now I in no way have anything against people making tons of money or driving fancy cars. I am all for capitalism here. Its a weird thing though now that I know this guy can afford a 160k car I most likely would not buy from his shop."

So I asked would you not buy from the Red Sox for the same reason, i.e. because the Red Sox owners can afford expensive cars. But perhaps you have never seen one getting into their car, thinking that you may have was clearly a false assumption on my part.

Perhaps I should have worded it differently...If every day you drove by one of the owners of the Red Sox and saw him or her driving a $160K car, would that cause you to question buying products from them and instead favoring products where the owners did not have such an expensive car.

[sts9fan]

That example is bunk mainly because I would say the more schwag revenue John Henry pulls in the more he can spend on the team. 
Anyway you are not really getting the point of my post. I was examining the visceral feeling I got from the car in front of the store.  I am not at all saying I will not buy stuff from rich people. I think you would need to see the store to get a better understanding. It is FAR from a big fancy place not that this really matters. Flame all you want it ain't no thang to me. 

[MaxCast]

Mabe the store is just a job and cars are his hobby 

[lcrim]

This thread got my attention.  Last year my car got totalled but I wasn't hurt and the insurance payout left me w/ a lump of cash for new wheels. 
I was actually concerned about the impression it would make, especially at work, if I came in driving an obviously expensive, fancy new car.  While I did drive myself a little crazy with that stuff, I figured f--- it and got the BMW anyway
How many times do you go around?

[Scott F.]

As far as the shop owner driving an 'expensive' car, you really don't know what he actually paid for the car. I get the same kind of reaction from people all the time, especially at work. When people see my driving my Cadillac they automatically assume I'm making too much money. It also sets the impression in their mind that I charge too much.

the fact of the matter is I use the 3/30 rule when I buy a car. It has to be three years old and have 30,000 miles on it. I turn it usually pick them up for much less than half the sticker price. In my Cadi's case it stickered at $49k, I paid $21k for it. My wifes S type Jag was the same way. It stickered at $58k and we paid $20k for it. Both fell into the 3/30 rule.

When I let owners know that I probably paid less for my car than they did theirs (and why), they now look at me in a different light.

On the other hand, St Louis' premiere audio salon is Music For Pleasure. They carry Krell, Dynaudio and tons of other high priced gear. The owner collects cool cars. The key here is that the store is his hobby. He made all of his money manufacturing and selling refrigeration valves. His company is Sporlan Valve Co.. He has way more than 50% of the domestic refrigeration valve market. Chances are if you were to check the refrigeration specialties (valves, dryers, moisture indicators) on your condensing unit at your house or office, they'd be the Sporlan brand. Needless to say, he is a gozillionaire which has absolutely nothing to do with any money he may or may not make at his audio store. His primary business bought all of his toys which includes the store. I say, more power to him. If I had that kind of money, I wouldn't stop with just a car (or a few cars) and a store.

The retail business literally sucks. Whomever mentioned that all of their money was made on HT installs was right. The margins (regardless how large they are) barely cover the cost of stocking the gear and overhead.

I'd bet if you walked in that store you'd find a fellow enthusiast. Chances are he's middle aged and is trying to fulfill a dream he had as a teenager back in teh 60's or 70's of owning a cool car and a high end stereo store. Since retail sucks so bad, especially on walk ins, I'd bet once you get to know him he'd cut you as good of deal (maybe better) than you could find on the internet. Who knows, he may turn out to be an audio savant and could pass on tons of wisdom too.

As Kevin said, 'it's far easier to judge somebody when you don't know them'.

Take a chance....go pay him a visit.

[ctviggen]

I think my next car will be used.  I saw my car (Saab 9-3 Viggen) on a lot for about 15,000 less than what I paid for my two-years-newer version.  And the used Viggen had new wheels (a common complaint with this car).  At the time, I was trying to conserve money and didn't want to buy a new car. 

[JLM]

It's a matter of relative values.  This probably bugs you because you "over spend" on audio compared to the rest of your life.

All Americans are relatively rich.  Anyone who can spend over $1,000 on audio equipment is rich.  Billions live in hunger and poverty around the world.

I'm suprised how wealthy most audiophiles are, especially those in the business end of it.  Many of them do it primarily as a hobby.

[JLM]

ctviggen,

If you have a good mechanic/dealer, buying used is the way to go for those cars with high depreciation.  Saabs used to have very high depreciation.  I used to own a Saab, bought it from a very small family owned dealership that only sold Saab.  Years ago they were selling 2 year old models for 60% off with only 25,000 miles on them.  Now they're less unique  but depreciate less.

Another good strategy is to look for recent "fad" cars.  You know, the ones car mags get their panties in a bunch about for a while, then you don't hear anything about them.  But be selective, some of those fads rightfully fizzled due to poor performance, reliability, etc. GM diesels from the early 80's, American Motors Eagle, and most Mitsubishi's come to mind as possibilities.

OTOH buying a 2 or 3 year old Honda or Toyota is pointless as they cost nearly as much as new.

Prices for used cars vary by the region of the country.  Around here (midwest) recently new Kia/Hyundai cars may be the best automotive buys.