The key to car enthusiasm is not the car, it’s the enthusiasm. At AutoZone yesterday I saw two dudes very excitedly using a heat gun to apply crappy tint to the back window of a worn E100 generation Toyota Corolla. The car had been extensively modified in a way that wasn’t to my taste and, yet, I was having fun just watching them have fun with their car. Today’s review of the Maybach EQS680 SUV from contributor Daniel Golson surfaced a lot of feelings about fancy cars and enthusiasm.
I was excited to have Daniel to review this car because it’s not to my taste. I prefer the understated luxury of a Bentley. Daniel enjoys these cars, though, and it’s important for us to sometimes feature voices that are not exactly ours (though we do love having our own distinct voice as a site made up of automotive misfits). My sense is that there is no car too fancy for Daniel.
That isn’t to say we’re all dirtbags like David around here. Adrian drives an old Ferrari, Beau has plenty of nice cars, and Mercedes’s Phaeton love shows her to be a true appreciator of the finer things in life. While my BMW has more than 230,000 miles on the clock, it was still originally marketed as a luxury car. This whole experience had me wondering what the upper limit of “nice” is for most people.
Personally, I’d be fine with a brand new Porsche 911 T but I’d have a hard time justifying owning a brand new Zenvo (though I’d be fine borrowing one, ahem). My exact upper limit is probably an Alpina XB7, which costs about $150,000 and is all the fancy I can handle. There’s just something about owning a car that’s more expensive than my house that I’d have trouble with, although maybe if I had a nicer house it wouldn’t bother me as much!
What about you? What’s the nicest car you’d feel comfortable owning?
About 35-40K would be about my limit. That’s the reason why i have a bodged together ’70 Buick skylark (~ 7-8K invested) instead of a nicely restored ’70 Chevelle SS. I could afford a more expensive “fun car” , but I would be too afraid to drive a nice original or properly restored car. The skylark is rusty/crappy enough I’m not afraid to drive it to work,run errands ,or drive in the rain.
I’ve said many times over that if I were to somehow find my way to huge sums of money I would simply get the nicest 911 that I could. I am the furthest thing from a member of the conspicuous consumption crowd and I’ve never had much of a taste for the gaudy or over the top. While I do have a soft spot for British ultra luxury cars like Bentleys and Astons, I don’t think I’d drive one myself because I wouldn’t want that many people paying attention to me.
The same goes for *insert supercar here*. They’re just not really my thing. If I were to drive a ridiculously expensive car I’d want it to be one that regular people don’t really look twice at. A 911 fits the bill, particularly a GT3 Touring or one of the other special edition GT3s. I’d probably want it in some form of green over a dark tan interior.
My other consideration would, naturally, be an LC500. Normies see the Lexus badge and don’t really look twice. The streets seem blissfully unaware of what they are and I hope it stays that way because they’re deprecating. Shhhh. Let’s not speak of it too loudly. They’ll soon be within striking distance.
I’m with you on the somewhat stealthy aspects of the LC. In passing you might mistake if for an RC…maybe an LF, or some other Lexus consonant salad.
I pointed one out as “one of my dream cars” in traffic to my exceedingly car indifferent wife and her reaction was “….that? The Lexus?”. That’s the type of vibe I’d be going for in a fancy car.
I’ve heard of people lusting after LC500s, and I can’t say I understand in the slightest. 450hp 5.0 DOHC V8 in a smallish 2+2? Sounds like a Mustang GT, but for twice the price. And automatic.
Basically to me there is no limit if money is no object…
Normal answer: Ferrari Testarossa
Crazy answer: (if it’s ever found)
“1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Coupé Aero Chassis No. 57453
Also known as “La Voiture Noire” (French for “The Black Car”), this is the second Atlantic that was manufactured. Apart from its first years after production, the car’s history and current whereabouts remain mostly unknown. Due to it’s past and exclusivity, experts had estimated the value of this car at around $114 million.”
I would actually drive it too…
Doesn’t Ralph Lauren have a black Atlantic? I saw it at the Museum of Find Arts in Boston (https://www.mfa.org/collections/publications/speed-style-and-beauty).
Yes, correct…I think it’s 1 of 4 and this other one is one that is missing and has never been found. Basically for fun I was trying to think of the most extreme case and expensive car ever (on the basis of if it was actually found which is very low; would be worth $114 million!)
I’m aware of 2 Atlantic’s. Ralph’s, and the one at the Mullen Museum.
I went to that show back in the day. Maybe 2004 or 2005. Really enjoyed it actually. He developed a line of clothing around the show. I think it was called “Speed, Style and Beauty”. It was like a series of outfits to go with each car. At the time, I kind of dismissed it because I just assumed it was out of my budget. Now, I can’t find it anywhere. All of the google searches just bring up the book that was sold at the show. The outfits do exist though.
One that’s under a comprehensive warranty.
I hit peak fancy at CPO Volvo.
I’ve learned that I don’t much give a toss about fancy for its own sake. As a byproduct of having other features? Sign me up! Hence the aforementioned Volvo.
But (for example) a base A4 just ‘cos it’s an Audi? Lol
Exactly!
Right there with you
But it’s gotta be a long roof!
Confirming that the Volvo was a long roof :).
Except for maybe the Cybertruck or something with a bare aluminum body if it’s dent-able I’m uncomfortable owning it.
The nicest car…
Interesting that everyone immediately thought of purchase price… it’s certainly correlated, but there are $50k cars that are nice and $50k cars that are appliances. We might say the same thing about some $100k cars (or pickup trucks) these days. My brain immediately went to collectibility. A nice and collectable car that has value for just existing, is generally something I’m not comfortable with. If a car is meant to be used, I’d be good using it regardless of what it’s purchase price is.
Vintage, there’s no limit. I’d take a Talbot-Lago Teardrop on regular drives if I could afford such a thing or wanted a bunch of cars anymore. New? Does a Morgan Super 3 count? If not, then my GR86 because it’s decent to drive, has about the minimum of crap modern cars have (though I still hate the fairly dull electronic PAS—”good” as it may be in comparison—and the typically bad electronic throttle), and cost less than a Civic hatch with a manual. I find everything else that’s new to be intolerably heavy and full of garbage, seriously overpriced, and rarely attractive enough to interest me even just from an aesthetic standpoint. There are a few I’d like to drive, but not own. The safety that seems to be valued over anything else is something I just don’t care much about anymore. Cars were more than safe enough for me before all the active safety garbage of dubious value, but I’m willing to lose even that to enjoy the time I have driving and not be annoyed. I think that’s why I’ve gotten a lot more interested in boats the last ten years or so.
From a standpoint of pure luxury and modern technology, rather than price point, I probably wouldn’t want to go any fancier than the Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Lusso Q4. (The more absurd the name, the more luxurious.) I spend a lot of time in an assortment of luxury cars of mostly Germanic origin and honestly, it’s not my cup of tea. Sure, it’s comfy on a road trip, but I only do that once or twice a year. The bulk of my driving is in town or on the twisties 5 minutes from my house. I’d rather have a shattered spine once a year and a huge smile on my face the rest of the time. My Alfa is great fun, but it’s very comfortable fun and generally speaking, it’s not much more well appointed than any other mid-size sedan. I don’t *want* most of the things that make a car a “luxury” car, so I like the “luxury” car that is minimalistic on the bells and whistles. I do like the vibe it puts out though, people tend to think it’s a lot fancier than it is
I suppose it depends upon how we define “nice”.
I like to keep my cars in good working order, free of clutter, and clean outside and in. To me, any car can be “nice” if it’s kept this way. I’d consider a well-kept basic economy car to be “nicer” than a brand new S-class if the latter were dirty, smelly, filled with old McDonald’s wrappers, and sporting a check-engine light on the dash. By that measure, my standards for “nice” are very high, but that doesn’t mean that I’ll only drive expensive cars — far from it.
If the question becomes: “What’s the most expensive car you’d feel comfortable owning?” then things get different. I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving around in a vehicle that costs as much as a house, but purchase price isn’t where my mind goes when I think of a “nice” car.
So much this. My newest vehicle is an 08, but it is as good as I can make it. Not perfect, but everything works and looks nice. Based on this, the “nicest” car I am comfortable with is my 68 Charger R/T. It’s got factory air and power windows. A cushy ride with a440.
This is exactly what I was thinking too… only you put it all into better words than I did.
Talk to me tomorrow morning after I have my $1.5B. Corinthian leather for everyone!
It’s now tomorrow afternoon, when can I expect my Rich Corinthian Leather membership card to arrive in the mail? 😉
They didn’t get my memo and selected the incorrect numbers.
My newest and fanciest car is a 1983 Austin Maestro Vanden Plas. It has a talking digital dash and power windows for the front doors. It still has a factory manual choke, though, so I don’t feel too out of my league in it.
https://live.staticflickr.com/7307/8819450566_6ce401ee81_c.jpg
It is all relative as you skirted with. I am 60 a relatively inexpensive abode and a more inexpensive DD. MY Project will have more in it than my DD IS worth. So I am < $50,000. But I hit the PowerBar (all these years and PowerBar still not in autocorrect) I am Dd an authentic Shelby Cobra. Or maybe that for Sunday an MGA FOR Monday, a JH for Tuesday a JH Interceptor for Saturday, But you get it it is relative. But I would own more expensive but at 60 and 300 most real expensive I can't fit in and that is where I draw the line.
Upvoted for “Power Bar”!
I actually corrected both of these to powerball and it still doesn’t have powerball as a correct option.
As with everything else, you acclimate to things over time.
It took a decade for me at least having part of my heart in my throat in $100K cars, to basically normalizing it, even though the car is still worth what I bought it for.
So if I theoretically stepped up to $250K, I’d be extremely anxious again initially, but less so after 5 years, and after a decade it’d kind of shoulder shrug.
Think of performance. Drive enough fast stuff and it just normalizes itself over time.
I guess it depends on where I am and who I’m with. The Roller in the top shot up there is exactly my cup of tea, but I’m not driving that in many parts of Milwaukee. Nor am I driving it (or being driven, it is a Rolls after all) with people who don’t appreciate it. Something like that would be a special event type of ride, and if I can afford that I can also afford a new Accord for the daily.
What’s the nicest new car I’d daily? Probably an Audi.
But in reality, I like to fly under the radar most of the time. Hence the Accord reference.
i’d probably hate driving it altogether, but i fell hard for the very first Alvis TD21 (park ward droptop) i saw, and it wasn’t even in person. ive never seen on in person actually.
goddamit, now i’m thinking too much. the original s-type. the a110. s+2 (but not in the john player livery). torino gt convertible. a nice example of any of these would probably be worth more than i paid for my condo.
Apparently $65k since thats the MSRP on my current daily. I can’t see going much higher, unless it were for a Raptor, but even then I don’t think I’d want to drive something that big every day.
I daydream about owning a Viper that’s got enough miles and use on it that I could park it at Walmart without worry. I don’t think I could personally ever warrant buying a new car again.
If we’re looking at this from a daily driver perspective, I’m probably already in it.
A while back I swapped the supercharged Range Rover Sport for a fairly low-end Jaguar F-Pace. I’m careful about parking but won’t lose my mind if it gets a rock chip or whatever. Heck, I pulled the front end off a small motorcycle and chucked frame and all in the back of the Jaaag. (It’s roomy with the back seats folded down and I used a large industrial doormat to protect the interior.)
If we’re looking at this from a weekend toy perspective, the bar would be somewhat higher. 🙂 OTOH I would prefer something like a 440 6-pack E-body Frankencar that I could just drive: anything original or restored would be ridiculously expensive and my right foot doesn’t care if the numbers match.
Anything over $50K would tie me up in knots. Really I’d have to come to terms with anything over $30K and slowly talk myself into it. I’m really comfortable with my $20-something-K Subarus. They’re nice to drive and while I wouldn’t want one totaled it wouldn’t be absolute financial ruin if one got scrapped.
Remember when $20K could buy a really decent car?
I don’t really feel comfortable owning anything more than $25K unless it’s always going to be parked in my garage and doesn’t spend much, if any, time unattended in strange parking lots. I might even be a bit bullish on that $25K figure.
Same with me, I have several cars that are more than $30k and I don’t like driving them where I have to park them next to other cars in close proximity. I always end up taking my older cars to those places.
I think I would happily personal-peak car if I ever found myself with the disposable income to get a 2014-2015 manual R8 or a nicely preserved Z8. A grand salute to the ICE on its way out, and before I grow too old to enjoy such a vehicle at all without becoming a major danger to everyone else on the road.
But for “car I regularly use to do average car things” I kind of run out of wanting more well before $100k
There are many, many six and seven figure collector vehicles that I would feel quite comfortable owning. However, for daily use I’m a cheap son if a gun and the mere thought of spending more than say, $40k gives me the hives.
Exactly this. The daily should be almost disposable.
For me, with the current value of the dollar I’d say somewhere around the $150k range is my top.
Something like a well optioned Range Rover / S-Class etc. Essentially would be comfortable with a top end luxury vehicle, but would not want to cross the threshold into the ultra-luxury segments, anything passed that to me is too showy and attracts too much attention, while luxury cars from the standard luxury brands still blend in pretty well where I live.
I don’t think there would be nice car I would be uncomfortable in actually.
The keyword is nice, i don’t want some trashcan or something gaudy.
Oh, and it wouldn’t be nice when I’m done with it. Cars are made to be used, that means dents, scrapes and crumbs on the seats. Screw resale value.
I know this is counter to the intent of the question, but a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow or Bentley Turbo R from Facebook Marketplace is the nicest car I’d be comfortable owning, mostly because I know whoever listed it on FB has already taken the “niceness” depreciation hit and I can just have fun with it. I’ll have Grey Poupons for the peons at every stoplight, thank you.
As for my real answer? Idk, something like a Mach-E Rally or an Ioniq 5. A car in the $50-$60k range would be very uncomfortable to consider replacing, but probably would be just manageable enough to acquire.
Audi rs6, or Cadillac CTS v.