Are luxury cars worth the cost?

For performance ‘luxury’ cars such as the Bentley Continental GT, it’s easy to validate your purchase as one gets ear flattening performance together with Connelly leather and an audiophile grade sounds system among other creature comforts. For supercars with super pricing like the Ferrari 458 or McLaren 12C, it’s easy to justify buying them just based on the performance aspect. These cars have state of the art engine and suspension technology and can drive circles around your friends’ hot hatch. But how about premium products like an Audi S4 or perhaps even a Honda Civic Type R?

The two cars mentioned above are not luxury automobiles in the conventional sense. Mention luxurious motoring and chances are people still envision the Rolls Royce with a driver or the towkay in the S-class picking up his passenger at Tiananmen. But in Singapore where taxes make up a large percentage of a car’s selling price (just remember, one for you, one for the government), if you’re driving anything besides the entry-level model, you’re already so called investing in luxury.

Paying for leather seats or navigation or more power; all are little luxuries that every car owner desires. And what’s another S$3000 or $5000 when you’re already plonking down upwards of 120 grand? And yes, buying an Audi S4 does give one Gibraltar build quality and effortless power. Worth paying for over a regular A4? As a car enthusiast, I would if I had the cash. Same goes for the Civic Type R. Whether it’s worth the extra cost though is very subjective.

Car manufacturers such as Porsche and Honda have for years succeeded in making customers pay more for less. No carpet, no rear window wiper, no sound insulation but cost more. More luxurious in the conventional sense? No. Status symbol? Yes. And nothing sells products – luxury or otherwise – as status or the announcement to the world that you’ve arrived. Notice how many supercars have 150dB aftermarket exhaust nowadays… if you have it, flaunt it!

But when it boils down to iconic, ultra-premium luxury cars like Rollers and Bentley, or supercars like Lamborghini and Pagani, I personally think it’s not worth buying them in Singapore. Beside the limited roads available to fully utilize them to their maximum potential, our arcane road tax system based on engine capacity won’t do you any favours and don’t forget you essentially leasing it from the government for 10 years.

If you really have the money for a S$1million dollar car, I say take that money, buy one in Spain or Southern California and take a holiday once or twice a year (business class of course) to enjoy driving it on challenging roads with scenery that rivals anything you can get here or Malaysia. For slightly more than S$300k you can get a 458 Italia in USA, use the S$700k you saved buying one locally, and spend it over the next 10 years going on a holiday and driving it to your heart’s content…

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