What's it for?

[Aria]

I recently went to the West Edmonton mall. It was great. I would totally go back, the wave pool was the best!

Anyway, someone was selling 20 dollar tickets to win a really sporty car. A lamborgini? Something that was super low to the ground. I thought about buying a ticket because I've always wanted a fancy car, but then I took a long, hard look at it and asked myself... what's it for?

I think if I drove that car to Market Mall, it might bottom out on the speedbumps. I'm SURE it would bottom out on the extra retarded speed bumps at Beacon Hill. (I hate those, but that's a rant for another day) So... it's a useless car? Do you only drive it at a race track? That seems really lame.

So what's it for?

[mjr]

So what's it for?

Showing off, probably. Most cars like that do sit low to the ground. You would definitely have a problem with speed bumps, though I doubt you'd have an issue on the freeways.

[Nunavut Pants]

They're for taking to "Cars and Coffee" events so that other car people can look at them and talk about how cool they are. (The cars or themselves, or both!)

Most "supercars" never see a race track, which is a pity. Many will see stupidly-high speeds on public highways, which is infuriating.

Most often, they are "rolling art works" which are looked at far more often than they are used.

...Then again, most "supercars" aren't all that useful...

[XCashier]

So what's it for?

Seeing someone through a mid-life crisis?

[mathnerd]

Cruising along the main drag in a hip beach town (like Miami Beach) to show of how small your penis is, er, I mean how cool you are.

[csquared]

what's it for?

So you can sell it, buy something reasonable and still have money for... I don't know. Paying off your mortgage?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Announcing "I have a small penis and don't care who knows it."

[Seshat]

Worse, these cars are more expensive to repair, maintain, insure, and often to 'licence' or 'register' or whatever the local terminology for the road tax is.

The parts tend to be much more expensive than parts for 'ordinary' vehicles, which is the source of the expense for repair and maintenance. They often 'require' a higher octane rating petrol, which is more expensive than the default. (In some cases, this is a real requirement, in others the engine can do just fine on the normal - BUT it depends entirely on how it was engineered. So check with an expert.)

You can get as reliable a vehicle (if not more so), as comfortable a vehicle, and more useful a vehicle without the fancy name.
If you want a totally comfortable seat, find a skilled local vehicle upholsterer and get them to replace your car seat with one designed specifically for your body. It'll be even more comfortable than the one from the vehicle with the fancy name, because it'll be suited perfectly to you. If you prefer a different type or size of steering wheel, go ahead and get that changed.
Ask your mechanic: most things can be changed. Some shouldn't, mostly because they'll require extra inspections or safety certifications, or will increase maintenance costs (because they'll cause you to need non-standard parts). But your mechanic should know.


Sometimes fancy names do mean a better product. Bast has a friend who custom-makes audio equipment, and his product is better than anything generic.
But the general rule is: fancy names mean you pay more. Product is no better.

[BearLeeBadenaugh]

Speaking of the cost of maintenance of a supercar, here's a video that made me laugh. It's about the true costs of a Bugatti Veyron SuperSport. MSRP of $3.2 million.

The thing that really made me goggle was the cost of tires. $30,000 for a set of tires, and after the third set you need to buy a whole new set of rims at a cost of $120,000 because the tires are glued to the rims. So much power that it can spin the rims in the tires without them being glued together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwnfzLM-EI0

[Greenday]

Sure is a lot of penis envy up in here. But having a nice car definitely gets you a lot of desired attention. Since getting my Mustang, I've had random women come up to me about my car. I also get idiots trying to race me at stop lights, up to and including minivans. Based on my Mustang alone, I'd say something like a Lambo or a Ferrari would bring out the gold diggers even better. You can go on youtube and you'll see just how easy it is.

[lordlundar]

Yay! glad you enjoyed yourself up here in my neck of the woods. And yeah, the water park is always fun. I'd say something about the weather but at the moment I think we have the most mild conditions on the continent.

I honestly thought the draw for that car was finished before Christmas though. They've certainly hyped it up enough in the mall.

[Dreamstalker]

Our theory is that if we did something like that and ever (ha) won, we'd sell the car and take the cash (mom wouldn't want it unless it's a practical sedan-ish car, and a sports car would be ridiculous as a primary vehicle in dad's neck of the woods and might attract UNwanted attention). Basically we look at it as a shiny Powerball (or whatever) ticket.

[protege]

The parts tend to be much more expensive than parts for 'ordinary' vehicles, which is the source of the expense for repair and maintenance.

I know a guy who drives a Ferrari. Not a new one, but an older 308--similar to the red one Tom Selleck drove in Magnum, p.i. Nice car, but expensive as hell to service. Depending on whether or not you require a cambelt change...that can run several thousand dollars Plus, it's not like you can run down to the local Pep Boys for an oil change either. With that said, I don't even want to think about the cost to adjust 32 valves on that V8

Anyway, having such a car tends to attract unwanted attention. I have a sports car (not a Ferrari ) and I try to be careful. Sure, the lurid orange paint turns more heads than a Corvette, but still. I've had borough cops follow me all the way to the borough line, simply because they think I'm speeding. Not my fault that the stock exhaust is rather loud at only 25mph.

Back on topic, if I happened to win one of those cars, I'd tool around in it a bit...and then sell it on. I'd get something more practical and less expensive. Maybe a Maserati sedan?

[Ironclad Alibi]

This Lamborghini should have lots of pull. But it's not the one you're used to seeing.

[Yfandes]

A friend of mine won a fancy sports car in a radio contest - a red Ferrari if my memory serves.

She couldn't even afford the TAX on the winning of it (in California winnings are taxed), and I believe on this car valued at around $100K, her taxes due were something like $40K. So she kept it for exactly 4 days (driving it around and having fun) before selling it.