4 ms·

Luxury prices but compared to the finish of the competition are they really luxury vehicles?

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
globular-toast 3y ago
Nobody cares about "finish" apart from weird car enthusiasts (think like people who run homelabs, but for cars). It's all about the brand.
- onion2k 3y ago
  The brand is the effectively the sum of what the company does though, and that includes building cars with a good finish. BMW, Merc, Audi, Lexus etc have strong brands because they're well known for make cars that are always well built. In the case of Tesla they could fix all the build problems and their brand would continue to suffer because they have a reputation for poor quality. That takes years to repair.
  - Rinzler89 3y ago
    Pretty much. Japanese and Germans have built those strong brands on the build quality, fit and finish, ride quality, noise insulation, etc. Tesla customers were willing to overlook that due to the focus on software and cutting edge tech at the expense of quality but people later realized quality also matters in a object you sit in and your life depends on it, since a car is more than an iPad.
  - acdha 2y ago
    I would especially add that there is not much of a shortcut around that, either, because a lot of that reputation is based on older vehicles holding up well, not being noisy, etc. People think Mercedes is a luxury brand because they’re thinking about how their grandparents had one that was still in good shape after years of use, not just the day they bought it. Not coming from that kind of family background personally this was somewhat of a surprise to me when a friend first explained how they were expecting a vehicle to hold its value.
- ano-ther 3y ago
  Just went by taxi one way in a Mercedes, back with a Tesla. Similar mileage. The Tesla’s seats were already worn down so I could feel the steel tubes beneath the upholstery. The Benz was still fine. That’s better finish which I would care about without being a car enthusiast.
  - cm2187 3y ago
    Same. The suspensions also make quite a different experience. Plus I don’t like cars where I need to figure out how to open a door.
- cjk2 3y ago
  Nah I just want something that doesn't fall to bits. My Model S (yes I did own one) had worse finish than the ass end Citroen I had. The model S had paint runs and the drivers door didn't shut properly.
- OJFord 3y ago
  Maybe we have different definitions, but I think they absolutely do, I would say things like insisting on Apple CarPlay, or the UX of the self-driving software, the vibrance of the RGB dash/door lighting (...) etc. is caring about finish. Your car enthusiast might care to a different sort of extreme or niche (like wanting real leather not PU; or not wanting leather because the '66 never came with leather) but it's still caring about finish IMO, just different aspects.
- alistairSH 3y ago
  Of course they do. The brand is the sum of all the design and engineering decisions and marketing over time. I absolutely bought a Lexus because I perceived it as high quality - reliable, assembled properly, good finishes. Same for my BMW, though it’s almost certainly less reliable. My Honda truck, I expect reliable utility, not luxury.
- kstrauser 3y ago
  WTF. I was a kid out looking at cars with my dad. He was looking at Lincolns, saw one he otherwise liked, and noticed that the gap between the driver’s door and the back seat door was wider at the top than the bottom. The salesman tried to have the shop adjust the door so that it was aligned, but then it was misaligned in other ways (like the edge of the driver’s window was higher than the back seat’s window). He never looked at another Lincoln, ever. Choice quote: “I’d never be able to look at it without seeing that skewy door and it’d make me mad every time.” Fit and finish are absolutely things that non-geeks care tremendously about.
- Ekaros 2y ago
  Lot of people care about fit. And feeling. A car should at least look right that means gaps in different places look same and there is no obvious problem. After all they are paying tens of thousands for something, that is absolute minimum you can expect for that price.
cjk2 3y ago
Well that is sort of the point. The pricing reflects luxury but the quality does not reflect the pricing.
bryanlarsen 2y ago
Lease for $299/month isn't luxury pricing any more.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

Nobody cares about "finish" apart from weird car enthusiasts (think like people who run homelabs, but for cars). It's all about the brand.

onion2k 3y ago
The brand is the effectively the sum of what the company does though, and that includes building cars with a good finish. BMW, Merc, Audi, Lexus etc have strong brands because they're well known for make cars that are always well built. In the case of Tesla they could fix all the build problems and their brand would continue to suffer because they have a reputation for poor quality. That takes years to repair.
- Rinzler89 3y ago
  Pretty much. Japanese and Germans have built those strong brands on the build quality, fit and finish, ride quality, noise insulation, etc. Tesla customers were willing to overlook that due to the focus on software and cutting edge tech at the expense of quality but people later realized quality also matters in a object you sit in and your life depends on it, since a car is more than an iPad.
- acdha 2y ago
  I would especially add that there is not much of a shortcut around that, either, because a lot of that reputation is based on older vehicles holding up well, not being noisy, etc. People think Mercedes is a luxury brand because they’re thinking about how their grandparents had one that was still in good shape after years of use, not just the day they bought it. Not coming from that kind of family background personally this was somewhat of a surprise to me when a friend first explained how they were expecting a vehicle to hold its value.
ano-ther 3y ago
Just went by taxi one way in a Mercedes, back with a Tesla. Similar mileage. The Tesla’s seats were already worn down so I could feel the steel tubes beneath the upholstery. The Benz was still fine. That’s better finish which I would care about without being a car enthusiast.
- cm2187 3y ago
  Same. The suspensions also make quite a different experience. Plus I don’t like cars where I need to figure out how to open a door.
cjk2 3y ago
Nah I just want something that doesn't fall to bits. My Model S (yes I did own one) had worse finish than the ass end Citroen I had. The model S had paint runs and the drivers door didn't shut properly.
OJFord 3y ago
Maybe we have different definitions, but I think they absolutely do, I would say things like insisting on Apple CarPlay, or the UX of the self-driving software, the vibrance of the RGB dash/door lighting (...) etc. is caring about finish. Your car enthusiast might care to a different sort of extreme or niche (like wanting real leather not PU; or not wanting leather because the '66 never came with leather) but it's still caring about finish IMO, just different aspects.
alistairSH 3y ago
Of course they do. The brand is the sum of all the design and engineering decisions and marketing over time. I absolutely bought a Lexus because I perceived it as high quality - reliable, assembled properly, good finishes. Same for my BMW, though it’s almost certainly less reliable. My Honda truck, I expect reliable utility, not luxury.
kstrauser 3y ago
WTF. I was a kid out looking at cars with my dad. He was looking at Lincolns, saw one he otherwise liked, and noticed that the gap between the driver’s door and the back seat door was wider at the top than the bottom. The salesman tried to have the shop adjust the door so that it was aligned, but then it was misaligned in other ways (like the edge of the driver’s window was higher than the back seat’s window). He never looked at another Lincoln, ever. Choice quote: “I’d never be able to look at it without seeing that skewy door and it’d make me mad every time.” Fit and finish are absolutely things that non-geeks care tremendously about.
Ekaros 2y ago
Lot of people care about fit. And feeling. A car should at least look right that means gaps in different places look same and there is no obvious problem. After all they are paying tens of thousands for something, that is absolute minimum you can expect for that price.

cjk2 3y ago

Well that is sort of the point. The pricing reflects luxury but the quality does not reflect the pricing.

bryanlarsen 2y ago

Lease for $299/month isn't luxury pricing any more.