Exotic car buyers

lpullman

63 Chevy! Class, that is. American car makers really lost their way sometime around 1970.

I agree that the car you drive is no longer a guide to your financial status. Taste perhaps, but not disposable income. Cheap credit and leasing have seen to that. I know more than one millionaire and only one drives anything interesting and he's a genuine collector (24 cars an 31 motorcycles in his garage). I also know a finance clerk who's pride and joy is her Benz E320, a school teacher who's just bought another Alfa (diesel this time), a financial adviser with a 70s Corvette and a bulldozer driver who's spent an insane amount keeping his 69 Mustang fastback on the road.

Personally, I've found that the purchase price of 80s German "prestige" vehicles is so low that the cost of ownership is similar to poverty pack hatchbacks over three years. I'm currently tooling about in a BMW MSport and eying off a 735 in a yard: neither will cost you 10 grand for the best one in the country.

Addressing the original question: the difference between Ferrari and Maserati buyers I suspect is product knowledge. It's the same as the difference between Rolex or Omega buyers and IWC or Panari buyers. The latter probably knows more about the options in the market rather than buying the only thing he's heard of. Buyers of the less well known option are also looking for something different to what everyone else has.

Having said that, Ferrari is a bad example because they do command a huge following amongst enthusiasts.