What cars are prestigious in the US?

MrTFFC

Member
Apr 6, 2008
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I've had this question on my mind a lot lately... I have watched a few American car reviews lately featuring cars that are deemed prestigious here in Australia. But here is the problem, they seem to be so cheap! For instance, a BMW 135i which costs about $82,000AU, costs about $40,000US.

Same goes for a lot of other 'prestigious' cars... So if they are so cheap in the US, are they really prestigious at all?

What do you deem a prestige car over there? Are all the other cars just a lot cheaper too? Maybe our government just takes so much more tax from us... :tdown:
 
it depends on just how prestigious you mean?

Obviously Rolls, Bentleys, Maybach, etc. . . are
or do you mean more affordable luxury like Mercedes, Maserati, etc. . . ?
 
well i dont know how affordable mercedes and maserati are but i think i know what you mean and brands like that are less prestigious. it seems in the area i live there are alot of bmws and lexus cars on the road. i think the importers wife hit them all b/c there arent many of them on the road and only few people can afford them
 
I think what Mr TFFC is getting at is whether BMW, Merc and the like are less prestigious over in the US than they are in Australia as we pay such a high price for them over here. Is a US$40k car regarded as prestigious? Maybe prestigious cars over there start at $35-40k whereas over here I would say $80-90k and up is where they start. How much is an "economical" car in the US? Ours are around $13-20k. So unless your economical cars are like $5k, then it isn't really a huge jump to get a BMW 1 or 3 series?
 
Mercedes and Maserati are "afforadable" compared to Bentley, Rolls and Maybach.
I get sales brochures from my local Maserati shop often w/ "affordable" monthly payment promises.
 
where i am, bmw, mercedes, audi, porsche, even aston martin, bently, rolls, and maserati are the norm (as in i see them on a daily basis). now im also a car girl, so i know when i see the carrera gt its a prestigious car, but the boxter isnt. i think that most people dont know the difference, they just see the porsche logo. id say that to me the "prestigious" cars are valued at least 125k and up to 300k, and not necessarily a brand, but more a specific car.
 
where i am, bmw, mercedes, audi, porsche, even aston martin, bently, rolls, and maserati are the norm (as in i see them on a daily basis). now im also a car girl, so i know when i see the carrera gt its a prestigious car, but the boxter isnt. i think that most people dont know the difference, they just see the porsche logo. id say that to me the "prestigious" cars are valued at least 125k and up to 300k, and not necessarily a brand, but more a specific car.



absolutely.
 
no, most of us wouldn't consider a $40k prestigious, probably not even a $60-$80k one either since that's what most of the luxury SUVs are now.
That's more of a luxury class than a 'prestigious' class IMO.
When I think of prestigious, I think of cars that I see least often and are out of the question for 99% of us to buy.
There's different levels of economy cars as well - cheap ones may be $8-9k new but a nice brand of economy car, like a Honda Civic or something is more like $20k.
 
I know this doesn't answer the question as Im in Australia too, but I find it funny when people find out I drive a BMW they think I'm "rich". It's a used car, over 5 years old, cost as much as a brand new Mazda my friend bought yet no one says that shes "rich" lol
 
I've had this question on my mind a lot lately... I have watched a few American car reviews lately featuring cars that are deemed prestigious here in Australia. But here is the problem, they seem to be so cheap! For instance, a BMW 135i which costs about $82,000AU, costs about $40,000US.

Same goes for a lot of other 'prestigious' cars... So if they are so cheap in the US, are they really prestigious at all?

What do you deem a prestige car over there? Are all the other cars just a lot cheaper too? Maybe our government just takes so much more tax from us... :tdown:

Do you mean a BMW 325i? I don't think the 1 series will be starting that high- I believe an entry level 1 starts around $28k US.

You are forgetting the currency conversion. Since an American dollar is worth about 20% more than an Aussie dollar, you need to do some conversion before you can make any kind of real comparison. And oftentimes, while the name of the car might be the same, the actual car itself can be fairly different in trim, accessories, etc.

I'm also fairly sure that like you said, there is just a big difference in vehicle prices between the two countries- I bought a 2004 RX-8 for $34k in 2003. But the same (relatively speaking, see below) car in Australia was more than double that, if I remember correctly. And I don't think anyone in either country is going to argue that Mazda is exactly a prestigious brand.

And no offense to anyone here, but a $40+k car, bought new in the US, means you are doing pretty well to 95% of the population. I'm guessing the average income on the Purse Forum is a bit higher than the median $50k for the entire US, so I think you may get a skewed viewpoint on here. . In general, if a normal person sees a new BMW, the first thing that goes through their head is "that person must make more money than the average person."

Now, to answer your question- my personal feelings on what I'd consider a prestigious cars:

Range Rovers
Any Lotus (boy would I LOVE to have an Elise! Maybe when my daughter's a little older, lol)
BMW M5
BMW 6 series
Any exotic (ie. Maserati on up)
Bentley
Rolls
Any Porsche above a Caymen
Mustang Saleen