Be Excellent To Each Other

It's taken a while but The Grand Tour this week may actually have a greater proportion of car stuff than the car thread.

I do, and they do not.

I'm not sure how else to say it.

I totally believe the ONS data, but those aren't "REAL TERMS". That's not what disposable income is.

You're wrong, end of (at least in terms of the stuff that I was claiming - now fully vindicated through citation of facts).
I'm honestly sorry if you or anyone else here can't deal with that, but I can't help you.

To be clear, you think "disposable income you have" is "how much money you earn"? Because when you boil it down that's basically the only point I'm stuck on.

Right? Disposable means 'after necessary expenditures' - which are totally nonexistent in that report.

It's really the only metric you can use when debating whether or not someone can afford a cool car.

Note that I don't actually know the answer to "are people not buying cool cars because they have no money", because I don't know if they have money or not. I'd have thought living with their folks (which they do a lot more than they used to) would make quite a difference, but

I mean, the Guardian says they don't, but it doesn't want to cite its sources.

You are the one who changed the statement that Doc made "millennials have less disposable income" to "mean wages haven't increased" in your own head. That is the very definition of a straw man argument!

I can't believe you're doing it again.

Although I'm more than happy enough to stop talking about it if everyone else wants to stop talking about it.

[edit] I guess not

"Cars have less soul nowadays" is still a legit point that I can get behind.

Can you say the same about most things, though? Like houses, or businesses?

Living with your folks won't increase your disposable income if you're saving for a deposit though. In fact in many cases people's "disposable" income actually increases when they move out as they are restrained only by their mortgage payment, not the "save as much money quickly to get out of here" payment.

Or a misunderstanding.

Thinking about it, a car probably would have been classified as "essential" where I grew up because there was no fucking way you could get to work (or anywhere else) without one.

Cavey really wants you to know that he's definitely won this argument and also he doesn't care but also he's definitely won, end of.

::drives away in £70k Porsche::

I remember, when I were a lad, this thread were all cars.

As any good nerd would do, I'm compiling a spreadsheet that details my expected monthly running costs for my current car (the LEAF) and using that to compare running costs for any car that I can feasibly replace it with.

Here's the sheet, which I need to update with the info gleaned from my searching today.

It's undoubtedly not perfect, as it doesn't take into account depreciation for a start, but it'll do.

Get me, being all organised and actually researching instead of just picking a random car off AutoTrader like I'm pinning a tail on a fucking donkey, eh?

Heh, I did that when I bought the Clio. Less so with the Civic.

15k miles a year?! Cripes.

That's only slightly above average. I do about 12k.

That's a bit of an overestimation - my lease agreement on the LEAF is set at 12K a year (I do ~10K just in my daily commute)

Wow, that's 2.5 million miles a year!

Average is 8k, according to a lazy google. I do about 7 commuting. It just looked really high.

No way. I do 12k and my commute is 10 miles each way and every 5th week I have the work van.

Way! 6.5k. @ 18mph

Flick to page 10.

Eh? I do just under 40 miles a day, 5 days a week and even if you exclude my annual leave it comes in at 10,400 miles a year.

http://m.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C328896

Jesus.



Those tyres were already fucked in 2003. They ain't gonna be any better now.

(Two separate people have sent me this link this morning! To be fair, I did love my GTE, despite the fact it was a complete and utter shed.)

I never spend less than £70,000 on cars personally.

Looks like it has soul though.

I'm about to spend £95,000 on its replacement, if that helps.

It's surprisingly easy to rack up miles.

My daily commute is 36 miles (round trip). Multiply by 48 (4 weeks annual leave, excluding bank holidays) is 8,640 miles. That commute is from Broseley to Shrewsbury and back. Shrewsbury happens to be where my family live, and where I shoot, so often I do that journey twice a day.

Then there's general leisure miles (although admittedly I don't do that much in the LEAF any more because the range issue irritates me)

I've had the LEAF since September 9th, 2015 and my odometer ticked over 16,500 this morning.

Yeah, what I'm saying is how does Myp rack up 12K when his daily commute is half of mine.

Is the R in Type-R for rental?

It might be because Sal's mum lives a 90-mile round trip away and we go and see her about twice a month. And my parents are a 360-mile round trip away and I go down to see them at least three times a year.

Maybe I do more miles than average.

I have made a note to take you 36% more seriously once it arrives.

I'll be sure to post plenty of pics for your delectation, Doc!
You're gonna love this.

How much is that per month and how much is the deposit, while we're establishing how much richer you think you are than me?

The voices, the voices! Eh Doc?
Think I'll just butt out for now, whilst you and your ego continue this discussion with your imaginary friend. I'm busy.

Ah, not actually that much then? Right you are.

Edit -- also, please note I didn't start a dick measuring contest around our levels of conspicuous consumption, so I'm surprised you're ducking out so early.

I wish you two would just get this over with once and for all and post pictures of your cocks and we can see whose is biggest.

You honestly think I care what some obsessive little guy off the internet thinks, or does not think about my supposed wealth, not that I was even talking about that in the first place? Seriously?

I'm starting to think I should pay closer attention to the quasi-independent angular velocities of your eyeballs at this rate. Man alive...

Wow, he gives it the big talk and then slinks off with his tail between his legs. Unbelievable!

Yeah, that's me!

Oh man. Have fun, guys.

It's a mystery for the ages.

Since your both so rich, why don't you have a go on the Royal Rumble sweepstake?

I'm sorry TheVision, I have been found out, I am really a penniless Dick Van Dyke type cheeky chappy (in his later, more corpulent years), making a meagre living from sweeping large-diameter chimneys, in between feeding pigeons with the home help.

(To be fair, if you're short, chuck me in for a couple of "wild card" places and let me know how much I owe you mate )

Done. £95,000 please.

Seriously though, I'll put you in for a couple of places so that'll be £4. I'll send a PM with all the details later tonight.

Cheers, chap.

Again, it's extraordinary the way you can build quite inaccurate impressions of someone off the Internet.

Yes, you have a lovely internet persona.

Are we talking about cars again? Good.

Although, irritatingly, all I want to know about is what Cavey is buying

I'm going for RRS SVR

I'll ring you later if you want; if I post it some people will be having meltdowns I fear.

You can't ring me pictures, and I know fuck all about Porsches.

I don't think anyone really cares about how much money you spend on cars, we were all a bit surprised to see it appear in the argument.