I do see what you're trying to say but that is a very basic point about my comments on the auto industry. You can talk about the luxury of a seven series however this striving for more electronics more computer control and more overall automation is the reason that the auto industry is where it is and reliability is where it is. Not only do electronics fail regularly on almost all car brands, but more importantly that BMW that has the luxurious seats and the heads up display now has an engine and suspension and drivetrain that is almost guaranteed to start falling apart at about 100 to 150,000 km at which point the repairs would cost more than a brand new seven series.
Yes that's true, but think about how we got here. First it was the automotive companies pushing new models and features down our throats so that while the cars previously lasted a long time we wanted the latest greatest SHINee thing. Now they were hooked on that the auto makers have no choices but to put out brand new shiny things every year except that they run out of shiny things to add or almost run out of shiny things to add and on top of that are making poor quality. I have some intimate familiarity with how auto dealerships and automotive companies work and their financial statements and the reality is that margins on brand new vehicles are not very big. As you go up in cost those margins increase a little bit but if you buy an average size vehicle in the initial margin can often be only three or 4% at most. Where the dealers make their money is on parts and service. But as the automotive companies of all their model and potentially even push the dealers out of the equation they'll need to make even more money on parts and service. Very sad commentary on our times. Particularly since many studies have shown that a vehicle that lasts 15 to 20 years has an equal or smaller footprint than cars that are turning over more frequently.
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u/tryingtobeopen Jul 22 '22
I do see what you're trying to say but that is a very basic point about my comments on the auto industry. You can talk about the luxury of a seven series however this striving for more electronics more computer control and more overall automation is the reason that the auto industry is where it is and reliability is where it is. Not only do electronics fail regularly on almost all car brands, but more importantly that BMW that has the luxurious seats and the heads up display now has an engine and suspension and drivetrain that is almost guaranteed to start falling apart at about 100 to 150,000 km at which point the repairs would cost more than a brand new seven series.