[Yieldway17]

Very easy choice - No.

You can either account it to my bias of inability to afford such cars but the truth is the tax rate by the government for CBU/CKD cars and the super premium the OEMs charge for luxury cars in India makes it a very easy choice.

The machines are beautiful and attractive themselves most often than not but I will feel like a sucker to buy the cars at 2-3x of what they are sold outside India.

[PrasannaDhana]

I could have bought a 30k used bike when I was looking at a two wheeler purchase a few years ago. But I spent almost 3 lakhs on a KTM because I loved it & it was the best my wallet could afford that time.

It is all about your passion towards the car and whether you can afford it comfortably, luxury car definitely makes sense.

Let's take the most common example - an iPhone or OnePlus mobile phone being bought by almost everyone because of social status that the brand brings. You can't blame anyone. Their money, their choices. But such choices keep a majority of us poor (middle class).

I know a few filthy rich people who wouldn't mind taking their GL350 to grocery shopping and won't care if it gets scratched or dented while at it. So it all depends upon how that individual views "expensive".

[V.Narayan]

Too many of the responses to this thread revolve around personal affordability. If a product is not affordable then a very natural and common human response is 'it is not worth it'. Why buy something that costs 2X of what it does in USA.* The question posed by the thread ought to be 'If you can afford a premium luxury car then do you feel it is worth buying in India'.

Clearly most of those who buy these products believe it meets their criteria of value for money.

*A slippery slope here. Most apartments and houses we buy in the top 5 cities in India cost 2X what an exact counterpart would in USA outside Manhattan.

[₹itzylove]

Voted yes.

Some consider it a status symbol; but as a Petrol Head no cheaper car can give you the driving pleasure like a BMW or Audi. I was eyeing on Octavia VRS until I test drive 530d and 330i GT. Even though Octavia matches up in numbers with 330i, the pleasure of handling a RWD car is entirely different.

So if someone is looking for a Luxury car just for Luxurious ride and nothing more, then there are much better and cheaper alternatives like a Superb, Camry or a Passat.

[Breathe2drive]

I won't buy a new one even if I could have afforded one since depreciation takes a huge hit in the first 2-3 years. I want to go the used way route. However, there are other things that keep worrying me like maintenance and parking it wherever I take it. I would like to buy a used 3 series and take it on highways, but there again, I'm worried about low ground clearance . X1 won't be as much fun to drive as a 3. So these things keep bothering me, but I know that if I'll be able to maintain one, my heart would surely win over my head.

[Chillout]

Mid range cars have most of the luxury features that a tope end has today, for example Leather upholstery, soft touch dash, ventilated seats, sun roof, auto headlights, rain sensing wipers, rear ac vents, cooled glove box and so on. Cannot recall a feature that sn't available in a mid range today. As for engine and power our roads just don't allow us to go beyond 120 or 130. Yes occasional stretch you may touch 140 to 160, buy that again would be for a few kms. Also with turbo petrol and turbo diesel, you get that adrlanine effect in mid range itself. If one considers all the above aspects , don't really think it's worth buying a premium luxury car.

[Vedant Gupta]

There is always a market for all kinds of goods at all price points.
The value of these goods/services is dependent on the amount of disposal income you have or your spending capacity. Does the luxury car segment offer something more than the premium car segment, absolutely, is it directly proportional to the asking price, maybe/maybe not.

I have found that the premium car segment trumps the entry level cars from most luxury brands. (I would prefer a Camry/Superb over an A3/X1)

People buy some things because they make them happy, gives them a certain social status and because they can afford to.

Why would one dine at a Taj Hotel and spend ₹5,000 on a meal when one can get, pretty much the same meal on a lower price point in a less premium hotel? This is again a function of one's spending capacity.

It is important to differentiate expenses and rank them on importance to make sure that your money first goes to the most important and then if you have any left, you spend it on the less important.
A luxury car will occupy different places in people's list, inherent value of a good/service will be dependent on your conditions, your outlook towards life.

[pathik@2020]

This is a quintessential marketing question: does one see value in buying a particular item or not? Answer is invariably a personal point of view as demonstrated by the varied responses in the thread. Whether someone sees value in a luxury car or not depends much on this pedestrian equation: Value = Benefits / Cost. This surely depends on affordability or size of one’s wallet AND much more than that. For example, I know someone who does not see value in buying any smartphone costing more than 20k but happily lives in an owned apartment in a tony gated community in Mumbai. Therefore, in addition to affordability it depends on whether the benefits of a luxury car for me outweigh the costs or not. Now, benefits are difficult to define and are not uniform for everyone; typically marketing folks would see benefits as Tangible Benefits (measurable financial/actual outcomes) & Perceived Benefits (social, psychological, convenience, image, etc) and this is where it gets tricky. In my above example, the person does not see enough Perceived Benefit in buying a premium smartphone and would rather buy a functionally relevant one. But when buying an apartment, she extended to her maximum financial ability because of the perceived benefits she ascribes to living in that neighbourhood. She can of-course afford a 50k or 1L phone but does not see value in it. I would see value in getting a puncture repaired for 500 bucks on a road trip if I am without a puncture repair kit but wouldn’t pay more than 100 bucks for the same in the middle of a city drive. I am sure we would know many such examples in our own lives.

Now, to the pertinent question – would a group of petrol heads see value in luxury cars or not? To anyone on the outside this may seem like a slam dunk question on a forum like TBHP. But responses are a treasure trove for a marketing professional in the automotive sector and can be used to segment the ‘influential enthusiast’ (influential TBHP surely is and hell yes enthusiast). My view, I think the experience on Indian roads (and astronomical tax) do not do justice to what luxury cars offer - so voted no. The answer would change to yes if it were in Europe or US though as the luxury cars become relatively affordable and the infrastructure affords one to enjoy them so much more.

[Gotham_City]

One can look at it from a philosophical point of view. The humankind has built an ecosystem which finds ways to relieve people of their money / wealth at all levels. While it becomes a bit challenging for truly mass produced items like phone (even the most expensive iphone won't cost beyond Rs. 1.xx Lacs), things like real estate and automobile tend itself to enough customization (to be available across a wide range of price points).
This is precisely where one also witnesses the limitation of money. Till a point, there is indeed a correlation between money and features which matter. Say a Honda City offers 2-3x more than what an Alto offers. However once you cross a threshold, the pricier car isn't really buying you more material features. It's just a signaling device about your financial status to the larger society. Does this signalling hold any value? Of course, yes. Ask those in client facing roles where success draws more of it & feeds a positive loop.
To me, the threshold in material features seems to be Superb, Camry or Accord range. One will be hard pressed to figure what a Mercedes E class offers offers over a Superb to command 2.5x price premium. But yes Mecedes E works so much better as a signalling device.

[PSOPS]

Voted Yes.

Primarily for the below reasons which are not offered generally by Non-Luxury Cars

Safety : Attention Assist, Active Brake Assist ( Radar Based ), Ergonomics for health

Technology : Suspension and Engine Efficiency of Luxury cars is genrally unmatched by regular cars

Comfort : Sometimes after a tiring day i truly feel luxury cars ENERGIZE you which is not the same with every car. Though I know it would vary by manufacturer

Second Hand Price : When you plan to sell luxury cars after 5-7 years you get approximately 50%-60% of the caar value still ( Though it depends on the maintenance of the car and the mileage clocked ).

[kamilharis]

A big NO especially if it is purchased new!

And for someone who has been living abroad it is just impossible to digest the huge premium which they command in India!

Just imagine this scenario, I can buy a Land Cruiser Prado here(Saudi) at an equivalent of Indian Rupee ₹29 Lakh.
And what about the mighty full size Land Cruiser ?? I can buy here a brand new one for just under ₹40 Lakhs!
For this amount of money I won't be able to get even a humble Fortuner in India.

[gus]

I Don't see why not.
Yes for the exclusivity
Yes for safety
Yes for luxury
Yes for driving pleasure
Yes for a little splurge on yourselves after you have hard earned it.

Everybody has a different outlook towards luxury and the outlook depends majorly on whether you can spend or not.

Like they say: "life is a journey and death is the end", then lets take that journey in a Merc rather than a Maruti.

[low_rider]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Practically speaking, the safety tech on offer is stunning in these cars.

Mercedes Benz had a public PR event at MMRT in Chennai which we attended. They had an E-250D( previous gen) in which they showcased what the ABS could do. Pretty basic stuff that was expected and I was about to mock MB saying even cheap cars have that.

Next thing I know is that the driver lowers the front passenger side window, where I was sitting, and guns for the corner right after the long straight at full throttle. Then he tries drifting the car with the passenger side facing some obstacles. I knew he will get control of the car back but what the car did was amazing- using the electronic seat belt tensioners, the seat belt pulls back my body firmly to the seat and also automatically closed the window to prevent/reduce any injuries resulting from external factors.

In short, I was more than impressed and I believe there is value in these cars however overpriced they might be.

I attended a similar event in Hyderabad sometime in 2014. This demonstration was what Merc calls "pre-safe". While automatically tightening the seat belts, the seat back also got reclined to minimise the injury to passenger.

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

The question posed by the thread ought to be 'If you can afford a premium luxury car then do you feel it is worth buying in India'.

Clearly most of those who buy these products believe it meets their criteria of value for money.

I believe that is what the question is, but just because he wasn't precise in asking the question, people have given different replies including the financial aspects in it.

My personal view is that I would buy any car that I can afford as long as it is both, reliable and comfortable. I really don't enjoy driving anymore so all I need a car is for getting from A to B and it should be supremely comfortable and reliable for that simple purpose.
Very few brand in India offer a reliable vehicle any more. More than that, what really matters is how they handle the situation when the vehicle fails. I know for a fact, that I would be more angry at a premium car company than a regular one if their vehicles were unreliable and they didn't handle the situation properly. So, only way I would own an expensive premium car in India was if the vehicle was available on 'operating lease', or if the company is willing to let me buy extended warranty for at least 10 years.

I think, this question has already been discussed elsewhere and one of the points that was made there is also very important. For someone buying a 25L car, the actual price of the car is only 14-15L and rest are taxes. So for the companies making the product, it isn't really a premium product but for the buyer it is. This huge disparity due to our high taxes is also a reason why there are differences between service expectation and reality.

Lastly there has been a discussion on aspirations. I do aspire to buy a nice car, but not as an indulgence. Unfortunately, I am bitten by the bug of buying and owning land instead of cars and that is what my current aspirations are. Thankfully, it is an asset which usually appreciates and so I can get away by calling it an investment. I currently dream of having small parcels of agriculture land with a small cottage, dotted all over Himachal Pradesh, my home state.

[gvivek75]

Voted No.

I understand that luxury market doesn't work purely on functionality. Otherwise there is no justification for LV bags or Rolex watches. But when it comes to maximum bang for the buck, I am always reminded of the fact we in India pay a lot more for the same luxury car as compared to those in the US or Europe.

Another point to highlight is entry level variants of the luxury brands. A base level Q3 or X1 goes for almost the same price as a Fortuner or Endy which is a whole segment bigger. With this equation in mind, it becomes so much more difficult to justify the purchase.

While this question could be answered differently if money was not in question, but that is never the case. That again is purely my perspective when putting in my own money. If my company were to provide this car as a non-cash benefit, who am I to complain