[am1m]

Perhaps it's not just Millenials, am wondering how many more new cars I'll ever buy again.

Used the car after almost 2 weeks yesterday and noticed that the odo was at just 11800km. Bought the new Swift last August and out of those 12k km, 5000km was clocked on just one single road-trip to Kutch and back in March this year. And another 1200 was on a drive to Goa and back in May! So that means we've ended up using the car for just 5600km in the city in more than a year. Less than 500km a month.

At that usage, Bangalore traffic, pathetic roads, perpetual BWSSB/BMRCL road-digging, parking issues, the suicidal/road-rage-inducing riding/driving habits of most road users here, that makes me use the bike/Metro/bus and my wife use Ola/Uber/autos, wonder if it makes sense to keep changing cars even every 5-10 years. Quite possible that this will be our last car or last-but-one car, maybe an EV 4-wheeler next and that's it.

[1100D]

I don't think, this is only about the Millennials. The common majority of folks are actually scared to forego large sum of money in the face of a future that doesn't look too certain.

Inequality is at an all time high (sale of 200+ Mercedes cars in a day, or the sales performance of the URUS hints towards that). The concept of Job security is obsolete. Thus adding uncertainty to future sustenance. Cost of day to day living has spiralled, for example, even a decent meal at a reasonably priced restaurant pushes upto Rs 1000 per head at the bottom end. Healthcare costs, Children's education. In midst of all this, spending a substantial portion of one's hard earned money, that might be useful for the future, on personal transportation might be low on priority.

[Nanolover]

yes i do agree to 1100 D sirs totally pragmatic opinion. In fact i had a meal in trivandrum in one of the upmarket restaurants. On top pf the bill amount there is 18% GST + flood cess ! Came to 4000 bucks for 2 adults and 2 small kids. That too not an extravagant platter, just an ordinary a la cart'e meal.

My wife and I decided after that, we will make the pasta in house and way cheaper ( our one week grocery bill is only around 4K)

The cost of living and taxes us middle class have to pay are way too high. If i was getting back any of that in the way of good roads, free healthcare , a pension system for all etc. etc. I would be more than happy. Now saving whatever I can and planning to retire as soon as possible.

Ever increasing traffic makes me curse the time i have to go outside. We have cut road trips inside India and save up and visit Singapore as I feel it is more worth it ( no driving and getting tired, can see more, better shopping).I was an ardent petrol head and if I find cars a pain, then cant even imagine about people who are not bothered about cars. All I look for in a car now is a strong ac and a nice and light feel some power steering. That's it !

[lazy]

As its said, change is the essence of life. And I'll add, change is evolution.

Anyway, I just happened to read my own post on this thread from mid-2017.
And cant help notice a perceptible change in my own views of car ownership in a mere 2 years, actually 1 year considering I bought a new car mid-2018.

This isn't a firm decision yet, but it seems very likely that I wouldn't be buying a new car ever again.
Of course, finances permitting will definitely upgrade my apartment, but car is unlikely.

cheers
lazy

Originally Posted by lazy

Interesting topic. And having interacted a lot with millennials, I can share some thoughts or lets see observations.

Desire for car ownership continues unabated among millennials who are from small-mid towns, from typical Indian families, average level students, average level world awareness, average level professional ambitions (do not confuse with financial ambitions).

However, such desire is almost missing amongst youngsters who want to work for Google or Tesla or design chips or build a drone etc. Such kids are smart, very well read, super ambitious. They don't have time or energy to waste on maintaining a car - they'd rather work, gym, play sports, or study or play games on their PS.

A related point - hi tech companies are really struggling to figure these chaps out, how to retain them and keep them motivated. The usual baits - money, promotions, foreign travel - don't work for them.

In my workplace we have both above types of millennials - and the difference between the groups is stark.

Simply put, car ownership isn't that hot anymore amongst the cool folks.

cheers
lazy

[1100D]

Originally Posted by lazy

Of course, finances permitting will definitely upgrade my apartment, but car is unlikely.

cheers
lazy

True! The worst thing about cars/vehicles are that they depreciate so badly/rapidly. One of the worst ways to utilize money that doesn't come too easily these days for most people!

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by 1100D

True! The worst thing about cars/vehicles are that they depreciate so badly/rapidly. One of the worst ways to utilize money that doesn't come too easily these days for most people!

But are Millenials(or for that matter any one else) worried about deprecation? People buy so much electronics which are depreciation disaster. Holidays- people spend on holidays so much that photo and memory are the only return. And for an extravagant international trip, the money you spend on a couple can get you a decent car which will atleast fetch some money after 5-6 years. One can argue, that holidays are memories, but so does a car for enthusiast. I firmly believe the priorities are changing and with burden of traffic, easy availability of public transport, cars are being pushed down the priority list.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

But are Millenials(or for that matter any one else) worried about deprecation? People buy so much electronics which are depreciation disaster. Holidays- people spend on holidays so much that photo and memory are the only return. And for an extravagant international trip, the money you spend on a couple can get you a decent car which will atleast fetch some money after 5-6 years. One can argue, that holidays are memories, but so does a car for enthusiast. I firmly believe the priorities are changing and with burden of traffic, easy availability of public transport, cars are being pushed down the priority list.

I was simply writing from the context of my earlier post. Was generalizing the trend that people aren't spending on personal transport, not specific to millennials. Enthusiasts will continue to purchase, but their percentage is limited.

From my own perspective, of not being a Millennial, even I am not looking to buy a new car anytime soon. Neither is my job at stake, nor my car enthusiasm any lesser than the average car enthusiast!! Have too much to worry about the future, rather than blowing a substantial hole in the pocket that suddenly seems so inadequate when one looks at the projections (Of the expenses that are likely to crop up eventually).

Posting a comment (for reference) from Ram Rao Sir's facebook profile. Ram Rao sir being one of "the" most knowledgeable persons on this forum!!

[h3mnzu]

Ok boomer.

Let's get this straight. Automakers make for fleets and individual owners. Fleets are lured in various ways - scientific, technical and lobbying. Individuals and prospective owners are lured in entirely different ways of Saturday-Sunday evening car shows, carefully inserted advertising, in-dealership sales pitches etc.

The fleet owners were presumed to be a connected group, having a voice & opinions and automakers listened. They optimized the same car with feedback.

Personal buyers, not so much. Perhaps launching another copy of a good selling car from another country, shrunk to its bare minimum and discarding alloys for cheap low-grade steel and tin except for the chassis. Reinforcements gone out of the window, features disabled. Lots of plastics in place of premium materials (if you ask average jane and joe about materials in their car, they'd laugh at you) and some tech gadgetry which is available for half the price, cheap NVH kits and foam gels applied under the bonnet to provide a hypothetical silent operation. This was a typical dream car. People would go gaga over the interiors, which actually felt nice because the AC unit had a robust HEPA filter or ionization and the aftermarket seat covers (although still cancerous) became somewhat chemically stable in Indian weather. Automakers cared nothing about feedback, the service stations became a place where people would go nuts shouting at ITI-polytechnic qualified kids wearing faded black coats. Some would return totally cuckooed after a visit to the authorized service centre. They would want to then have philosophical discussions about corruption and low quality of life, having to pay upwards of 12k each time they wanted to preventatively or correctively maintain a car.

Enter Millenials, gen-Z's and those who are yet being carried in their child seat. They say they want fleet performance in a vehicle they own, not enhancements in an upcoming car. Not enhancements in a car promised to launch next quarter and not yet sell until the next whole year. They want their car to drive differently for the next trip. They need customized powertrain for their next pizza take -away and iPad pickups, the next trip to H&M. And they do not want the trouble of having to refuel a car (you heard it right) or wash it or to manually find something wrong with it and having to drive it to the service centre themselves and then argue with a cheapo fake accented yes sir/no sir/sorry sir advisor why he won't fix something that ain't broke and why can't the roof have ac or the interiors turn unicorn frappe pink at push of a button or why engine oils can't be housed in transparent glass tanks for them to check on? Why? Because mass-market cars are the norm and yet they need to be brought to service and 7 hours later you still struggle to pull them out of a parking queue after pinging us? For what, billing? You don't accept instant mobile payments? Do you still print receipts? Whatever you did with 2000 crore development on the engine (which was running fine already before the upgrade) should have gone into keeping the vehicles in top-notch condition after sales through automatically live-wiring your OBD port to a data sim and making sure you leave my vehicle serviced automatically, refuelled (you're automatically paid via my mobile wallet when you refuel+tax+labour+service charge) and washed and the cabin area certified to be cancer-free. You're also advised to check-in if I'm hungry and need a pizza delivered when I get back home. This is care. This should be a 7-year no-nonsense comprehensive lifestyle and auto-paid refuelling warranty that millennials need in order to purchase a car. Millennials also promise to buy 2 cars, one top-end hatch and one SUV in a single invoice, paid outright by both working (now retired) parents.

Automakers responded, you little prick, do you even know how an IC engine works? Have you ever seen a camshaft, or how beautifully the Mc-Pherson struts protect you from literally breaking your back on the speed breakers? And you expect us to refuel and wash your car on a daily basis so that you can drive off like a king or queen or whatever social media influencer you are or email typing abilities you have, or whichever trick you try to post live videos about our shortfalls in promised service which we will never oblige to? All this while your social media posts discover that our cars last 3% less than the competitors and have a 67% chance of giving you negative vibes? You deserve to be charged more for safety. We'll sue you for listening to copyrighted songs inside our cars at 165 kph. How dare you?

"Let us wait it out until we have a confirmation on industry-wide speed governors," is the news item auto-lobbyists have placed across all activated media. They plan to gain major input credit reclaims from govt for reverting this decision.

Meanwhile, some smart analysts post an internal statistical communique across the wideband mobile app for the automakers: "98% of people will still buy our cars irrespective of what millennials think or do or want. But they will be all dead in next 34 years. Stop innovating, immediately! On the contrary, the AI data suggests that the millennials always get away with what they want irrespective of whether they have job designations or actual jobs, so we're more or less 25% more inclined to listen to them in next 2 years or face a complete wipe-out."

Automakers were sent this message on a Saturday. The app is designed to not disturb them on a Sunday when they have actual normal lives and have actual slow lunch.

On Sunday evenings, automakers put their phone under Do-Not-Disturb having a highly selective list of only Senior Managers and CxO's able to get the call through. No one checked the messages tab though. They were busy pre-booking Business Hours with free coupons for the upcoming auto expo.

On Monday, this message is buried under 75640 other messages like: 1. Alert: Seat belt faulty when airbag deployable. 2. Did someone read this blog, it says we're behind the competition? 3. Attn:URGENT:Fwd: WA20190211_1395585.JPG Resolved! 4. Our PDF is conking off after the first service, here's a technical report TR_DPF_CO_AFTR_S1..so on and so forth.

[Ajaybiz]

Millennials are depressed, broke and not sure what they want.
We were also depressed during certain period but never sunk, we were broke over real things and came out strong, did real face to face proposes, had real fights instead of facebook or insta unfollow.
Drove cars without seat belts, rode scooters and bikes without helmet and having just sleepers as foot wear, drank water directly from well, river.
We grew listening to real music, the era of pop, era of sports the 80's, era of rock.
I may be old now and don't understand them but I do feel that the time what we lived is any day better than the current gens situation.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

Millennials are depressed, broke and not sure what they want.

We were also depressed during certain period but never sunk, we were broke over real things and came out strong, did real face to face proposes, had real fights instead of facebook or insta unfollow.

Drove cars without seat belts, rode scooters and bikes without helmet and having just sleepers as foot wear, drank water directly from well, river.

We grew listening to real music, the era of pop, era of sports the 80's, era of rock.

I may be old now and don't understand them but I do feel that the time what we lived is any day better than the current gens situation.

I always feel a bit sad when I read comments like yours. Time to open up, different times, different generations, different value. Its a bit odd to think your generation had the best music, best youth, worried and enjoyed real stuff.

Have a look at what millenniums in India think and do

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/...lues-changing/

I found it very uplifting!

Jeroen

[libranof1987]

Not buying houses or cars doesn't make someone cheap. It just means there are differing priorities. Indulging in experiences, hobbies perhaps? Most from this generation already have property being handed down from their parents; add to that, the nomadic nature of most professions. I know several friends/colleagues preferring not to buy a house or a car because they move so often. Who'll take the hassle of putting the house on rent or deal with cops on out-of-stations cars.

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

Millennials are depressed, broke and not sure what they want.

On the contrary, I've heard millennials being accused of being too sure of what they want and not willing to compromise on it.

Also, about being broke. In what sense? Financially? Millennials, or rather most generations post Gen Y, today seem to focus on experiences, than material things. Blame it on our parents for slogging it out and giving us a foundation: economic and education.

Whether you want to count experience in your richness or not, that's personal prerogative.

Drove cars without seat belts, rode scooters and bikes without helmet and having just sleepers as foot wear, drank water directly from well, river.

Not quite sure what point you are trying to make. This reminds me of cars that have a sticker, "Real men die without Airbags".

We grew listening to real music, the era of pop, era of sports the 80's, era of rock.

This, I'd agree with. Thank you for Pink Floyd. Do note though, fossils might take offence at your statement considering they gave the world Beethoven and Mozart.

I may be old now and don't understand them but I do feel that the time what we lived is any day better than the current gens situation.

Everyone feels so. For eg. every batch feels they had the best experience in their school or college and every batch prior or after, lacked something.

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by h3mnzu

Ok boomer....

Not exactly sure which side you are taking.

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

Millennials are depressed, broke and not sure what they want....

Welcome to the wrong side of 40's. Me had a similar initiation. Oh what our fathers must have felt when we rode helmetless, seatbeltless and didn't care a damn about water quality. I miss those days too. Really do. However, times change. Gen Z ( is that what they are called?. ) are a more secure lot. We have built them houses, secured them with finance and lavished them with car rides too early in their life. That does not mean that they are without challenges. What those challenges are only time will tell. We have to just leave them to their choices and hope that we have inculcated good values.

Oh btw , don't worry about auto companies, they would find a way. Just that the marketing pitch would change. After all how long will they show a dentist to sell a toothpaste , mother - son/ daughter bond for boost / horlicks , family photo for small car or executive life for a luxury car?.

[Nav-i-gator]

Well I Don't think Millennials have anything to do with a lot of things, including car sales, that they are accused of. Villages, small towns teens have similar aspirations that we had when we were their age (I'm 35). True, their ways are different than ours were, but those were very different times as well. Time has moved on, quickly, and the world around us changing at an accelerated speed.

Our household bought our first color TV when I was 13 or 14, first cable TV subscription after few years (which our parents used to disconnect during exam time). We bought our 1st Hi-Fi music system (Phillips) with dual-Cassette player and CD player later. And by the time we managed some decent collection of CDs, DVD's took over and that poor thing still lies in my parents' house, almost unused. After 2 years, we bought a DVD player (VCR that we have is now antique), that remains largely unused too.

Mind you, first 13-14 years of my life, we managed with B&W TV and monotone single cassette player unchanged. Not that we necessarily didn't have money, but largely because that's what was available back then. Things changed, and kept changing at faster than before speeds. That is still the case.

Children now are born in a connected world. We had only a handful of streams to choose as profession; youths of today are earning handsomely through youtube/Tik-tok videos! I was the best student in the central Govt school that I studied in. That school was from 1st standard till 10th Grade. Today, the school my kid goes to - has more sections in his class than that. The competition is much more intense now, too many things to do, too many distractions, too many competing aspirations one have today. Youths of today have only one currency - time. And they invest it wisely. We had Time.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Its a bit odd to think your generation had the best music, best youth, worried and enjoyed real stuff.

Reminded me of this quote:

“The “Golden Era” is relative to the age, gender, race, sexual orientation, income, social status, nationality and experience of the individual person. Hence, the Golden Era simultaneously occurs at all times past and present, and at no time ever."

[Ajaybiz]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Not quite sure what point you are trying to make. This reminds me of cars that have a sticker, "Real men die without Airbags".

We never had cars with seat belts even when Maruti came as modern machine in 1986 and now I don't drive cars or even ride as passenger at back seat without seat belts. It's all availability and how we use or enjoy them.
Trust me I am one of the heavily safety gears loaded guy whenever I go for bike ride.