It depends. I know if you're a billable profession or deal with external customers, the customer may get a poor opinion. My tailor has a Lexus LC and her sister has a Bentley Continental Flying Spur (she owns a Chinese restaurant). My tailor normally drives her 15 year old Toyota Sienna to work so people don't give her ****. She does outstanding work, her prices are extremely fair (if not a bit cheap), and she's super nice. It seems some customers almost dislike her being successful.

it seems Jaguar and even Aston Martin can do classy, restrained, elegant and sporting luxury well with their GT cars. Bentley and Rolls Royce right now, especially with their entry level offerings, are a good bit more showy. That said, i think the F Type is much more aggressive than the XK and doesn't have that elegance; not that they aren't super cool cars, they're just intentionally different. That said, I'd love a Continental GT if they weren't so pita to work on.

 

Now see, I'd go for a Bentley, though not something the wife's SUV fixation would allow. Of course, the XK would still have to be in it's current space in the garage too.

 

I don't mind if people I hire or go are driving a fancy car. They have a right to make a living and how I could I knock them for having something I would want too? If you are an expert at something, you deserve to get paid for it. If it falls into the range I was anticipating to pay; who am I to say they shouldn't own a fancy car? We all have a price in mind on what something should cost. I am the one deciding to proceed or not based on a quote I am given.

Some industries like being a landlord, I can see hiding your wealth when picking up the rent, but that's just smoke and mirrors to aid in collection & subdue resentment.

 

Well, my XKR cost me far less than a regular brand new standard sedan / saloon car would have - something from Ford for example. Nobody seems to care too much if you drive up in a brand new Ford that cost double what my XKR cost me, so I guess it's not really about the money. Probably some other sort of envy.

 

EXACTLY this!

 

Yea when I bought mine, I had a friend who just spent 50k on a brand new pickup say, wow, did you win the lotto? I just grinned. Funny that a 50k pickup truck still looks like it cost less than a used XK.

 

Well done Richard. Its what you did not say that made a bigger statement.
For the sake of sheer vanity you were willing to forego utility, reliability, longevity, get an ulcer from waterpump worries, for the one you have already replaced...and have the fortitude to suffer eye-watering depreciation.
You Richard made a statement of superior testicular wisdom.

Did you rub it in and inform him that the support vehicle for your Jag is a MG?

 

Same here when I bought my 2012 XK. Everyone thought i had suddenly one the Lotto. Only the few petrol heads around could relatavise it (is “relatavise a real word )

 

One of these two should suffice as my next-in-line to the XKR...

 

The Lotus is great choice, in my eyes the most beautiful car with creature comforts.
The Ferrari is a horrible choice, you must not know how much it cost to replace the two fuel pumps. And its ugly. And its not a performance car.

 

Same here. I had just bought my first XK8 and was walking from it to the store entrance and a guy very nearby said to his wife "I'll get a really nice car like that someday, if we can ever afford one".
They were getting into a fairly new Chevy Equinox, and I'd just paid $9500 out-the-door for my used XK8.

 

I like them both equally, but I think you better be handy if you want to own that Espirit. The Maranello is a solid investment, but costs some to maintain. If it's a paddle shifting model, make sure you are comfortable driving the early style paddle cars. Can be quite jerky if you're not driving like Schumacher.

 

Bahahah! I WILL NOT have the neighbors knowing that I paid less for my luxury British Grand Tourer than they paid for their pedestrian urban utility vehicles!

 

Yes the Espirit is a bear to keep running, but very easily made reliable.
If we take the branding away, one is yet another front engine car. The other is a mid-engine, featherweight designed by Colin Chapan, aluminum monocouque, looks like no other car ever.

 

You are so right. I forgot that where you live makes a huge difference. In my outsider's observation, people in northern states are just not that judgmental one way or the other. Also they embrace European things. To me they are a lot like Europeans and Canadians in many things they do. In the confederate states they take offense to anything that they think you might be doing to stand apart from them.

To your point I also forgot that occupation makes a difference, in some modesty is required, in others where its all about projection, you print your name on the side of the planes and helicopters and make sure its always parked in the background.

 

 

No thanks.

 

Headlights... no
Grill... no
Fog lights... no
Rims... no
But if there is enough burl wood inside the cockpit all can be forgiven!

 

My local AM dealer has sold a few of these. I asked, "how do you wash this car?" The service manager said, "very carefully..."

 

It also somewhat depends on the stereotype of a projected image. We were down in Louisiana at my dad's friends house, he let us drive his toy cars with him to have some fun (he and dad go way back and both were exotic auto mechanics in the past). He was in his primary toy car, a 94 Diablo VT, and we were in one of his muscle cars, a 70 Cuda 440-6 Convertible. The Cuda was at that time, WAY more valuable, but people were all smiles and friendly. They'd share stories, give thumbs up, etc. The Lambo was a different presence and not as well received.

Due to past roles where literally monarchs and other heads of state might be one building over on site and likely to tour the facility, I tend to overdress. Very nice dresses and suits, with appropriate leather goods and shoes. Nicer watches, mostly Omega, but I have a nice VC and some JLCs I wear. If I show up in that stuff to an automotive plant, people literally get nervous or standoffish, making my job harder. Thats when Jeans, a polo or t shirt, tennis shoes and a Seiko come out. Mentioning my working on cars and talking regular stuff makes things easier too. Most of the plant workers on the lines are really good people, hard working, and easy to get along with if you aren't pretentious.