Do people with money neglect their cars more?

G

Guitarist302008

New member
You know the saying "you can't hide money".. well in most cases no, you can't. Especially if they are driving a high dollar car. Do you all think that people with money actually neglect their car more just assuming that since they have plenty of money that they can just pay someone to do the upkeep, detailing, or get it painted vs. the majority of us who strive to keep our 20-30k cars spotless and perfect all the time?
 
Nope. It might have to more with their personality/ attitude towards their possessions. Some wealthy folks, just like any other kinds of folks, may carelessly take care of their things while others may toil over taking great pride in keeping everything they own pristine. I think the majority of folks tend to be somewhere in the middle of the degree. That was always my take, any way.
 
I have a new 2012 MB ML350 in "Diamond White" that cost $60,000. The special tri paint alone was an option of over $1,500. Not that that is a tremendous amount of money for a car these days but certainly not a cheap car either. I do not take it out if it is raining. It sits in the garage every night. I only put about 8,000 miles a year on a car.



Each time it is used I wash the windshield, check for bug guts and clean them off using 1Z Einszett Anti-Insect spray, vacuum the interior, etc. I wash it weekly with ONR or Duragloss with AquaWax waterless washes. It gets the foam gun once a month followed by Griot's wash or sometimes CG Clear shampoo - and always using the CarPro Merano wool glove; usually followed by periodic toppers of Optimum Spray Wax, AquaWax or 1Z Einszett Spray Wax, whichever is closest at hand at the time and whichever strikes my fancy. Glass is polished with the Griot polisher using their 6" white glass pad and Duragloss Nu-Glass polish, finally topped with AquaWax.



For complete details every few months the car is washed with CG Clear, clayed (Griot's mild clay using Griot's Speed Shine lube), washed again, polished with P21S Paintwork Cleanser using once again Griot's 6" polisher. The engine bay gets swabbed down with P21S Total Auto Wash followed with a coat of Protectant 303. The paint is finally sealed with a Duragloss combo of 601/111 followed by two coats of Collinite 845 wax. Wheels are cleaned with CG Diabolo and sealed with a coating of Klasse AIO or AquaWax; tire dressing is Meguiars Endurance. Interior is cleaned with Griot's Interior Cleaner and dressed with Protectant 303; all exterior black rubber trim gets a coat of 1Z Einszett Vinyl/Rubber Car Protectant Tiefenpfleger.



To give detail to what Bill just said: I was lucky enough to have retired when I was 47 years old in 1995. I have lived on a golf course in a country club since then and have put more miles on my cart than I have my cars. Am I wealthy "with money", as you put it? Well, to a man living in a box under a city bridge I suppose I am. To a man like Perot, Forbes or Gates, I am mere pocket change. So young man (and I assume you are young or you would not have asked such a question to begin with), wealth is really all relevant, isn't it?



I do not consider myself "wealthy", but I am doing okay. Rest assured (as I think you can gleam from the above), that no matter how you define it or what you consider "having money" or exactly what a "high dollar car" is all about, my ride is NOT and never has been - neglected. And yes, I do ALL the work myself.
 
shortspark said:
I have a new 2012 MB ML350 in "Diamond White" that cost $60,000. The special tri paint alone was an option of over $1,500. Not that that is a tremendous amount of money for a car these days but certainly not a cheap car either. I do not take it out if it is raining. It sits in the garage every night. I only put about 8,000 miles a year on a car.



Each time it is used I wash the windshield, check for bug guts and clean them off using 1Z Einszett Anti-Insect spray, vacuum the interior, etc. I wash it weekly with ONR or Duragloss with AquaWax waterless washes. It gets the foam gun once a month followed by Griot's wash or sometimes CG Clear shampoo - and always using the CarPro Merano wool glove; usually followed by periodic toppers of Optimum Spray Wax, AquaWax or 1Z Einszett Spray Wax, whichever is closest at hand at the time and whichever strikes my fancy. Glass is polished with the Griot polisher using their 6" white glass pad and Duragloss Nu-Glass polish, finally topped with AquaWax.



For complete details every few months the car is washed with CG Clear, clayed (Griot's mild clay using Griot's Speed Shine lube), washed again, polished with P21S Paintwork Cleanser using once again Griot's 6" polisher. The engine bay gets swabbed down with P21S Total Auto Wash followed with a coat of Protectant 303. The paint is finally sealed with a Duragloss combo of 601/111 followed by two coats of Collinite 845 wax. Wheels are cleaned with CG Diabolo and sealed with a coating of Klasse AIO or AquaWax; tire dressing is Meguiars Endurance. Interior is cleaned with Griot's Interior Cleaner and dressed with Protectant 303; all exterior black rubber trim gets a coat of 1Z Einszett Vinyl/Rubber Car Protectant Tiefenpfleger.



To give detail to what Bill just said: I was lucky enough to have retired when I was 47 years old in 1995. I have lived on a golf course in a country club since then and have put more miles on my cart than I have my cars. Am I wealthy "with money", as you put it? Well, to a man living in a box under a city bridge I suppose I am. To a man like Perot, Forbes or Gates, I am mere pocket change. So young man (and I assume you are young or you would not have asked such a question to begin with), wealth is really all relevant, isn't it?



I do not consider myself "wealthy", but I am doing okay. Rest assured (as I think you can gleam from the above), that no matter how you define it or what you consider "having money" or exactly what a "high dollar car" is all about, my ride is NOT and never has been - neglected. And yes, I do ALL the work myself.
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Nice car, for one who does the work themselves it's not really as much of an issue as the person who buys the 250k+Lambo or whatever, drives it like a moron, but really doesn't care about the car... if you know what I mean? It certainly isn't meant as an insult. In my experience (and I don't do extremely high dollar cars either) it seems like that from speaking with many who own very high dollar cars that they don't appreciate the look and the work that goes into it. I'm not that young... 34. My car was about 25k (2012 Subaru WRX), but I try to keep it as clean as possible.
 
No. There is vehicle neglect no matter the price of the vehicle, or the income of the owner. I prefer cars in good shape obviously but see the really dirty ones as an opportunity to showcase my skills and services.
 
Ha! 34 is not young you say? What I would give to be that age again!! Of course I did not take it as an insult, there is nothing to insult. The only point is that what Bill said is closer to the truth than anything you will hear on the subject - and the principal goes far beyond just maintaining a car.



I certainly know what you mean by the Lambo owners who do not appreciate what they have because I see it every day. I think a lot of it comes from where their money came from, ie, are you a self made man, did you "fall into" money or were you born with a "silver spoon" in your mouth, did you become wealthy at a very early age through entertainment, sports, etc., etc.? I really think, from my experience at least, that although that is certainly not the sole factor by any means, it is an important one in how people treat their property.
 
Bravo post! And not just because you concur with me! :up :up Spoken like a true Autopian!








shortspark said:
I have a new 2012 MB ML350 in "Diamond White" that cost $60,000. The special tri paint alone was an option of over $1,500. Not that that is a tremendous amount of money for a car these days but certainly not a cheap car either. I do not take it out if it is raining. It sits in the garage every night. I only put about 8,000 miles a year on a car.



Each time it is used I wash the windshield, check for bug guts and clean them off using 1Z Einszett Anti-Insect spray, vacuum the interior, etc. I wash it weekly with ONR or Duragloss with AquaWax waterless washes. It gets the foam gun once a month followed by Griot's wash or sometimes CG Clear shampoo - and always using the CarPro Merano wool glove; usually followed by periodic toppers of Optimum Spray Wax, AquaWax or 1Z Einszett Spray Wax, whichever is closest at hand at the time and whichever strikes my fancy. Glass is polished with the Griot polisher using their 6" white glass pad and Duragloss Nu-Glass polish, finally topped with AquaWax.



For complete details every few months the car is washed with CG Clear, clayed (Griot's mild clay using Griot's Speed Shine lube), washed again, polished with P21S Paintwork Cleanser using once again Griot's 6" polisher. The engine bay gets swabbed down with P21S Total Auto Wash followed with a coat of Protectant 303. The paint is finally sealed with a Duragloss combo of 601/111 followed by two coats of Collinite 845 wax. Wheels are cleaned with CG Diabolo and sealed with a coating of Klasse AIO or AquaWax; tire dressing is Meguiars Endurance. Interior is cleaned with Griot's Interior Cleaner and dressed with Protectant 303; all exterior black rubber trim gets a coat of 1Z Einszett Vinyl/Rubber Car Protectant Tiefenpfleger.



To give detail to what Bill just said: I was lucky enough to have retired when I was 47 years old in 1995. I have lived on a golf course in a country club since then and have put more miles on my cart than I have my cars. Am I wealthy "with money", as you put it? Well, to a man living in a box under a city bridge I suppose I am. To a man like Perot, Forbes or Gates, I am mere pocket change. So young man (and I assume you are young or you would not have asked such a question to begin with), wealth is really all relevant, isn't it?



I do not consider myself "wealthy", but I am doing okay. Rest assured (as I think you can gleam from the above), that no matter how you define it or what you consider "having money" or exactly what a "high dollar car" is all about, my ride is NOT and never has been - neglected. And yes, I do ALL the work myself.
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Here in LA you will find alot of those who were born with a "silver spoons" or got their money early in life(sports/entertainment) A higher % of those probably don't care for their car. I would guess this is as much upbringing thing and not a norm just because they are rich.



Also, if you see a filthy $100k car, its going to stick out like a sore thumb so it gets noticed. The hundreds of filthy $5k clunker you see every day are not noticed.
 
shortspark said:
The only point is that what Bill said is closer to the truth than anything you will hear on the subject - and the principal goes far beyond just maintaining a car.
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Thanks :o I'm only 35 but what I said just seems to make sense to me. I think someone with very engrained conscientious ( or not) habits is going to continue them regardless of their financial status.
 
Guitarist302008 said:
You know the saying "you can't hide money".. well in most cases no, you can't. Especially if they are driving a high dollar car. Do you all think that people with money actually neglect their car more just assuming that since they have plenty of money that they can just pay someone to do the upkeep, detailing, or get it painted vs. the majority of us who strive to keep our 20-30k cars spotless and perfect all the time?
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I think a 20-30k car is $$$. 20-30k can get you a new car. That's a nice car in my book. This is what I think the average autopian (maybe moreso 'mode' autopian) thinks.



There is a doctor back in my hometown, he has All the M series cars, c6/c5 z06, a few other nice rides, all of which have caked on wheel dust and probably haven't been washed in months. He can afford them cause he is a surgeon: a person who works alot of hours. He doesn't have time to think about it. He probably could hire someone, but he knows there isn't anyone in that rinky-dink town that can clean his cars well. He's my best friend's father, so I know him relatively well.



Then you have this demographic:



shortspark said:
I have a new 2012 MB ML350 in "Diamond White" that cost $60,000. The special tri paint alone was an option of over $1,500. Not that that is a tremendous amount of money for a car these days but certainly not a cheap car either. I do not take it out if it is raining. It sits in the garage every night. I only put about 8,000 miles a year on a car.



Each time it is used I wash the windshield, check for bug guts and clean them off using 1Z Einszett Anti-Insect spray, vacuum the interior, etc. I wash it weekly with ONR or Duragloss with AquaWax waterless washes. It gets the foam gun once a month followed by Griot's wash or sometimes CG Clear shampoo - and always using the CarPro Merano wool glove; usually followed by periodic toppers of Optimum Spray Wax, AquaWax or 1Z Einszett Spray Wax, whichever is closest at hand at the time and whichever strikes my fancy. Glass is polished with the Griot polisher using their 6" white glass pad and Duragloss Nu-Glass polish, finally topped with AquaWax.



For complete details every few months the car is washed with CG Clear, clayed (Griot's mild clay using Griot's Speed Shine lube), washed again, polished with P21S Paintwork Cleanser using once again Griot's 6" polisher. The engine bay gets swabbed down with P21S Total Auto Wash followed with a coat of Protectant 303. The paint is finally sealed with a Duragloss combo of 601/111 followed by two coats of Collinite 845 wax. Wheels are cleaned with CG Diabolo and sealed with a coating of Klasse AIO or AquaWax; tire dressing is Meguiars Endurance. Interior is cleaned with Griot's Interior Cleaner and dressed with Protectant 303; all exterior black rubber trim gets a coat of 1Z Einszett Vinyl/Rubber Car Protectant Tiefenpfleger.



To give detail to what Bill just said: I was lucky enough to have retired when I was 47 years old in 1995. I have lived on a golf course in a country club since then and have put more miles on my cart than I have my cars. Am I wealthy "with money", as you put it? Well, to a man living in a box under a city bridge I suppose I am. To a man like Perot, Forbes or Gates, I am mere pocket change. So young man (and I assume you are young or you would not have asked such a question to begin with), wealth is really all relevant, isn't it?



I do not consider myself "wealthy", but I am doing okay. Rest assured (as I think you can gleam from the above), that no matter how you define it or what you consider "having money" or exactly what a "high dollar car" is all about, my ride is NOT and never has been - neglected. And yes, I do ALL the work myself.
Click to expand...





The innately driven autopian: they like a clean car because... hey, look at the cirrocumulus clouds in the reflection!. Seem familiar?
 
shortspark said:
I have a new 2012 MB ML350 in "Diamond White" that cost $60,000. The special tri paint alone was an option of over $1,500. Not that that is a tremendous amount of money for a car these days but certainly not a cheap car either. I do not take it out if it is raining. It sits in the garage every night. I only put about 8,000 miles a year on a car.



Each time it is used I wash the windshield, check for bug guts and clean them off using 1Z Einszett Anti-Insect spray, vacuum the interior, etc. I wash it weekly with ONR or Duragloss with AquaWax waterless washes. It gets the foam gun once a month followed by Griot's wash or sometimes CG Clear shampoo - and always using the CarPro Merano wool glove; usually followed by periodic toppers of Optimum Spray Wax, AquaWax or 1Z Einszett Spray Wax, whichever is closest at hand at the time and whichever strikes my fancy. Glass is polished with the Griot polisher using their 6" white glass pad and Duragloss Nu-Glass polish, finally topped with AquaWax.



For complete details every few months the car is washed with CG Clear, clayed (Griot's mild clay using Griot's Speed Shine lube), washed again, polished with P21S Paintwork Cleanser using once again Griot's 6" polisher. The engine bay gets swabbed down with P21S Total Auto Wash followed with a coat of Protectant 303. The paint is finally sealed with a Duragloss combo of 601/111 followed by two coats of Collinite 845 wax. Wheels are cleaned with CG Diabolo and sealed with a coating of Klasse AIO or AquaWax; tire dressing is Meguiars Endurance. Interior is cleaned with Griot's Interior Cleaner and dressed with Protectant 303; all exterior black rubber trim gets a coat of 1Z Einszett Vinyl/Rubber Car Protectant Tiefenpfleger.



To give detail to what Bill just said: I was lucky enough to have retired when I was 47 years old in 1995. I have lived on a golf course in a country club since then and have put more miles on my cart than I have my cars. Am I wealthy "with money", as you put it? Well, to a man living in a box under a city bridge I suppose I am. To a man like Perot, Forbes or Gates, I am mere pocket change. So young man (and I assume you are young or you would not have asked such a question to begin with), wealth is really all relevant, isn't it?



I do not consider myself "wealthy", but I am doing okay. Rest assured (as I think you can gleam from the above), that no matter how you define it or what you consider "having money" or exactly what a "high dollar car" is all about, my ride is NOT and never has been - neglected. And yes, I do ALL the work myself.
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Let me know when you want to sell that. It's very difficult for me to buy a used car because I'm so anal about how I keep mine. It means A LOT to me knowing a car or boat was well kept if I'm interested in owning it.
 
I sold a truck to a friend recently for exactly that reason. I had a Honda Ridgeline for a while, which I liked a lot for just being a run around non-work truck, and sold it to a buddy from upstate NY (where I was born and raised). I don't use trucks for work or hauling, I just think trucks are neat and have owned several in the past to go hunting and playing around in. He knew how I maintain my vehicles, both in and out and not just to see the clouds in the reflection as one poster intimated, (although I admit that I like that too)! Rather, because I am old school and still have a sense of pride in everything I own and a love and respect for two things in particular - my guns and my automobiles. Cars are too important to me in a lot of different ways to neglect and I think everyone here at Autopia understands that perfectly.



My friend also wanted a Texas car because it had never seen salt or been exposed to a harsh winter like they have in the north country. He flew down in September and drove it back to NY and in fact, he and his wife are vacationing in it in Florida as we speak. Thanks for the offer on the Benz and look me up in May 2016 when my warranty runs out - that is when I sell/trade cars, even if they only have around seven or eight thousand miles a year on them. BTW, I wish I could post photos and attachments - why can't I do that?
 
Money definitely has nothing to do with it. A lot of people look at their vehicles as an appliance and don't have that passion to properly care for and maintain it.



I know a wealthy guy that owns a 7 Series BMW and an Escalade, which he completely neglects because he's cheap and won't pay for proper maintenance and care of his cars. Makes no sense to me. He paid $50K for the BMW and $40K for the Escalade but won't spend a few bucks for proper upkeep.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Agreed. Money isn't the main factory of filth. It's usually a lack of integrity to want to maintain the appearance in many cases. That, and having a messy wife & kids.
 
shortspark said:
He knew how I maintain my vehicles, both in and out and not just to see the clouds in the reflection as one poster intimated, (although I admit that I like that too)! Rather, because I am old school and still have a sense of pride in everything I own and a love and respect for two things in particular - my guns and my automobiles. Cars are too important to me in a lot of different ways to neglect and I think everyone here at Autopia understands that perfectly.
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AMEN!!! :xyxthumbs:



A sense of pride in what we own--I always seem to feel there just aren't enough of us out there like that. :(





Bill220 said:
I know a wealthy guy that owns a 7 Series BMW and an Escalade, which he completely neglects because he's cheap and won't pay for proper maintenance and care of his cars. Makes no sense to me. He paid $50K for the BMW and $40K for the Escalade but won't spend a few bucks for proper upkeep.
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Yeah, I know a few like that. I don't get it. At least some spring for the $6 tunnel of horrors some time though.
 
David Fermani said:
Agreed. Money isn't the main factory of filth. It's usually a lack of integrity to want to maintain the appearance in many cases. That, and having a messy wife & kids.
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Heh heh, you make it sound like the "wife and kids" are some kind of independent wildcard factors :chuckle:



[Off-topic rant deleted...]



The subject of how the other members of an Autopian's family treat the vehicle, and how Autopians treat their other stuff, are a couple of topics we might get into sometime :think:



But on-topic...Rich, poor, in-between...there are people who keep their stuff (and themselves ;) ) nice and there are people who don't.



Though at some point, I can understand people considering vehicles that are, *to them*, dirt-cheap as being merely disposable appliances. But even then you can tell a lot about people by whether their vehicle(s) are pigsties or not. Even disposable appliances oughta get some level of care.



"Our lot do not let themselves go" and all that....
 
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