Quote:
Originally Posted by Hersbird
I ask for a 3rd time, how come the cheapest car that !eets these standards is over $10,000 while there are cars out there that don't for a 1/3 that price.
|
Because the car companies have built a pricing structure that they're not going to undermine. There is no profit from a $3k car in the US. There isn't any profit from a $10k car in the US, for that matter- and they don't like selling $10k or $15k cars because they undercut sales of $20k cars.
Look at trim levels- a radio with more capabilities costs just as much to build as a base one, but it's only available in a car that costs thousands more than the base model and you have to get several other "options" that add only a few bucks in cost with it to "justify" the overall price jump. My last new car had another trim level: sunroof and leather for $2500 more- that was more than a 10% jump in the car's price. My current car had another trim level: pretty wheels, a spoiler and audio controls on the steering wheel for $1500. Again, a 10% jump from what I paid for the car- all for pulling wheels from Bin 2 instead of Bin 1, slapping a piece of molded plastic on the liftgate and pulling a steering wheel out of Bin 2 instead of Bin 1.
Try buying the "nice" trim level of a car with the "low end" engine. Not happening.
Do you know what adding a remote start involves these days? Enabling the feature in the PCM, (maybe) adding a wire to connect a couple modules that are already there and replacing the key fobs with ones that have starter buttons: That'll be $600, please. The additional wire (if needed) is only to make it harder for people to hack the PCM to enable the feature on their own- because if it were that easy why would anyone buy the higher trim package at an additional 10% premium? We've got to protect the price structure.
Or if you prefer brevity,
Quote:
Originally Posted by duncan
THERE IS NO RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COST AND PRICE
Cost is what it costs to make
Price is what you can get for it
|
Safety features were expensive back when they were offered as premium features.
Volvo: we're safe- Swedish engineering and all that. Mercedes-Benz: We've got a million safety patents and we don't enforce them because we're about safety. The message is
Buy us- we're expensive, but you get unmatched safety in return. Next thing you know, everyone thinks safety features are expensive because we believe everything the TV tells us. Yes, the first airbags were pricey per unit. Now I'm getting them in for $12 each. Yes, developing the first unibody with crumple zones was expensive. Is it today? It's just an efficient way to design good, safe cars. Now to design a version of a modern car
without airbags is going to cost more than the standard one- entirely different trim pieces and a new braking system in order to sell a car for less money than the one they're already making? Take power windows: Sure, they're a "luxury feature," but it's less expensive for the factory to buy one electric motor and one switch and slap them on everything than it is to have a million different wire and pulley assemblies that can withstand people cranking on them all the time. As an added bonus, you get to charge a 10% more for the car when you grab the "One Touch Down" switch from Bin 2 instead of the "Regular" switch from Bin 1.
