My Theory of Car Value

My theory of car value. In his magnum opus “The Wealth of Nations,” the great economist Adam Smith says that value is oftentimes a relative term. What Smith means, is that some of our most precious and valuable commodities are oftentimes inexpensive. Take water as an example: Smith says that if we were to give water its true value, it would out-cost even a Rembrandt, because it’s the most important and precious commodity our planet has. Yet, water in the USA is free - water is free in malls and parks - the USA is one of the few countries left on earth that still has available faucet drinking water for all of its citizens. Let’s take this principle from Smith and apply it to a commodity which was not around when He, Ricardo, Proudhon, Marx and other economists (then known as philosophers) lived: automobiles.

The reason I’ve started this article discussing Smith, was to prove that a car does not have to cost a lot of money in order for it to be nice, sturdy and dependable. There are many new vehicles out there for well under $30,000, and they do the job just fine. Furthermore, some people are under the impression that cars costing $100,000 +, don’t have faults and rarely break down, but nothing could be further from the truth....

Let’s take two unlikely contestants as examples: 2011 Lexus ES350, and the 2011 Bentley Continental Flying Spur. I’ll compare pros and cons, as well as cost of the two vehicles.

2011 Lexus ES350 Sedan - Pros:
Fully loaded with all the bells and whistles goes for around $44,000, ball park figure. This model has been in the Lexus lineup since 1990, although the engine has increased in size since its original inception. At first, it was the ES250, then ES300 - finally after about 18 years or so, it graduated to the current model: ES350. This is to say, it has a 3.5 (350 - its name sake) V6 under its hood which produces 268 HP. All of this for around $44,000 (depending on your haggling skills, perhaps less). This car, like most other Lexus products, has received accolades and awards from consumer motoring companies, as well as extremely high praises from its owners, many of whom refuse to purchase any vehicles other than Lexus. Because Lexus is so well built and tightly knitted, the ES350 gets exceptional gas mileage. The ES350 is also very smooth, moderately handsome, roomy and relatively powerful. The ES350 is practically bullet proof - an overall good value for its price....

2011 Lexus ES350 Sedan - Cons:
Not exciting enough. Plain looking. Not sporty or bold enough. A Camry in sheep's clothing. Too expensive - a comparatively equipped Camry goes for around $32,000, so why pay the extra $12,000 for the Lexus name....

2011 Bentley Continental Flying Spur - Pros:
Fully loaded with all bells and whistles goes for around $250,000, ball park figure. The Continental has been in the Bentley line for a very long time. This is one of the most gorgeous and premium automobiles around.... Just like Lexus has Toyota parts in them, the Bentley has many Volkswagen cues. Volkswagen owns Bentley and other prestigious automobiles such as: Audi, Lamborghini and Porsche. So Audi and VW parts abound in all of the Bentley's. Bentley, just like many other great European cars, performs well above par with its very powerful V12 cylinder engine supplied by its parent company VW. Do not expect Toyota Prius MPG, however, Bentley has made it relatively easy for millionaires who don’t like taking trips to the gas station by giving the Continental as large a gas tank as possible: 23.8. MPG remains low: 10 city/17 highway. The interior of the Bentley is absolutely stunning to say the least: best wood, best leather, spacious and very sporty....

2011 Bentley Continental Flying Spur - Cons:
Too expensive.... Too expensive.... Too expensive! With 600 HP under its hood, the Bentley Continental is a monster of a powerhouse, however, in the USA, you cannot drive faster than 70-75 miles per hour on the highway/freeway, so this makes the Bentley's 600 HP engine obsolete....

Overall value:
Lexus ES350 wins in overall value. The Lexus ES350 is handsome, clean, and smooth looking; furthermore, the Lexus ES350 is sturdy and dependable. The Bentley, though extremely gorgeous nonetheless, is too expensive for most people to afford. Unless you’re willing to pay big bucks for the Bentley, the Lexus ES350 is the smarter purchase choice of the two vehicles, and wins my theory of car value comparison....