Business Travel - Drive Your Own Luxury Car or Rent One

I have a good friend who has a very nice Maserati which he leases, as he uses it for business. Of course, he also travels to nearby states each year to speak with his distributors, but he doesn't take his luxury car because he doesn't want to put all those miles on it, or subject it to some of the locations he will travel to. Therefore, he rents a car instead. Since he has so many stops all together, it doesn't make sense to fly to each location, and he also needs to take samples with him, and a variety of other things.

Okay so, does this make sense, should you drive your own luxury car on a business trip which might last several weeks to many states? It's hard to say what your exact situation is, but I'd like you to please consider three items;

1. Costs

2. Add-On Extras

3. Business Associates Perception

You must consider the cost of renting the vehicle versus the cost of putting that wear and tear on your own car. Chances are you'd be better off with a rent a car. Still, if you are going to rent a car, there are things you need to know such as; what are the extra add-on costs?

I had recently talk to a gentleman who owns a body shop, and he told me that every time one of his clients would go to rent a vehicle at the local rental car agency to rent a car, the rental salesperson would try to sell them extra insurance in case of sandblasting because out here in the desert the wind can whip up occasionally causing paint damage. This is a very common extra add-on, one which you might want to think twice about, but you need to understand the risks.

On August 5, 2012 the LA Times had an interesting article titled "Puzzled by Damage Claim" by Catherine Hamm, where a reader writes in to explain a horror story of a rent-a-car company that charged them for hail damage which occurred after the car had actually been returned, and signed off as received.

Even if something isn't your fault, and there is damage to the car, sometimes the rental agency will try to pin it on you. I suppose the same occurs if you drive a luxury car and are leasing that car, and go to turn it in. What you might consider normal wear and tear, they might charge you for as part of the lease agreement. Whatever decision you eventually make, you need to go in with your eyes open on this. Therefore I ask that you please consider it all.

Why Buy a Luxury Car?

With so much choice in the form of cars you will forgiven if you can't seem to like just one type. Car manufactures and dealers each offer a range of cars to suit the needs and requirements of many people looking to buy a new car. High performance sports cars, limousines, business luxury cars and super cars.

As you can see, this is the case with the high end luxury cars as well. The list we will focus on will be the sports cars and the business luxury cars.

Sports cars are on the top of the list for many motoring enthusiasts. Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche are just a few of the mainstream cars that people opt for when they have the money. These are fast paced and sexy looking cars, that scream out that 'I've got a lot of money and I like life in the fast lane!'. For decades these sports cars have been on the wish list of thousands of people across the globe and a handful have been fortunate enough to own Them. They hold their price so much better than many of the main stream cars, but these will need to be maintained to the same high standard that they were designed and built in to ensure that out get the maximum amount of pleasure from them.

One of the other popular choices is the more luxurious luxury cars like the Rolls Royce or the Bentleys. It's these cars that rich businessmen usually opt for. Each is a stunning design and built to the highest quality with luxury the main focus. They provide a ride so smooth that you would think that you were at home reclining in your favourite chairs - perhaps that is why most people opt for a chauffer driven car.

Either one of these radiates an element of success as these cars are not everyday purchases and as seen as very much and elitist thing. Yet many bargain can be had if you look around the internet as there are dealerships that offer affordable sports cars.

Have a look around on the internet today and see what is out there that is with in your price range. You might be surprised at what you will be able to afford.

The Importance of Innovation for Luxury Car Manufacturers

Companies that make luxury cars are in a constant race against each other. As with all manufacturers, they want to build quality cars that offer their customers exactly what they want. What their customers want, however, can be very different from the norm.

Whereas manufacturers such as Ford and Volkswagen concentrate on fuel efficiency, keeping down their cars' price tags, durability and providing a range of models that will offer everybody a practical choice, luxury car manufacturers have a different set of standards that they are measured by.

Fuel efficiency is much less important, although in 2010 a number of manufacturers stated that fuel efficiency was becoming a concern for them, though this was mostly due to new environmental laws being passed in countries around the world rather than customer demand. Cost is also much less of a factor to those looking at the luxury car market, and although durability is an expectation, many buyers will have sold the car on within two years according to researchers.

For this reason, it's important that the car manufacturers are constantly innovating and keeping the models they produce on the bleeding edge of luxury design. If they fall behind a competitor, they can lose a whole ream of customers, and as luxury cars sell in fewer numbers that can be a real problem.

The researchers also showed that people buying luxury cars will often buy both versions of a model, the coupe model and convertible model, for instance, just so that they have the choice available to them at all times. For this reason it's important that every variation of the model has not only the same standard of quality, but also performs in a very similar way and preserves the driving experience of the other variations. It also highlights the fact that cost really isn't an issue to the typical buyer of a luxury car and that choice is an important factor for them, both in the models available to them and the individual changes that they can select for a car.

With the constant research and development that must be required to keep up with all of these factors, it's no wonder that when a new luxury car rolls off the production line there's a hefty price tag attached.