As I was doing the "Take Your Pick (what color) thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=234059", I was shocked when I finalized the "Bulid Your Own" version for the SL63 I configured. Converted, it would cost more than $250,000.00+ (including P30 Perf. Pack., Exterior Carbon Package & etc like fully loaded) so I would assume that people in Europe do earn a lot of money or is it because of our dollar that's been declining in value?

 

Thay's in Germany. In The Netherlands that car would cost $340.000 due to extra taxes. In Denmark I think it is even more expensive.

Take into account though that the US$ vs. €URO is on an all-time low.

Still, cars over here are pretty expensive to buy.

 

Here in Belgium a full loaded S65 amg cost around 289.000 euro's (about 330.000 US Dollars maybe?)
In the Netherlands it's even worse as sprins already said...(added taxes)

But i don't think the Europeans earn more money than the Americans
the avarage Joe has a monthly salary of 1300-1800 euro's
here and there are some people that earn about 3500+ euro's a month

PS: hey Sprins ben jij sacha van autoblog.nl? (leuke site trouwens was vroeger vaak op)

 

Think again: That's US$ 442,834 !

Yep, niet doorvertellen

 

Do not forget a liter of gas costs 1.5 euro


sports cars are horrific expensive in europe.


In france you have to pay an extra "pollution tax"



Usa is the car paradise.


Europe sucks ( If you are a car enthousiast)

 

and the final touch:


Salaries are lower in europe

 

In order to save ur time I will explain all. People in euro earn less money then US. Cars cost twice more because of the taxes. Only rich, I really mean rich people can afford to buy new at least E500 or 550i. Banks won't give normal people money at all. I working for my father get 12'000dollars a month. But we buy our cars for cash, no leasing. Its hard to live normal people in Europe. I payed for my sl 55 amg 2008 260'000 us dollars. So, think your self. And one litter of fuel cost 2 dollars. So to fuel my cayenne turbo I pay 200 dollars. And I have to do that twice a week. Plus my SL 55... Houses cost much more in here. If I was living in America, I could easily afford to live on star island in Miami. 10-15 million dolars for a home is not that much.

 

This is spreading all over Europe. Gas Guzzler taxes are being introduced. CO2 penalty taxes (if your car emits more that what the government wants). Etc.

 

OMG!
And to think that my lovely wife is bugging me to buy a house in UK and move there as she is getting really fed up with people here.
I guess when you vacation there ,everything looks "rosy" vs real life.

 

Natuurlijk niet



And on another hand much people think Europe is far more cheap while it's NOT
we Europeans pay the heavy bills around here!
and in the last couple of months everything started raising in cost(Food,Gas,electric,cars,houses... i mean everything!...)

Consider yourselves lucky over in America!
i'm leaving Europe in about 2-4 years...!

 

It is ironic that Mercedes cost more in Germany than in the U.S.

I bought a new CLS550 last summer, stickered for $80K, before the discounts. They told me that if I were a German walking into the same factory to pick up my car it would have been $120K.

 

No doubt US has world's cheapest cars; most efficient $0-down leases; and most consumer-friendly lemon laws and warranties....no surprise; it's the world's most powerful mkt for $150K+ cars, prob buying ?55+% of global produc....

IMO, real question is "consumption value" of any car....after all, any car is cheap and affordable by many affluent guys, even in awful 3rdWorld places like Chindia....or in US' 3rdWorld proxy, Manhattan

Can one drive car to office daily? Safe, spacious garaging/personal security issues/cultural jealousies?
Weather...can one safely drive w/perf tires/wheels 365d/yr?
Topography...interesting mtn roads within 30-45mins of upscale offices/homes?
High-speed fwys in urban regions...w/smooth pavement, esp fwys nr upscale homes and office corridors?
Ability to safely self-park in front of favored dining spots, etc?
Competent regional trauma/med ctr if collision occurs along one's favored driving routes?

As much as I admire Germany's derestricted AB, smooth pavement and premium fuel, IMO world's best overall locales for maximizing consump value of any car are either BevHills or SiliconValley....no surprise why so many affluent car guys from SiliconValley/NYC/Chic/TX, etc keep wkend houses in BH....and have car nut colleagues in London who have wkend places nr Munich to keep their more interesting cars, but they each would have preferred a BH wkend house, if it were only closer to London....that awful German winter....and hard to beat LA/LV for other entertainment....

 

The European people aren't the problem. It's the rules and regulations. Especially since the EU government is making those rules now.

They are, for one, obsessed with that CO2 fairy tale from that Grand Wizzard of the Environment Al Gore. Thanks Al!

NOT

 

Do Europeans have an income tax, or do they operate via the VAT tax system?
I would prefer that type of taxing vs. the government getting to know, and get upfront their money, from your income.
Bruce
N.J.
USA

 

I grew up in England and we pay income tax and VAT.

Now I live in the US, we have income tax, and the VAT varies from state to state. I live in Oregon where there is 0% sales tax.

I make pretty good money, considering I live in a city with a population of only 80,000 or so. I own my own business and make about $10-$14k a month before taxes (working about 20 hours a week).
From that I pay my 401k (retirement), health insurance (Health Savings account), Flexible spending (pre tax medical expenses like prescriptions etc. for my family) all the regular taxes, and take home about $7000 a month net.

I live in a fairly reasonable housing area, where a 5 bedroom, 3000 square foot house costs about $500,000.

We own our vehicles (minivan, truck, 2 motorcycles) and I still could not justify purchasing a vehicle at anything close to the cost of a new SL55, 63 or 65.


I don't know how anyone who makes $12000 a month can say that a $10-$15 Million home is not that much.
You would barely be able to afford the $10,000+ a month property tax payment!
Have you any idea how much a mortgage would be on a $15million home?

For a 10 year mortgage at 5%, the payment would be $159k a month!!!
For a 30 year loan at 5% the payment would be $80k a month!

How does that work out on a $12,000 a month salary?

$12k a month is about £6k sterling. Basically about £30 an hour on an hourly scale.
I made £26 an hour in 1999 before I moved over here and barely had any money with 2 cars that cost less than £10k and a house that cost about £90k.

I assume by "we" you mean your dad, because at your salary it would take you a long time to save up for a car like that, let alone 3 cars! Plus your house payment, insurance, utilities, food, savings, social life.....


EDIT removed this line because it was petty and immature!

 

Netherlands:

VAT: 20%

Income tax: 35%, 42%, 51% depeding on income.

The price of gas = $8.73 per Gallon (of which 80% is tax).

cars: gas guzzler tax, CO2 penalty tax, VAT
rest: tax to use the road, real estate tax, capital gain tax, etc, etc, etc.



Typing this I wonder what I'm doing here

 

my brother lives in Amsterdam and he's wondering the same thing!

Especially when I tell him about the 2005 CL65 AMGs you can buy for US$65k

 

How can you live like that!!!????

 

Same **** for Belgium!

 

Gasoline in Europe may be nearly the equivalent of US$9.00 per gallon, but what I'd be interested to know is how much it has increased in Euros or Pounds Sterling over the last 5 years?

Today, the Euro and Pound are worth much more against the U.S. dollar as compared to 5 years ago (the Euro has nearly doubled against the U.S. greenback). Thus, the pecentage rise in gasoline costs for many European countries may only be about 20% over that same period, whereas U.S. consumers have seen a 100% rise in gasoline costs.

Something to think about if you wish to make a proper comparison.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...9d4&refer=home

Digging a little deeper we discover that this has been a dream-come-true scenario for pro-environmental groups with regards to gasoline prices in the United States. Gasoline was argued to have been historically much, much too cheap in the U.S. (on a global currency equivalent basis) which discouraged conservation and encouraged larger SUVs, etc.

The tricky part to changing things however, was how to increase gasoline prices in the U.S. without a tax increase and without hurting the developed nations of Europe that already had properly high gasoline prices.

The dramatic devaluation of the U.S. dollar over the last 5 years accomplished this for the green groups. Although this dollar devaluation was probably not intended to dramatically increase gasoline prices on the part of U.S. economic policy makers, it did however contribute significantly to the doubling of prices at the pump in the U.S. (along with increased demand from China and India).

Thus, many green groups are pleased with the outcome. Their next challenge or goal is reducing fossil fuel energy demand in rapidly developing nations like India and China. Greens are equal opportunity activists without borders

 

Good thread!
Learned valuable information.........

 

wow, it really is expensive there, I wouldn't even bother asking how much a Ferrari would cost there