Have you ever heard this phrase before? If you have, it was probably in Economics 101 at school. I heard it over and over again in Macroeconomics 101 my freshman year of college and frankly, it grew tiresome.
However, the other concept I learned that year which I really like, is Utility. What is the utility of an item and how does it give it value?
Take the current price of gas and people driving SUV’s. Or any expensive car for that matter.
A few years ago, I really really really wanted a BMW 318ti. The ti is the Touring International model, a coupe with sunroof, appropriate for me to buy used and trash on camping trips. They don’t make them anymore and you can only get them used now. Pricing was about $13K for a certified used model back then. However, I decided against it for several reasons.
1. The current car still had a lot of life left in it.
2. Spare parts would be expensive on a German car vs. my Japanese sedan.
ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL, there really wasn’t a point in buying another car. It’s because things were inherently unequal that the coupe was looking like more fun than the sedan I had. (and still have. I still run this conversation in my head all the time.)
All things being equal, a car is a car. Its main utility is to get you from Point A to Point B in relative safety and comfort. All the extra bells and whistles don’t really add to the main point of the car. The car is a people mover. That’s it. Stripped down to its core, all you need is to get from one place to another with a car. So why spend more for it?
Well, people were looking beyond the utility of the car. They stopped making all things equal and discriminated on all the features of the car and came up with the SUV as a better choice. For some reason, being in a light truck mattered. I don’t really know why since they tend to rollover more in accidents. They consume more gas. There are luxurious sedans with GPS. What was it that made SUV’s no longer equal and thus more desirable? It certainly wasn’t the price tag, or the cheap gas. Because gas at $3 is not cheap when you remember it being 99 cents.
Still not sure why an SUV is so great. I don’t begrudge people who take theirs off-road (like the Hummer driver at work who actually had mud on his car on Mondays) or need 4WD and lots of cargo space or high clearance. (Goat farmer friends, friends living on the side of a mountain in the woods, etc.) But when all things are truly equal, why an SUV?
When all things are truly equal, why a new TV? A new car? A new cellphone?
I’m just sayin’. It’s something to think about when you’re buying something new. It’s not just ‘Do I really need this?’ It’s also, ‘What is the point of this? Can I get the same utility out of what I have already or a cheaper model?’ Sometimes you have to ask yourself what sufficient is, rather than the outer limits of your desires.
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I was just thinking about this today. My husband and I are planning on buying a used car. We only need it for 2 years, so the plan is to spend about $5-6K on a late 90s Honda or Toyota. However, I really like new Beetles. I’ve owned two of them (a 2002 and 2003) and they make me really happy. I don’t know why, but they do!!! They are not reliable though. They have lots of problems, and expensive ones at that. I still want it, even though I KNOW deep down that a car is just to get me around and it’s only for 2 years.
That’s it- keep talking me out of that new data phone I’ve been secretly pining for. I want to check my email and get directions and have a Rolodex everywhere. It is increased functionality, but I just WANT it, and I don’t NEED it. Maybe if I just keep saying that, I won’t break down in a moment of weakness and get a new phone…
Why didn’t you write this 6 weeks ago before I went out and bought a 2006 325i? All things being equal, I love it more than my 1994 Mazda Protege.
It’s difficult to safely fit our family of 6 in anything but a large van or large SUV. There is my “utility”.
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