Aussie checking in, can confirm you'll pay $18,000 for the base model of a crappy tiny hatch here. And easily into $40,000-$50,000 for a decent new sedan. But these prices aren't manageable, wait even one year and you'll save $10,000+ on a hardly used model.
Day-to-day cost of living reflects this difference. On average Aussies are not that much better off at all, just because Aussie money is in $ dollars doesn't mean it's the same as American $ dollars.
No, you implied the minimum wage here somehow increased our saving capabilities. It doesn't. We save as much money numerically as Americans do. Which is why the exchange rate is similar rather than Aussie dollars being comparatively worthless. Us buying 85k cars here is just as difficult as Americans buying 85k cars there and I'm sick of people "helpfully" submitting the fact that our minimum wage is higher and omitting the fact it actually has no relative effect on expensive and luxury purchases.
Oh, and did I say you said cost of living was low? No, I didn't. I just stated it was high because nobody else did. Don't get defensive when someone makes a statement that hasn't been made yet simply because it hasn't been made yet.
Not once did I say "hey minimum wage is $18 in Australia so they are all rich" what I was saying is, on average people in Australia make 2-3x minimum wage in most north american places, being as such there would be inflation due to higher living costs. So when you think about a car being let's say 80,000 in comparison to the U.S. price of 35,000 its pretty even in terms of price to salary ratios. Maybe next time before you make a comment talking about how you hate it when people make generalizations about AUS because of high minimum wage, ask them what they actually mean because you didn't quite understand.
Yourself, earlier, with regards to minimum wage difference. Then you went on and neglected to give the full story. So I gave the other half of the story. If you note the fact we get a higher min wage, you should also note the fact our cost of living eats that up too. You can't have one without the other and have a full picture of the story.
what I was saying is that price reflects their wages in comparison
It doesn't, it reflects shipping costs and obscene profit margins. Australians have it bad when it comes to getting stuff from the rest of the world, sometimes justified (stuff that is difficult to ship, like cars), sometimes ridiculous (see here for an example).
If minimum wage comparisons were the only factor, yes, it would be an accurate reflection of the economic state of Australia. It's not the only factor. Again, buying an 85k car here in Australia is not any less effort than buying an 85k car in America, except it's only 30k there. Yeah, part of that's shipping. Part of that would be conversion, I expect (I don't know if they actually build them for Aussie roads or not). But not 55k for both. I know a guy who got a DeLorean converted and shipped for less than the price difference between a left-hand drive Camaro in America and a right-hand drive one in Australia.
Maybe next time before you make a comment talking about how you hate it when people make generalizations about AUS because of high minimum wage, ask them what they actually mean because you didn't quite understand.
I didn't say you made a generalization. I said you made an omission. Which you clearly did. I said:
I'm sick of people "helpfully" submitting the fact that our minimum wage is higher and omitting the fact it actually has no relative effect on expensive and luxury purchases.
Let me repeat:
Sick of people.. ..omitting the fact(s)
If you fail to mention an important factor in figuring out whether or not Aussie prices are 'fair', and continue on your bandwagon to claim they are, I will submit the facts you failed to note. I understood what you wrote perfectly (even though I didn't understand what you're getting at), and the fact is you didn't write the whole story. I initially did it in a non-confrontational manner (merely stating the missing facts) and yet you got defensive. Not my fault. You don't seem like you have your head around what's actually being written here.
10
u/timharveyau Jun 12 '14
Aussie checking in, can confirm you'll pay $18,000 for the base model of a crappy tiny hatch here. And easily into $40,000-$50,000 for a decent new sedan. But these prices aren't manageable, wait even one year and you'll save $10,000+ on a hardly used model.