[Leica] RHD and LHD interesting statistics

[douglas.sharp at gmx.de (Douglas Sharp)]

http://users.pandora.be/worldstandards/driving%20on%20the%20left.htm#rightdriving
Douglas


Don Dory wrote:

> Joseph,
> Thank you for the explanation.  RHD would tend to make the cars less
> saleable around the world.
>
> Don
> don.dory@gmail.com
>
> On 5/1/06, Joseph Yao <joseph@yao.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Don,
>>
>> Exporting used cars is straight forward, but many countries now have 
>> very
>> tight regulations regarding imports of used cars.  Emission control 
>> is the
>> claim/excuse, but ironically many countries which impose tough controls
>> over
>> used car imports have a less stringent emission standard than HK.  The
>> same
>> countries also benefit a lot financially from new car sales thus money
>> speaks louder than pollution here.  Still, used cars here in good
>> condition
>> are often exported: upmarket German cars tend to end up in Australia and
>> New
>> Zealand, and Japanese cars are often shipped to Thailand, Vietnam,
>> Cambodia,
>> and Indonesia.  As a former British Crown Colony, we in HK have RHD 
>> cars.
>> The ideal market for our used cars would be China, but they drive on the
>> wrong side of the road ;-)  To give you a rough idea how cars depreciate
>> here, I was offered US$5,150 for my 1990 Porsche 928S4 in 2001.  It had
>> covered 29,000 miles and was close to showroom condition 
>> ('mint/mint-/98%
>> new' in Leica speak) with full Porsche service history - I was the
>> original
>> owner and it had cost me US$180,000 in 1990.  That's 97% loss.
>>
>> If I had a choice I would trade trade cheap Leica for cheap cars - as a
>> 'petrolhead' I would be a lot happier paying US car prices and would not
>> mind suffering US Leica prices :-)
>>
>> Bests,
>>
>> Joseph
>>
>>
>> On 29/4/06 4:25 am, "Don Dory" <don.dory@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > Joseph,
>> > So is there a good arbitrage shipping used HK cars somewhere that does
>> not
>> > devalue used so much, possibly the Philippines or South American
>> countries?
>> >
>> > Curious minds want to know?
>> >
>> > As a sidelight, people wonder why Americans drive such large cars with
>> > relatively huge engines, costs are much, much less here.  If you 
>> live in
>> a
>> > normal city and work for a largish company then your costs would be
>> > Porche 911:  62000 to 85000
>> > Insurance: 1800/yr
>> > Gasoline/93 Octane 0.82/litre
>> > Parking: generally free at work and home
>> > Parking: events might vary from $5 to $10
>> > Tolls: in Atlanta 0.50 each way on the only toll road for several
>> hundred
>> > miles
>> >
>> > With costs so low compared to a lot of the world, no wonder we 
>> drive so
>> far,
>> > so fast(Nathan, the normal speed on Interstates in Georgia is
>> 130-140Km/hr),
>> > in such large vehicles.
>> >
>> > Don
>> > don.dory@gmail.com
>> >
>> >
>> > On 4/28/06, Joseph Yao <joseph@yao.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Gerry,
>> >>
>> >> I lived in the UK for twenty years and it is still a relatively
>> >> inexpensive
>> >> place to maintain a car.  Here are my car-related expenses in my part
>> of
>> >> the
>> >> world:
>> >>
>> >> Car tax 100% - for example, a 2006 Porsche 911 costs US$220,000
>> >> Annual road tax  US$1,700
>> >> Insurance  US$2,800/year with full NCB
>> >> Petrol/gas  US$8.33/gallon, approx. US$900/month
>> >> Parking  US$520/month (residential)
>> >> Parking  US$580/month (office)
>> >> Parking  US$4/hour (typical downtown parking lot)
>> >>
>> >> Plus various tolls for tunnels/roads.
>> >>
>> >> And culturally we do not like buying used cars, cars depreciate 
>> heavily
>> >> here: typically 30%/year.  Like Leica purchases, we prefer to buy new
>> >> whenever possible :-)
>> >>
>> >> Still, I must not complain.  I understand my friends in Singapore 
>> have
>> >> approx. 250% car tax.
>> >>
>> >> Joseph
>> >> [Hong Kong, SAR]
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>
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