Yawn. For the money I would have picked something different.
Posted on 10/04/2021 12:13:35 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Hindsight is always 20/20, but even used car dealers know there is almost no appreciation on a car once you drive it off the lot — a lesson Papua New Guinea is learning the hard way.
Papua New Guinea — which is one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia, with an average GDP per capita of $2,613 — dropped a mind-boggling $5.6 million on a fleet of luxury cars to impress regional leaders during a 2018 conference.
Nearly three years later, the country admits the shallow purchase was a “terrible mistake” and is trying to recoup its losses by offloading the multiple Maseratis at a hefty loss.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Maseratis?
They bought Maseratis to drive visiting officials around?
Fiats that sell for $100K.
They would have been better off buying a fleet of trucks or tractors to ferry around international visitors. They would be more impressed with the ride, and the vehicles would be useful afterwards.
Yawn. For the money I would have picked something different.
The Quattroporte sedans, which were purchased through a Sri Lankan dealer and flown into the country via a chartered jumbo jet, are expected to be sold for $114,000 each – a loss of 20 percent per vehicle.
I may do some awfully dumb things, but buying a Maserati that's spent the last 3 years in Papua New Guinea for $114,000 isn't one of them.
I would have gone with a collection of Toyota FJs, but tastes may vary.
Proving again that governments make poor decisions spending other people’s money.
When they hit the used car market will there be a khakhua recipe thrown in?
Would be a big selling issue for the elites.
The big question is: can they fit in those vehicles with their mongongo-leaf headgear and those penis-sheaths?
I’m guessing that there is less than 500 miles of paved roads on Papua New Guinea. The large mine in PNG has the largest fleet of Toyota trucks in the world.
Not sure why buying Maseratis would impress anyone.
My Dad went there in 1942 with Douglas MacArthur.
He said there were head hunters still in the interior.
They would post guards at night, one for the Japs, one for the headhunters. NO BS.
The FJ Cruisers would have been a good investment from a financial standpoint. They are currently selling for more than their original sticker price.
So are the FJ140s. There's a tasty frame up restoration for sale up the road from me, but the price! Yikes.
> to impress regional leaders
When a poor person wears expensive jewelry or otherwise throws money around, he’s letting everyone know he’s an idiot. That’s an impression I guess.
I worked at the mine for a summer. The huge valley on the other side was discovered in the 1930’s and was still in the stone age. I forget the population of it but it was amazingly large. 100,000??
I can’t imagine fighting in those jungles. The mine is way up high so it was pretty nice, but the coast....
Groupthink has some bad consequences.
My Maserati does 185
I lost my license, now I don’t drive
I have a limo, ride in the back
I lock the doors in case I’m attacked
He said there were head hunters still in the interior. They would post guards at night, one for the Japs, one for the headhunters. NO BS.
My Dad was there at that time too and told me pretty much the same thing.
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