I was at Bourdillon Rd, Ikoyi, Lagos to visit a person whom I knew as a child but lost contact over the years. We met at the mall and he invited me to his parent's house at Bourdillon Rd. As a child, I remember visiting them at their Ikoyi residence but then, my mum drove me there so I didn't have an Idea of the exact location but this time it was different. When I got, I saw a different type of house that people built there which was different from the type of houses that people who live in the middle class Lekki, Lagos built. Their house structures showed and smelled old money and it was visible in their cars also but in this post, I am not writing about the house, I am going to share what I learned about what status and car have in common and this was a conversation between myself and my friend's dad.
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He made it clear to me that for every level in life, people drive different types of cars except for people in level 0 which is were I think a lot of people fall under currently. People in level zero are people who live with their parents, stay in a dorm, or those who live in a cheap rental apartment and these people are not required to purchase a car. At this stage, they are expected to board a bus, and use the train. He mentioned that people in this level are those extremely affected by the economic hardship and sometimes they will buy bikes for easy transportation or would use Bolt or Uber in days they want to experience the luxury of serenity with driving a car.
He went on to talk about people in level 1 and said they are the people who would buy a second handed car or people who drive a car with value less than $10k. These cars aren't flashy, they are just meant for one purpose, to take the people who own them from point A to point B. He mentioned that these are the type of cars given to Bank employees in Nigeria as official cars. The company ensures that they look for the cars that do not consume lots of fuel and is easy to maintain. He then made a comment that it is better to have that car than to se an expensive footwargon (trekking).
He then talked about level 2 and he said that he doesn't really see a difference between people in level 1 and 2 because they still both drive quite cheap car although theirs is a little expensive and their cars usually have a leather interior. He said that the car always stay between $10k and $20k but they do not bring this money from the comfort of their wallet, rather they have to break their savings to do what they have at heart. They gather their savings to purchase this car and they are fine with it. Most people in this class do not have a house yet but a lot of them live a little comfortable. These cars can be about 10 years old models but then it is fine as it is a good start.
He then went on to say that people who are level 3 are people who have the ability to buy a car that is a 5 year old model from the date of purchase. He said these set of people are able to purchase two cars, one for themself and the other for their spouse. Some people take loans to buy this cars and they are usually fairly used cars and this car range between $25K to $40K.
Level 4 people are able to purchase brand new cars. He refer to this people as those who are able to fund their ambition but not their dreams yet. When he said this, I was shocked and he laughed but I understood since he is actually part of the ultra wealthy in the country. He mentioned that this is where most people who live in Lekki fall into. He refered to them like they were poor but this is where the higher middle class live.
He then mentioned that the day you buy a brand new luxury car of $100k to $150k at once without breaking the bank, then you are getting into the league gradually. He showed me a few cars in his house which included Range Rover Autobiography, BMW X5, Volvo XC90, and Porche Cayenne. He has a lot of cars in his house, staying in 3 garages and 2 inside inside his home like a fashion car. He mentioned that while the car is nice, it will be wrong to buy such car before buying a house.
He showed me a Bentley and a Maybach and said to me, this is the car you buy because you are in money and just want to enjoy luxury or the car you buy because your wife is having a birthday when you are extremely rich. He then said that the value of the cars are usually above $200k. He then showed me a Rolls Royce Cullinen which he has packed in his house for cases of events that require his presence. He said at this point, you are a chairman or among the board of director in PLC or own large business.