UK Pricing piss take

[pdk42]

Sorry, but I think you're way off here.

As important as it is, the economy and the job market is much greater than the IT industry. As with any job, if you're making money, the company will pay you to keep making money in any competitive market. Tech makes money. Investors want more. High earners keep the money train rolling.

My industry is healthcare. The starting salary for a New starter within my profession is MORE in the UK than the average salary across the entire US, as per Indeed and Forbes.

You mention cost of living, but it's much cheaper here. Have you seen the pricing in US Supermarkets Vs. UK? If you think it's cheaper here, I don't believe you've been to any local supermarket within the USA. It's significantly higher for most products.

Some examples: (Walgreens Vs Asda). Cheapest in bold.

Drinks
2 Litre Coke Zero - $3.39 (£2.72) - UK price £2
Tropicana Smooth 52flOZ - $5.29 (£4.25) - UK Price £4
Ocean Spray Cranberry 1.8L - $4.99 (£4.01) - UK price £3.70 (2L)

Food
Campbell's chicken soup - $2 (£1.61) - UK price £1.50
Ground Beef 20%fat - 453 Gram - $6 (£4.82) - UK price £2.49 for 500 Gram
Bacon - 16Oz - $8.99 (£7.22) - UK price £3
White bread Loaf - $3.99 (£3.20) - UK Price 90p
Jasmine Rice 5lb - $8.99 (£7.22)- UK price £7 for double (5KG)
Barilla Spgehtti 450g - $2 (£1.61) - UK Price £1.50 for 500g
Pringles - 1 tube - $3.49 (£2.80) - UK price £1.85
Grated cheese 8oz - $3.99 (£3.20) - UK price £2.40

Alcohol
12 bottles of Stella - $15 (£12.05) - UK price £10
4 cans of Jd & Coke - $13.50 (£10.84) - UK price £6.60 (£8.80 NOT ON OFFER)

Average kWh may be lower in USA, but then again we have reduced pricing for EV's with smart meters etc.

It's also proven the cost of living is higher in the US, with a much greater change when it comes to city life. For example, you would need to earn £3,700 a month in London vs £4,700 in NYC to have a good quality of life

Cost of Living United Kingdom vs United States | IAS

The cost of living is generally higher in the US than in the UK because of the costs of housing, healthcare, utilities, and more.

iasservices.org.uk

Finally, this doesn't take into account our healthcare benefits, state pension, Holiday entitlement etc. My friend in Florida gets 10 days holiday/year. I get 33 (plus bank holidays). That's 4.5weeks extra paid leave. In effect, My friend works 250 days/year and I work 227 but get paid more.

TL;DR - Cost of living is higher in USA, and in comparison, Wages aren't higher across most industries. More paid time off work in the UK. IT Salaries are not a sound point of reference.

I sort of agree. I lived in the US back in the 90s and the comparative £/$ prices for groceries and many other everyday items were much as today - but back then it was almost $2 to the £. Now it’s about $1.20 and that makes a huge difference. But some other things have also gone up like crazy in the US compared to the UK - eating out being one of them. I visited the US last October and couldn’t believe how much restaurant bills had gone up.

 

[FastLaneJB]

Sorry, but I think you're way off here.

As important as it is, the economy and the job market is much greater than the IT industry. As with any job, if you're making money, the company will pay you to keep making money in any competitive market. Tech makes money. Investors want more. High earners keep the money train rolling.

My industry is healthcare. The starting salary for a New starter within my profession is MORE in the UK than the average salary across the entire US, as per Indeed and Forbes.

You mention cost of living, but it's much cheaper here. Have you seen the pricing in US Supermarkets Vs. UK? If you think it's cheaper here, I don't believe you've been to any local supermarket within the USA. It's significantly higher for most products.

Some examples: (Walgreens Vs Asda). Cheapest in bold.

Drinks
2 Litre Coke Zero - $3.39 (£2.72) - UK price £2
Tropicana Smooth 52flOZ - $5.29 (£4.25) - UK Price £4
Ocean Spray Cranberry 1.8L - $4.99 (£4.01) - UK price £3.70 (2L)

Food
Campbell's chicken soup - $2 (£1.61) - UK price £1.50
Ground Beef 20%fat - 453 Gram - $6 (£4.82) - UK price £2.49 for 500 Gram
Bacon - 16Oz - $8.99 (£7.22) - UK price £3
White bread Loaf - $3.99 (£3.20) - UK Price 90p
Jasmine Rice 5lb - $8.99 (£7.22)- UK price £7 for double (5KG)
Barilla Spgehtti 450g - $2 (£1.61) - UK Price £1.50 for 500g
Pringles - 1 tube - $3.49 (£2.80) - UK price £1.85
Grated cheese 8oz - $3.99 (£3.20) - UK price £2.40

Alcohol
12 bottles of Stella - $15 (£12.05) - UK price £10
4 cans of Jd & Coke - $13.50 (£10.84) - UK price £6.60 (£8.80 NOT ON OFFER)

Average kWh may be lower in USA, but then again we have reduced pricing for EV's with smart meters etc.

It's also proven the cost of living is higher in the US, with a much greater change when it comes to city life. For example, you would need to earn £3,700 a month in London vs £4,700 in NYC to have a good quality of life

Cost of Living United Kingdom vs United States | IAS

The cost of living is generally higher in the US than in the UK because of the costs of housing, healthcare, utilities, and more.

iasservices.org.uk

Finally, this doesn't take into account our healthcare benefits, state pension, Holiday entitlement etc. My friend in Florida gets 10 days holiday/year. I get 33 (plus bank holidays). That's 4.5weeks extra paid leave. In effect, My friend works 250 days/year and I work 227 but get paid more.

TL;DR - Cost of living is higher in USA, and in comparison, Wages aren't higher across most industries. More paid time off work in the UK. IT Salaries are not a sound point of reference.

That’s a very detailed but flawed answer. Yes you earn more than the average salary UK but US healthcare workers earn far more than you do, it’s actually the one industry called out in a recent times article as one of the largest differences. It should be pretty obvious on that one when you’ve a public healthcare system vs a private system.

It frankly wouldn’t matter with that level of pay difference if a bottle of coke is 72p more Also most of the better paid jobs are going to come with healthcare coverage, that’s got to be the case when you work in healthcare I imagine anyway.

Oh and to keep it on topic you can buy a Model S Plaid pretty much for the money they are selling Model 3 Performance here. Yes depends on the state and what sales tax it has. Or just get a Model 3 Performance for a fraction of the cost it is here. With that lovely made in Mercia quality as well

Yes it’s not perfect, they don’t get as much holiday. They don’t have the employment protections we have so but ultimately they do earn an awful lot more across most industries. It’s not just IT.

“Some of the starkest discrepancies between the two countries are found in healthcare salaries, which are fuelling fears of a transatlantic medical exodus. Midwife vacancies in Britain average around £39,000, but $115,000 — or £84,000, adjusted for prices — in the US”

Times Article - Paywall

 

[kael13]

Might keep my eye out for a used Performance, next year. The best way to complain about new car prices is to just.. Not pay it.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

I visited the US last October and couldn’t believe how much restaurant bills had gone up.

...and then they expect a large tip

 

[tomorrowman]

Ah well there goes my Model 3 performance purchase.

Can't in right mind do it knowing some of our European cousins are paying £10K less for the new model 3 performance (roughly same VAT & import tax rates)

 

[Kenners]

The US is mega expensive these days, but they earn a heap more and are far far wealthier in general, so actually the cars there look even more generously priced.

UK incomes are around where the US was in the mid 1980s. The gap keeps gets bigger as incomes in the US are going up, whereas we are effectively stagnant.

It is kind of funny people here still seem to think we’re comparable. Its not far off the gap between the UK and Bulgaria today. Of course Bulgaria is catching up!

I suspect one of the reasons people lease overpriced cars in the UK in such volumes here (way more than in other countries) is to compensate for that misery!

 

[Smog]

That’s a very detailed but flawed answer. Yes you earn more than the average salary UK but US healthcare workers earn far more than you do, it’s actually the one industry called out in a recent times article as one of the largest differences. It should be pretty obvious on that one when you’ve a public healthcare system vs a private system.

It frankly wouldn’t matter with that level of pay difference if a bottle of coke is 72p more Also most of the better paid jobs are going to come with healthcare coverage, that’s got to be the case when you work in healthcare I imagine anyway.

Oh and to keep it on topic you can buy a Model S Plaid pretty much for the money they are selling Model 3 Performance here. Yes depends on the state and what sales tax it has. Or just get a Model 3 Performance for a fraction of the cost it is here. With that lovely made in Mercia quality as well

Yes it’s not perfect, they don’t get as much holiday. They don’t have the employment protections we have so but ultimately they do earn an awful lot more across most industries. It’s not just IT.

“Some of the starkest discrepancies between the two countries are found in healthcare salaries, which are fuelling fears of a transatlantic medical exodus. Midwife vacancies in Britain average around £39,000, but $115,000 — or £84,000, adjusted for prices — in the US”

Times Article - Paywall

I understand that with private healthcare, it’s the exact same in this country too. Work privately vs NHS to get paid more.

Another flaw you’re failing to see is the “it’s only 72p difference.” When it’s actually a 37% markup. That’s part of the issue here. People don’t see how it all adds up. That £1 item that’s now £1.50 is a 50% increase… even though it’s only 50p.

In terms of car pricing, if a car is made in the same country it’s sold in, it’s obviously going to be cheaper. There’s no import fees, limited transportation costs and shorter delivery times so no storage fees required. Slightly off topic, British imported items are always More expensive in the US, why would imported vehicles be different?

Not sure where you got your costings from either? May be cheaper, but nowhere near what you claim.

In terms of the model S plaid, you need to look seriously look at the sales tax. In California, the cheapest Model S Plaid is $109,025 with fees. That’s about £87,000. That’s £27,000 more than the cost of a model 3 performance. Sorry, but that isn’t “pretty much the same money”

If we look at a M3H rear wheel drive (the cheapest).

UK price - £39,990 (including £6,665 VAT, £935 destination and document fee)

Californian Price - $46,206 (£37,082) once all fees added.

That’s only £2,800 more in the UK, yet it’s been imported half way around the world, contains unique parts for the RHD market and then had 20% VAT applied.

Again, it does vary by state, but this is no different to the UK government slapping a blanket 20% VAT on top of Tesla “base price”.


I agree there is certain aspects within every Industry with disparity. Don’t even get me started on the appalling salaries of American Hospitality workers.

 

[qwickshot]

It also had a 10% import tariff added when it was landed in the U.K.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

I think Teslas policy is to charge the same everywhere - I presume they mean before taxes, import duties etc, and they get the same even if customers pay very different amounts. Against Europe we seem very expensive, but compared to the US, after you've added shipping, 10% import duty, 20% VAT it feels like its actually getting quite close.

Not sure if someones done the maths but I work it out like this:

M3P is $54.6k before tax but including deswtination fee and order fee, call that the car price, is £43.6k, add import duty = £48k, add 20% vat = 57.5k which includes all fees and we can buy for just under 60k - so that leaves 2.5k to ship the car from China. A bit steep probably but the killers for us are the import fee and VAT in comparison the US plus they get a tax rebate.

I guess the same calcs with other cars might get very different results

As a fun comparison, in Singapore the car costs £85k before the "COE Bid"... thats what tax does to you.

 

[phil4]

Try comparing with the price of new cars in Denmark, they get right royally clobbered with Tax.

 

[MrT3]

M3 RWD and LR now have a lower PCP interest rate. Not great at 5.9% but better than the 9.6% is was yesterday.

 

[FastLaneJB]

M3 RWD and LR now have a lower PCP interest rate. Not great at 5.9% but better than the 9.6% is was yesterday.

Interesting. Knew they'd drop this as demand dropped down, only surprise is they didn't go lower but imagine it will do if you can hold off longer.

 

[PR-UK]

Doesn't seem to have changed the leasing costs unfortunately, at least according to the calculator.

 

[DrProto]

Interesting. Knew they'd drop this as demand dropped down, only surprise is they didn't go lower but imagine it will do if you can hold off longer.

Tesla rang me today to point out the drop to 5.9. I'm not sure its enough to get me over the line. That said the bank of England comes back about interest rates on 9th may. Maybe if they drop the base rate and a few more unsold RHD M3H have piled up by then we can see a little more movement.

 

[Durzel]

That they can drop the rate from 9.6% to 5.9% overnight just shows they're fleecing us. Bastards!

 

[Doudeau]

That they can drop the rate from 9.6% to 5.9% overnight just shows they're fleecing us. Bastards!

Is it any less irritating than the other manufacturers introducing promotions at random times to shift stock?

Historically, you always needed to negotiate and I always felt it might have been possible to have made a better deal so never left a showroom happy I’d got the best price.

Unless I’m mistaken, the pricing with Tesla seems to be transparent and everyone gets the same deal at the same point in time.

 

[spdpsba]

Unless I’m mistaken, the pricing with Tesla seems to be transparent and everyone gets the same deal at the same point in time.

I agree but you know people on this forum (or atleast few of them) love the showroom wheeling and dealing . They would prefer the ill fitting suited used car sales man than dealing with Tesla. And the worst thing is some do get good deals once in a while and that reinforces their views.

 

[Durzel]

Is it any less irritating than the other manufacturers introducing promotions at random times to shift stock?

Historically, you always needed to negotiate and I always felt it might have been possible to have made a better deal so never left a showroom happy I’d got the best price.

Unless I’m mistaken, the pricing with Tesla seems to be transparent and everyone gets the same deal at the same point in time.

True, but at least with negotiating - if you were into that - you could at least feel like you'd achieved something.

Whilst I would agree that Tesla's pricing is transparent, it is also highly volatile. Imagine if you'd pulled the trigger just recently at the 9.6% APR finance rate and went outside your 14 day cooling off period and/or simply hadn't checked the website again - the only place you'd ever notice a change - and find out that it's dropped to 5.9%?

There is also the fact that end of quarter pushes mean incentives are offered, and this is something only really known if you do your research - it's an open secret. If you just take the "transparent" pricing at face value, you might miss out.

 

[Kenners]

Tesla have tons of inventory, they have no dealer network to absorb that, that leaves two options discount (price cuts, lower financing rates) or reduce production.

If you all want a cheaper car don’t buy one and wait.

 

[Kevg]

They’ve dropped the Model 3 performance to 7.9% apr now.