Steve Jobs is taunting me from the grave. I’ve thrown a lot of money his way over the years, starting with his Apple Mac computer through to a G4 Powerbook, MacBook Air and several iPads. And then there is, of course, his range of field telephones. I’ve had a few iPhones, starting with the first one. As with all Apple products, it’s a battle to get years of use out of them before they write themselves off by being out of date. My G4 Powerbook works perfectly well but can’t run the modern OS and therefore can’t support programs.
My iPhone 5 I’ve had for a long time but I fear it is near the end. Apple would no doubt like me to buy its new iPhone 11 Pro. It has three cameras, apparently, and lots and lots of pixels. And the battery might last beyond tea time. It costs £1049 but I can trade in my old phone and get a discount. Except I can’t because the iPhone 5 is so old tech that they won’t give me a penny for it.
Where am I going with this? Car companies have for years used the cost of a mobile phone as a sort of economic analogy to leasing cars. ‘You can have a new i10 for barely the price of your mobile phone.’ Renault used the same argument for leasing a Zoe’s battery.
This has got me thinking. What if I got the cheapest phone I could and then spent the money that I’ve saved on buying an iPhone 11 Pro on a car. I mean, I’ve always wanted to be a professional racing driver or fighter pilot but I’m not particularly interested in becoming a professional telephone caller.
Well, there you go, Mr Jobs: Argos has just sold me an Alba sim-free mobile for £12.95. It is, I believe, what is known as a burner. It makes telephone calls and can send texts. I don’t think it’ll allow me to become the next David Bailey or let me know how little my Aston Martin shares are worth.
Join the debate
Add your comment
iPhone buyers
To those who bought there phone out right or indeed using Hire Purchase.
How much of a discount did you get on your Apple product?? Which has one of the biggest profit margins of any consumer product
Or do you just expect thousands of pounds of discount when you buy a new or used car from a retailer who has one of the lowest profit margins
just interested to know
Word wrote:
That's a valid point, you don't expect or get a discount with many things you buy new from shops so why do we expect new cars to be discounted?
No I didn't get a discount on my new £150 android phone.
si73 wrote:
id rather everyone aid retail price and that the dealers weren't trying to rip us off in other ways cos selling cars isn't a profitable exercise
This is an enjoyable, light
This is an enjoyable, light hearted article, I'm another one who buys my phone (and my car) outright.
It always amuses me the way motoring journalists criticise the original, modern Clubman for its door on the 'wrong' side: Bothering to park nearside to the pavement is an outdated concept for drivers of any vehicle, and you're always having to drive around parents as they get their kids out into the path of passing cars.
But the clubman would have
This model of clubman looks so much better than the newer bloated example in my opinion.
Party pooper