I completely agree with your points of view. They are valid. Adrian=20 circulates around the same question :" Why lease a car for 30k a year=20 and not drive it."
The more special cars (the Lambo certainly) in the "short leasing" are=20 carrousel-cars, cars that are not ment to be driven but bought, sold,=20 resold, leased etc for fiscal reasons between companies and private=20 persons.
The schema is fairly simple and legal. It boils down to the fact that=20 those cars are paid for by the Taxpayer (often several times). The only=20 thing required is that the company who owns the car stays profitable.
As to your Golf: I drove (for work) till last week a 2.0 Subaru Legacy,=20
212000 km, 8 year's old: beaten up as only a city-intervention car can=20 be. It died with a broken clutch and a stone hitting the windscreen; all=20 in all for 2000 Eur expenses on a car I sold for 300 Eur. So I bought a=20 Volvo-tanc in Germany, a car which depreciated more than 50.000 Eur from=20 september 2005 to now. That's what I meant by taking the actual=20 situation as an opportunity. Nope: it isn't white.Last but not least: the sympathy-factor... Well that's a bit of a=20 dilemma. No one who has to work for his money, likes the London City boy=20 with his brand new white Q7, bought with money easy gained. On the other=20 side: companies as Mercedes, BMW, Aston Martin, all those "special car"- makers even Rolls and Bentley are quite depending on those who make=20 quick money because they tend to spend it as fast they get it.=20
Just as example: I was some 8 years back at TVR Blackpool, picking up a=20 car for a client (yep, one of those fast and easy earners who sends=20 somebody who he must pay, to collect his TVR at the factory). TVR's=20 marketing director was boosting how good TVR was, that they had an=20 orderbook filled for 4 years. It was the time where every stock market=20 puppy *needed* to be seen driving a TVR. =20
Those puppies are no more but nor is TVR, nor is Marcos... and I=20 personally find the disappearing of those companies a loss. =20
If you want however to swap your Golf for a white Q7, this might be the=20 time ;-)
Tom De Moor