2001: Why doesn't Buffett drive a newer car?
AUDIENCE MEMBER: My name is Ethan Berg. I’m from Cambridge, Massachusetts and I’d like to thank you for the education you’ve provided, particularly with the annual reports. I’ve got three brief questions.
Years ago, you wrote to your friend Jerry Orans that you were applying to Columbia’s Business School because they had a pretty good finance department and a couple of hot shots in Graham and Dodd.
If you were considering graduate or business school today, with which individuals or professors would you want to study?
The second question is, a friend who wants to know your thoughts on the concrete, cement and aggregates business.
And the third question is from my wife. You mentioned earlier if someone were buying a parachute, they wouldn’t buy based on lowest bid. We saw you tooling around in a car this week that, were it to be bought today, could probably be bought at a relatively low bid.
As someone interested in your health, she’s wondering whether you’ve considered a newer automobile, possibly one with lots of airbags. (Laughter)
WARREN BUFFETT: Actually, I picked out the car I have based on the fact that it had airbags on both sides. So that was a factor. It may be the first car of its type ever made with airbags.
But I think my car actually — it’s both heavy and has airbags, and those are two primary factors in safety. I don’t think any — I don’t think a safer car is necessarily being made. It might be safer to drive around in a big, heavy duty truck or something but I’m not ready for that.
Incidentally, on a car, I look at that like anything else. It would take me, probably, a half a day to go through, you know, the exercise of buying a car and reading the owner’s manual and all that. And that’s just a half a day I don’t want to give up in my life for no benefit.
You know, if I could write a check in 30 seconds and be in the same position I’m in now with a newer car, I’d be glad to do it this afternoon. But I don’t like to trade away when there’s really no benefit to me at all. I’m totally happy with the car.
I just don’t want to trade away the amount of time I’d have to spend fooling around to get familiar with and get title to and do all the rest of the things, pick one out, so a new car. But if there’s a safer car made, you know, I’ll be driving in it.