High End Luxury Cars

24700 messages, Last post on Dec 01, 2009 at 12:24 PM

You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Audi A8, BMW 7 Series, Jaguar XJ-Series, Lexus LS 460, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Volkswagen Phaeton, Maserati Quattroporte, Mercedes-Benz CL-Class, Sedan

Let's try to define this forum as being limited to luxury performance vehicles where the mainstream version in a typical configuration has an MSRP of at least $60k.

A luxury vehicle with a base price of $59k qualifies because it would typically be bought with some additional equipment, bringing the MSRP over $60k.

Vehicles like the E, 5, A6, M, or GS, even if available in certain versions over $60k, don't qualify because they are cars from companies that have higher end cars in their lineups.

Outline

Messages Page 403 of 2471: 1; ...; 400; 401; 402; 403; 404; 405; 406; ...; 2471; Prev; Next; Last

#4017 of 24700 ljflx by merc1 Jan 28, 2004 (10:16 pm)
Yikes, that sounds like Barrington IL, or Lake Forest where all the Bears live. Any British or Italian cars there..Ferrari, Aston-Martin, Bentley? I'm surprised you've never seen an A8 there. I always heard that the Northeastern part of the US was a Audi, Saab and Volvo stronghold. The celebs there makes it sound like Hollywood Northeast...lol. kdshapiro, Careful, you aren't going to be able to verify that with a survey or bar graph from JDP. I mentioned what you said about SL's in your area and got the Gettysburg address from atop the CR and JDP mountain. mfullmer, ljflx is right, it does indeed vary. There are people in debt up to their eyeballs with every brand of car, not just the prestige Euro brands. M
#4018 of 24700 Merc - Agreed. by mfullmer Jan 29, 2004 (3:28 am)
You are correct. My experience has been though, people with so-called "European Prestige Brands" generally (note that I used "generally") are more wrapped up in the "Prestige" of having a European car than the overall functionality. Those same friends I mentioned earlier are on their 4th LR Discovery. They keep buying them despite the awful experience they have had with them. He, in jest, always teases me about my "American piece of junk" Chevy Tahoe yet we are constantly taking it because it is so difficult to get into the mail-slot rear doors of his Disco. We'll see if his attitude changes when I get the LS. I have to admit my current vehicle (2001 Cadillac STS) is (soon to be was) a total piece of crap though. I've also noticed a certain "haughty aire" to BMW owners (in GENERAL) on the road. I know that my prejudice is only generalized by my experiences but I get a certain pleasure out of NOT giving in to my desire to own a "look-at-me" brand and choose my vehicles first and foremost on reliability. Although - I'm thinking of getting a '99 or '00 SL to have as a weekend car. I just started warming up to that body style as the new (read: UGLY) one's came out.
#4019 of 24700 mfullmer by shipo Jan 29, 2004 (4:58 am)
"I've also noticed a certain "haughty aire" to BMW owners (in GENERAL) on the road." I tend to agree with you, I had to overcome the same stereotype about BMW drivers myself before I bought my first one. I'm a little different from most folks though in that while I like my luxury goodies, I still want a car with a good sporting capability AND a manual transmission. Unfortunately the number of cars on the market that meet my criteria these days are few and far between, hence my move to BMW. FWIW, even though I'm doing the "European Prestige" thing, I have all of my credit cards paid off, my home has an LTV of less than 50%, and even though my kids are only 10 and 7, their college funds are already capable of getting them through their undergraduate degrees. So, IMHO, it's time to play. Best Regards, Shipo
#4020 of 24700 Airs by designman Jan 29, 2004 (6:20 am)
"I've also noticed a certain "haughty aire" to BMW owners (in GENERAL) on the road." I've also noticed that BMW owners put more miles on their cars than other marques. Could it be there is something to the "ultimate driving machine" other than fluff, image and arrogance? Besides, BMW is no longer a "look at me" brand and I'm not sure it ever was. There's some serious ugly going on there. Buyers are turning their backs on the look so it's all about function now—the ride. Any "prestige" that comes with it is icing on the cake. There are airs with all luxury marques BMW included, but for most BMW buyers it goes a little deeper and I would think that anyone who doesn't understand this never drove a BMW.
#4021 of 24700 blockisland guy by ljflx Jan 29, 2004 (6:49 am)
You are thinking its like Beverly Hills or something. Nope. It's very private, very country like and you rarely see these people and when you do you respect their privacy. It's so private around here that many people don't even put up window treatments. Merc1 - The A8 just never cut it in the NYC and south of NYC area. But go northeast of NYC to Conneticut and you'll see a decent amount of them. When I looked at the A8 in 2001 the local dealership - which was an awful place - told me they get 4 A8's a month and they were discounting heavily without me negotiating. When I test drove the car a few months back nothing had changed. I'm sure a few are sprinkled around but with the local dealership (and it's a small one which also sells Range Rovers) selling so few it's easy to see why they are so rare around here.
#4022 of 24700 AWD by motownusa Jan 29, 2004 (9:41 am)
Since the Merc and Audi comes with AWD, and considering the weather in the Northeast and midwest for last couple of weeks wouldn't it be smart to pick the Merc and Audi over everything else? RWD LS or BMW 7 series doesn't help during major winter storms
#4023 of 24700 AWD by ljflx Jan 29, 2004 (10:07 am)
Anyone who can afford these cars likely has a car that has AWD or has an SUV particularly in the cold climates. If a need for a third occasional vehicle is there you can pick up a cheap suv or even lease a grand cheroee for under $300 a month. It's not mandatory at all. S-class AWD's are low sellers and A8 sales are typically 2000 a year in all of the US. A bit higher now because of the new model but it will revert right back. If I was an S-class buyer I'd stick with the base car and buy an extra suv that is cheap for the lease price difference. While I hope Lexus comes out with AWD I also hope it's optional.
#4024 of 24700 to All of the above by carnaught Jan 29, 2004 (6:09 pm)
Ya know, I'm really getting into this peaceful and harmonious discussion you are all having. There have been good points made on all sides without getting acrimonious. Thanks.
#4025 of 24700 carnaught by ljflx Jan 29, 2004 (7:00 pm)
I think everyone is fighting enough battles with the snow and cold at the moment - at least for the northern tier of posters. My money is on Carolina Sunday. Anyone with me? Lack of a running game will hurt New England.
#4026 of 24700 ljflx by merc1 Jan 29, 2004 (9:20 pm)
Yeah I remember you telling me about that awful LR/Audi dealership before. I'm surprised it's still in operation. Audi has built entirely new dealerships in the Chicago area, all of them are new except for the oldest on the near North side of Chicago itself. That dealership should also be under pressure from Ford, which wants LR/Jaguar and Aston-Martin all together when possible. I'm sure they aren't happy about Land Rover sharing space with Audi. However, there is only so much the manufacturer can do at the dealership level. One thing however, S-Class 4Matics are not low sellers, they made up over 30 percent of all S-Class sales last year nationwide. M