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Luxury Performance Sedans

10338 messages,  Last post on May 01, 2013 at 3:12 PM

You are in the Sedans Forum.

What is this discussion about? Lexus GS 430, Acura RL, BMW 5 Series, Volvo S80, Audi A6, Infiniti M35, Infiniti M45, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Cadillac STS, Sedan

Messages Page 775 of 1035

#7732 of 10338 Re: Built To Out-What??? [hpowders] by james27

Jul 09, 2006 (2:25 pm)

When I was looking for a new car last year, regardless of performance and features, the only one that I comfortably fit in was the Infinity M. The insistence that a car in this class requires a sunroof, usurping as much as nearly 3" of headroom just meant I needed the bigger car. People are getting taller and wider...cars need good headroom. It is also very perplexing that some of the huge things out there have the seat cushion so high that even with their huge size, they've got less headroom than many much smaller vehicles. Until the other companies see this as an issue, I refuse to buy one. My previous car was a 1998 Audi A6, special ordered without a sunroof. While you can order one now, most of the desireable options can only be had with a sunroof. This is true with most of the other brands, if offered at all.

#7733 of 10338 Re: M35 Gas Mileage [shipo] by carnaught

Jul 09, 2006 (3:25 pm)

Replying to: shipo (Jul 09, 2006 12:21 pm)
Where does the $49,600 come from?
 
I configured the 530i with nothing but metallic paint and delivery to make it more comparable to the previous price comparison.
 
hpowder's post (#7715) showed what one can get (a BMW 545, an 8 cylinder) to better the mpg an M35 Infiniti (a 6 cylinder). Then when Shipo introduced a base manual 530i into the price discussion, it brought in two more variables, a manual transmission and a base car vs. better equiped cars.
 
Gentlemen, I'm not debating what car is better (BMW or M35), 6 vs.8 cylinders or auto vs. manual, but just pointing out that the 545's better gas mileage than an M35 comes at a sizeable price differential (my post #7723). Yes, one can cherry pick options and make my figures show an even greater or lesser price difference between the M35 and 545.
 
(My disclaimer: I have both an '06 M35 and BMW. )

#7734 of 10338 Re: M35 Gas Mileage [quemfala] by markcincinnati

Jul 09, 2006 (4:37 pm)

Replying to: quemfala (Jul 09, 2006 1:59 pm)
Comparisons are apparently difficult to make for a variety of reasons:
 
MSRP, number of cylinders, monthly cost to lease, performance, content, etc.
 
It seems that one of the points was that the 6 cylinder Infiniti was similar in mileage to the 8 cylinder BMW.
 
The value or merits of this data are certainly partially due to the value you place on horsepower, torque, accelerative performance, mileage and of course price (and even that is based on if you pay cash or lease, for it may seem to be cheaper to buy the car in cash even if the Mothly Payments are lower for the lease [another subject].)
 
In any case, the data points seemed to me to tell a story -- a common sense story. And of course, common sense is ONLY common to ONE person, in this case, YOU.
 
Read it and define it as it is most appropriate to you, that is.
 
If, for instance, you were most interested in mileage + 0-60 times, you might feel the BMW was a better choice.
 
The apparent higher cost of the BMW may or may not be important depending on how you afforded this purchase.

#7735 of 10338 Re: M35 Gas Mileage [markcincinnati] by carnaught

Jul 09, 2006 (4:46 pm)

Replying to: markcincinnati (Jul 09, 2006 4:37 pm)
If, for instance, you were most interested in mileage + 0-60 times, you might feel the BMW was a better choice.
  
The apparent higher cost of the BMW may or may not be important depending on how you afforded this purchase.

 
BMW's often with their higher prices represent also great value when their favorable leases are taken into account.

#7736 of 10338 530i vs. m35 by bread8

Jul 09, 2006 (7:51 pm)

I just purchased an Infiniti g35 with 6-speed manual, aero pkg. and sunroof.I have driven the bimmer and M. The g35 is faster, racier and almost as roomy. True, there are no wooden surrounds, the stereo is not as good and perhaps the "class" factor isnt there. But, I will smoke both from a light and still get the same service that you do at the dealership for 10-20k less.
 
Frankly, I cannot afford a 530 an M or even a 330. But my G is alot of car and one of those rare rwd sport-sedans with a manual and almost 300 hp for under 35k.

#7737 of 10338 BMW leases by sfcharlie

Jul 09, 2006 (8:32 pm)

I might be odd-person-out in this round of LPS discussion, but the BMW 530i was not a serious contender for my 2006 purchase. I loved both the 3-series and 5-series throughout the 1990s, but feel nothing when looking at or sitting in the new models.
 
Of course, that has nothing to do with anyone's buying decision, except mine.
 
If, however, I was buying a BMW, I (again, just me) would not go to Germany to pick it up. I believe earlier posts that suggest I could save $6,000 of MSRP. But, I could get something off MSRP right here at home, not use the money, time, or energy to fly to Germany and put myself up there. Plus, when I pick up a new car, I want to drive it home that day.
 
I don't think any sizeable proportion of BMW buyers would take the ED route, even if every BMW dealer carefully explained every advantage of doing so. Therefore, when I read exchanges here in which BMW ED leases are put forward as a heavily-weighted variable in the buy-BMW equation, it seems to me to be apples and oranges for the vast majority of LPS buyers.

#7738 of 10338 I agree with that... by kyfdx HOST

Jul 09, 2006 (8:36 pm)

..for most people, ED is not realistic.... A great thing, if you have the desire and means to pull it off..
 
But, even at normal stateside pricing, you can usually lease a BMW for less than the competing models, even if the competitor's MSRP is lower... You don't have to do ED to come out ahead.... throw in the included maintenance, and the cost to drive a BMW is fairly reasonable on an "apples to apples" basis..

#7739 of 10338 Re: BMW leases [sfcharlie] by lexusguy

Jul 09, 2006 (9:37 pm)

Replying to: sfcharlie (Jul 09, 2006 8:32 pm)
I might be odd-person-out in this round of LPS discussion, but the BMW 530i was not a serious contender for my 2006 purchase. I loved both the 3-series and 5-series throughout the 1990s, but feel nothing when looking at or sitting in the new models.
 
I'm with you, at least in regards to the 5 series. It may be more efficient than the M, and it may outperform it. However, I still can't stand the looks, and I think the interior is probably worst in class, except for perhaps the STS. I'll take the M.
 
The new 3 is good, but it faces stiff competition from the next G35 and A4.

#7740 of 10338 Re: I agree with that... [kyfdx] by sfcharlie

Jul 09, 2006 (9:47 pm)

Replying to: kyfdx (Jul 09, 2006 8:36 pm)
That tallies with my experience pricing BMWs.
 
I never found the cost of a BMW I was considering to be, in the end, a deterrent to buying or leasing it, when compared to 3-series or 5-series competitors I was considering alongside the comparable BMW.
 
On the other hand, I have not always found BMW to be the most appealing (cost aside) choice. Sometimes, the discussion can take an implicit turn and we're talking as if it's a foregone conclusion that everyone would choose a BMW 5-series model if they only understood that it's as affordable as other LPS cars with which it competes. By contrast, the greater "refinement" of new BMW models combined with their filling up twice as many parking spaces in my office garage as Audi or Infinity made Audi and Infinity more appealing to me (as the BMW 5-series began to occupy a different niche in my mind than it did in the 1990s, that is, the ultimate commuting machine).

#7741 of 10338 Re: JUNE SALES? [lexusguy] by merc1

Jul 09, 2006 (11:51 pm)

Replying to: lexusguy (Jul 07, 2006 6:41 am)
When I posted those numbers I didn't really look at the YTD numbers. The RL is on track to sell about half of its 20K a year goal. Everything else they have is down for the year except the TSX. That RDX can't come soon enough. Funny thing is that in the Acura press release they say that gas prices are slowing sales, but they expect their new SUVs to do great.
 
The Jaguar S-Type which no one ever lists here anymore, has sold a whopping 3,627 units year to date, but it is their bestselling car. I imagine there are going to be some Jaguar dealer closings soon. The situation is more desperate than I thought.
 
M

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