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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

#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

#7742 of 10338 Re: JUNE SALES? [bartalk3] by merc1

Jul 09, 2006 (11:55 pm)

Replying to: bartalk3 (Jul 06, 2006 10:35 pm)
5-Series sales are phenomenal (what accounts for that?).
 
Not sure, but Gary will tell you it is simply because it is the best car in the segment. I can't wait for the facelifted E to snatch this sales lead from the fiver.
 
M

#7743 of 10338 Diesel LPS performance: an example by jlbl

Jul 10, 2006 (4:12 am)

(Please, let me know whether you are interested or not in data like the following for you to evaluate the interest of diesel LPS in the USA)
 
Speed control has been reinforced in Spain. As a consequence, my wife and I have got in recent times a couple of painful fines. So, in my last trip I have limited myself to legal speeds on highways (75 miles per hour, radars adjusted to flash at more than 82.85 miles•hour). This is the consume report of that trip.
 
It was a 1,000 thousand-mile-long solitary ride and I had twice to go up and down from the see level to 5,000 feet.
 
(The trip, for the shake of those who know Spain, was Bilbao-Saragosse-Madrid-Albacete-Madrid-Burgos-Bilbao.)
 
Speed average along the 1,000 miles was 75.96 miles•hour, with occasional peaks of 87-up-to-93 miles•hour.
 
With these restraints, consume was of 50.01 miles•gallon.
 
It seems that the engine of my bimmer has easied itself after two and a half years of use and 40,000 miles of running!
 
Regards,
 
Jose
 
P.D. My bimmer is an E60 530d purchased in February 2004. That was 40,000 miles back. It cost € 45,000 of that time. As I have posted here before, it is six cylinders, turbocharged, with 4 injections (1,600 bares each) per cylinder and cycle. It gets 218 hp at 4,000 rpm and 368.75 lbs•foot torque at 2,000 rpm. Acceleration is 7.1 sec 0-100 km•h (62.14 miles•h). It weights 1,670 kg (734.82 lbs) with one 34-lb-passenger and 90% of tank capacity (European standards). The tank capacity is of 70 l (18.5 gallons).

#7744 of 10338 Re: M35 Gas Mileage [carnaught] by hpowders

Jul 10, 2006 (4:51 am)

Replying to: carnaught (Jul 09, 2006 3:25 pm)
I wss just showing that Infiniti has a long way to go in matching the efficiency of the BMW engines.
Both the M35 and 45 get rather poor mpg from their V6 and V8 respectively.
In this era of $3-plus gasoline, this is significant and may be an important factor in the slowing sales numbers.

#7745 of 10338 Re: Diesel LPS performance: an example [jlbl] by markcincinnati

Jul 10, 2006 (5:07 am)

Replying to: jlbl (Jul 10, 2006 4:12 am)
After the Audi A8L 4.2 TDI video, where this huge car went 800 miles on one tank of diesel, I have been hoping to read real world accounts like yours.
 
I have, too, been hoping that we would see the mid-size 6 cylinder diesel powerplants become widely available in the US.
 
Right now we seem hell-bent to try going down the E85 highway -- and perhaps Mercedes (and Chryco) alone of the Germans will adress this (but, frankly, I am none too eager to see German FFV's based on the mileage and other cost factors associated with Ethanol.)
 
Thanks for the data.
 
The Audi A6 3.2 has a diesel twin, the 3.0TDI which improves upon the acceleration by .1 seconds and mileage by 20%. On European configurators, thus far, the Audi has been about $1,000 USD (approximately) less than the gas version.
 
I think it would be a brisk seller -- but I suspect that is, frankly, wishful thinking.

#7746 of 10338 Re: BMW leases [sfcharlie] by markcincinnati

Jul 10, 2006 (5:17 am)

Replying to: sfcharlie (Jul 09, 2006 8:32 pm)
No doubt ED will appeal to a small % of buyers.
 
But, even though I have not purchased and taken delivery in Europe (Germany in particular), I have been to Germany about 25 times since 1993 and have rented Audis, BMW's and Mercedes (most recently an E Class diesel) and driven from Berlin to Munich to Garmisch to Fussen (sp?) and lots of these km's were on the autobahn and many of those were at double US legal speeds.
 
Driving around Munich, Baden-Baden, Garmisch and the Black Forest cities and towns is an exercise in travel that should be near the top of your "things to do" before you die list. Perhaps doing so at a discount due to the ED program could make this more attractive and certainly more affordable.
 
If you have never been to Germany, this IS a great way to see the country in 5 star fashion at perhaps a 2 star price. The German auto mfgrs seem, each, to have divisions whose responsibility it is to pick routes, hotels and restaurants of breathtaking beauty, comfort and flavor respectively.
 
It may be a minority of folks who will take this route to German car ownership -- but they will be rewarded.
 
I'll leave you with this -- when you begin the drive south out of Munich toward Fussen, you feel like a kid when he or she first lays eyes on Disneyworld.
 
There's nothing like this experience.

Messages Page 775 of 1035

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