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Luxury Performance Sedans

10339 messages,  Last post on May 30, 2013 at 3:26 PM

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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 908 of 1034

#9070 of 10339 Re: Is there a difference? [willie2l] by markcincinnati

Jan 15, 2007 (8:28 pm)

Replying to: willie2l (Jan 15, 2007 6:35 pm)
All of the Audis my wife and I have had since that first 1978 Audi 5000 in 1977 have been purchased from the same dealer. Most of them, by far, from the same salesman (who is not in management at the dealership.)
 
The dealership, owned by ONE GUY, was sold to a billion dollar company several years ago. The dealership built a new 7 million dollar dealership. They sell about 600 new Audis per year -- but they are growing, apparently, with their new location and super high glitz facility.
 
Good for them, good for the customers -- or so I thought.
 
For the first 25 or 26 Audis we always dealt directly with the owner, who was always there.
 
Came to the current two car purchases we made in March and June of 2005 and boy oh boy things sure had changed.
 
I ended up kissing Audi good-bye and placed an order for an Infiniti M35X. My wife after 3 TT's in a row and a desire to buy a new A4 3.2, also gave up and ordered a new $47K BMW X3 that was "hundreds" cheaper per month on a lease for 36 month than a $44K A4.
 
The Infiniti deal for me was nearly $200 less per month than the "similar" A6 3.2.
 
I so wanted the Audi, but, as I have said, these cars are more alike than they are different and the mo pay and "styling" are key differentiators. I guess if I thought the Infiniti was butt ugly or something like that I couldn't have made the decision I initially made.
 
What the heck, I had purchased so many cars from ONE GUY, I wrote him a "thanks for the memories" letter, cc'd the sales manager (no longer the owner, who is never there, apparently) and also cc'd the Vice president of Audi of America.
 
Note: when you order an Infiniti it takes about 120 days -- orders are only placed one time per month (in 2005 at least) and the lead time is a minimum of 90+ days after that.
 
I sent the letters I mentioned.
 
I figured I would be happy with the Infiniti, I had driven the car several times and found it to be quite close to the feel I had enjoyed from Audi and had felt when I tested BMW's. About 75 days passed and then, one day, I received a phone call from the sales rep, who said, "come home Shane, come home."
 
The net of it was there were "loyalty deals, special cents off coupons and lower money factors and even the cancelling of a couple of months of a lease on my not yet at term 2003 allroad, the negating of a sec dep and free bottled water and car washes for life."
 
All I had to do was "unhook" the M35X deal -- the Infiniti dealers had $1500 of my money.
 
A phone call to the Infiniti dealer was soooo easy. He was looking for inbound inventory. My car, apparently on a boat, was able to be sold either to me or to someone else despite my somewhat unorthodox color scheme, silver with bourbon leather and journey and technology package with ground effects and a wing on the butt.
 
My wife said the deal Audi coughed up was a ONCE in a lifetime deal for they literally dropped the price on a 36 mo lease $200 per month and let me out of my lease on the allroad without penalty.
 
I hope she is wrong.
 
I also somewhat hate the fact that I had to say good-bye to get the deal. Of course, as they say, "if you are willing to walk and they know it, you will get the best deal du jour."
 
After years of dealing directly with the owner, I had come to enjoy a no negotiation approach and a sense that I always got the best deal in exchange for my repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat patronage.
 
Hey, now I'm dealing with a billion dollar dealership group. I met the owner once, I am confident he knows me not and in fact he's never there, so it's really a moot point anyway.
 
Today, I am mostly convinced these cars ARE NOT unique (within their class). The Lexus is at one, Infiniti and perhaps Cadillac are in the middle and the Germans are at the other end of a continuum of plush/poshness and sportiness. They are all great apples, so to speak, but they are different kind of apples -- but apples nevertheless.
 
Some like red deeeeelish, some granny smith and some gala.
 
The car companies must know this too, for there certainly can be a great deal of movement with respect to the "rental" agreements offered by the various financing arms. Audi Financial, apparently, made this happen as did BMW financial for my wife with her new Bimmer.
 
Fear not -- and also don't assume the dealer knows everything or is somehow attempting to be a crook. While they certainly might be, it is more likely that these multi multi million dollar (or billion dollar, in my case) auto dealerships you are dealing with are being run by professional "managers."
 
Rarely, at least in these parts, will you deal with someone in an equity position. The guy who didn't know about the "deal" quite possibly didn't know about the deal -- why? It really makes little difference to him/her.
 
My long term sales rep says he makes about the same amount on an A3 as he does on an A8 -- his motivation therefore is, well -- you figure it out.

#9071 of 10339 Re: Is there a difference? [willie2l] by allagaroo

Jan 15, 2007 (9:31 pm)

Replying to: willie2l (Jan 15, 2007 6:35 pm)
N
 
I'm delighted that I was of help to you. The very best of luck with the new car. Please advise how you like it.
 With all the luxury AWD cars available this was the toughest auto decision I ever had. Initially, I was sure I'd get my 3rd Audi until I heard the monthly price. Then I was convinced I'd get the M35X until I drove the GS350 which is fast but numb. Was finally about to lease the M on Friday when I heard about the owner loyalty on Thursday. Everything is timing! My current lease doesn't end until March so I'll be counting the days until I get mine although I love my 2.7T and am not in a hurry to say goodbye yet. Enjoy the new car!
J

#9072 of 10339 Re: They Ain't Gonna Sell [markcincinnati] by audi_ownera6

Jan 16, 2007 (1:42 am)

Replying to: markcincinnati (Feb 08, 2006 9:43 pm)
Hi,
 
I recently bought a 2006 A6. Everything about this car is just the way I would have imagined except the brakes. When applying the parking brakes I can hear a distinct hum from the rear end of the car. I have driven a couple of loaners and they dint sound anything when applying the parking brake. The service agent says this is normal for the A6's. Secondly when I apply brakes, the car smoothly decelerates and then stops abruptly(I want to say with a jerk). Again the dealer says this is what happens with the brake assist feature when it chips in to anticipate any corrective braking that might be required.
 
Am I being paranoid or is the Audi dealer just giving me some stock answers to problems they cant fix?

#9073 of 10339 Well will the next CTS-V with 600 horses be a LPS ????? by rockylee

Jan 16, 2007 (3:05 am)

I would assume on 08' CTS content alone the next CTS-V would be a true LPS wouldn't it ????? It should be right at the top in performance because the next "V" or as some call it Super-V is getting the new supercharged Corvette SS engine with 600 horses. 0-60 in a "blink of a eye"
 
Rocky

#9074 of 10339 Re: They Ain't Gonna Sell [audi_ownera6] by lexusguy

Jan 16, 2007 (8:45 am)

Replying to: audi_ownera6 (Jan 16, 2007 1:42 am)
"It's normal for them to do that" is the easiest "shut up and go away" answer for a dealer to give about pretty much any problem. The "it's the brake assist" answer is particularly troubling because that's just a flat out lie. Brake assist is only supposed to activate in panic situations if the driver hasn't hit the pedal hard enough for maximum braking. All of my cars have had BA for the last several years, and none of them act like that. Take it to another dealer.

#9075 of 10339 Re: Well will the next CTS-V with 600 horses be a LPS ????? [rockylee] by lexusguy

Jan 16, 2007 (8:55 am)

Replying to: rockylee (Jan 16, 2007 3:05 am)
No, the next CTS-V will not be a LPS. Neither will the M3, RS4, C63, IS-F, or S60R. It doesn't matter how big the engine gets or how fast it goes. The Ariel Atom will outrun pretty much any car including a 600hp CTS to 60. That doesn't make it a LPS. Cadillac's LPS continues to be the STS.

#9076 of 10339 Re: They Ain't Gonna Sell [audi_ownera6] by tayl0rd

Jan 16, 2007 (11:49 am)

Replying to: audi_ownera6 (Jan 16, 2007 1:42 am)
Remember that the parking brake of the new A6 is an electronic unit. Not many other manufacturers use that type of brake. The hum you're hearing is the motor activating the brake.
 
With the "jerky" braking, it's probably either the Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD) or the transmission downshifting into first gear. It's probably the downshift. I believe I've read from other A6 owners that their cars sometimes jerk when downshifting. Pay attention to the brake pedal the next time you're coming to a stop. If you feel a slight pulse up on the pedal, it's the EBD kicking in. What that does is send a little more braking force to the rear brakes. It only kicks in for panic stops and below a certain speed. For nearly all cars (except BMWs) 85+% of the braking is done by the front brakes. This is why the front brake systems are larger than the rear and also why the front brakes have more brake dust and wear out sooner than the rears.

#9077 of 10339 Re: They Ain't Gonna Sell [tayl0rd] by upuaut

Jan 16, 2007 (1:12 pm)

Replying to: tayl0rd (Jan 16, 2007 11:49 am)
For nearly all cars (except BMWs) 85+% of the braking is done by the front brakes.
 
Why not BMW's, are they exempt from the rules of physics?

#9078 of 10339 Re: They Ain't Gonna Sell [audi_ownera6] by markcincinnati

Jan 16, 2007 (2:46 pm)

Replying to: audi_ownera6 (Jan 16, 2007 1:42 am)
The HUM you hear is, IME, normal. It is an electronic motor activating the parking brake. I hear it, it is faint and it lets me know the brake is applied.
 
The other jerking you feel is NOT normal and is no way associated with Brake Assist.
 
The answer is lazy.
 
The culprit COULD be the transmission especially if you are in S mode which forces a HARD shift to first gear.
 
There are adjustments and parts that can be made and replaced if this is a true out of spec condition, which I think it sounds like.
 
Don't take the lazy answer.
 
My brakes are great.

#9079 of 10339 Re: They Ain't Gonna Sell [upuaut] by warthog

Jan 16, 2007 (4:52 pm)

Replying to: upuaut (Jan 16, 2007 1:12 pm)
Given the weight transfer, I can't understand why most of the braking wouldn't be done by the front wheels in all cars (except maybe a huge SUV with gold bullion in the wayback). However, my experience with a 2002 Passat is that the rear brakes wear out at about twice the rate of the front. It's a mystery.

Messages Page 908 of 1034

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