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Sedans Luxury Lounge
21423 messages, Last post on Nov 28, 2009 at 10:00 PM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: dewey (Aug 01, 2008 7:34 pm) I think Tagman has said in the past that his Porsche is one of the finest cars he has ever owned, if not the finest....For what it is.....I understand where he is coming from, and I myself am headed in the same direction....When I owned my Porsche, it had a definite life span, and when that was over, it was over...although what followed was not what I would consider superior to Porsche, nor most of the time even in the same ballpark...Porsche is a very expensive car now, and if he were to keep it for any length of time the hit he would take later would not be worth it.....Just like the Audi I now presently own, I`l loose probably fifty thousand when I trade it....Man I don`t like this thought...Tony
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Replying to: anthonyp (Aug 02, 2008 12:06 pm) I I never owned a Porsche 911 so you and Tagman know this better than myself. Maybe I myself would dispose of my 911 within a year or two. Who knows? Though in all likelihood I would keep it for a long long time. And hopefully Tagman did not view my post in a negative way. We are all different. And that is why we are here. To express our differences and likenesses. When I love a car I tend to keep them for a while that is why in my very extreme case I still keep our very fuel efficient and super-reliable 83 MB300D in our garage. Buying a BMW 335i and BMW 530xi touring within one year was completing out of character for both my wife and myself. I know a former client who has owned various Porsche 911s these past few decades. And here I know someone who kept his 911 for what I consider a very short time. Though each one defines a short time differently-- one person's short time of ownership is another person's eternity.
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Apparently the company that has proven so successful in giving away cars is considering reducing "sales": http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/08/01/afx5280641.html [i] "The higher expense booked for residual value risks and bad debts as a result of unfavourable developments on the U.S. market slashed second-quarter earnings by 459 million euros, it said. BMW said it will raise its car prices this year and next year, starting in the United States, and will reduce by around 40,000 units the number of cars it had planned to sell this year in that country. CEO Norbert Reithofer said BMW will likely cut production by around 20,000 to 25,000 cars. Reithofer said given the current problems in the United States and deteriorating economic conditions in Europe, the company is burying its plans to produce the X7. Industry observers have described the X7 as a super luxury SUV which would supposedly rival the Land Rover Range Rover. BMW was the biggest loser on Frankfurt's blue chip board, closing 1.55 euros or 5.36 percent down at 27.36 while the DAX30 finished 1.28 percent lower at 6,393.46." [/i] Yes, some of us predicted that the cars were well worth their prices because the residuals were real and not fantasies . . . the billion-dollar (close to 700 billion euro already just for the first two quarters' of 2008, and accelearating) write-down just goes to prove how good those predictions were . . . and how conservative and solid that German accounting practices had been when the cars leases were underwritten. What's that old German saying about big lies vs. small lies? |
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http://carsportals.com/2008/08/01/bmw-to-reduce-leases-from-60-of-its-us-sales/ BMW 60% lease Mercedes 55% Lexus 43% Cadillac 42 Industy average for all carmakers in the US: about 20%. Sure, most BMW and Mercedes are purchased not leased, so it was said by some authorities on this forum. Those numbers are this year through July 20, after MB and BMW both severely cut back lease incentives in the spring compared to years past. No, lease incentives have no effect on customers' decision on buying vs. leasing. MSRP is well justified, regardless subsequent billion dollar writedowns. hahaha. ============== Disclaimer: Please do not be upset if I compare you to savages or lost souls isolated from the world, or if I become patronizing towards you, my child. No offense is intended. If I call you a "imbecile," it's ony a term of endearment, as in comparing you to a cule 3 to 7 year old; likewise "moron is a term of endearment comparing you to a lovely 8-12 year old. If you stop arguing in the interest of peace after I give such explanations, I will have you banned.
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Replying to: dewey (Aug 02, 2008 7:37 pm)
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Replying to: credulity (Aug 03, 2008 9:41 am) Mercedes 55% Lexus 43% Cadillac 42 Industry average for all carmakers in the US: about 20%. Leases are starting to change however. There is not going to be much of an incentive to lease cars that don't get really good gas mileage. With the price of oil bouncing around like it is and the economy concerning a lot of people, it is very difficult for the manufactures to safely predict a vehicle's worth at the end of a lease. But unless you believe this is the end and soon we will all be forced to riding bikes and scooters, hold on to your performance cars as they may just increase in value before too long.
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Replying to: tx_buzzard (Aug 03, 2008 10:57 am) IMHO, cars are not going to increase in value (regardless what nominal prices do) because manufacturing itself is becoming commodidized. This whole credit crunch will mean the end for some manufacturers, but not others. As they say, when the tide goes out, we get to see who's been swimming naked  It's a healthy process that weeds out the inefficient manufacturers, and make room for new ones with better ideas and better methods. The world is already facing overcapacity in carmaking, and more new production lines are coming on line soon. Even many on this "luxury lounge" forum are praising the 1-series over others, a car that misses even the old $30k line for luxury cars from the late 80's without adjusting for 20 years of inflation . . . makes you wonder if the carmakers are marketting the correct vehicle mix.
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Ramblings warning: Greetings, all. I think the XLR thing is fading, on to the XK. My son and I camped out Saturday night (oh, yes. It did rain!) along with a few other members of the Scout Pack. Two stops on the way to the campout, first the bank to deposit a rather large rebate check ($10!), the second the local Jag/LR dealer. As has been the case each time I've stopped there, it was empty-ish. One couple, from what I could gather, talking to two sales folks about a used Freelander. Why? My son and I were finally greeted by a nattily attired (shirt/tie vs. LR Polo shirt) gentleman. I explained I was there simply to see if my 9.5 year old son would fit in the back seat of an XK Coupe. Mr. Salesdude, who had yet to smile, simply said, "No, he won't." There was nary a new XK to be seen, one used (black, nope) '07 vert. He did lead us out to an '07 customer's coupe in for service, but just as we got to the car the rain began to fall. And he RAN back to the showroom! We looked in the window at the rear "seats," which I'm familiar with but have never tried and headed back in to the showroom just as the downpour really got in gear. Small talk with Mr. Serious (not unpleasant, just business-like and straightforward) who insisted that young son would not fit, with the sloping roof of the coupe, in back. Maybe for short distances... He hoped that once I was closer to considering, that I would give them a chance to earn my biz. Well, first you'll need some cars... He said they didn't expect any new XKs for months... But, yes, I appreciate the direct, honesty. I'll be back... So, I'll continue the slow dance. Yeah, maybe a trip to Long Island with a briefcase full of cash is in order! But, decisions to be made. Does this replace the TL? That would be tough as a year-rounder here in New England, although long term reviews I've read have noted that XK shod with snow shoes have done well. Third car? Only two car garage, not sure I want to insure three cars... And then there is the (also quite scant) A5. Style, performance, quattro... one car that may fulfill my midlife crisis quota. But, it's not the Jag... This will be a long strange trip along the long and winding road. I'll have to keep my eyes on the road and my hands upon the wheel while I'm going mobile... Lexusguy, have you put real live humans in the back seats of your XK? How would you describe it? BIG and Jim (clembo): Enjoying your talk of New England. Don't forget to take Rte. 100 through Vermont and side trips... Definition of lovely. |
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Replying to: laurasdada (Aug 03, 2008 7:03 pm) Test drive twin turbo... and then try to wipe the smile off of your face (and son's). Pay no attention to the gals that keep checking you and the car out... you are happily married to evil wife. All sounds crazy or wrong somehow? Maybe, maybe not. Check it out for yourself... (on a sunny day... LOL). TM
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Replying to: laurasdada (Aug 03, 2008 7:03 pm) The reason why it was desolate in the Jag dealer is because sales are down 16% last month so that might also explain why the salesperson acted strange. Perhaps they will begin incentives to buy XK's soon! Regards, OW
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