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I did remember - thinking back to my comment about MBZ ditching the lenses, on new S class for eg, that they use an automatic self leveling system (like BMW) and I guess they feel that to be adequate for not offending oncoming traffic. Note to people with xenons (and please let me know when you've noticed this if you haven't already) when you go over a speed bump, or any medium speed bump or dip that would cause the headlights aim to alter, notice how the lights quickly aim down and then return !!! So cool! you can also see this by sudden acceleration (causing the car to point up and the lights down) or braking (visa versa). Most fascinating!! It calibrates itself when the lights are turned on - you'll notice (same for DRL) that if you turn the ignition on and turn on the lights at the same time, the light will dip down, then up to it's correct angle - it even factors in being parked on an incline!
Now - let's call it at that. And I really don't want to go into global ownership of car companies. I spend my life considering badge engineering, platform sharing and autonomous ownership. An analogy on the Renault/Nissan thing would be like saying that Kraft Cheese Singles are basically the same as Marlboro cigarettes on the strength that Phillip Morris owns both companies. Now please - let's leave that one a closed book too!
Thanks!!
Best Regards,
Shipo
What I like best is that this is a Real sports car dressed up as a functional sedan. I'm quite sure that I will never really be able to push it to it's limits as I'm fairly conservative behind the wheel but I like the idea anyway.
Does anyone have problems with the sport package of bottoming out or hitting the parking lot dividers as you pull the car in? It will take a little getting used to as my last two "cars" were suv's.
Curious about what made you switch from an SUV to a 3-series?
Now - do not panic. The likely hood of this happening to anyone here (incidentally, we're only talking about 2001 models, generally built after November 2000) is slim. But if you drive an '01 BMW of any description (possibly excluding Z3) I strongly recommend stopping by your local dealer to have them determine if your fan needs replacing. They will no doubt need to order the part for you so expect to make two trips. Don't wait for a recall notice or white smoke from the front of the car before acting. This is a very serious situation and the possible out-comes are not pleasant to consider.
I hope that long winded response is of some interest to anyone besides me. On a more mundane note, the black strips or molding on the doors tend to get white powder like streaks on them when they get dirty. They're not painted so they get this chalk look to them. Any remedies?
During the test drive (alone) it became very clear that this car is quite fast, almost as fast as my 325i.
The big difference is when you hit the gas in the Jetta it almost feels as if it wants to lift the front wheels off the pavement, good ole FWD. When I came off the highway at fast rate of speed, I certainly did not feel as confident nor could I corner at the same angle as I can in the 325i.
The Jetta will provide my wife with a nice and safe auto with some very decent performance thrown in and it will provide me with the chance to continue to appreciate my 325i.
The bottom line to me is that there are a lot of good wannabes out there ie: IS300,A4,C320, but I like the original best. I think it's still ahead of the field. The amount of technology in these cars is really amazing if you take the time to read the manual as I have been doing.
Thanks
I have no idea whether there was a very slight imbalance (ie. one piston/connecting rod being slightly heavier or lighter than the rest) in the engine or some other cause for the resonance. I do know that engines in general have a tendency to "Smooth Out" over time as their components loosen up, and mine has done just that.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Other then that, I love my car.
The car: 2001 330i with options (amounts from BMWUSA.com)
$36,610 MSRP
$2500 Down
36mo lease=$518
Comparison 1, Lease or pay cash
By leasing, you could take the cash leftover from the down payment and invest it. At the end of 36 months, you would have $24,343.50 if you could earn 10% on your invested cash (less with a lower ROI, more with a higher ROI).
If you paid cash for the car, you would have the car instead of $24,343.50. Edmunds shows a '98 comparably equipped 328I valued at $22,774 (private party sale). It's impossible to estimate what a 3 year old 330i will sell for, but I believe it would be more than the investment return above.
Comparison 2, Lease or borrow purchase amount
Obviously, most of us can't pay cash, so the other option is to borrow from the bank. Assuming an 8% loan rate, the payments would be $1,068.88 with the above down payment over 36 months.
If you leased the car and invested the remaining cash each month at 10%, you would have $23,016.91 at the end of 36 months, but no car. Again, I think you would come out ahead by not leasing.
I left out tax considerations which hurt the lease numbers in terms of taxes on investment returns and deductions for home equity loans.
Obviously, leasing allows you to get more car for your money if you can't swing the monthly payments for a loan, but it appears that you would be better off saving your lease payments for a year and getting a home equity loan.
I performed these calculations in an Excel spreadsheet which I would be glad to send to anyone who was interested.
I would appreciate anyone pointing out errors in my calculations or logic which may make leasing appear more attractive.
-Murray
I have never seriously considered leasing or financing a car, not based upon economics as much as psychology. I figure if I can't afford to pay cash, I shouldn't buy. Started this a few decades ago with my first brand new car (1978 Datsun B210GX - $4,200 out the door) and have stuck to it ever since. It also helped get me a 1984 Toyota Supra at a discount when they were a hot car. The sales manager couldn't walk away from 160 $100 bills. Since then, I've used a check to avoid being questioned by the IRS or DEA!
I couldn't help but notice that the $1,068 monthly payment on a 330i happens to be almost exactly what my monthly mortgage payments are on a house I purchased 12 years ago (thanks to some interim refinancing to get my rate down to 6%). Difference is, the house is now worth about $500k. Until I find a car that's going to appreciate 100%+ over 12 years, I think I'll stick to paying cash.
Thanks for the analysis, though. It was very interesting.
I think the US would be much better off if time value of money was required teaching in high school math instead of, say, trigonometry. No one remembers what opposite over hypotenuse is anyway. It wouldn't even take a whole semester to teach all the formulas needed to do the analysis I did to come up with the numbers in my previous post. With a spreadsheet, it's a piece of cake!
Anyway, I hope the numbers give some people insight into leasing.
-Murray
Anybody can come up with numbers that show less total dollars spent when cash is paid, however, what they are not factoring in is that you now have CASH tied up in a car. CASH is King folks, if used properly, the cash not tied up in a car can be made to grow at a conservative 15% year in and year out. That said, there is no way paying cash for a car is cheaper than leasing or borrowing if done right.
In my case, I am part owner in several businesses, and ALL cars used by our employees are leased. By leasing, we do not have to mess with depreciation (our buddies at the IRS set forth some very prohibitive rules back in 1986 regarding how to depreciate automobiles), we simply take the cost of the lease as an expense, just like fuel, maintenance and insurance. Long story short, 90% of the lease on my car is paid in Pre-Tax income.
In certain situations, leasing RULES.
Best Regards,
Shipo
My money market funds are yielding 3%, my bonds are yielding 5%, and my stocks are well, depreciating faster than a Aztek.
I may have agreed with you 3 years ago, but if you've been able to show an average ROI over the last three years of anything over 10%, I want you as my financial advisor!
That said, I was referring to personal leasing. I have no knowledge of the benefits associated with business leasing
-Murray
p.s. I ran the numbers on the examples from my earlier post with a 15% ROI. At the end of a 3 year lease, you would have $29,976.29 if you invested the cash and $24,853.38 if you invested the difference in payments, but no car.
I was looking at either for my next car. Which would you go for, and why?
As for owning a car outright, who cares? Whether you pay cash up front, or finance it for three years, you still end up owning an asset that is depreciating every day. Sooner or later, you are going to sell it and get another one. Why tie up you money when it could be making more money for you elsewhere? The advantage of leasing is that you target a residual value after a certain period of time and then finance the depreciated portion of the car, then time for a new car. You are then able to keep more of your money working for you, in the long run, leasing will be less expensive, unless, that is, you intend on keeping your car until it bites the dust. Even then, financing is probably cheaper than paying cash.
Another advantage of leasing as an individual that I forgot to mention yesterday is that on cars with a high residual (like the 3-Series), you can save quite a bit of money because of the lower sales tax. Most states require sales tax to be paid only on the depreciated portion of the car when it is leased, however if you buy (financed or cash), you pay sales tax on the entire car. In my case, the residual on my car is about $28,000 after 39 months, here in New Jersey; we have a 6% sales tax rate, which equates to $1,680 in sales tax that I did not pay. Sadly some states (Illinois for instance) require you to pay the tax on the full negotiated value of the car.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Regards....Ray
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sign up for the next car control clinic, and autocross.
In 1978, I was driving my Challenger RT down a freeway in San Diego and as I was passing a clapped out looking Chevy Pickup truck with a very bad looking “Side Pipe” exhaust setup, he blipped his throttle a couple of times. I simply dropped to third and nailed it, the next thing I knew, I was looking at his taillights pulling away from me FAST. When he shut down about a half mile down, flames about 5’ long were coming from those side pipes. Very embarrassing.
In 1985, I was driving a very humbling car (Fiat Uno Diesel – with a whopping 36 hp!) through Europe. As we were struggling up a mountain in Switzerland, I saw a blur in my mirror come around a curve behind me and close the mile or so gap between us in about 30 seconds. As the 911 Turbo passed us, a shock wave pushed the Fiat at least a lane over to the right. I figure he was moving at least 100mph faster than us! Truly humbled in the face of a god-like machine.
Yesterday, as I was pulling away from the northbound traffic light on the West Side Highway at 57th street, I accelerated up to about 60 and set the cruise control to hold that speed (since the WTC incident, the New York State Police have taken to patrolling the WSH), discretion being the better part of valor. All of the sudden, I saw another blur in my mirror (this one VERY RED). As the Viper GTS passed me with an easy 70mph cushion, I noticed that in his wake was what looked like a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R (I am making my guess here based upon the configuration of the pipes). Given the way the lights are timed, my best guess is that they were at the 54th or 55th Street light when I was at 57th Street. I figure that by the time they had passed me, they had traveled about twice as far as me, and were at more than double my speed. That was humbling enough to cause me to drive home and clean out the garage.
Best Regards,
Shipo
your last couple of posts here you were saying you had narrowed it down to the BMW, then you were comparing the Audi and BMW, now ALL GERMAN cars suck?
What happened???????????????
It sounds to me like you ran into a bad dealer. No one here has ever said that the dealers for the German cars were universally great, in fact, there are several that are clearly BAD, however, does that mean that the cars themselves are BAD?
If you find that a Japanese car meets your automotive requirements better than a German car, good for you, buy it. For many of us that is just not the case.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Color me a "race dar [sic] driver wannabee" I guess.
I, for one, couldn't be happier with my dealer. $1400 over ED invoice with Munich pickup 9 short weeks from today. Compared to that deal, any Japanese 330i competitor that comes to mind is the one that's overpriced.
PS. My 2002 330i will be ready early Novemeber and I paid $700 over invoice with all the bells and whistles.
As I said, my cash buying decision is as much pyschological as it is financial. I've watched my high tech portfolio drop 50%+ over the last 18 months. While it's not causing me to jump out of any windows, I'm also glad I don't have a $500 to $1,000 car payment coming due every month to rub it in.
I own a real estate development company, so like you, know the advantages of leverage. I may consider leasing my next car if, and only if, I've already made the decision to buy for cash and THEN do the lease analysis to see if I think I would be better off putting my cash elsewhere. Given the overly depressed state of the market, I very well might.
P.S. What's up with this edward555 guy?? Looks like he forgot to take his Prozac today.
I have one minor complaint: the heel of my shoe keeps sliding off the raised section of the floormat when I hit the brake pedal. Anyone else ever had an issue with this? And, are there any other custom fit floormats available that don't have the raised section with the BMW logo? Thanks for the input.