The Stock Market and Investing

gagrice · March 2013

Do other carriers offer this?

It looks like you can buy a phone and get month to month service from Verizon. The cost is the same as a contract. Not such a good deal. With most cell phones you cannot take from Verizon to AT&T. They are different architecture.

gagrice · March 2013

Fun story, but probably have better odds buying Powerball tickets.

I think it is more common than you think. Kids sitting on the sofa in the family mobilehome coming up with $million ideas are plentiful.

Stories of teenage tycoons were a recurring theme during the height of the 90s dot com boom, but many young millionaires came and went. Take Shawn Fanning, founder of Napster, who didnt make quite as much as he expected when legal problems forced him to close his fileswapping service and sell off its assets. But today, the young and wealthy show that the era of the teenage millionaire is still alive and well.

Entrepreneurs like Tyler have come a long way from the days of mowing lawns and delivering newspapers in order to make some extra pocket money. Tyler was just 15 when he started CoolTronics.com, a computer- supply company. With annual sales of $1.5 million, the Florida-based techno whiz has now opened an office in Silicon Valley in his freshman dorm room at Santa Clara University in California.

Not just with computers.

Also turning a major profit is 14-year-old Elise MacMillan. Together with her grandmother, the Colorado teen has been making candy since the age of three. Elise began official production about four years ago. Now Elise and her brother Evan, 17, produce their chocolates in a commercial kitchen where they also have their offices. Their company, The Chocolate Farm, was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 1991 and Mary Kate Ashley Olsenrated one of the top youth food businesses in the U.S. in 2001.

http://www.faze.ca/issue14/young_millionaires.html

fintail · March 2013

Out of how many millions upon millions of young people? I wouldn't use the term "plentiful", what do you use to quantify that? Of course there are crazy cool success stories to be found, as there are hundreds of millions of people on this continent alone. Buy those lottery tickets or be sure to coddle that random idea hard - it's not reality but for a few, and luck often trumps work.

I think that link is about a decade old.

fintail · March 2013

Yeah that's another problem - CDMA vs GSM. Unlocking is easy, but technology isn't compatible.

I don't know why anyone would bring their own phone and pay the same price as someone receiving a subsidized device. That's where this T-Mo idea has merit, you don't have to pay the extra.

gagrice · March 2013

Buy those lottery tickets or be sure to coddle that random idea hard - it's not reality but for a few, and luck often trumps work.

That shows the difference between the slothful waster buying lottery tickets, and the hard worker trying to get ahead. Most of both group fails. Either can still win big. More millionaires and billionaires per capita than ever.

Pick a country you would like and the odds on becoming a millionaire.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/12/countries-with-most-millionaires_n_15908- 24.html#slide=1087643

gagrice · March 2013

The best bet is to go through Costco. They only charge tax on their cost of the phone. The carriers hit you for the full MSRP tax. Most of the time Costco throws in extra chargers that you will want later on. Transferring your number from one carrier to the other is faster with Costco. Waiting 6 months and the price will drop on every phone. Apple iPhone 5 is now $199 with contract.

cyclone4 · March 2013

Here are some interesting tidbits about the T-Mobile iPhone 5. I honestly don't understand some of this, but this phone will have some new hardware on it.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthickey/2013/03/26/t-mobiles-iphone-5-is-atts-iph- - one-5-but-its-not/?partner=yahootix

gagrice · March 2013

The more I research the worse it gets. My son has a Verizon S3 and has to drive about a quarter of a mile from this house we just bought there in Indiana to make a call. His wife has the iPhone 4S from his service in Alaska that uses Sprint. It does not work very well in the whole area. A contractor my son had out giving him a bid was using the new iPhone 5 with good signal out at the house. He is on AT&T. It seems every where you move you have a good chance of being screwed on service. AT&T is marginal where I live in CA. Verizon is the only way to get good service. Do any phones work roaming on all carriers?

fintail · March 2013

Of course Singapore is in the lead, where dirty or cowardly money goes to hide. I would be more interested in where wealth is actually bootstrapped and not gained via birth or theft.

A million also isn't what it used to be. Had you bought a nice middle class house on a good street in my zip code 50 years ago, you'd be able to be a millionaire today.

fintail · March 2013

Interesting about Costco. Luckily for me, I get a phone subsidized by my employer, so I pay only roughly what the tax liability would be, counting MSRP as a benefit.

Phones are evolving faster than ever, makers are selling on small features rather than breakthroughs now.

gagrice · March 2013

They don't include assets in the millionaire set. It has to be at least a million liquid assets for investing. Over 10% of US families are worth over $1 million when homes and assets are included. I agree that does not mean a lot.

In 2012, 6 million U.S. households out of some 118.5 million had $1 million or more in investable or liquid assets (excluding sponsored retirement plans or real estate), Phoenix Marketing International reported last month upon the release of its annual ranking of millionaires per capita by state and the District of Columbia.

http://www.advisorone.com/2013/01/07/top-10-states-with-most-fewest-millionaires-

robr2 · March 2013

Here are some interesting tidbits about the T-Mobile iPhone 5. I honestly don't understand some of this, but this phone will have some new hardware on it.

It's that same phone as AT&T with one feature activated at the hardware level for T-Mobile. It will be activated on all phones going forward including for AT&T even thought AT&T doesn't take advantage of it.

robr2 · March 2013

Do any phones work roaming on all carriers?

No. If you want perfect cell phone coverage you have to live in a major metro area. The carriers spend their money where the people are and where the resistance to installing towers is low.

There are some hoity toity towns around here that refuse to allow towers within their borders but then complain about the poor coverage.

gagrice · March 2013

No. If you want perfect cell phone coverage you have to live in a major metro area.

An option I would never consider. From my experience with Cell service it is far from perfect under the best of conditions. GSM, CDMA or VoIP all leave a lot to be desired. I installed and maintained several different Cell systems. I hated to see the analog get chopped. Just took up too much bandwidth. Thankfully I have very little need to be connected. I would like to be able to understand what people are saying when I get cell calls.

There are some hoity toity towns around here that refuse to allow towers

NIMBY is alive and well for most every utility and hi speed rail project. It is amazing anything gets done in this country.

laurasdada · March 2013

My South Suburban town is getting another cell tower, our coverage is woeful. But, two or three proposed sites, all with NIMBY figths going on. Which is understandable. All sites on the other side of town.

I have Virgin Mobile: $35/month, 300 minutes talk, unlimited text and web (well, first 2.5gb, then throttled). I bought an HTC EVO V (aka EVO 3D) from Radio Shack, about $230 on sale a few months ago (lower now). This was a hot phone back in 2010! Downside: Sprint WiMax network. Not great coverage, limited 4G. But, suits my needs. (I have a work ATT Blackberry, too. But, I limit personal use).

ljflx · March 2013

So what do hedge fund managers do with all the money they make illegally by manipulating the markets and stealing from many of us? Well they drop $600mln+ on a US settlement that probably allows them to keep 10X times that, they accumulate another $4-5 bln in wealth illegally without being caught yet, they return 30% a year to shareholders with even more illegal profits, they buy a quarter to a half billion of art and real estate and they don't even bother going to the $600mln+ settlement the judge is about to rule on. And these guys are stupid enough to think that the rest of us think they are smart in investing. Of course they are very different than the Bill Gates of the world that produced products that benefitted so many and started so many new businesses that employed people in masses. No these people are power mad, created absolutely nothing, employed very few (when you manipulate you don't need to hire many) and stole from the masses to give to the few. And oh yes - the unhappiness that drives them makes some of them commit suicide when their power runs out.

Here's a story that bridges Wall Street, the art world and the real estate world and shows that there is no end to greed gone mad.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/hedge-fund-titan-buys-hamptons-property-f- - - - - - - or-60-million/?ref=todayspaper

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/for-cohen-a-big-art-deal/

gagrice · March 2013

You stated what is going on very well. I think of the George Soros of the World.

houdini1 · March 2013

Some people who've got it just have flaunt it. Not my style.

fintail · March 2013

Greed is good, right? :shades:

If those guys end in suicide, you won't see me mourning. Many of them should have to worry about visiting the gallows.

ljflx · March 2013

It becomes about power more than anyting else. What a waste of a life.

gagrice · March 2013

Some analysts point out that in the U.S., government is already taxing Americans bank accounts by other, less obvious and more long-term means than the naked cash-grab playing out in Cyprus.

For instance, interest rates in the U.S. are near zero, so depositors are not getting paid for the use of their funds, effectively loaning their hard-earned money to banks. Then, thanks to inflation, their deposits become worth progressively less and less.

The real-world inflation rate  as measured by the actual rise in prices of essentials, including food and fuel  is far higher in the U.S. than the official 2 percent. But even using the 2 percent figure, over the next few years the buying power of American depositors bank accounts will be just as diminished as that of Cyprus bank-account holders.

But this new and unsettling form of tax is not the only concern. The immediate concern for many is that the crisis in Cyprus will spread, causing bank runs in other troubled European Union countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. A European financial crisis of that magnitude would undoubtedly hurt the U.S. economy.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/why-texas-wants-its-gold-back-from-the-feds/

ljflx · March 2013

In some countries there have actually been fees for savings accounts, making them a negative interest rate. In effect its a storage charge. One way to offset the cost of inflating items is to buy and sell the commodities that are inflating rather than banking the money.

ljflx · March 2013

More on SAC. Apparently there have been two settlements, one for $616mln and one for $602 mln. Now they have arrested a top trader in the firm - someone close to Cohen. Clearly they will give him a plea bargain deal to go after Cohen and bring down the firm. There are several more under arrest and I'm sure there are many more being investigated. But Cohen's the prize they want as he sits atop this crime family and they simply worked their way up the charts with arrests to get someone who now can implicate him. This clown - Steinberg - stayed in NY hotels so that his family and probably no one in his neighborhood would see him handcuffed. A clear sign of guilt.

I can only imagine the collusion that goes on in hedge funds on stocks overall and I have no doubt the trading up and down on stocks like Apple, Google and Amazon and many many others is pure collusion that is rampant in this industry. Remember once the hedge funds have tipped the scales then funds like Fidelity have no choice but to follow suit. That's why you are seeing more and more of a disconnect in fundamentals and more and more blogs that go the way the hedge funds direct. You now have to guess that rather than invest the old fashioned way where you tried to be one step ahead on the important fundamentals of a company. The only investments I can remember making the old fashioned way was Apple many years ago, Nielsen when they went public, Bed Bath and Beyond many years ago, Sirius when I expected a boom in auto sales to drive the stock higher a long time ago and IBM.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/sac-capital-manager-arrested-on-insider-t- - - - - - - - - rading-charges/?ref=todayspaper

robr2 · March 2013

In some countries there have actually been fees for savings accounts, making them a negative interest rate. In effect its a storage charge.

Plenty of banks in America charge fees on savings accounts, checking accounts, et al if minimums aren't met.

gagrice · March 2013

US banks don't need our money. They can get all they need from the FED with 0% interest. I did read not too long ago large depositors in NY banks were being charged a service fee.

cyclone4 · March 2013

I know deep inside me that Apple has been a victim of these criminal hedge funds and it sickens me beyond belief. There has to be someone someday that is honest enough and brave enough to spill the beans on these big time crooks.

As you can tell, I am not a happy camper. I cannot comprehend how the most fundamentally sound company in the world (Apple) can be torn apart the past half a year by the crooks. For how long can they get away with it?

ljflx · March 2013

It's not just Apple. That was the biggest opportunity. Before long it'll move to Google because of it's market cap and recent growth. Amazon will get in on the action too. Any high cap stock, bubble stock, high multiple or momentum stock (baidu was one) is ripe. You create the momentum so that you can short it before it starts to fall. All the fed has to do is fix the rules and a lot of this stops. But they rather go after the guys that push it too far than kill it at the source.

anthonyp · March 2013

I hate to think it, but he is probably just the tip of the `iceberg` Unfortunately the entire market is at risk as who knows where the `pack` will attack next....

There has always been inside information, but the insiders just didn`t have the massive amount of dollars to undermine whatever....Unfortunately it appears they are now making available shares of ETF for the short sellers....and individual investors such as me can`t order them out in ,,They have to be held by an institution.....Tony

gagrice · March 2013

The Next Real Estate Bubble: Farmland
Farmers have been taking on mounting debt, creating an unsustainable increase in land prices and risking a crash that would ripple through our economy.

By Blake Hurst Friday, March 29, 2013
So, farmland prices are booming. Land prices in the heart of the Corn Belt have increased at a double-digit rate in six of the last seven years. According to Federal Reserve studies, farmland prices were up 15 percent last year in the most productive part of the Corn Belt, and 26 percent in the western Corn Belt and high plains. Closer to home, a neighbor planning his estate had an appraisal done in 2010 and again in late 2012. In that two-year period, the value of his farm had doubled. According to Iowa State economist Mike Duffy, Iowa land selling for $2,275 per acre a decade ago is now at $8,700 per acre. A farm recently sold in Iowa for $21,900 per acre.

The Kansas Farm Management Association reports that debt-to-equity ratios are highest in large farms, which have over a million dollars in sales. Although the debt-to-asset ratio is low even in the largest farms in Kansas, it's higher than it was in 1979, shortly before the farmland crash of the eighties. As former home owners in Las Vegas and Southern California can attest, equity can melt away in a hurry. A debt-to-asset ratio of 30 percent can enter dangerous territory with a land price drop of 50 percent, which sounds like a lot, until you remember that is a price level last seen only 24 months ago in much of the Midwest.

The number of farmers in the Kansas survey with a 40 percent debt-to-asset ratio is higher now than it was in 1979, and those farms with a debt-to-asset ratio of over 70 percent are three times as numerous today.

We farmers should be more sophisticated than the average subprime borrower and more risk averse than startup investors in the 1990s. After all, we manage multi-million dollar businesses, and since the average age of farmers is near 60, most of us are survivors of the agricultural asset crash of the early 1980s. In 1981, the average price of farmland in Iowa was $2,147 per acre; by 1986, the average farm brought $787 an acre. That period was the formative experience of my farming career, and one I would not wish to repeat. According to a recent article in the USA Today, a third of Iowas farmers left the industry during that crash.

http://www.american.com/archive/2013/march/the-next-real-estate-bubble-farmland

anthonyp · March 2013

Hi Charlie

I think the best we can do is just hold the stock, not expect a decent increase in the dividend, and realize the majority of the shareholders actually turn over the entire number of shares every three months or so---The management apparently is just not shareholder friendly, but very good at the management of the company..

One day soon the stock will catch an up-draft, for no apparent reason, and the big money will rule the day again...

I`m just going to be like you, and patiently wait, and decide what to do ...I know the anguish of holding Apple is just not worth it, but it is now an addictive thing...:)

This is how I am adapting to what I think is just a changing world....I do know that I am missing opportunities in other investments, so I am on the lookout for something else that is a bit easier.....and hope I find something I can live with Tony

ljflx · March 2013

But the fees I meant were the equivalent of a rental fee like you get charged for with a safe deposit box.

anthonyp · April 2013

possibly the goings on in N K are having an influence on aapl....If things didn`t straighten themselves out, the supply of different components could be disrupted .....On the other hand it would seem as though Samsung could really be hurt......Just wondering...Tony

gagrice · April 2013

If Crazy Kim were to lob a big one on the South Koreans or Japan, it would be a mess for all the Smartphone makers. I don't think that would be good for the World or the stock markets.

cyclone4 · April 2013

possibly the goings on in N K are having an influence on aapl....If things didn`t straighten themselves out, the supply of different components could be disrupted

Tony, the latest Apple collapse the past week or so, I believe, has everything to do with the Chinese Communist government attacking Apple in every way they can through the media. I believe I posted something about this about a week ago. Frankly, I am worried about this. Let's face it. Apple is trying to get a deal with China Mobile. If the Chinese government continues to bad mouth Apple, it will be very difficult to get this deal. This is very important for Apple. It is so important that Tim Cook apologized to China today about possible bad practices with their consumers. Meanwhile the Chinese consumers have been defending Apple and speaking against their government.

ljflx · April 2013

Not sure if that is the reason Charlie. There's no growth priced nto Apple so the China mobile situation should not have much to do with this. There's great demand for Apple products in China and the government is worried it'll hurt China and Asian brand phones. The reason for the bad press is that after fixing phones with problems Apple didn't replace the back covers. That's an absurd complaint because the back covers had no need to be replaced. It seems the government has been bad pressing several external companies including Volkwagon over the past 6 months. They also made a large public apology. This is pure poliics and protectionism. I think the real reason for the fall is that Fidelity has been cutting heavily the shares of Apple in its funds. In some cases they are reducing their shares by as much as 75%. This represents a lot of pressure on the sell side. I've got an automatic buy on the shares at $425. Will be interesting to see if it hits that today. I think if you see it rise it means Fidelity is nearing the end of its sell cycle. So I may adjust that buy upwards. I'm playng the hedge fund game now of buying at one price point and selling at another until I see the stock stabilize.

gagrice · April 2013

I've got an automatic buy on the shares at $425.

You may have missed it by a buck. AAPL bottomed at $426.40, and now is hovering around $435. That does not mean it will not head back south. Predicting stocks is like predicting the weather. The over paid wonks at the NWS rarely get it right for my part of CA.

anthonyp · April 2013

I saw on the t v last evening that here in S C the temperature was 5 degrees lower for the month of March, compared to the norm......I thought that to be a huge swing, although it has been a miserable month...Just thinking of how much it changed out in Calif....I really didn`t think it would vary more than a couple of degrees......it was almost six degrees Tony

cyclone4 · April 2013

I think the real reason for the fall is that Fidelity has been cutting heavily the shares of Apple in its funds. In some cases they are reducing their shares by as much as 75%. This represents a lot of pressure on the sell side. I've got an automatic buy on the shares at $425. Will be interesting to see if it hits that today. I think if you see it rise it means Fidelity is nearing the end of its sell cycle. So I may adjust that buy upwards. I'm playng the hedge fund game now of buying at one price point and selling at another until I see the stock stabilize.

Well, it could be that the catalyst for Fidelity selling of AAPL shares was the Chinese news. But in any case, the Tim Cook apology to the Chinese yesterday has been effective and I hope it's over and done with.

Did you buy on the dip early this morning? It got close to your price. I think you are playing it just right. "When you can't beat them, join them".

cyclone4 · April 2013

Predicting stocks is like predicting the weather. The over paid wonks at the NWS rarely get it right for my part of CA.

I beg to differ, but forecasting the weather is a hell of a lot easier than predicting what the stock market, or in this case, what Apple will do.

gagrice · April 2013

I beg to differ, but forecasting the weather is a hell of a lot easier than predicting what the stock market, or in this case, what Apple will do.

I couldn't help myself, I tossed that in just for you. :shades:

ljflx · April 2013

Tony,

This is the new S-class captured during road testing. It probably goes on sale in December. The two cars I am very interested in are the 2 door coupe version of this and of course the SL, which my wife and I always coveted. A local dealer has a pristine 2011 SL which I can get for $74K. It has only 22K miles on it and is very tempting. It's in white and stunning. The S coupe will replace the CL550. Per edmunds the new S will have a 9 speed transmission and aluminum conmponents to get better gas mileage. I'm already getting better gas mileage in my car than I got in the LS in local and local highway driving. At first I got terrible mileage but the car needed to get a thousand miles under it and then the MPG really increased.

S-class, second link has a lot of photos of both exterior and interior dashboard. Beautiful car and I especially like the rear.

http://www.carsdirect.com/2014/mercedes-benz/s550

http://www.caranddriver.com/photos-12q3/466924/2014-mercedes-benz-s-class-photo-- 508034

This is both the new S and the variant S coupe. The latter is about 18-24 months out though.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://media.caranddriver.com/images/12q4/48- - 5192/2015-mercedes-benz-s-class-coupe-artists-rendering-photo-485199-s-1280x782.- - jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.caranddriver.com/photos-12q4/485192/2015-mercedes-benz-- - s-class-coupe-artists-rendering-photo-485199&h=782&w=1280&sz=132&tbnid=QErJIJHN6- - mTzwM:&tbnh=74&tbnw=121&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmercedes%2Bs%2Bcoupe%2B2014%26tbm%3Di- - sch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=mercedes+s+coupe+2014&usg=__slipBaARJzNLySLI8NOMnrqEVmQ=&- - docid=DgIQT7VAlzI9PM&sa=X&ei=jUleUdSxJa7D4APo-IH4BQ&ved=0CEQQ9QEwAQ&dur=212

anthonyp · April 2013

Len

Like we last discussed, I am going to wait until I personally see the s class...This is the first photo I have seen of the cl replacement, and to my eye it looks really nice...Just my opinion, but I would wait til the new two door s comes out, then make your next decision....I think it will make the old one look very out dated, and there a world of them out there ....I also think the a8 is coming next year with a fairly large facelift.....These cars are too expensive to be changing too quickly....I am still pleased with the old a 8 I was born with, it seems so long ago...It has changed, but not so much that it looks dated

I put Zano on the car when it was new, and it looks just like it did back then...There is something in it that really makes the paint hold a shine...I`d do your car with it now

Well I guess you are a new owner of aapl, and I hope it does better for you than Charlie and myself....although Charlie is doing fine....the `kid`and I are suffering

Tony

ljflx · April 2013

I'm going to rule out the CL550. If I went that route I'd rather wait for the S coupe. There are great deals though on the SL this month and I may well lease one. That body style is locked in until 2021. My wife and I love that car and always wanted one.

Wish I knew what the heck is going on with Apple. I sold 80% of my shares at $450 and then put in a buy for 500 shares at $425 that just missed triggering earlier this week. I figured I would play the game the hedge funds play of buying and selling. The other day when I saw this pre-owned SL I kept the share price in place but cut the number of shares from 500 to 250. Today the buy triggered.

cyclone4 · April 2013

Well I guess you are a new owner of aapl, and I hope it does better for you than Charlie and myself....although Charlie is doing fine....the `kid`and I are suffering

Well Tony. I am not really doing fine. On one of my E-Trade accounts, I am actually showing a little bit of a loss now since I did some back and forth trading back in 2011 and took in some small profits. Now, my average price is about $432. On the IRA account I am ahead more than $10K since my average price on that account is down below $380. My 2 accounts with the broker are slightly ahead, but the way things are going with AAPL, I'll be losing soon on those. I am pretty depressed about it considering how much I was making when AAPL was trading at $700. I am done with making predictions on this stock and I try not to look at that much any more.

cyclone4 · April 2013

Here is an interesting story from Forbes. The sentence that caught my eye was this : "A report issued a week ago, but largely overlooked, suggests that the Apples tablet market share in China may now be over 80%."

http://www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2013/04/06/the-real-meaning-behind-- apples-apology-to-china/?partner=yahootix

anthonyp · April 2013

That`s still a fairly nice cost basis, but I sure wish it were lower for you.....I was just thinking of my own experiences over the years, and I unfortunately really haven`t made any substantial money except for the really long term, like fifteen twenty years...That was all done in the banking industry....

I`v been in the junk high yielding market for the last five or six years, right after the big crash, and have had a sheltered life

started with them when they were yielding more than fifteen percent, and they pay out every month...I`v sold some of them along the way, to purchase other assets, but now an getting concerned that this investment is getting long in the tooth....

I have said in the past that by following aapl I have not kept my eyes opened enough to see other really good opportunities ...I mentioned one jpm when it was in the lower thirties, and although I understand your feelings for that bank, never the less it was and may again be something to keep an eye on...

I am getting a bit jaded with single stock buys, and I may go the way with stock etf. It`s so hard to pull away from something like aapl as I really think their products are the best, and no other single stock offers such a situation...but unfortunately I really don`t think they are stock holder friendly....We`l see in a few weeks what they do about the dividend, but they do have a long term memory, and know they will be called upon to do something dramatic next year...year...so they probably will just have a modest increase...That may already be baked into the stock right now.......Not a fun thing for me....Tony

ljflx · April 2013

Tony,

I'm about to pull the trigger on an MB SL550. The deals MB is doing on that car are phenomenal (it's their annual April sales event) and a local dealer is trying to steal me from another dealer. They are quoting me $1375 per month on a brand new $119K SL with zero down. That is actually $55 a month cheaper than Lexus was giving me on an $88K LS 460. They also gave me a price of 1400-1420 on a car with a designo interior in a color I like. I havent't even met them. All this is simply over the phone after I expressed interest in the 2 year old SL with 22K miles. The SL is a car my wife and I always wanted and at this stage of my life it's well within affordability so I see myself making a deal on Tuesday when I meet the rep I talked on the phone with. He lives in my area and would actually take my car and leave his with me (an E-class) whenever I needed service or wanted the car washed.

anthonyp · April 2013

although the deal cost fifty thousand for three years, you could loose that in a matter of weeks in stocks....Who knows

You really get good deals, and deserve them....Tony ps Good service is an important consideration to me.....The guy I talk with at the Audi dealership is very difficult to even get to talk about a deal...more or less a good one...

fintail · April 2013

That's a decent deal with 0 down, and I bet you could get a little cheaper, too. Makes one wonder how huge the margins on such vehicles might be, when they can sell them at such prices - must be a huge markup. Probably not a bad time to negotiate on a new S or E as well - my local dealer just received a handful of new Es, even though the 2014 should be here within a month. Will make the 2013s a real bargain.

cyclone4 · April 2013

Len,

I forgot. Did you trade in your LS for the S, or do you still own the LS? When I am ready to buy/lease a new car I want to have you negotiate my deal.

I am too soft. If the LS is already gone, which car are you trading in for the SL? I'm glad you are getting the 2013 SL by the way instead of the one that's 2 years old.

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