Cars We Drive!

Originally Posted by Robes of Executiveness

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Get rid of those damn orange parking lights, and side reflectors(on somde euro models)

I hate those! I'd love to get the Euro bumpers for my M Coupe to get rid of them. I'm not too big on the fixes I've seen other Z4M owners use to remove them. They glow like this in every shot I take of the car.

Originally Posted by A Y

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And putting racing style brake calipers on the M3 is like adding machine top-stitching to a perfectly fine jacket.

--Andre

The E46 has horrible brakes. I would kill for some Brembo's on mine.

Originally Posted by bawlin

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The E46 has horrible brakes. I would kill for some Brembo's on mine.

The Brembos don't solve any problem the OEM brakes already do. They have more mass, so they take a little longer to overheat, but that's a band-aid to the real problem. Use proper ducting and race pads, and the stock brakes are fine. Club racers use the stock calipers all the time, and they don't lose their brakes.

And that's for 9- or 10/10ths driving on the track by someone who knows what they're doing --- on the street with street tires, the stock brakes are coasting.

--Andre

Originally Posted by epb

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I'm not too big on the fixes I've seen other Z4M owners use to remove them. They glow like this in every shot I take of the car.
ecstuning.com added a BMW section. I know most either paint over them or there are plastic covers to go over or replace them.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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When you get a car, there's two major transactions going on:

1) The acquisition of the car
2) Financing and aftermarket items.

So, from the dealership standpoint, they get paid up front when you acquire your vehicle. If it's a lease, the leasing company pays them, a buy, the financing company pays them, if cash, you pay them. Basically, at the time of acquisition, the dealership gets paid.

Now, from the dealership standpoint, #2. If you pay cash, they have no opportunity to make money from the financing. They can make nice money doing this, if the consumer is not careful. People that finance, are also more likely to buy after market items, what's known as things like, "rust and dust, croak and choke," etc.

The most lucrative sale for a dealership, is usually one that finances a purchase and leasing and cash the lowest opportunity for revenue. The one thing the dealership knows on a lease though, is that in a fairly short time, that person will need another car. Cash buyers tend to hold a vehicle, so they do not represent the future revenue potential of a lease buyer.

So looking at these things, what motivation does a dealership have for discounting a cash buyer more than financing or leasing?



GMAC is the largest financier of auto loans. Seems your anecdotal is incorrect on a general basis.

I used to work at used car dealership. Generally, when it comes to older cars, small to midsized dealerships will work better with cash because they are likely to get rid of the car sooner.

Especially in this economy where getting a loan on an older car is hard, or getting a loan at all is hard.

For example, if a person has cash they have a higher chance to take the car the same day, in many cases, used car lots don't get loans approved the same day so they have to put the car on hold if the customer is willing to put down a deposit.

I've lost 5-6 sales because of no financing or financing not going through on time.

In other words, when buying a new or slightly used car, financing gets you a better price. That being said, you only get a great deal if you have great credit. When buying anything more than 5-6 years old, cash gets you a better price.

My summer, just put it away for the winter

Out of curiosity, what exactly is so bad about driving an $18k Porsche in the winter?

Originally Posted by bawlin

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Out of curiosity, what exactly is so bad about driving an $18k Porsche in the winter?

I hadn't realized they were so affordable!

Originally Posted by bawlin

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Out of curiosity, what exactly is so bad about driving an $18k Porsche in the winter?

Sometimes it's not about the money... A Porsche can take winter weather better than most cars, but a lot of people have a 'hobby' car they only use in the summer.

Originally Posted by bawlin

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Out of curiosity, what exactly is so bad about driving an $18k Porsche in the winter?

Originally Posted by Roy

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Sometimes it's not about the money... A Porsche can take winter weather better than most cars, but a lot of people have a 'hobby' car they only use in the summer.

That's exactly why. The car actually would make a fantastic winter car since its a C4 (AWD). It's more about the other drivers around me who can't drive in the winter (they still drive as though its summer and aren't as careful with the snow/ice) as opposed to the car not being able to handle the snow and ice. As well, the car is pretty impractical for lugging equipment around (hockey and snowboarding gear).

Originally Posted by SirSuturesALot

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I hadn't realized they were so affordable!

The 996's are pretty affordable for a variety of reasons. In the US they're way cheaper than in Canada. 300 hp and 250 ft/lb of torque is fast fast fast. If you have the money, the 996 twin turbo is the best "value" porsche for the money

Goal is to own a black on black 997 gt2 with centerlock mag wheels, tequipment cage, remote res. suspension and open exhaust and a few engine goodies.

Originally Posted by bawlin

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Out of curiosity, what exactly is so bad about driving an $18k Porsche in the winter?
Out of curiosity, what exactly pushes you to be rude while lacking common sense.

Originally Posted by Hany

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Out of curiosity, what exactly pushes you to be rude while lacking common sense.

Good question. The comment did seem a little hostile. Porsche envy maybe? I think its a beautiful car - this from a guy who owns an S-type Jaguar and a Merc. SL.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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I would guess Saab owners are still heavily weighted to academia. Here's some actual info:



http://www.saabnet.com/mediakit/

FWIW, if you want to stay out of exotics, it seems RR and MB both have higher incomes than Saab. There might be other brands too, I didn't research it.
69.874% of all statistics are the products of fertile marketing minds and are made up on the spot!

Originally Posted by Dburr

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Good question. The comment did seem a little hostile. Porsche envy maybe? I think its a beautiful car - this from a guy who owns an S-type Jaguar and a Merc. SL.

There's nothing hostile about my comment, and it's very valid. The '99 Carrera is nothing special and more than capable in the snow (as are all AWD Porsches) so I'm just trying to wrap my head around why he would store it for the winter. He stated it's because he doesn't trust other drivers and that's a valid reason.

Definitely no Porsche envy here. Well at least not that particular Porsche. The 1999 996 is arguably one of the least desirable Porsches ever built.

This is more along the lines of my kind of Porsche: