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Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 18:05:46 GMT
From: samhain1313nopsamail.com
Subject: My car purchase story.


Here is my story. Its a long one, but informative, and if you are looking to buy a new Saab 9-5, BMW, Audi, Benz or JAg .. it can save you some time. I've been a life long Saab driver ('82 900, '85 900T, '90 900TC, '90 9000T, 92 900, 96 900s) and am currently buying a bigger car (keeping the 900s for commuting) due to increase in family size. With about 35k to spend, I started evaluating cars that would fit my bill. I only evaluated cars based on dealer invoice, and the car had to come with automatic trans (cause my wife dont do stick, leather seats (cause getting a 2 year old's grape juice or boogers out of cloth seats is impossible), and traction control. I wanted to give other brands a shot at my business. I didnt want to keep buying Saab just because I always had, and I really like the looks of the 528i. Here is what was in my short list: Granted, some of these were a little over 35k but they were close enough. These are all 2000 models Brand Model Dealer Invoice with Auto trans and leather Saab 9-5 $33,043 Saab 9-5 SE v6 $34,919 BMW 528i $37,610 Mercedes ML320 $32,829 (w/o leather) Mercedes C230K $30,779 Mercedes C280 $33,434 Audi A6 Quattro $33,336 Audi A6 Quattro 2.7T $34,480 Jaguar 3.0 S $37,128 The first thing that struck me as odd was the BMW. First of all, it didnt come standard with leather interior. How can these crooks justify spending $37K plus on a car and give you "Leatherette" . .. Please! I can deal with paying extra for an auto trans, but no CD player or leather seats was a big turn off. The Jag quickly came off the list because from my research, it proved to be similar to the Lincoln LS, sharing much of its construction. I'm not spending $37k on a lincoln. And my old man being a longtime Jag buff (owning 15 over the years, including a real Mk2 3.8s) agreed. The Benz's seemed pretty reasonable priced, till you saw how small they are .... they quickly moved off the list. Their 4x4 was nice, but having an SUV once before, I wasnt all that crazy to get another one, though it had good HP and torque. The Audi's seemed like the real deal, especially the turbo. Other than being a tad on the smaller size, they would have been a potential contenter, if not for my strong distaste for VW, Audi's parent, based on my ownership of 1990 Golf (the most horrific car I ever owned, I lost a fortune on it, worse than a Renault!) In the end, based on power (the Saab SE didnt have the most, the Audi turbo did followed closely by the Jag), interior (the Benz 4x4 was the only bigger car), standard equipment (leather, auto, CD player, sunroof,etc) and price, the Saab came out the only logical choice. Throw in the $3500 rebate for the 1999 models and Friday I am picking up my new 1999 black with gray leather 9-5 SE v6. End of story. The 1999 and 2000 are virtually identical except for maybe 1 or 2 minor changes. I truly can't understand how the BMW 528 even competes with this 9-5, as it has a smaller interior, less powerful motor, rear wheel drive, less standard features and much higher price tag. You have to be paying for that BMW badge and the status of having it in your driveway. If I only listed to my gut in the first place, I would have saved countless hours of research and headache! If anyone is in the same boat, and wants a copy of my spreadsheet which breaks out all the important stats, drop me an email. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

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