Luxury Cars

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Gfunk6 said:
OK, a bunch of us are going to be attendings soon. And with with increased power comes increased pay and responsibility. Including the responsibility to show up to tumor board in a fancy ride.

So I am bouncing around the idea of purchasing a mid-size luxury sedan. I'm sure some of the attendings on this board (the non-academic ones anyway :smuggrin: ) drive pretty nice cars so I was hoping for some input from them as well as resident auto-philes.

I'm basically looking for something along the lines of a BMW 5-series. One (cheaper) alternative would be a Hyundai Genesis which has comparable features for a whole lot less $$$.

Thoughts?

Added: Before you laugh at the idea of spending $40K for a Hyundai, read Edmunds review of the Genesis.
Click to expand...

I read this post, although most choices are great but suggestions are all over the place. If I were you, I would narrow down your choices by your needs such as

Sedan vs
Car based SUV like X3 etc vs
Truck based SUV
RWD vs AWD (depends where do you live etc)
stick shift vs automatic

Once decided then

you should decide what is more important for you in an upscale car

1. Reliability
2. Performance
3. Luxury

If you want luxury as number 1 then perhaps Mercedes or Lexus are best choices.
In general BMW, and infiniti are considered more sporty/performance than Mercedes or Audi.

Infiniti will give BMW run for it money when come to options and over all reliability.

X3 and X5 are NOT very reliable compare to Infiniti EX/FX35. If you are considering BMW 535, then you should also have a look at Infiniti M35 as it is a great car.

I will agree with a post about CPO as you can save a lot providing you can find with all the options and color etc.
Members don't see this ad.
 
Gfunk6 said:
Hmmm . . . I see.

Perhaps you should look at post #42? ;)
Click to expand...

Sorry did not pay attention to post # 42. Well I don't want to create buyer's remorse. Congratulation and enjoy your ride. It is a nice looking car.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Gfunk6 said:
Hmmm . . . I see.

Perhaps you should look at post #42? ;)
Click to expand...

Gfunk6: What is with black color? Whenever I looked at either new dealer inventory or used car, black is the most common color. I always thought it is either because it is about few hundred dollars cheaper than other colors or dealer usually buy these the most.

Since you have ordered your car, I would assume that's what you wanted or dealer convinced you about it due to other factors like short arrival time etc?

I personally nothing against black color but you have to work hard keep your car look clean. That's why many chauffeur driven cars are in black!
 
To clarify, our X3 is Black Sapphire and not Jet Black. The latter comes with the purchase price and the former you have to pay for. We are fully cognizant of the drawbacks of black but at the end of the day we love the look.
 
Gfunk6 said:
BMW X3 is the current front runner. The re-design for 2011, I think, puts it at the top of the luxury crossover class. Lexus RX350 is a close second. We'll see after a test drive this weekend . . .

Nice to see with all this luxury car talk that the Google ads have changed from Caribbean schools and for-profit cancer centers to luxury car ads :)
Click to expand...

I'm curious as to why not the X5? Was it the sticker price?
 
Sticker price was one aspect; a comparably equipped X5 would've cost $10K more. Also, we felt that if we got the X5 we would be obligated to get the optional 3rd row seat. However, situations which would call for us to drive > 5 people would be very rare. Finally, we wanted a more compact SUV with driving dynamics that were more "sedan-like."
 
Gfunk6 said:
Finally got the X3 last week. Thought I'd upload pictures to share with everyone, enjoy!
Click to expand...

I'm not a fan of the smaller X3, but I have to say yours for some reason looks nice! Congrats! :thumbup:

My Acura TL lease is coming to a close and I'm in love with the BMW X6 but that sticker price keeps making me turn my eyes. Might just upgrade to Acura's ZDX unless I find a suitcase full of money somewhere; lol.
 
Last edited:
X6 & ZDX are very flashy cars but are not very practical. In particular the rear seats have limited head room because of the sloped ceiling. I would rather go with a fully-decked out X5 or X5M.

For those of you who don't know what we are talking about, here is a pic of the X6:
BMW-X6-Red-cars1.jpg


And the ZDX:

Acura-ZDX-Prototype-car-picture.jpg
 
Last edited:
Gfunk6 said:
X6 & ZDX are very flashy cars but are not very practical. In particular the rear seats have limited head room because of the sloped ceiling. I would rather go with a fully-decked out X5 or X5M.

For those of you who don't know what we are talking about, here is a pic of the X6:
BMW-X6-Red-cars1.jpg


And the ZDX:

Acura-ZDX-Prototype-car-picture.jpg
Click to expand...

They almost look like the current GT (Gran Turrismo) version of the BMW X model as well
 
Any attendings on the forum driving a Tesla yet?

As a tech-oriented field with many of us cross-covering multiple centers, it seems like the perfect vehicle. The math doesn't work compared to a prius, volt or leaf, but compared to other lux sedans with similar capabilities, it seems pretty compelling in terms of fuel and maintenance costs.....
 
Members don't see this ad :)
If you got 100k to throw around the p85d is INSANELY quick, I've seen a few attendings with it.
 
Gfunk6 said:
Thought about getting a Tesla, they are a very common sight on NorCal roads. However, they don't have a proper lease structure and I don't fancy dropping $100k on a car or getting a loan.
Click to expand...

I believe the leasing program changed last year. Also per my discussions with Tesla reps, the leasing bank will essentially "pass on" the federal $7500 EV tax credit to you in the form of lowered lease payments

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/significantly-improved-leasing-tesla-us-bank

They have a buyback guarantee at 3 years of a specified residual value if you choose to finance through them as well

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/04/02/elon-musk-tesla-lease/2047863/
 
medgator said:
I don't think there is anything faster at even double the price. The 85D seems like the common sense, long range choice at 270 miles
Click to expand...

It depends on what you mean by faster. There are certainly faster cars in the sense that they will attain a higher top speed. However, that is largely irrelevant for day to day driving as you can't drive 140mph down the freeway. If you mean faster in the sense of reaching 0-60 the quickest, I think you are correct and that is honestly all that matters in the real world. Truly a beautifully engineered car for a fair price given its performance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Merely said:
It depends on what you mean by faster. There are certainly faster cars in the sense that they will attain a higher top speed. However, that is largely irrelevant for day to day driving as you can't drive 140mph down the freeway. If you mean faster in the sense of reaching 0-60 the quickest, I think you are correct and that is honestly all that matters in the real world. Truly a beautifully engineered car for a fair price given its performance.
Click to expand...
With maximum torque available at rpm 0, the 0-40 times are likely faster than anything else on the planet
 
medgator said:
With maximum torque available at rpm 0, the 0-40 times are likely faster than anything else on the planet
Click to expand...

It's (will be) a fast car to be sure. But not close to faster than anything else on the planet. It is carrying a lot of weight. Starting prices will be in the 120K ish range. Probably will run north of 3s 0-60 (which is blistering fast), but give me a Nissan GT-R Nismo and I'll have that thing in my rear view mirror. It's sitting at $145K and will do 0-60 in well under 3s. Now that is a great car for the money if pure speed is what you are looking for at a "reasonable" price (+100K for a car is something I'd have a tough time ever coughing up).

Good to see this topic on the forum. Thumbs up.

If you want a car that will actually hold value, go track down a BMW 1M. Ultra-rare.
 
ReOxygenation said:
It's (will be) a fast car to be sure. But not close to faster than anything else on the planet. It is carrying a lot of weight. Starting prices will be in the 120K ish range. Probably will run north of 3s 0-60 (which is blistering fast), but give me a Nissan GT-R Nismo and I'll have that thing in my rear view mirror. It's sitting at $145K and will do 0-60 in well under 3s. Now that is a great car for the money if pure speed is what you are looking for at a "reasonable" price (+100K for a car is something I'd have a tough time ever coughing up).

Good to see this topic on the forum. Thumbs up.

If you want a car that will actually hold value, go track down a BMW 1M. Ultra-rare.
Click to expand...
Certainly, but when you consider that the gtr is really a well-priced "supercar" sports car, and you're basically comparing it to 5000lb lb sports sedan with seating for 5 adults and 2 kids in the back trunk via optional jump seats, it's amazing what Tesla has accomplished imo, especially considering the vehicle's safety (rare comprehensive 5-star NHTSA rating)

0-60 in 3.1s for the P85D with current software that is continuously updated over Tesla's 3G connection.

I can't imagine what Tesla's supercar will look like, but I think the toroidion 1MW is already trying

http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20150430-from-finland-the-1341-horsepower-electric-supercar
 
Last edited:
ReOxygenation said:
It's (will be) a fast car to be sure. But not close to faster than anything else on the planet. It is carrying a lot of weight. Starting prices will be in the 120K ish range. Probably will run north of 3s 0-60 (which is blistering fast), but give me a Nissan GT-R Nismo and I'll have that thing in my rear view mirror. It's sitting at $145K and will do 0-60 in well under 3s. Now that is a great car for the money if pure speed is what you are looking for at a "reasonable" price (+100K for a car is something I'd have a tough time ever coughing up).

Good to see this topic on the forum. Thumbs up.

If you want a car that will actually hold value, go track down a BMW 1M. Ultra-rare.
Click to expand...

Now way in hell I'm paying $145k for a car that says Nissan on it. Call me petty but that's just the way it is.
 
Gfunk6 said:
Now way in hell I'm paying $145k for a car that says Nissan on it. Call me petty but that's just the way it is.
Click to expand...
Yeah Nissan should have probably just done the gtr under the Infiniti brand, like Honda did with the soon-to-be released, much-hyped reboot of the Acura NSX.

It's the same reason why I hardly ever see Hyundai genesis sedans, and even more rare to see the large Equus ones. Hyundai would be wise to split out their higher-end vehicles into a new brand
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

W
Putting the CAR-T before the horse
Replies
2
Views
635
evilbooyaa
evilbooyaa
Top