L.C.A.R.S©

L.C.A.R.S©

(Looks, Composition, acceleration, revving, Superior price)  A GUIDE FOR BUYING AT SELECT LUXURY CARS

This is what the blog will be named.                                                                                                                    

Bigger letters matter more, but without all of them none would matter at all.

Luxury: if you look really closely before the C then you can see an L which stands for luxury, as in my mom saw a car commercial and said that she would want a car like that, the outside looks luxurious and so do the seats, but it’s no bat mobile! The car she saw was later linked to multiple cars swerving off road and the steering wheel would jam if you tried to U-turn (or turn at all).  And don’t get me wrong luxurious looks mater (but without the tow) not that much however. So if you see a real nice car and you want to buy it then follow these next 4 steps and you’ll be set.

Composition: If the car has bad composition (overall pieces of the car) then it would fall apart.

Acceleration: this one pretty much speaks for itself. (You don’t want a slow car do you?)

Revving: this is of lesser importance, but the revving of the engine will make a BIG difference if it will make much more noise than a coughing and sputtering noise. (Just don’t ruin everyone’s peaceful morning).

                Superior price: the most important component           (composition’s runner up) to looking for and buying a superior car at SLC (select luxury cars) All the cars are priced evenly and are great deals overall.

So this was the first blog.

It should update every two weeks and will have new car notifications, deals, guides, information and acronyms.

Flame out!

Annnd I’m never saying that again. EVER.

Greg Pultz

 

BUCKET LIST

Creating a bucket list is one of the best ways to make sure that you use your time and resources in order to accomplish and experience what you really want out of life. Have you ever sat down to ponder just what things you would like to accomplish before the lights go out on broadway. Maybe a Language list, an adventure list,,, natural wonders list,,, foods to eat,,, places to go list,,, or how about cars to drive bucket list as that is one of my to of the list favorites. There are several cars that I would like to add to this list, such as driving a Lamborghini Aventador LP-700-4, a Bugatti, even a Fiskar Karma among others.  Check out the movie BUCKET LIST with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson…It’s hilarious!

I’ve already started on my list….what are you waiting for?…Just grab a piece of paper and start writing. Your limited only by your  imagination…..

Select Luxury Cars, located in Marietta, Ga. on Highway 41, hand “Selects” every vehicle. We specialize in the highest quality automobile made all over the world. Whether you live here in the Atlanta area or anywhere around the world, we will find the exact car you are dreaming of. If you are looking for a Mercedes, BMW, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Ferrari or other high end model, begin your search here. http://www.selectluxury.com

Ship or pickup?…

Purchasing a car online is becoming the way to buy a car in today’s world. With a wealth of information at your finger tips you can turn your search from local to nationwide. There are many dealers selling quailty vehicles online. You can find reviews for just about any dealer that will help you decide to do business with them. After you you decide to purchase a vehicle online, the next question becomes how do I get it home.

You can of course drive to pick up the car, fly in or you can have it shipped to your driveway. By the time you figure in the cost of gas, time and effort, it makes sense to use transport compant to bring your new ride to you. I have had great service from CC Auto Movers. I would highly recommend using their service the next time you purchase a vehicle that is not near you. You can find them at www.ccautomovers.com be sure to tell them Carguy Michael sent you.

Carguy Michael

My Daughters Car

So I got my daughter a car (Mazda Protégé) on Craig’s List last week. It turned out to be a pretty good car. It needed some minor TLC, as expected, but overall it was a good deal. We had to buy new tires. I will not name the brand. Being a 1998 model, I figured I would save some money by purchasing a set of discount tires. What a Big Mistake!!
Saturday night I was driving the car when the inside of one tire shredded and blew off the rim. It was a very scary thing to have happen at 60 mph. I’m just glad it happened when I was driving the car and not her. I took the car to have the tire replaced. They took the old tire (new tire) off the rim and I couldn’t believe my eyes. The entire inside of the tire was completely shredded and came spilling out. The guy at the tire place told me that brand of tire is a very cheap brand and they do not sell it at their place because of too many problems. So the lesson I learned this weekend was not to take the cheap route when it comes to my child’s safety behind the wheel and to ALWAYS do better when researching parts for her car. I suggest you all do the same.

Caffeine and Octane

If you are a gearhead in the metro Atlanta area you probably already know about Caffeine and Octane. Started several years ago, the monthly carshow has grown into a 500+ car event on the first Sunday of every month. The show grounds are located right off of Windward Pkwy in Alpharetta. I recently attended this amazing event. There were cars ranging in value from $1000 to $200k+ covering just about every genre. Several vendors offering coffee (caffeine) and breakfast treats are also present. I chose a vendor that was fundraising for breast cancer research.

If you decide to go, I highly recommend getting there by 7:30am to find a decent parking spot.  The show offically runs from 8am till 11am. There is plenty of room for spectators as well. The smell of high “Octane” fuel fills the air. If you are looking for a show that has a wide range of vehicles and wont cost you a penny, you must visit Caffeine and Octane on the 1st Sunday of every month. For more information vist their website www.caffeineandoctane.com

Carguy Michael

How To Get The Best Value For Your Trade

For most people, dealing with trading-in a car when buying a new one often seems like more of a hassle than a real opportunity to get a decent amount for the next car. What we are unaware of is how much we can actually do to influence the value of our trade in vehicles. One thing we can all agree on is that with the present day economy every little bit of extra cash can go a long way.

1. Do Your Research
First thing you should do is search online to see what your car is worth and for how much your model has been selling. That is your starting point. But, before you do anything else, make sure you modify your mind set. Don’t think only about what you paid for your car and how much you found that it is now actually worth. You have to start thinking like a salespeople working for a car dealership. Put yourself in their shoes and prepare yourself well before you face them.

2. Make it Look it’s Best
So, before you bring your car to be sold, make sure that you properly clean your car, inside and out. No garbage should be left anywhere. Even the glove compartment should be cleaned out with only car’s documentation and maintenance records left inside. After you wash its exterior, consider doing a swift polishing job. Even ten minutes of running some polishing rags around cars doors will make it look great. This cleaning is not only meant to make your car look better. You will also show that you are responsible person who was taking good care of your car. You will also show you actually care about your car. It will influence dealership personnel to show you considerably more respect when making your actual offer.

3. Find the Right Dealer
Another homework assignment- you should do before taking your car to a dealership is to scout around and find which dealer may offer you best deals. If you just visit their parking lots, you will be able to see firsthand how many trade-ins verses how many new cars they have on a lot. Those that have large stocks of new cars might be pressured to offer you better deals so they can move their inventory.

5. Negotiate
Once you select your dealer and start negotiating, make sure you stay relaxed and flexible. If there is some minor problem with the car, feel free to point it out. Car dealer may actually offer you a better price if they know the actual state of the car.

So, the lesson here is to do your research prior to going out. Your time is precious and to waste it makes no sense.

The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe

The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe made its first appearance, Mercedes launched its CLS-Class so long ago that it’s already well into its second generation, so the world figured BMW should have had a rival before now.

In fairness, BMW hasn’t been completely idle these past few years. It introduced a white-space car of its own: the 5 Series GT, which hasn’t been enthusiastically received. Maybe the product planners should have shuffled the pack and launched the 6 Gran Coupe ahead of the 5 Gran Turismo. The 2013 6 Series Gran Coupe seems set to soar. It looks gorgeous.

Actually, the Gran Coupe isn’t quite a direct CLS competitor. It’s bigger, and the V-8 model will be more expensive than the base CLS550. Couple the large, 6 Series-like footprint with a low roof, and it has a commanding, graceful presence. Viewing it from the front or rear, you’re struck by how much wider the lower body is. It’s less ornamented than the second-gen Mercedes CLS, but not as plain-surfaced as the Porsche Panamera.

The nose and tail are the same as the 6 Series coupe, minus a couple of decorative chrome fillets in the front clip. The front doors are shorter than the 6 coupe’s, but the rears overcompensate. They open onto a bench that will seat two people in decent comfort, three in a pinch. Rear legroom certainly isn’t the match of a large sedan, but headspace is adequate even for taller men.

At the wheel, the dash and front seats mostly are a carbon copy of the 6 Series layout. This gives you a low and snug driving position. It feels like a car for driving far and fast.

So the Gran Coupe walks onto the luxury-coupe stage able to hold it’s own and become a benchmark for competing car companies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0s4nqpF3UE

 

Lets talk transmissions…

Above you see three cars: a 2008 BMW M5, the 2008 BMW M3, and the 2008 BMW 535i. These are three very different cars with three different powerplants (5.0L V10, 4.2L V8, and 3.0L TwinTurbo I6 respectively). Beyond this, they differ in how they put that power to the ground. The M5 features the 7 Speed SMG (sequential manual gearbox), the M3 features the 7 Speed M DoubleClutch transmission, and the 535i features a standard “sport” automatic transmission.

So say you are in the market for a new car and you aren’t quite sure what all of these acronyms  mean, allow me to explain!

First off, there is the regular old automatic transmission which has been around just about as long as the gasoline engine. Now a days, it shifts gears via a computer, but features a torque converter so the power is always being applied to the transmission. When you put this car in drive and take your foot off the gas, the engine turns the wheels and you move forward. We have come a long way with such transmissions though. They are extremely more efficient and feature up to 8 gears. All in all, it’s not a bad feel and it’s by far the smoothest shifting gearbox of the three we are discussing. The 535i even features paddle shifters and sport mode so you can choose when to shift gears yourself. For smooth shifts and easy city and traffic driving, the 535i is the best choice with its regular “steptronic” automatic transmission. (note: steptronic is just a fancy way of saying you can change the gears yourself).

Next, we have the M5 which features a 7 speed SMG transmission. The SMG is, at the ground level, just a regular old manual transmission with a computer that does all the clutching and shifting for you. What you get here is sporty F-1 derived technology which enables you to hit the paddle and change gears WAY faster than you could yourself with an old-school clutch pedal. Now, this transmission does has some limitations. Since it is just a regular manual, it has a clutch which can wear out. Just to make sure you have enough choices, BMW has given you 6 different DriveLogic settings which effect how the car shifts gears! I don’t know about you, but I would be hard pressed to measure just how different each of the shifts settings are… So, I either have it in S3, which is gentle shifts for driving around town, or S5, when I want to pass someone or get going more quickly.

As far as drivability, the shifts, since this car only has one clutch, are rather “jerky” if you don’t know how to drive it right. I’ll go out on a limb here and make a bold statement: If you can’t drive a regular manual really well, you don’t need to drive an SMG car. I’ll say it again. If you don’t know how to feather the gas when you shift gears, then you don’t know how to drive a SMG car. Since the SMG is regular manual, you still have to feather the gas between shifts, and the car will roll backwards on a hill at a redlight. There is no “Park” gear, and when you get going if you don’t go gently on the gas, the computer is just going to dump the clutch.

 

All being said, I really respect the SMG for what it is. It’s absolutely great when you are on a track to be able to just hit the paddle and downshift in the blink of an eye. Other benefits include its lighter weight (both over the DoubleClutch and the regular old automatic). Plus, you can put it in automatic mode when you answer a phone call while driving. When paired with this M5, it makes for quite a fun driving experience. The car looks great, sounds great, and if you know from which one of the 6 settings to choose, will shift great as well. I love the M5, and would have one any day of the week. That V10 engine is unique and I, frankly, like the 7 speed gearbox since you can shift through them so quickly. But I digress. I will make one comment that BMW had the chance to put a doubleclutch transmission in the E60 (2006-2011) M5, but chose not to. “True, the dual-clutch system has a smoother automatic mode, and it performs seamless upshifts. For a 7-series, this may be the way to go. But an M car should always combine efficiency with emotion. That’s why there are six shift speeds from which to choose- “from velvet glove to iron fist.” So, if you like “emotion” with your driving, paddle shifters, and are a proficient manual driver who likes the option to shift in a blink of an eye and also have that automatic option, why not go for the SMG? (you can even get an M5 with it too!)

 

Finally, on to the M3′s M DoubleClutch Transmission- What on earth is that you might be asking?  I’m here to tell you. The M DoubleClutch is like an SMG with paddles to shift gears but with one critical difference: it has two clutches. So rather than the standard procedure for the SMG in the M5 – clutch in, change gears, clutch out – the DoubleClutch gets to simply disengage one clutch with the old gear while simultaneously a second clutch with the new gear already loaded. Sounds cool right? Well it is! The M DoubleClutch especially has the ability, when in the more aggressive shift modes (yes, you still get 1000 DriveLogic settings with the M DoubleClutch) to shift way, way, way faster than you can blink. Accelerating is like snapping your fingers as it keeps gliding into the new gears. With the DoubleClutch, it’s more “grab the steering wheel and hold on” than ever! Advantages of the DoubleClutch include faster shift times, smooth shifts, easy starting off, and you even get to put it in park! Disadvantages are more weight, more stuff to break, and that’s about it. The SMG and M DoubleClutch does also have the ability to shift for you once you hit that redline – something the SMG will simply not do in manual mode. All in all, the DoubleClutch is the way of the future (and hopefully they will get lighter too) as many more cars are opting for them (from the Nissan GTR to the Mercedes SLS AMG). So, if you want to pull paddles and shift in lightning speed, want to put it in automatic mode and relax while it handles all your worrying in traffic, and still want ginger shifts while driving around town, the M DoubleClutch is the clear winner.

Now, BMW offers double clutches in nearly their entire lineup. So, while it isn’t the M tuned version, you can get a double clutch gearbox in a 5 series or 3 series now and not think twice. The SMG was almost exclusively available in M cars though. So, if you can rule out the tried and true manual, the DoubleClutch is the automatic manual paddle shifting gearbox of choice. Look below for a gallery of M5 pictures as well as some comparison shots from these cool cars.

Lincoln Fantaski

Select Luxury Cars, located in Marietta, Ga. on Highway 41, hand “Selects” every vehicle. We specialize in the highest quality automobile made all over the world. Whether you live here in the Atlanta area or anywhere around the world, we will find the exact car you are dreaming of. If you are looking for a Mercedes, BMW, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Ferrari or other high end model, begin your search here.

Rearview camera law – is it worth the cost?

Two months ago the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) made a proposal for mandatory installation of rearview cameras in all 2014 passenger vehicles. Passing this law would be another landmark in vehicle safety control, and would one day be a safety feature as familiar as the seat belt or air bag. It is interesting to think that rearview cameras have always been thought of as a luxury feature, and should now be considered commonplace according to lawmakers.

The main question is how much safety this feature produces, and if it is worth the cost to automakers that consumers ultimately incur.

Earlier this month a 3-year-old boy was accidentally run over as his older brother was backing out of the driveway. This story is part of a bigger picture, as nearly 1,000 people have died as a result of back-over accidents since 2008. The NHTSA estimates that 221 deaths and 14,000 injuries result per year in the U.S. due to such accidents (article).

The cost to add a camera and screen to a vehicle is roughly $200. This amount would ultimately be factored into the price the consumer pays when a car is purchased.

Essentially this is a tax on the consumer to benefit public welfare. Such policies are often debated, as many individuals would argue that we should leave it up to the carmakers to decide on the features they provide.

On the other hand, a rearview camera is a plausible solution that could reduce the number of deaths and injuries that result from back-over accidents. Moreover, $200 is not a significant amount when purchasing a new car, and that cost could likely decrease as the market find less expensive solutions to manufacturing and installing the components.

When human safety is involved, short-term sacrifices can often yield long-term benefits. The value of a life could certainly offset the cost of a rearview camera.

Select Luxury Cars, located in Marietta, Ga. on Highway 41, hand “Selects” every vehicle. We specialize in the highest quality automobile made all over the world. Whether you live here in the Atlanta area or anywhere around the world, we will find the exact car you are dreaming of. If you are looking for a Mercedes, BMW, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Ferrari or other high end model, begin your search here.

Did You Know…? Insurance Costs!

Do you know if your auto insurance carrier offers additional discounts? My wife and I bought our daughter a car and titled it in her name. We called GEICO to remove her from our policy and start her own. During the enrollment, the representative asked her questions about her driving and college. To my surprise, she was entitled to discounts for:

 Being a college student
 High GPA
 Never being in an accident
 Completing a defensive driving course
 Completing Driver’s Education in high school

Since she attends college out of state, we signed up for membership with AAA so she could have road side assistance. Our AAA Premier Membership benefits includes more than car rentals and discounts at hotels. We can take advantage of savings on:

 Pet friendly discounts at retailers, including Walmart.com and Target.com
 Resorts and Disney vacations
 Products and Services including LifeLock Identity Theft Protection

We also discovered our membership will offer discounts for routine eye exams, lenses and eyewear at participating Target and Pearle Vision.

So when you get an opportunity, check with your auto insurance carrier to find out what discounts are available to you and your family.

Mike Goodall

Select Luxury Cars, located in Marietta, Ga. on Highway 41, hand “Selects” every vehicle. We specialize in the highest quality automobile made all over the world. Whether you live here in the Atlanta area or anywhere around the world, we will find the exact car you are dreaming of. If you are looking for a Mercedes, BMW, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Ferrari or other high end model, begin your search here.