Friday, February 6th, 2009
I recently made a little vow to myself that I would try to learn more about this BMW iDrive that I encounter every time I drive around. It is quite the computer system and it has a lot to offer. The only problem is that it has a lot to offer. I know, I just said that. I am a “get in the car and drive” kind of guy, so this whole iDrive thing goes a little against my grain.
I guess my grain is changing, because I started fiddling with some stuff the other day. I came across a really cool feature that I have been playing with ever since. It’s the “Trip Computer.” I am sure lots of cars have this, but since this is my first experience with one, I though I would share it with you.
Basically, I clicked the “Menu” button and then “Car Data.” From there, I visited the “Trip Computer.” There are three options…Start, Stop and Reset. Since there was already data stored in there, I chose reset and then start. I think they do the same thing. Then, I drove for a little while. It was really cool.
Yesterday, we went to Costco in Enfield, CT. I thought that the trip would be a great opportunity to show Laura the new feature I discovered. As it ends up, she didn’t express all that much interest in it. Actually, I suspect she is wondering why anyone would spend any amount of time making this feature in the first place. Funny how people like different things.
I left the house and set the trip computer up. When we arrived at our destination, I took a photo.
As you can see from the photos above, the trip computer tells you the departure time, the trip duration, the distance traveled, the average fuel consumption and the average miles per hour.
The area I like the best is the average fuel consumption. While I the highway, we were averaging over 21 miles per gallon, but things got worse when we turned on the back roads. The stop and go doesn’t do any favors. The sales guy said that some people report over 23 miles per gallon on the highway.
Now, let me assure you that this type of fuel consumption doesn’t really excite me. What does excite me is that BMW introduced its new diesel engines into the American market this year. The X5 is getting 26 MPG on the highway with the diesel engine and the 5 series gets up to 36 MPG. Now, that’s something that excites me. I just wonder how they handle the whole “diesel fuel gelling up on really cold mornings” issue.
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Monday, September 15th, 2008
This article was written by Jay G on behalf of MotoClassifieds.US, a popular auto classifieds website.
Is selling a car privately a hassle? Not anymore. We already know about the popularity of classifieds sections in newspapers and magazines, but with the advent of websites devoted completely to online auto classifieds, things have gotten much easier. Gone are the days of having to wait until Monday morning to catch a customer service representative on the phone to place your ad.
Auto Classifieds – What are the Benefits? Do They Work?
That’s a pretty good question. For as long as I have been alive (and that’s 34 years), I have seen “Used Car For Sale†ads at every corner. These days, it’s one of the most popular online classified genres, not to mention being very popular with newspapers, magazines, radio and television.
Let me start this off with a short story. I had an “auto related†experience a few months ago.
In early January of this year, I was in the market for a new car. Since I have driven a Honda Accord as my two previous cars and a Honda Prelude as the one before that, I pretty much knew what I was going to buy. I dabbled with the thought of getting a BMW 5 Series, but I wasn’t ready for something so expensive. Maybe I’ll get the Beamer next time.
On January 3, I visited my local Honda dealer and was quite ready to drive home in something new. That day, I drove on the lot in a 1998 Honda Accord V6 and was planning on driving off the lot in a 2008 Honda Accord V6. Obviously, I was going to trade my car in. Before my trip to the dealer, I looked up the value of my 1998 Accord on KBB. They valued the car at around $3,500. I was slightly shocked, because I thought the car was worth more than that. I mean, this was my baby. This was the car I had taken such good care of over the years. But, if that is what the car was valued at, who was I to argue?
Upon choosing the make and model of the Accord I wanted to purchase, I entered negotiations with the salesperson. I was told that the dealership would give me $1,500 to trade in my 1998 Accord. As you could imagine, I got red in the face and threatened to walk out. They raised the price to $2,000, but I still argued for a bit. After a while, I realized they weren’t going to budge from that price, so I caved. Sound familiar? Has something like this ever happened to you?
Now, can you guess what everyone said to me after I told them of my experience? I’m sure you can. They said, “You know, you could’ve gotten a heck of a lot more money for your car if you had sold it yourself.†Gee, really? Of course I could’ve. I mean, everyone knows that dealers don’t give you as much as the car is worth. Why is that? It’s because of all the costs associated with prepping a car to sell on their lot. If it’s an older car, they can’t even sell it and it goes to auction. To be honest, I am not even sure what the dealerships do with some of the cars they take as trade-ins. I have heard stories about people getting $1 for the car they gave to the dealer.
So, I’ll admit that I could’ve made more money if I had sold my car privately. The question is why I, and so many others, lose money to trade their cars in. The answer to that question probably has something to do with convenience. We don’t want to deal with the hassle of a private sale.
Is selling a car privately a hassle? Not anymore. As I stated above, we already know about the popularity of classifieds sections in newspapers and magazines, but with the advent of websites devoted completely to online auto classifieds, things have gotten much easier. Gone are the days of having to wait until Monday morning to catch a customer service representative on the phone to place your ad. You can now access an auto classifieds website any time you want, from the comfort of your own home. You can write a description, upload a photo, add any features you want and pay by credit card within a matter of minutes. Some websites even offer the entire service for free. Either way, your ad will be live when you are finished. It will also be accessible to anyone from anywhere.
Now that we have that cleared up, let’s go over some of the benefits of selling your used car online:
- Convenience. Auto classified websites offer “any time, any place†type of convenience.
- Reach. By place your car ads online, you will virtually be reaching buyers across the globe. Too many people? Don’t worry; these websites have tools to narrow down a potential buyer’s search.
- Account management. You can place, edit and delete your ad any time you wish with your own private account management tool.
- Popularity. These days, more and more buyers are turning to the web to search for their new rides. Many of them don’t even (and never have) read the newspaper.
- Multiple ads. Many auto classifieds websites allow sellers to place multiple ads, oftentimes for a discounted price, or for even no cost at all.
- Help. Many websites have online tutorials or help pages that assist you in selling your car.
- Multiple venues. When you advertise your car on one classified website, oftentimes your ad will show on related websites as well. It’s these “viral†relationships that get much more exposure for your ad.
As you can see, there are many benefits to placing your used car for sale online. Do the online ads work? Well, that first depends on the ad itself. If you write a strong description, show a good photo and offer a fair price, I wouldn’t see why not. If everything is lined up, I would think you would have a successful sale within a matter of days or weeks.
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Thursday, November 15th, 2007
I have been beating myself up over this. I flip flop more than…some politicians I know of.
Just the other day, I came to the realization that I am a boring human being. The reason I keep considering what type of car I want next is because I have never bought a brand new car before. Also, I am trying to bust out of that boring, computer guy persona. I know I shouldn’t care what people think, and I really don’t think I do. As all the ladies say, “I am doing it for myself.”
I dabbled a bit with the thought of getting a Toyota Camry Hybrid. Then, I started noticing way too many Camrys on the road. Then, I thought a BMW 5 series would be really cool. After a little research, that car seems to make the least sense possible. I want to break out of nerdhood, but I don’t want to be a fool. The car does have all-wheel drive, which is a huge plus, but dealers are few and far between. This becomes an issue when one of the big perks of getting that car is the fact that they offer four years of maintenance for free. I can’t even bring my current car down the road for an oil change, and I think I am going to drive a car 90 miles (round trip) a few times a year? Probably not. Also, I learned that the BMW requires premium unleaded gasoline. I am really cheap when it comes to gas, so I don’t think that’s going to work for me.
I am slowly arriving at the conclusion that I am going to get an upgrade of what I currently drive, but with GPS. I have to admit, I have been admiring the 2008 Honda Accord V6 from afar. Honda seems to have a lot of nice technology in their vehicles and they are pretty comfortable. I should know, my last three cars have been Hondas. The only thing wrong with this car is that it doesn’t come with all wheel drive. I guess we can get around this by getting Laura’s next car with all wheel drive. We’ll see.
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