[uucdigest] Tuesday, June 10 2003 Volume 03 : Number 6443
_________________________________________________________________ | | Search the ARCHIVES: | http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] | | Visit Richard Nott's Ultimate BMW Database: | http://www.bmwdatabase.com | | For all available Digest commands including unsubscribe/subscribe, | visit the BMW UUC Digest page: http://www.uucdigest.com | | Send SUBMISSIONS to [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Complaints? Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] if you must. | Technical Problems? Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] |__________________________________________________________________ In this BMW UUC Digest: RE: [uuc] Survey - used lease car v. used "rental' car [uuc] =?iso-8859-1?Q?_______RE:_=5Buuc=5D_Survey_-_used_lease_car_v._used_=22re?= =?iso-8859-1?Q?ntal'_car?= [uuc] question re: Driving School RE: [uuc] Survey - used lease car v. used "rental' car [uuc] has your V1 ever.... RE: [uuc] Survey - used lease car v. used "rental' car [uuc] [E34] M5 won't start RE: [uuc] has your V1 ever.... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 11:24:35 -0400 From: "Robinson, Lee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Survey - used lease car v. used "rental' car Done the bootlegs....jumped railroad tracks (actually used to do this in my old saabs). Actually, we were in Pittsburgh & the hotel had a huge mall & they had plowed all of the snow & ice into one corner. Made kind of a ramp. We hit it at 70....about 2+ seconds of hang time. I thought looking at it it was about knee high--closer inspection revealed it was about 4+ feet. Any less than 70 & we prolly would've sampled the airbag deployment. We had to wait 3 days for the ground to dry to retrieve a 4wd Grand Cherokee. In northern climes, using the handbrake to steer the car on snow & ice is the norm (I know, Gary--both feet is smoother). Had a german colleague who would go out on cold mornings & place a brick on the gas pedal to bounce the car off the rev-limiter to warm the car up faster. I feel bad for the guys who have to wash those things. Steel mills are filthy places--it doesn't take long for the car to end up nasty inside & out. I always think it's funny to mess with those guys. We returned a car (actually in fine condition). When the guy (english was not a first language) asked if the rental was ok, the driver responded by pulling a short length of electrical wire out of his pocket & saying, "sure, but you need this to start it now." You can mess with the folks at the rental desk by asking, "what you got with a big engine & a damage waiver?" or "you got anything with 9-10" of ground clearance?" I always thought it might be funny to return a car with the airbags deployed & no visible damage to the car......get out, "damn thing I hit that speedbump back there & look what happened!!!!!" My dad got an S2000 once.....man would I kill for a rental like that!!!!! Lee > -----Original Message----- > From: Neil N. [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 11:00 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [uuc] Survey - used lease car v. used "rental' car > > > As with many of the other respondents, I rent cars > frequently for my work, and knowing how I drive them, > I would never in a million years purchase one. > > Who among us has not done bootleg turns with the > e-brake in the hotel parking lot? Or had occasion to > rent a Mustang and do a brakestand behind a Wal-Mart > and leave a 1/4" of rubber on the pavement? (Side > note: Current Mustangs have traction control - don't > forget to turn that off.) Or simply yanked the > e-brake at 40 mph driving down the road, just for fun? > Or returned a car with the "CHECK ENGINE" light lit? > Or driven around in first gear bouncing off the rev > limiter just to demonstrate the concept to a colleague > (and for fun)? > > Anyhow, that said, I'd never buy a rental car. > > :) > > Neil > > --- Dennis Liu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Since I posted the article from the NY Times on the > > increasing popularity of > > sales of former-lease cars, particularly through > > certified pre-owned > > programs from the manufacturer, a fellow list member > > and I have had a > > friendly, off-list debate over the merits of buying > > such a car (e.g., > > factory Certified-Pre-Owned, off-lease) versus > > buying one from a car rental > > company, like Hertz or Avis. > > > > Both cars would have followed the manufacturer's > > recommend maintenance > > schedule, though we discussed whether manufacturers > > have lengthened > > time/mileage between scheduled services to (a) > > reduce costs for those that > > offer free scheduled maintenance and make the costs > > of ownership look better > > in periodicals, or (b) because cars are better > > designed and built these > > days. I think it's probably a large portion of the > > latter with a good > > leavening of the latter. > > > > ASSUME that the off-lease car would have something > > like 50k miles on it, > > being 3 years old, while the off-rental vehicle > > would have something like > > 20k miles on it, all put onto it in one year, and > > each car is priced > > realistically; e.g., the price for each is a a good > > buy. > > > > Here's the query -- which car is likely to have been > > treated better, and > > which will likely, ultimately, to last longer? > > > > His argument - "It is very easy to spot a car that > > has been flogged and most > > are not. 20,000 miles of infrequent oil changes > > won't do much damage. > > 50,000 such miles very likely will. Come on Dennis, > > we both know that > > manufacturers service interval recommendations are > > crafted to allow them to > > advertise low maintenance costs. Even a Kia will > > survive 50,000 miles > > without showing too much wear, except for shocks and > > trim." > > > > My argument - on average, rental cars are much more > > abused by hundreds of > > drivers than one that's been leased to one person > > for three years. > > > > Opinions? Which would you prefer? (again, assume > > that the prices for each > > are "good deals") > > > > vty, > > > > --Dennis > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). > http://calendar.yahoo.com > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 11:25:02 -0400 From: "Bill Heumann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] =?iso-8859-1?Q?_______RE:_=5Buuc=5D_Survey_-_used_lease_car_v._used_=22re?= =?iso-8859-1?Q?ntal'_car?= The joke goes... What is the deference between a rental car and a 4wd? You can take a rental car anywhere. Bill Heumann '02 E46 M3 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 10:53:25 -0500 From: "Alex Cagann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] question re: Driving School My friend is turning 30 next month. His gal wants to set up a group gift from all his friends/relatives. She wants to send him to a driving school. She was asking about Skip Barber and others. Does anyone have any recommendations regarding this? He does not have a track car, so the event would have to offer this as well. Alex Cagann http://www.autoconsortium.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 11:53:56 -0400 From: "Zidlicky, Peter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Survey - used lease car v. used "rental' car The best story I can recall is a guy getting arrested in the middle of swapping out interiors from a rental Mustang into his own car in the middle of his driveway. The irony is that he probably would have gotten away with it if the curious officer hadn't shown up. Am sure a complete engine swap would be possible. How in the world would they be able to track you down a month later after the car has been rented another 15-20 times? Peter This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you receive this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from all computers. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 08:56:45 -0700 (PDT) From: paul t <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] has your V1 ever.... has your V1 ever missed a laser radar? this happened to me twice, on the same road, first time i thought it might be a fluke, but it happened again just the other day. i was going the speed limit (35mph) down a straight stretch of road behind a couple of cars, no semis, we were all nicely spaced apart, and noticed a cop on a bike ahead, and since i wasn't speeding, i wasn't worried. i looked to my V1 (version 1.7) to see what gun he was shooting at us. so i wait, no warning yet.. and as i get closer, no beeps, and closer, no beeps, until i had passed him, and me seeing him shooting what looks like a laser radar. now this is the second time thats happened and it's starting to worry me. the V1 must pickup something after the instant-on is triggered 3-4x right? the first time that it happened was practically the scenario. i know my laser works because i detect chevy blazers well, and even sometimes the E46. i have my v1 hardwired next to my rear view mirror. could this mean that i need to upgrade to 1.8? would this is this the laser that "Generation 3 laser warning" that valentine1.com refers to? just carious if you guys have experienced the same thing. thanks, paul __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 09:07:16 -0700 (PDT) From: Matthew Yip <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Survey - used lease car v. used "rental' car I'd never abuse a rental car - I ran it at 70 mph in 2nd gear b/c I was told to return it empty and that was my goal, honest. Oh, and those smoke power-brake burnouts were b/c I'm used to a manual and forgot to take my foot off the clutch <G> Rental cars, regardless of their level (standard, premium, luxury or whatever) are thoroughly thrashed by both customers and employees. The "routine" maintenance is a crock - the rental agencies are looking to simply keep the cars in service, nothing more and nothing less. Anyone that purchases a used rental car is asking for trouble. Many of today's rental cars are leased from the manufacturer so a used lease car may well be a used rental car especially if it's a bread-and-butter car with an odd trim package. For example an Escort SE (base model, IIRC) with slush-o-matic, cruise, PW, PD/L and a CD player probably wasn't leased b/c it was $149/mo - in other words, that was probably a rental agency lease-return which means "run away". The distinction gets more difficult with luxury-level cars but they're still suspect since they're either rented by people that want to treat themselves (and then beat the crap out of the car) or are rented by people who expect that standard of luxury in a car (and don't take care of a car). All in all - buying a used lease or rental car is a lose-lose proposition. Even a used lease car that hasn't been a rental is risky since many folks look at those cars as long-term rental cars but that's another nightmare unto itself. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 11:08:11 -0500 (EST) From: "Mike McLeish" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] [E34] M5 won't start Argh - ny wife called me at work to let me know the M5 won't start. What a great start to the day. I would have rather heard that she backed over the dog, or one of the kids was puking, or that ALL of the kids were puking. When she turns the key she hears a whiring sound, but (from what I could hear over the phone) it doesn't sound like it's cranking over. Could it be the timing chain? I had her read me the Engine Codes, and we got a 1444 (no failure). Mike '87 535is '91 M5 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 12:08:01 -0400 From: "Rob Levinson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] has your V1 ever.... By its very nature, the lidar is a focused beam. Unless your V1 is within the narrow "spray pattern" of the laser beam, it will not pick it up. Additionally, laser does not "bounce around" in the same way as radar. Compare this to radar which has a much broader pattern, so you can pick it up from oblique angles. Radar bounces all over the place (relatively speaking) which is why you can get a good reading even after passing the radar source. The taillights (and some headlights) that set off your V1 are a more diffuse pattern, scattering IR light in or near the lidar spectrum frequency. - - Rob - ---- Original Message ---- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [uuc] has your V1 ever.... Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 08:56:45 -0700 (PDT) >has your V1 ever missed a laser radar? this happened >to me twice, on the same road, first time i thought it >might be a fluke, but it happened again just the other >day. > >i was going the speed limit (35mph) down a straight >stretch of road behind a couple of cars, no semis, we >were all nicely spaced apart, and noticed a cop on a >bike ahead, and since i wasn't speeding, i wasn't >worried. i looked to my V1 (version 1.7) to see what >gun he was shooting at us. so i wait, no warning yet.. >and as i get closer, no beeps, and closer, no beeps, >until i had passed him, and me seeing him shooting >what looks like a laser radar. now this is the second >time thats happened and it's starting to worry me. the >V1 must pickup something after the instant-on is >triggered 3-4x right? the first time that it happened >was practically the scenario. > >i know my laser works because i detect chevy blazers >well, and even sometimes the E46. i have my v1 >hardwired next to my rear view mirror. could this mean >that i need to upgrade to 1.8? would this is this the >laser that "Generation 3 laser warning" that >valentine1.com refers to? > >just carious if you guys have experienced the same >thing. > > >thanks, >paul > >__________________________________ >Do you Yahoo!? >Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). >http://calendar.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of [uucdigest] V3 #6443 *************************** | | In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. |________________________________________ | Please visit these UUC-approved BMW parts vendors/service providers: | (listed alphabetically) | | Autoscope-Motorsports - http://www.autoscope-motorsports.com | |==================================================== | | Koala MotorSport . BMW technical information, special tool sales/rental | http://www.koalamotorsport.com | |==================================================== | | Taylor BMW - http://www.taylorbmw.com - Doc Bimmer! | |==================================================== | Turner Motorsport Inc . 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