SpicyMikey

Not sure I buy; college = more educated = informed buyer. Equation seems to break down at the end. You could have gone to college to get educated for anything just to waste another 4 years and some of daddy's money. If you went to college for engineering or something automotive, then I would agree college = informed buyer.

I know a lot of people with college degrees who are morons (IMO). On the flip side some very intelligent and successful friends never went to college.

Point is; A $50k car is really not that out of reach of most people. I think an RL (or any $40-$50k car) is driven by a good cross section and mix of people from both ends of the middle class. It's one notch above the "every man" car category. You don't need a 7 figure income to drive it. I think you DO need to be someone who likes to do his homework adn wants a good value for his money. I think that personality trait crosses all social and economic boundaries.

Having said that, I think I tend to fall well into the common RL buyer profile pretty close.
Male
46
BS degree
Income > 180

henryr01

I have really tried hard to keep from posting to this thread...but here it goes.

Male
45
BS
< 180k by a few points

I'll also add that I agree with Spicey. I know some very intelligent people who never went to college. Then again, I know some very "successfull" people who could never afford an RL. It all depends on your definition of success.

feeenux

Safety was a factor that I researched before I bought my RL, too. Lots of airbags, mass, and power to get out of the way of the dumdums.

gavine

"dumdums"....how polite. I could think of a lot of names much less polite.

kmcheney

I agree with SpicyMikey on essentially every point here. One of the biggest idiots I've ever known is a PHD. Common sense isn't a requirement to get a college degree.

The demographics describe me pretty well.

Monday I was driving the Washington DC beltway and came upon a Mercedes CLS550; a very beautiful car. On a lark when I returned to my office I priced one out with the options that my 06 RL with CMBS/PAX has. Similarly equipped it comes to $80,000 before taxes and fees. My RL was purchased for $46K. It is also a beautiful car and is loaded with all the same features as the MB but at around half the cost. Add to that the reliability differences and to me, there is no question which way to go.

The RL is truly the best kept automotive secret out there.

SpicyMikey

Since you agreed with me, I'll agree with you

MB makes some very nice, rather exotic, and very expensive cars. If you have the money to be shopping in the $150k> price range then MB offers some real options. But in the $40-80k price range, they offer hardly any value. There are just too many other choices out there for any informed value conscious consumer to buy one. In other words, why don't I buy a $65k E350? Because I don't need to. There's better options.

It seems most people I know who drive an E Series (for example) are either very loyal to the brand from years of good experience, or, they are just brand whores looking for the image the badge portrays (because of those other very expensive and exotic cars they also make).

I actually can understand someone who makes a lot of money buying one. If you run with a crowd that all are in the multi-million per year income category (like two of my friends), well, you need to keep up with the Jones. Also, $50k, $65k, who cares. It's like $5000 versus $6500 to someone like me. If you like it better, what does the extra $1500 matter, just get it. For those people I say, good for you. My hat off to you. I just shake my head when I see my sister (for example) spending $20k more on a car then necessary, when I really know they can't afford it.

SupaRookie

Interesting data. I will fit 2 out of the 4 points when I purchase the car in a few years down the road.

Mike_TX

Was that "MIKE TX" a typo? I agree with the college thing as far as being an informed buyer goes, but college is no guarantee people won't like flashy cars. Some of my old college buddies drive silly things like a Lambo Murcielago, a 'Vette, and a 911. And, of course, I hate them.

.
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SpicyMikey

911 Turbo might be the one car I'd overpay for. The 69 Dodge Charger R/T, and a 911, were the two cars that caught my eye when I was old enough to start noticing cars. That's way before I started noticing girls.

I should have stuck with the cars. Talk about depreciating value. Oops, did I say that?

gdevine

OK I give up, maybe I should have said there is a high percentage of college grads on Acurazines RL boards. We are informing each other of our BS therefore, college grad Acurazine RL community members= more BS educated=informed moronic BS ers


I do have my degree in Meteorology and was quite upset when I was informed that the RL did not have Rain sensing wipers.

gdevine

Yes typo, I get you and spicey mixed up.

K_Bro

Male, 38, advanced degree,>180k.

I got the Acura because I felt it's a good value (maybe ~20k cheaper than similarly equipped more popular alternatives), plus I got at model year's end. Its understated styling and rarity are pluses for me.

Zipho

Male, 34, college(went back to school at 28), <180k.

I came to the RL by way of owning a G1 Legend coupe. Got sick of working on it and started looking for a G2. Miles were too high on them, so I looked for a low mileage RL. Found a 1998 with 10,000 miles (owner lived in Hong Kong and only drove it on visits), missed that one (luckily). Then I found my 2002 with 15,625 miles on it (the guy I got it from bought it from an estate sale). I had never noticed or checked out an RL in real life, ever. And when I found it, it was 700 miles away. Luckily my brother lived in the city and checked it out, then put a deposit on it to hold it for me. Then my wife and I flew up to the city to look at the car we were buying for the first time. He wanted 24k, I got it for $21,500. Some minor body scuffs and cracked headlight housing, interior was impeccable. So with no regrets we paid for it and had an awesome drive home through the Rockies, smoooth ride all the way. And got it inspected at the local Acura dealer (who have won my trust), she was perfect and I am now very happy I missed the 98 and ended up with my 02.

I'm pretty sure Acura didn't have me in mind when producing the RL, and if it wasn't for the Legend I probably would never have paid any attention to it. I was never in the market for a luxury car, just wanted a Legend. Oh and ya I do miss my G1 for what it was, but definetly no regrets.

bkw

My wife is the owner/driver of the RL, but I'm the one who strongly suggested it for her.

I'm 35 she's 30, I've got my MBA, shes got her M.eD, and our household income is quite a bit over $180k. I would imagine that we'd be the typical BMW owner (which we are as well), but could not pass up the RL and are very satisfied with it.

SpicyMikey

I think you should be driving a Porsche according to Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/adinfo/ForbesAutosMediaKit.pdf (page 3)

bkw

That's interesting, but I believe one needs to factor in their total cost of living rather than their household income. We live in Westchester County, a suburb of NYC where property values are still very high and will probably not drop significantly. We're also notorious for having some of the highest tax rates in the nation.

From 2006 - http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/03/pf/p...axes/index.htm and for the record, we're paying over 3x the median in the county.

GoHawks

got you beat. I'm paying $5K over.

dwboston

I live outside of Boston, and we're paying the same as the median property tax in Westchester County.