Congrats!!, I don't think you will complain about the power and handling like you did with the S5.

 

GPS can't track underground.

Lojack is cheap enough to have around.

it's amusing that they hired a hot chick to sell the extras.
hard to say no for some people.
I might consider buying the ding service if she slept with me.

 

Congragulations. You've apparantly wanted this car for some time (or something else to replace your S5).........so I hope you will be happy with it.

That's an insanely expensive, hand-built engine (on the C63 and E63 I reviewed, the service people said about $20,000 to replace one), so, even though it's under warranty, take it easy on the break-in. I'm sure you know the general break-in rules, so I won't repeat them here (some of us, such as lobuxracer, disagree with those rules anyway).

From the figures you posted, 45.5K for your year-old S5 trade doesn't sound bad (full KBB trade-in had around 47-48 or so, but I didn't know your car's exact configuration or condition), and if you got 4600 off the invoice, that, on the surface, sounds pretty good too. Invoice, though, is not always the dealers' true cost.....they often get holdback money and other factory-to-dealer incentives that are not publicized. The 390 advertising charge, for the most part, is B.S., but, on the other hand, it looks like you compensated by not having the equally-B.S. dealer-processing fee that is all but mandatory in this area, which can run from $100 to several hundered dollars depending onthe jurisdiction.

From the other posts, it looks like you considered aftermarket wheels, and, since you said you get a lot of flats, remember that AMGs often come with a bottle of Fix-a-Flat (I'm not sure about your particular car)...even the $94,000 E63 I reviewed. If you don't go with aftermarkets, you might want to invest in a spare tire/wheel if there's space under the trunk for it.

If not, and you consider the tire/wheel insurance, the tire/wheel insurance may (?) be worth considering if you drive a lot on rough, potholed troads or under other conditions where they would likey fail or be damaged.....but your own insurance company will probably take care of that (minus a deductable) if they are factory-original and not aftermarket.



Ordinarily, for most cars, LoJack is probably not necessary, but mixing Mercedes AMG cars with theft-prone Los Angeles may not be exactly the safest combination. LoJack will, in most cases, make it much easier for police to track it, as the car is monitored by satellite...but check the Owners' manual and see if your NAV/GPS unit (if equipped ) has a similiar anti-theft tracking fuction. You may not need LoJack if it does. And your AMG, being a Mercedes product, also has some of the most advanced anti-theft electronics on the market anyway, even outside of LoJack.

Good luck. I know this car was very important to you. And, if you get any of the after-sale they offer you in the buisness ofice, read the terms carefully, make sure you need them, understand them, and that they apply to your needs......don't forget, dealers make a lot of money off of those after-sale "packs", or else they wouldn't offer them.


Bent or cracked? Cast-alloy wheels usually don't bend. Instead, they crack.....and can fail under load.

 

lojack is not tracked by satellite.

it's by some doppler sonar crap or something. but not satellite.
that's why lojack doesn't have global coverage, and if the benz ends up deep into mexico, it's gone for good.

for such an expensive car tho, it's good to have backup security. $600 is chump change compared to the car price.

 

You are right on the extra protection. But, it might be overkill if the op does have Tel Aid. Lojack is very limited and relies heavily on the local donut munchers to track the car. Once state lines are crossed, the ball game will start from scratch.. Tel-Aid, Onstar, BMW Assist>Lojack

Here is an example of this service at work.. This guys had his M3 stolen & it was recovered.. What a wild situation including police chase etc..

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263760

 

Thanks,

Actually, they also had some BS registration charge called IRC (or something) that was 600. So it looks like they only discounted 4k off invoice if they normaly deduct those fees for other customers. If they do charge everyone with those fees maybe I do have a full 5k discount.


I think the tire & wheel insurance for 600 is pretty good to think about it. The tires on the C63 wear out fast (only 4k for rears) and I am planning to get PS2. So far every single car I have owned has had at least one flat and few bent aftermarket rims. I don't plan to get wheels but PS2s for sure. I think the deductable on my current insurance (1000) alone will make it worth while for the tire wheel warranty.

But I am thinking of canceling the Lojack and dent & ding.

 

wow, what a story. I really would be hesitant to get a car back that was abused by scum of the earth beings like that. it would actually be better to let them disappear and you get a new car.

 

exactly. the question is not whether or not to get lojack, but whether you want the car back if it's found via lojack.

 

interesting.

i guess they didn't have enough time to find a deep underground location to hide the car.

i wonder if lexus has GPS tracking.

those gps tracking services from benz and bmw are probably good enough for n00b thieves who don't know that bmw has gps tracking.


oh n/m. lexus link does all that.

 

awesome car. nice choice.

 

Sorry. You're right. LoJack doesn't use satellite. It uses transponders instead, the same devices aircraft and air traffic controllers use (I should have remembered that myself, as an ex-pilot).

But that is why I brought up the question of the NAV/GPS coverage. Some car NAV systems will track it by satellite if the auto manufacturer's GPS control center activates a code, at police request. GM, for instance calls it On-Star, Lexus, Lexus-Link, etc.....

 

bent on outer lip area (front wheel). I feel small vibration when driving, so I got new wheels, AMG knock-offs (these seem like good quality), and these look better.

 

congrats on the new car! at least after all the trouble finally you were able to land on this beauty, that's awesome

to be honest, lojack is garbage, personally i wouldn't pay anything for it, it's just not worth the money

now on my m3 i also got the exterior / interior protection package as well as the tire/wheel protection package. together they add about 30 bucks to my monthly payment so over 3 yrs i pay about 1000 bucks for them, i think that's a killer deal

my m3 is low to begin with and now it's lowered on springs. i don't have to care about scraping the bottom or getting door dings or whatever. that's a big plus. so i can tell you now already that the bottom of my front bumper has quite a few scratches already, hehe...

my tire/wheel package also covers aftermarket wheels as well, but that's not why i jump on them, since i won't be getting wheels for this car. but considering the road and such, and the price of replacing one ps2 tire on my car (easily 300 bucks), it's well worth it

no matter what, enjoy this great machine. break it in and then open it up -- wide

 

well i guess it depends on insurance company, but with mine, i asked before and lojack either doesn't help my rate at all or something like 5 bucks. it's pretty BS

 

lol even if it's low 4s that's more than enough for you to smoke most cars on the road!