What would you replace the 135 with?

[05C4R]

this is a very interesting subject for people who own their own business.

in some business cultures, like finance or media, it would look bad if the boss did not drive a nice car, and in others like manufacturing, engineering it looks bad.

i own a manufacturing business, and it seems all over the world not just australia, its awkward owning a nice car when you mainly employee process workers.

i was in Singapore with the owner of a manufcturing business there and we actually changed cars, out of his S500 into a camry before visiting his factory!! he said his employees could never know how much he makes.

however when i turned 34 i thought life is too short, freinds who earn a quarter of what i do enjoy nicer cars then me, so i got a 1er. i get jibes from people but after a year now, i just don't give a f%$k.

Owning a good car helps for getting business however, if your going to win a project turn up in your best car or borrow one.

[BMW //MPOWER]

Have many people here gone past the Demir Leather (Lounges) Shop in Chatswood, that has any of their F430, RR Phantom, Murci, GTR & S65 AMG (I'm sure there is another 1 or two i've missed, i think they may have a new California as well) parked out the front with the DEMIR_ number plates?
Now i'm not one to raise an eyebrow when people have nice cars (our office car park contains more 911's than a Porsche dealership, along with a series of other exotics) & the like, but when they've got that many & park them outside the showroom everyday, it does make you wonder about just how fat their profit margins are...

[alik01]

I agree with Amk2910, Sparoz and Beemer. I don't think one should have to be disguise their success. I am nowhere near as successful as any of you are (yet! Hopefully), but I worked hard in a short time and I feel my car was a good reward and I didn't go overboard - aimed well within my means. So screw the snarky comments - if they could they would too!

[oz125]

You guys are right. In my job, people see what you drive (no not real estate) and its pretty easy to guess what they are thinking sometimes. So far, reactions generated from an MX5, then RX-8 were ok, there' still just only MAzda's afterall.
It's a fine line between looking like your doing ok and driving something that says " now I understand why these guys are charging me so much'.
Fortunately most of my customers know where we are at, and sometimes they say you have to spend money to make money.
Plus there's always, stuff it drive what makes you happy and you can afford. screw the reactions.

[bfi2906]

Originally Posted by BMW //MPOWER

Have many people here gone past the Demir Leather (Lounges) Shop in Chatswood, that has any of their F430, RR Phantom, Murci, GTR & S65 AMG (I'm sure there is another 1 or two i've missed, i think they may have a new California as well) parked out the front with the DEMIR_ number plates?
Now i'm not one to raise an eyebrow when people have nice cars (our office car park contains more 911's than a Porsche dealership, along with a series of other exotics) & the like, but when they've got that many & park them outside the showroom everyday, it does make you wonder about just how fat their profit margins are...

I think you answered your own question about their margins - it would appear that there's good money in leather lounges - we shouldn't talk about whether they're in good taste or not.

He had a Lambo at one stage. I used to drive past every day taking my son to school, and it was always interesting to see what car he had each day. He clearly runs a lucrative business - good luck to him.

My son's doing a practical part of his uni course at the moment. His sms this morning says "you should see the staff car park, it's like going to the motor show, without the junk. New M3's seem to be a favorite. Porsche Turbo makes an S5 sound soft."

Had to have a chuckle. Got to love a kid with aspirations.

[BBK]

In most Asian countries workers wouldn't worry if their boss drives a nice car, they respect their boss and do what they are told! Unlike Australia, tall poppy syndrome is extremely prevalent...

I too worry about the car I drive, I am in hospitality (fast food). I wonder everyday what people think when I get out of the car, because the businesses are in middle to lower socia-economic areas.

As for the leather guy, who knows what other business he is in? Maybe he did well on the stock market, has a load of property, trust fund, lotto etc... Point is, he probably worked hard for it and good on him!

[BMW //MPOWER]

Originally Posted by BBK

In most Asian countries workers wouldn't worry if their boss drives a nice car, they respect their boss and do what they are told! Unlike Australia, tall poppy syndrome is extremely prevalent...

I too worry about the car I drive, I am in hospitality (fast food). I wonder everyday what people think when I get out of the car, because the businesses are in middle to lower socia-economic areas.

As for the leather guy, who knows what other business he is in? Maybe he did well on the stock market, has a load of property, trust fund, lotto etc... Point is, he probably worked hard for it and good on him!

Totally agree with paragraph 1 re: tall poppy syndrome here.

on the 2nd paragraph, when i was a youngster, i used to work at maccas, the owner (who was a very nice & respected business woman) always had nice cars, E36 coupe, Audi S3, Alfa 156, SLK350 and so on & never had any issues or got negative comments in what was a lower-middle class area in Vic.

re: the leather guy, who knows where it came from or the like, i guess that's his business & i'm happy for him. I guess the observation people make is there is a difference between success & flaunting it (probably an aussie cultural thing), but by showing off with that many (5+) sweet-sweet-cars is a bit overly in your face which i do find a tad off putting.

[BMW86]

Interesting conversation going on here. I work in what I would call a 'rough' part of town too and I'm always weary of taking my car there. A 50k car demands plenty of attention where I work. I'm not only concerned about what people think but also if people vandalise my car because of jealousy or for whatever reason. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened either. Almost every car has been keyed from front to end at some point. I had my eye on a Z4 for a long time and I'm glad I went with the 135i as it blends in a bit better but still every time I go outside I'll see a couple people circling my car which isn't always the best feeling in that area. So far there's been no harm done to the 135i but I think about it all the time. I've learnt to accept that it's part of the responsibility of owning a nice car.

In my neighbourhood it's a different story though. In my street alone there's an F430, M3's, X5's, Z4's, SLK's, 350z's, lots of mid-range BMW's and Mercs and I just noticed a new SL65 AMG which has moved in And these are only cars that I notice. I still keep my 1er garaged all the time though, I'd kick myself if something happened to it in my own area because there's still a few people that drive some standard cars but I doubt they'd do anything to it.

I can't imagine what it would be like owning an Aston Martin or Porsche, I'd be too paranoid to leave it anywhere.

[alik01]

BMW86, caring about your car is definitely something that comes with the territory I guess. Especially in our case, being obvious enthusiasts. I always worry about leaving my car in a parking lot here, as it does attract some undue attention in Darwin - being a hatch helps quell it a bit.

I get some comments at work, driving this at my age. I think society is more accepting of business owners, be it McDonalds or Leather Sofas, driving nice cars than kids - which boils down to undeservingly getting it from the folks!

[BigBoss168]

I've had a Boxster for the last 6.5-7 years, have parked it on the street in all sorts of unsavoury places and never had a problem. Believe it or not, it has been vandalised three times and on all these occasions it happened in the secure underground carpark underneath my apartment block (admittedly I do live in Darlinghurst...)

Regarding people with flash cars, don't discount the possibility that they're on finance...go to the quarterly Pickles auctions and see how many Lambos, Ferraris, Porsches and AMG Mercedes are being sold "on instructions by the financier" with only a few thousand kms on them. Not saying that this is the case for the Demir leather guy or anybody else, but it's not to be discounted that the owners are up to their eyeballs in debt. After all, a 21 year old university grad joining Macquarie Bank or Goldman Sachs could afford to lease a 911 on their starting salary.

[Gumball]

I think having a nice car is great, I work and own a company (industrial suppliers) and get lots of positive comments about my 135 from suppliers and neighbours (industrial estate). I would never show my car to customers or do deliveries in it. Got a supplier who delivers stuff in a a Merc ML and my storeman is not impressed (does look a bit show off).

Depends on what you do, real estate or lawyer etc a great car is a huge plus to customers but if your customers can only dream of owning a nice car showing off how much money you have is not the best idea!

[amk2912]

A good mate of mine who has done well reckons he made the biggest mistake of his life by holding the staff Xmas party at his home. His employees resented the fact he lived in a big house at a riverside location. The most my staff see is my M3 but most don't know the diff between it and a standard 3er, which are so numerous nowadays. It's sad because when I went to Uni I went to my boss's house which won a WA Home of the Year award and was located on the Swan River. I thought, jeez this is what I want and I worked for it. I wasn't resentful or jealous but that's just me I guess.

Tall Poppy Syndrome sucks!

[jozeff]

I have just recently bought my first BMW and believe it or not i STILL hide it from my employees... i park in the quietest part of the carpark way away from where anyone can see.

Its not really all that flash (its ONLY a 130i hatch *wink) but i just don't think at my age it will go down too well. Im 27 and constantly telling all my employees to improve efficiencies to save money etc etc... so yeah... i just dont think them seeing me in a Beemer is going to be too impressive.

If they find out, i'm planning on telling them its my parents!!

[05C4R]

Originally Posted by jozeff

I have just recently bought my first BMW and believe it or not i STILL hide it from my employees... i park in the quietest part of the carpark way away from where anyone can see.

Its not really all that flash (its ONLY a 130i hatch *wink) but i just don't think at my age it will go down too well. Im 27 and constantly telling all my employees to improve efficiencies to save money etc etc... so yeah... i just dont think them seeing me in a Beemer is going to be too impressive.

If they find out, i'm planning on telling them its my parents!!

i feel your pain. i was exactly the same. especially with my 50+ year old employees, but life is too short... enjoy the car.


hows this, the 68 year old guy i bought the business off has more money then he can spend, ownes huge amounts of land in western sydney and has a garage with a new mercedes in it but drove his 30 year old land cruiser to the factory every day so no one would know what he was making. its now got 1 million kays on it!!

[BMW86]

Originally Posted by beemer

i feel your pain. i was exactly the same. especially with my 50+ year old employees, but life is too short... enjoy the car.


hows this, the 68 year old guy i bought the business off has more money then he can spend, ownes huge amounts of land in western sydney and has a garage with a new mercedes in it but drove his 30 year old land cruiser to the factory every day so no one would know what he was making. its now got 1 million kays on it!!

If I had more money than I could spend I wouldn't care what car I drove anywhere. My main reason is fear of vandalism or damage to my car and if I had money to splurge on fixing my car every second day I'd take the punt and drive something decent anywhere. No way I'd spend 1 milliion km's behind the wheel of an old land cruiser, that's a lot of driving!!

[mac135i]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who is a bit cautious about 'flashing' the car around.

My issues is not with the staff, nor the clients but rather some of the Committees I report to.

I previously drove a GTI simply because it made me smile when I drove it(it was chipped) but was just a GTI - just a Golf and no one would complain about someone driving a Golf.

I really agonized over going up to the 135 not because of the $ but because of the message it gave out..and its still only a baby BMW! The funny thing is I would have got away with a 4 dour 335i

The 1er suits me fine at the moment the right mix of practicality, performance, style etc.

My other thought on alternatives was to go back to something like a GTI for everyday use and then get a classics or two. Nothing especially in mind maybe an old Sunbeam Tiger or an Austin Healey for one.

[Timbo]

Yep I'm thinking I'd go back to a GTI or even the new R20 when it comes out. Great little car, heaps of fun, without the same flashyness of the baby beamer.

[mac135i]

I was seriously considering replacing my 2005 MkV GTI with a MkVI but I couldn't get the spec I wanted delivered before the end of 2009. As I was buying the new car really in response to the Govt stimulus I needed the car more or less there an then.

I'm glad I didn't because I love the 135 and now don't think I could go back to a GTI straight away, not even an R20. Eight years in essentially the same car seems a bit boring and certainly shows a lack of imagination. But come four years time when I'm due to replace the 135 then I'd go back to look at some of the VW product.

The GTI was great fun in a way the 135 isn't but of course there are lots of other benefits associated with the 135.

[WAY]

Guys, no such thing as a R20, it's just R. Anyway, I was going to buy a GTI or R as a city car, but then VW goes and released the Polo GTI. I am hooked on that. I love small cars, and I can't wait for that new Polo GTI when it comes!

[mac135i]

Yep,100% correct on the R designation. The R20 was a left over from my hanging around VW forums too long. The question of what the R32 replacement was going to be called was a point of much speculation - a bit like the M1/135is debate on this forum.

The polo looks great I agree.

[WAY]

Originally Posted by mac135i

Yep,100% correct on the R designation. The R20 was a left over from my hanging around VW forums too long. The question of what the R32 replacement was going to be called was a point of much speculation - a bit like the M1/135is debate on this forum.

The polo looks great I agree.

Yeah I know, I spend more time on VW forum than anywhere else!

[Durin's Bane]

The phenomenon of tall poppy syndrome is Oz is quite amazing, and I think a real indicator of our broad culture. So many people here don't aspire for success, yet knock anyone else who does and even more so if you get there. Drive a nice car and you're a w###er, live in a nice area and you're a rich ####, earn a good salary and you're a crook... it goes on and on.

I've worked in steelmaking, mining, and mining construction, and I remember when I was in a few of the remote regions of SA (Roxby Downs, Port Pirie, Whyalla, etc) my former manager used to hire a Ford Falcon when he went to site, rather than drive his E60 550i. Perception is everything when you work in these industries, especially with union muppets and numerous operational staff who have never worked a hard day in their lives, plus Client Senior Management who think our charge out fees are too expensive when they see anything that resembles luxury!