[eml]

3g iphone with vodafone june at the earliest i heard. will only get one if and when they get blackberry integration bulletproof. as it is now, the curve works well with the car.

as for distractions, i don't let the phone do that -- just press the answer button when somebody calls. no calling, texting, emailing, etc. if needed, i find a side road and pull over (rarely happens though that there's something THAT urgent).

[JamieA]

Originally Posted by BMW //MPOWER

Lol, i hate my blackberry more than i hate my mobile. ... actually i'd love it if someone made a phone that did not work at all whilst in a car, as it's the last thing i'm interested in doing whilst driving.

*tongue in cheek* Get a Moto Q9h then


As for my phone, I spend too much time communiting in boring traffic - the drive is never going to be good, so I say why not get a few phone calls out of the way and reclaim some of your life... now when I drive down Gorge Road, that is a different story, but I tend to find the really great driving roads I like don't have good mobile reception anyway

[aggie57]

Originally Posted by eml

3g iphone with vodafone june at the earliest i heard. will only get one if and when they get blackberry integration bulletproof. as it is now, the curve works well with the car.

as for distractions, i don't let the phone do that -- just press the answer button when somebody calls. no calling, texting, emailing, etc. if needed, i find a side road and pull over (rarely happens though that there's something THAT urgent).

Exactly. I've had an iphone since last October. Works fine with Bluetooth in my current car, although not as good as the fully integrated Nokia that came with it. Everything I have read says it should work at least as well with the M3 when that arrives.

[BMW //MPOWER]

Just wondering if anyone has seen the announcement by our lovely Labour Government about the increases planned to Luxury Car Tax?
It's a bloody outrage it is!

[1q2w3e4r]

Not really a surprise, Labor got voted in remember hehe

[BMW //MPOWER]

Originally Posted by 1q2w3e4r

Not really a surprise, Labor got voted in remember hehe

True, i'm still gonna to throw my little tanty all the same

[GeriFix]

Originally Posted by BMW //MPOWER

Just wondering if anyone has seen the announcement by our lovely Labour Government about the increases planned to Luxury Car Tax?
It's a bloody outrage it is!

When Sydney BMW rang me in late December to say my car had arrived but they couldn't deliver it until after Christmas, I jokingly said that I really wanted it NOW before LCT goes up. Well, true to form, we now have an interest rate hike and increased LCT, the only thing that's out of place is the Aussie Dollar's value

[OZ!MSport]

Yep - saw the news today! Damn crime!

I understand the reason to tax 'non essential' items at a higher rate - but it just sh1ts me that we are penalised just because we want to drive a REAL car and not simply a Holden or Ford. I guess this is another way the guvment props up the Aussie car market.

Not much we can do about it ('cept vote the Libs back in)

[1q2w3e4r]

Flat tax rate FTW!

[BMW //MPOWER]

Originally Posted by OZ!MSport

Yep - saw the news today! Damn crime!

I understand the reason to tax 'non essential' items at a higher rate - but it just sh1ts me that we are penalised just because we want to drive a REAL car and not simply a Holden or Ford. I guess this is another way the guvment props up the Aussie car market.

Not much we can do about it ('cept vote the Libs back in)

Tell me about it, the Aussie car market should not be protected, like the one in NZ. The government actually comissioned a study into looking at removing protections for local manufacturers that was about as independent as your legs are from your torso in keeping you standing up straight. Given Steve Bracks was put in charge of heading it up, yes the state PM who rode to office on campaigning for the local auto manufacturers who is so far in their pocket it's unbelieveable.

Originally Posted by 1q2w3e4r

Flat tax rate FTW!

That'd be grand, but all the plebs currently paying negative tax (i.e. their tax paid doesn't equal the amount of tax $ spend on them) will all have a big sook.
It does make a stint working in Singapore or HK very tempting though.

[astra]

Originally Posted by BMW //MPOWER

Just wondering if anyone has seen the announcement by our lovely Labour Government about the increases planned to Luxury Car Tax?
It's a bloody outrage it is!

Bastards...

They just proved my point when they litterally said... take from the hard working people, who got off their asses and did something, and give their money to the dol bludgers...

ffs

Soon it will become more economical to import bloody cars and have them converted over to right hand drive!

[BMW //MPOWER]

Originally Posted by astra

Soon it will become more economical to import bloody cars and have them converted over to right hand drive!

Lol, i already thought it was, it's just the owning it for 2years o/s restriction which was the issue. M3 in the US $60k = approx $65k AUD, transport $10k, i don't think conversion is $90k. It's not fair! It should be open season on importing cars from where ever in my book!

[BBQWER]

Are we going to have higher resale price?

[BMW //MPOWER]

Originally Posted by BBQWER

Are we going to have higher resale price?

I doubt it.
Given the massive FX gains BMW and co. have had over recent years, i expect that they will absorb this increase in tax, as they are yet to hand back any of the windfall FX gains they've incurred.
Also i would expect to see some discounting with the economy turning and things getting tight i would expect to see new car sales falling (as evidenced by sales so far this year), which will lead to the dealers clammering for new business. So expect to see a bit more marketing and some more *discounted* finance offers in your mailbox in the next year or so.
So all in all i don't expect this will do anything to our resale prices at all.
Although i'm not ruling out a tick up in depreciation rates, given the pull back in demand that is currently flowing through the market.

[Chris.G]

^I guess buying an a M-DCT M3 at a decent discount price is possible.

[JamieA]

(*&@#*^# * ^*&$ &*$ *&$ *&$ ^*$& ^*&$ ^$*&^ $*& $* Luxury car tax #(U#()*HUE##(&(#)*&#*&#*&($#*(&$^&$&T* %&)(&@()*)(&*@)(*@_&(*^$*&^#(*@

F*#^&$ing Bas&#*$s!!!!

(let me tell you what I really think)

[JamieA]

I did calm down a little and get my calculator out... I am looking at a 335 to replace my 325 in about a year's time - hopefully the 2009 update... so... going to spend about $120k (before I get discount) so at the current rate, the LCT amount is $12,600, at the new rate, it will be $16,800, a $4,200 increase.

As the Fin Review said today it didn't collect much money last year, discriminates against technology that provides increased safety and fuel efficiency, and will eventually make ALL car prices go up (HELLO, WAR AGAINST INFLATION GUYS!!!!) because Toyota won't be able to help themselves but put the prices of Camrys and Corollas up to fill the price void.

Aside from that it acts like a pseudo tariff which always hurts an economy... and to top it all off bloody Nicola Roxton was on 7.30 report today whinging and moaning about how they haven't indexed the $50,000 threshold for the Medicare surcharge, in order to get all those RICH BASTARDS... saying it was an outrage etc etc... I mean she nearly spat on the camera she was so animated, and I think Kerry was glad she was in another studio because quite frankly, she is a very aggressive, mean looking person who obviously has some chip on her shoulder about something, I don't know, maybe James Packer didn't take her to the Ball, or whatever, but anyway, why haven't they indexed the F@&#ING LUXURY CAR TAX THRESHOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????????!!!!!!! !!!!!

Following Labour's logic, the LCT should be around $114k...

Today I understood why people shoot their televisions, I can't wait for the next election, and I really hope the Liberals have their act together by then and have someone worth voting for, rather than that puppy Nelson... send Bronni Bishop in, she will fix 'em (that last part about Bronni was a joke BTW )

And don't get me started on Private health, the way they are going to leave the top tax rates unchanged for longer, and how the fact that I still don't have 1Gbps Broadband installed yet just irritates the hell out of me... I expected it to be installed the day after they won the election...

I need to have a drink and a lay down... oh an that reminds me, I saw that Labour were looking at banning Codeine Phosphate based pills unless you get a prescription... give me a break, apparently there are people addicted to them... yes so let's have the nanny state ban them...

There you go, the poison is out now, the little voices have stopped talking, and I feel calm, and will go and phone my therapist.

[OZ!MSport]

I hear ya!

Gotta say I'm sick of the tax I pay going towards funding dole bludgers and their drug habits.

Why is it that we have a budget surplus each year and yet they still want to increase the LCT in order to get more money?

[BMW //MPOWER]

JamieA, don't get me started on the lack of indexation in Australian taxes, Howard f*cked us over really well in the 80's when he removed indexation. It's the worst bit of policy EVER. As they are effectively increasing the tax take every year (to leave us as one of the most over taxed countries in the world) with inflation and leaving everyone with less & less every year, only to hand back a little via a tax cut here or there to look like a hero.
Nearly every other developed coutry in the world has tax rates that are indexed, it's a bloody disgrace that we don't.

[VGR00]

I've never been a labour supporter and deffinitly didn't vote for Rudd but I think the budget we are about to get probably would have happened with either political party. The economy needs to be reeled back into line. The old saying - for every action there is an oppersite and equal reaction - is true. I'm not happy about anything i'm currently hearing either in the health care change or the increase in LCT but we don't have a say in what's going to happen. I'm just glad i'm in control of my finances and not in a position like people who have borrowed against their equity that might soon be in a position that they owe more than they own.

Car sales are deffinitly slow. I heard that BMW are about a week away from a national program advertising the 320i with metalic paint, sunroof and innovation package for $199 per week on a full circle program.

[OzStriker]

Come on guys, tax is fun!

I get to give half my income away to the government, yay!

Then I buy a car and pay GST, stamp duty and luxury car tax which equates to the price of a shiney new WRX I could use for ski trips.

Need lifts to snow...Anyone? lol

Yippee!!!

[SydneyM3Pom]

Originally Posted by BMW //MPOWER

Lol, i already thought it was, it's just the owning it for 2years o/s restriction which was the issue. M3 in the US $60k = approx $65k AUD, transport $10k, i don't think conversion is $90k. It's not fair! It should be open season on importing cars from where ever in my book!

Still doesn't work... I was looking at bringing my Boxster over when I moved here. Owned it for a little over two years (from new), and by the time they'd stung me for taxes (about 100% of its value on the UK market) it was breakeven vs selling and buying another here...

I actually couldn't afford to buy one, so the sale of my two year old Boxster funded the purchase of my five year old Saab 93 'vert... (possibly the worst can I have ever owned!).

Its taken me four years to save up enough money to get back to having nice cars.