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IntelliChoice Value Rating
The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.
One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.
What is a good car value?
A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.
But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?
For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.
This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)
Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.
Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.
So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.
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2008 BMW 6-Series Packages & Options
2008 BMW 6-Series Packages
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322
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Comfort Access
- $1,000
Smart card / smart key automatic, includes central locking, includes ignition starter, includes memory seat adjustments and includes memory steering wheel position
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ZCW
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Cold Weather Package
- $750
Heated steering wheel; Rear seat center armrest with ski bag; Includes: [494] Heated Front Seats
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ZI1
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BMW Individual Composition
- $11,000
Front and rear alloy wheels with 19 inch rim diam; Front and rear tires; Alcantara headliner; Illuminated door sills; Storage net in passenger footwell; Brilliant Black metallic paint; Midnight Blue metallic paint; Moonstone metallic paint; Piano Finish Black trim; Olive-Ash Red Brown trim; Walnut Amarone wood trim; Platinum Full Merino leather; Canyon Brown Full Merino leather; Champagne Full Merino leather; Excludes: [ZSP] Sport Package And [2C7] 19" Star Spoke Wheels/Performance Tires And [4BW] Maple Wood Trim And [4M5] Nappa Leather Dashboard and Center Console; Requires: [ZE5] Midnight Blue Metallic; Or [ZE4] Brillant White Metallic; Or [ZE3] Moonstone Metallic
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ZPS
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Premium Sound Package
- $1,800
Harman/kardon stereo RDS audio system with AM/FM, CD player, Disc Autochanger and six-disc remote changer; Thirteen upgraded speaker(s); Disc autochanger glove box and 6; Excludes: [677] Logic7 Sound System And [653] HD Radio
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ZSP
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Sport Package
- $2,200
Front alloy wheels with 19 inch rim diam, 8.5 inch rim width and partial wheel covers, rear alloy wheels with 19 inch rim diam, 9.0 inch rim width and partial wheel covers; Front run flat/punctureproof tires with 245 mm tire width, 40% tire profile and W tire rating, rear run flat/punctureproof tires with 275 mm tire width, 35% tire profile and W tire rating; Shadowline exterior trim; Sports driver and passenger seat with thigh support; Excludes: [2C7] 19" Star Spoke Wheels/Performance Tires And [ZI1] BMW Individual Composition
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2008 BMW 6-Series Options
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205
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6-speed STEPTRONIC Transmission
- $0
Automatic six-speed transmission with mode select, lock-up, electronic control, manual mode, shift lever on floor, 4.170:1 first gear ratio, 2.340:1 second gear ratio, 1.520:1 third gear ratio, 1.140:1 fourth gear ratio, 0.870:1 fifth gear ratio, 0.690:1 sixth gear ratio and 3.400:1 reverse gear ratio; Fuel economy EPA highway (mpg): 26 and EPA city (mpg): 18; Fuel consumption: EPA urban (mpg): 18, country/highway (mpg): 26, combined (mpg): 21, 7.6, 11.1, 8.9, 22, 31 and 25; Automatic drive indicator on dashboard; Excludes: [206] 6-Speed SMG Transmission And [2TB] Sport Automatic Transmission with Sift Paddles
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206
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6-Speed SMG Transmission
- $0
Manual six-speed transmission with automatic clutch, shift lever on steering wheel, 4.050:1 first gear ratio, 2.400:1 second gear ratio, 1.580:1 third gear ratio, 1.190:1 fourth gear ratio, 1.000:1 fifth gear ratio, 0.870:1 sixth gear ratio and 3.680:1 reverse gear ratio manual sequential and automatic mode - manual; Fuel economy EPA highway (mpg): 24 and EPA city (mpg): 16; Fuel consumption: EPA urban (mpg): 16, country/highway (mpg): 24, combined (mpg): 19, 6.8, 10.2, 8.1, 19, 29 and 23; Automatic drive indicator on dashboard; Requires: [ZSP] Sport Package; Excludes: [205] 6-speed STEPTRONIC Transmission And [2TB] Sport Automatic Transmission with Sift Paddles
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217
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Active Steering
- $1,400
Vehicle speed proportional power steering variable rack
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2C7
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19" Star Spoke Wheels/Performance Tires
- $1,300
Front alloy wheels with 19 inch rim diam and 8.5 inch rim width, rear alloy wheels with 19 inch rim diam and 9.0 inch rim width; Front other tires with 245 mm tire width and 40% tire profile, rear other tires with 275 mm tire width and 35% tire profile; Excludes: [ZSP] Sport Package And [ZI1] BMW Individual Composition
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2TB
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Sport Automatic Transmission with Sift Paddles
- $0
Manual transmission with automatic clutch manual sequential and automatic mode - manual; Excludes: [205] 6-speed STEPTRONIC Transmission And [206] 6-Speed SMG Transmission
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436
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Wood Trim - High Gloss, Dark Birch
- $0
Wood trim - high gloss, dark birch; Luxury trim wood & leather on doors; Excludes: [437] Wood Trim - High Gloss, Light Birch And [4BW] Maple Wood Trim
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437
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Wood Trim - High Gloss, Light Birch
- $0
Wood trim - high gloss, dark birch; Luxury trim wood & leather on doors; Excludes: [436] Wood Trim - High Gloss, Dark Birch And [4BW] Maple Wood Trim
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494
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Heated Front Seats
- $500
Heated driver and passenger seat
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4BW
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Maple Wood Trim
- $0
Wood trim - Maple; Luxury trim wood & leather on doors; Excludes: [436] Wood Trim - High Gloss, Dark Birch And [437] Wood Trim - High Gloss, Light Birch
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4M5
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Nappa Leather Dashboard and Center Console
- $0
Luxury trim leather on center floor console and leather on dashboard; Requires: [LE] Leather Pearl
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541
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Active Cruise Control
- $2,400
Cruise control with distance sensors
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610
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Head-Up Display
- $1,200
Dashboard with head-up display
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611
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Night Vision
- $2,200
Night vision
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653
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HD Radio
- $500
Audio system with digital radio; Excludes: [ZPS] Premium Sound Package And [677] Logic7 Sound System
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655
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Satellite Radio Full Installation
- $595
Audio system with satellite
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677
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Logic7 Sound System
- $1,200
Harman/kardon stereo RDS audio system with AM/FM, cassette and search/repeat; Subwoofers; Thirteen upgraded speaker(s); Surround sound; Digital Sound Processing; Excludes: [ZPS] Premium Sound Package And [653] HD Radio
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J004
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Standard Paint Type
- $0
Black paint; Excludes: [J005] Standard Paint Type And [ZE4] Brillant White Metallic And [ZE3] Moonstone Metallic And [ZE5] Midnight Blue Metallic
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J005
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Standard Paint Type
- $0
Gloss paint; Excludes: [J004] Standard Paint Type And [ZE4] Brillant White Metallic And [ZE3] Moonstone Metallic And [ZE5] Midnight Blue Metallic
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LE
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Leather Pearl
- $1,350
Leather Pearl
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ZE3
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Moonstone Metallic
- $3,000
Metallic paint; Excludes: [J004] Standard Paint Type And [J005] Standard Paint Type And [ZE4] Brillant White Metallic And [ZE5] Midnight Blue Metallic
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ZE4
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Brillant White Metallic
- $3,000
Metallic paint; Excludes: [J004] Standard Paint Type And [J005] Standard Paint Type And [ZE3] Moonstone Metallic And [ZE5] Midnight Blue Metallic
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ZE5
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Midnight Blue Metallic
- $3,000
Metallic paint; Excludes: [J004] Standard Paint Type And [J005] Standard Paint Type And [ZE4] Brillant White Metallic And [ZE3] Moonstone Metallic
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BMW ups feature creep with free real-time traffic reports
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Super Sports car comparison
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2011 BMW LC5 CLS-fighter
With Jaguar, Volkswagen, and Audi all working on rivals to the banana-shaped Mercedes-Benz CLS, did you think BMW would stand on the sidelines? Of course not. Indeed, BMW is readying a stretched versi...
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2006 BMW M6 vs. Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG
Hunger for more power and torque is insatiable, despite ever-increasing traffic densities and speed restrictions around the world. At least, that's the message relayed by the German auto industry, whi...
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2004 Los Angeles Auto Show
Los Angeles auto show highlights include the BMW 6 Series, Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford GT, Hummer H3T, Lotus Elise, MazdaSpeed MX-5 Miata, Saab 9-2X, and Toyota Corolla XRS.
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2006 BMW M6 vs. Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG
Hunger for more power and torque is insatiable, despite ever-increasing traffic densities and speed restrictions around the world. At least, that's the message relayed by the German auto industry, whi...
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