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Speedracer228

Speedracer228

......
hey guys, havent been around much the past few months... after graduating college and getting settled into my new job I dont have the free time to surf the forum much...

Ive been carting around in my 01 saab 9-3 for about a year now and I have been getting that itch for something new. Last night a nice 6-pointer sped up the process. I am waiting for the insurance check and now it is time to get car shopping.

I know there are some members on here who have had sti's as a DD and I want some real life feedback.

With my job im on the road a lot going to see clients (insurance broker), so i need something that is fun yet "practical". Id really like an e46 m3, but i still look to "young" to be driving this up to clients without pissing someone off.

Therefore I am back to sti as my dd... the money is not an issue, but im just looking for some routine maintenance/every day experience from driving these everyday.... Ive have found most of my answers on nasioc.com, but its always nice to hear some first hand......

i know, i know :buyanm::lol:
 
IMO, the sti is a pain to drive daily.

it's a great car... but.

1) the gearing sucks. normal around town, you'll find your self at 40-45 mph in between 4th and 5th. 5th is lagg city and won't get you up a hill, 4th is wasting gas when its flat. you'll constantly find your self shifting back and forth.

2) it's a pig on gas. expect less than 20mpg driving it normal. i averaged 16mpg on average, mixed commuting and boosting.

3) the seats outright suck. hated them. like 'em at first, but after 30 min on the road, my back was un comfortable.


moral of the story:
grow a beard and :buyanm:
lol
 
B said:
IMO, the sti is a pain to drive daily.

it's a great car... but.

1) the gearing sucks. normal around town, you'll find your self at 40-45 mph in between 4th and 5th. 5th is lagg city and won't get you up a hill, 4th is wasting gas when its flat. you'll constantly find your self shifting back and forth.

2) it's a pig on gas. expect less than 20mpg driving it normal. i averaged 16mpg on average, mixed commuting and boosting.

3) the seats outright suck. hated them. like 'em at first, but after 30 min on the road, my back was un comfortable.


moral of the story:
grow a beard and :buyanm:
lol
Click to expand...
what he said ^^^ like the new name
 
a friend of mine has one of those mazdaspeed 3's, its a pretty quick car but fwd=teh suck and im tired of it.... even the slaab had major torque steer with only 210hp/210tq i cant imagine driving that every day putting down near 300tq on a dyno...

I was even considering an e36 m for the fun factor... i dont need a 12 sec dd...and in a year to two I could get something else since thats what I always do... Im just not sure about the reliability for how many miles im finding them with 80-90k :(

But ever since my friend bought his 05 sti right off the showroom floor ive loved the car... his only issues were as you had above with the gas and seats

I really would love the e46 but in my business i just cant have it yet.. if i was in an office everyday there would be no discussion.

edit: i just noticed the new name and suggestion thread... lol nice
its been some time since youve even owned a sol hasent it?
 
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oh yeah and there is a 1 owner FD w/80k carfax clean all stock at the volvo dealer down the road i want to drive... screw reliability those cars are dead sexy
 
Do you have a mentor or somebody telling you that you shouldn't be driving a BMW? I'm just wondering if somebody is telling you not to do this or if this is just a personal opinion. I don't really understand what your hangup is. If you want an M and you can afford one, then why the hell not get one?

And by the way, is this one of those independent contractor 100% commission type jobs?
 
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I could def go get one if i wanted too... but from being in the business for the past 5 years I know how it works. A lot of my clients are in the construction/blue collar business. Now granted these guys are def successful however they dont like to see that their 23 year old insurance agent is rolling up in an e46 (ie there paying me too much etc etc) i mean it just doesnt help my sales job to look wealthier than i should

my boss makes buku bucks but drives a suburban to work... he could drive whatever but from experience and hearing what people say it makes a huge difference in my business especially for me being "younger" in a business where experience counts for a lot
 
Yeah, i feel ya with that. I get random looks all the time.

Jelousy, it's a motherfucker :D

you work hard for your toys. let 'em look and hate.
 
i do like the silver much more than red, however i would only buy an Fd if it was a documented 1 owner, no accidents, all stock under 90k with good compression and a drivetrain warranty... which the one im going to see tonight/tommorow has at a dealer

there is also a nice 99 forest green m3 coupe with 77k on it that I am going to take a look at when i drive the sti..

car shopping is fun :)
 
STi won't make a good daily driver in my opinion. The power band isn't real ideal for daily driving and it won't be fun to bang through gears while waiting in traffic. I'm much more of a fan of a bigger, more powerful, less rev happy engine. Factor in the fact that its a loud and rough ride and you lose the novelty of the 'fun factor' and being young after awhile. I'm 22 and have already grown out of my modded WRX. Also think about gas prices and the sort of gas mileage that the STi gets on premium gas.

If I were you I would be looking at S4's, M3's, or the Caddy CTS-V.

I have been an insurance broker for awhile now and I see plenty of nice looking cars in our parking lot. You have to remember that on the same token that some people may be condescending about having a high status car, others may view you as successful and thus respectable and trustworthy.

If you did well enough to afford the car without having to mortgage a house then you must be doing pretty well for yourself, right? People look up to those who are successful.
 
BrutalB83 said:
And by the way, is this one of those independent contractor 100% commission type jobs?
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Thats how 99% of insurance works.

1099's. You're an agent and don't actually work for the company.

There's a 5% retention rate for certain jobs in the insurance industry for the first year. We have an industry leading retention rate for first year and its only 20%. Second, third, and fourth year go up dramatically and if you make it to the 5th year you'll most likely be there for quite awhile.

Some companies also have other things to offer besides insurances like financial products such as annuities, mutual funds, 401ks, etc.

In a study financial advisors have one of the highest top ten average salaries in the job market at $121,000.
 
totalburnout said:
Thats how 99% of insurance works.

1099's. You're an agent and don't actually work for the company.

There's a 5% retention rate for certain jobs in the insurance industry for the first year. We have an industry leading retention rate for first year and its only 20%. Second, third, and fourth year go up dramatically and if you make it to the 5th year you'll most likely be there for quite awhile.

Some companies also have other things to offer besides insurances like financial products such as annuities, mutual funds, 401ks, etc.

In a study financial advisors have one of the highest top ten average salaries in the job market at $121,000.
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Yeah, I know how all of that works, I've interviewed for several jobs like that, and was offered most of them. The 5% success rate is kinda what turned me off from it. Yeah, that $120,000 a year sounds really nice, but then again if the turnover figures are true, then for every 1 guy making $120 grand this year there's 19 other guys that are struggling or aren't making shit for money and calling it quits.

It's not that I'm not confident, but looking at it from a logical standpoint, chances are I would end up failing at it, and probably have made very little money in the process, since I'd constantly be spending money to drive out and visit clients. Plus (and I don't know if this is necessarily true for you, so please correct me if I'm wrong), because you're technically a contractor and not an employee, a lot of those jobs usually don't offer much in the way of benefits, so if you're wanting some kind of medical insurance plan, you're gonna be paying for it completely by yourself rather than having your company pay a good portion of it for you.

Plus, I'm just not crazy about jobs where I have to constantly drive my own personal vehicle all over the place for work purposes. Some people obviously don't care, but I'm not really into that. Also, you're probably not getting reimbursed for gas, so that's something else to consider when it comes to how much money you're actually making. Yeah you can ask for a tax write off, but it's still not quite the same as having a company provide you with a vehicle to drive and cover your traveling expenses.

Personally I'd rather get some sales experience that's not wholly based on commission before taking on a job like that. I mean if you're good at it and you're doing well, then more power to you man, milk it for all it's worth. For me personally though, I'd rather start off my business career with something that's salaried. That way at least I can count on having a certain amount of money every month, rather than busting my ass on a job where I might actually be in the red as far as income goes at any given time.

So are you actually contracted to a specific company? Or are you an independent agent?

Edit: Let me rephrase those last two questions. Obviously you're contracted to someone. What I'm asking is are you obligated to sell only a certain company's products or are you working for an agency that can match people up with policies from different companies?
 
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BrutalB83 said:
Yeah, I know how all of that works, I've interviewed for several jobs like that, and was offered most of them. The 5% success rate is kinda what turned me off from it. Yeah, that $120,000 a year sounds really nice, but then again if the turnover figures are true, then for every 1 guy making $120 grand this year there's 19 other guys that are struggling or aren't making shit for money and calling it quits.

It's not that I'm not confident, but looking at it from a logical standpoint, chances are I would end up failing at it, and probably have made very little money in the process, since I'd constantly be spending money to drive out and visit clients. Plus (and I don't know if this is necessarily true for you, so please correct me if I'm wrong), because you're technically a contractor and not an employee, a lot of those jobs usually don't offer much in the way of benefits, so if you're wanting some kind of medical insurance plan, you're gonna be paying for it completely by yourself rather than having your company pay a good portion of it for you.

Plus, I'm just not crazy about jobs where I have to constantly drive my own personal vehicle all over the place for work purposes. Some people obviously don't care, but I'm not really into that. Also, you're probably not getting reimbursed for gas, so that's something else to consider when it comes to how much money you're actually making. Yeah you can ask for a tax write off, but it's still not quite the same as having a company provide you with a vehicle to drive and cover your traveling expenses.

Personally I'd rather get some sales experience that's not wholly based on commission before taking on a job like that. I mean if you're good at it and you're doing well, then more power to you man, milk it for all it's worth. For me personally though, I'd rather start off my business career with something that's salaried. That way at least I can count on having a certain amount of money every month, rather than busting my ass on a job where I might actually be in the red as far as income goes at any given time.

So are you actually contracted to a specific company? Or are you an independent agent?
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I personally am an independent financial rep, but I have a contract that says I can sell Northwestern products. I can say any product from any company, but Northwestern products are only for contracted reps. You're still an independent agent, so you still file a 1099 tax form.

As for the commission issue, if you're young and don't have many obligations than going for a straight commission job where you can potentially make good money is probably a better option than wanting until a time in your life where you absolutely need that paycheck every month. (You may already be at that point in your life.)
 
totalburnout said:
I personally am an independent financial rep, but I have a contract that says I can sell Northwestern products. I can say any product from any company, but Northwestern products are only for contracted reps. You're still an independent agent, so you still file a 1099 tax form.

As for the commission issue, if you're young and don't have many obligations than going for a straight commission job where you can potentially make good money is probably a better option than wanting until a time in your life where you absolutely need that paycheck every month. (You may already be at that point in your life.)
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Sorry, that was a little confusing. So you're an independent rep (so you can recommend and sell whatever you want) who also has a contract with Northwestern that allows you to sell their products? Or you're contracted exclusively with Northwestern? Just trying to clarify.

And actually, I'm sorry, I thought you were the OP responding. I didn't even realize you were someone else throwing their 2 cents in.

And I'm only 24, recent college graduate, no kids or wife, so no, I'm not really in a position where a solid paycheck every month is essential. And I totally see your point, that the potential to make good money is there. I'm just pointing out that you yourself stated that only 5% of people who start out in jobs like that actually make a career of it, and I'm guessing that's a pretty accurate number, I looked into it a lot when I was offered several positions like this.

Like I said above, with a 95% turnover rate that means for every one guy who hits it big 19 other guys are failing and quitting. To me, the odds are just kinda iffy on that. And also, like I mentioned before, the cost of completely providing your own insurance and driving yourself all over the place to meet clients is going to eat into your income, so it's not quite the same thing as making $120,000 per year at a salaried job with good benefits.

And I'm not saying I would wait until I was like 40 or 50 to start a contractor type job, I'm saying more like I'd prefer a year or so in a sales position that wasn't completely based on commission before I jumped into it. That way I'd have a better idea of whether or not I'd be likely to succeed at it.

Anyways, I'm not trying to argue or start a debate, I'm just making conversation.

Sorry for the threadjack, Speedracer...it was unintentional... :D
 
its ok, apology accepted... and yes this job does turn into 100% comm for me in the next 2 years... which is great. I love the fact i never have to ask for a raise, just put in some more time and do my job and the money follows.

drove a 99 M3 last night (2 owner, clean carfax, vin tags on all the panels 77k miles, absolutely pristine, new tires on all corners, fluids/brakes etc.... I absolutely loved it...) Im driving the 7 and a few others tonight but as of now my mind is made up

:buyanm:
 
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