Best day in my automotive history (so far)

Well I don't really know how excited you'd be reading about this, but I am very excited that I have to write about it.

Helal and I went today to shop for cars, we wanna pamper ourselves a bit but we're not yet entirely sure about our budget. So our plan was to sort the cars in descending order of "desireness" and test them one by one. This was we'd be testing the best cars first and then see how far down the ladder we can go without feeling too bad :)

Well so today we started executing the plan. And what a day it was!
In a few words, I drove a 2006 C230 Kompressor Sport sedan, and a 2005 Audi TT 1.8T (manual ;)
Both cars were new.

Read on for the full reviews :)


The mercedes was very nice, the 2006 model has a very nice interior specially that the one we tested had my favorite trim choice, the aluminum trim.
It has a very smooth ride and was fast enough. The brakes were the star of the show though, the salesman going with us on the test drive asked us to accelerate in a parking lot and then jump on the brakes before we hit the wall. It was just phenomenal. The very tight turning circle was also very impressive, this car can do a U-turn in any 2-lane street.

And then was the star of the show today, the TT.
I wasn't actually planning to test drive a TT today, but when we told the people at the Mercedes dealership that we're working for Microsoft, the sales manager came over for a personal greeting, and they gave us a reference for the Audi dealership sales manager, and they even called them and told them we're coming. More about MS power later in the post :)

So we went to the Audi dealership, we met with a very very nice sales person. I told him I was interested in a manual 1.8T coupe. He was able to find the last one they have over there. We checked it out and he told us he'd let us (Helal and I) go for a test drive alone since the back of the TT can't hold anything bigger than a baby. He then came back apologizing saying his manager told him neither of us can drive it because we don't have insurance. So we managed to stuff Helal into the back so-called seats and the sales person took us for a spin. I sat as a passenger and then he told he could let me drive it provided that I don't tell his boss. I was more than happy to comply (I hope his boss is not reading my blog)
And oh boy! The car was just amazing. The gear change is very slick, it slots into place with a very nice re-assuring mechanical click. The throttle response is very good, and the car just rockets away on anything higher than 3000rpm. The interior is amazing too with all the aluminum touches. I was just blown away given that I have never before driven anything remotely similar. And the guy was more than happy to let me rev it hard up to 6000 rpm. The car goes up to 40mph (60Kmh) in absolutely no time, I didn't even have time to change gears up to second in the time it took to reach 40mph in first. Pretty amazing stuff.

We then headed for the BMW dealership. That was quite an experience too. Not only because of the car, but for the live demonstration of the MS power in action.

We went to the salesman, we told him we were interested in a 2006 325i for Helal, and maybe a z4 for myself. He was very helpful, gave us the brochures, and provided a car with the options Helal wanted for us to check out. Then it was time for a test drive, and the guy went for a few minutes and then came back to tell us the same thing as the Audi dealership. We can't drive it because we have no insurance in the US. So I ask him if there is anyway around it because we can't get insurance till we get a car and we won't get a car till we test drive it and we can't drive it till we have insurance. So it's basically an infinite loop. He apologized politely saying that it's dealership rules. I try to entice him once again saying that the Mercedes dealership let us drive the C-class, again to no avail.

So he took us for a test drive as passengers, he demonstrated the car's capabilities with himself driving and took us back apologizing once again that we can't drive it.

When we were back in the dealership I told Helal that we now have no other option than to wave the Microsoft card.
I then told the sales person that we're gonna be working for Microsoft. And I couldn't possibly imagine it was gonna work this time. But I was wrong.
In a few seconds the sales manager came to greet us, he talked to us about our financing options, offered us drinks. (to be frank the sales person asked us if we wanted anything to drink previously, but not his manager:P)
I then took the chance and told the manager it's too bad we didn't get to drive the car because a BMW is all about the dynamics. He then said that we can take it for a spin ourselves.
So with Helal in the driver's seat we went off. He tried the sports mode in the autobox and he took 90 degree turns at 40mph. I didn't drive it myself as I'm not interested in a sedan right now but as a passenger I noticed the car was pretty amazing. It revved harder than the merc, pulled harder, and cornered absolutely flat.

When we went back they asked me what kinda car I'm interested in, I told them it's the z4, and they happened to have a 3.0i z4 with premium and sports package, and even a manual box! just how I like it!
It was already past the dealership opening hours, so he showed us the car quickly and asked us to tell him when we can pass by tomorrow for me to drive it myself :) This time I didn't even have to ask for a test drive! All by just mentioning we're working for Microsoft. Now that's a perk you don't get in a lot of places. It's just amazing how much influence the name has around here :)

So, tomorrow at 10am I'm gonna be test driving a 3.0 z4, I'm gonna make sure I give it some stick and report back the results :) I already like it and it's even in my favorite color (black) and it's the last one they have so I'm really considering it. We'll see if it tops the TT :)