Roll Call

[ZoomieZoom55]

Assuming we are still doing some roll call here

I’ll start by saying I haven’t been this excited about a new car in a while, especially a GM outside of the C8. I think the last one that created this much internal buzz was the Audi RS6 Avant, oh, and then the Porsche Taycan Gran Turismo (I like the wagons).. I just don’t make that kind of money to buy one of those monsters. Used to have a 2000 S4, but would have loved the RS4 Avant that never came to the states.

I’m 49 with only a few months to go before the big 50, so, this is sort of a birthday present to myself. That’s become kind of a thing for me the past decade. I bought a used VW Touareg TDI at 40 (which was bought back after diesel gate), and then a 2004 6spd 545 BMW the next year, which I sold and now regret in 2015.

Then, in 2016, I got a BMW 335is with a manual that I still have, and in 2019 bought a used Range Rover Sport Supercharged V8 to replace the Touareg.. I was looking for another diesel because of the amazing mileage, but when I found the Supercharged V8 with low miles, I couldn’t’t resist.

In the middle of all of that I did get a 2017 VW GTI Sport that I only had for a year because having 3 cars after getting the RR seemed ridiculous, but now I’m back to having 3 cars once the BW is delivered.

Prior to all of that I had a 1997 VW Passat, 2000 Audi S4 6spd, and a 2012 VW GTI 2dr 6spd. Loved them all.

That’s my car history, so my personal history is that I was born and raised in upstate NY, went to Syracuse University and moved down to NY/NJ area for work after school. I lived in Brooklyn for a bit, then all around mid and upper NJ and ultimately in Hoboken before moving to Phoenix, AZ.

I’ve been in Phoenix for 17 years now and have a 15 year old daughter and am single, yet again.

I am a software engineer, but got into InfoSec years ago and have remained in that space for a while. I’m also a partner in a restaurant concept in town and hope to make that my day job one day soon.

While I’d like to capitalize on the current car market and sell my 335is for close to what I paid, I think I would regret it like I have with my older 545, so I’m going to keep it until I get the Caddy and determine if its worth keeping.

What I find great about this forum, and probably holds true for all car enthusiast forums is that no matter your political, religious or any affiliation, we all seem to work together and joke around about various things since we all have that one thing in common. Now, only if the rest of the world acted in a similar fashion.

Can't wait to be driving the new ride, and probably won't touch the other two cars for the first 6 months, until I deem I put too many miles on the BW...

Very well said!

 

[Tall Steve]

Bump for new guys!!!!

 

[ChrisInPhx]

Originally from Canandaigua just South of Rochester. Also went to college in Syracuse since graduating have lived a number of different states and countries (Switzerland & Singapore). Welcome to the forum!

Thanks for the warm welcome! What was your favorite country? Those are two that I'd love to visit, let alone live in one day.

 

[Cuse44]

They both had their advantages, both were clean safe and mass transportation was phenomenal and terribly expensive.

Switzerland the scenery is awesome, but I found the natives to be a bit stand offish, and hard to get know. It was a great place to travel around Europe since it is in the middle so not more than two hours from most major cities.

But I actually preferred Singapore, very modern, English was the first language, so communication was easier. Weather was awesome one degree North of the equator. So tropical everyday hot and humid which I preferred. Culturally very interesting a mix of Chinese, Malay, Indonesian, Indian and British. The airport is world class and connectivity to the rest of Asia and the World is excellent, and since I had to work while I was there and the business climate in Asia 3-4 years ago was much more dynamic than Europe.

You can’t go wrong visiting either Singapore is small so you could probably spend a week there and see most of the high lights.

 

[ChrisInPhx]

They both had their advantages, both were clean safe and mass transportation was phenomenal and terribly expensive.

Switzerland the scenery is awesome, but I found the natives to be a bit stand offish, and hard to get know. It was a great place to travel around Europe since it is in the middle so not more than two hours from most major cities.

But I actually preferred Singapore, very modern, English was the first language, so communication was easier. Weather was awesome one degree North of the equator. So tropical everyday hot and humid which I preferred. Culturally very interesting a mix of Chinese, Malay, Indonesian, Indian and British. The airport is world class and connectivity to the rest of Asia and the World is excellent, and since I had to work while I was there and the business climate in Asia 3-4 years ago was much more dynamic than Europe.

You can’t go wrong visiting either Singapore is small so you could probably spend a week there and see most of the high lights.

That's a great outline, so thank you for writing that!

I watch almost every car reviewer on YouTube, and the CarsWithLuke channel is recorded in Switzerland I believe, and the scenery is epic, especially when he's ripping on a mountain road in a 911.

Maybe one day I'll get to both countries, along with Italy.

Very cool, thanks again.

 

[Tall Steve]

They both had their advantages, both were clean safe and mass transportation was phenomenal and terribly expensive.

Switzerland the scenery is awesome, but I found the natives to be a bit stand offish, and hard to get know. It was a great place to travel around Europe since it is in the middle so not more than two hours from most major cities.

But I actually preferred Singapore, very modern, English was the first language, so communication was easier. Weather was awesome one degree North of the equator. So tropical everyday hot and humid which I preferred. Culturally very interesting a mix of Chinese, Malay, Indonesian, Indian and British. The airport is world class and connectivity to the rest of Asia and the World is excellent, and since I had to work while I was there and the business climate in Asia 3-4 years ago was much more dynamic than Europe.

You can’t go wrong visiting either Singapore is small so you could probably spend a week there and see most of the high lights.

My wife and I have been talking about retiring to Switzerland.. Is that a smart thing or should we rethink that idea?

 

[Cuse44]

The cost of living is crazy expensive housing and food, and unless you renounce your US Citizenship you still need to pay US income tax or at least report it every year, and it is not so easy to hide your money since you also have to report your foreign bank accounts to the US Government. The major advantage would be the overall tax rate is lower, there are probably better options like Mexico, Portugal, or Vietnam

 

[Tall Steve]

The cost of living is crazy expensive housing and food, and unless you renounce your US Citizenship you still need to pay US income tax or at least report it every year, and it is not so easy to hide your money since you also have to report your foreign bank accounts to the US Government. The major advantage would be the overall tax rate is lower, there are probably better options like Mexico, Portugal, or Vietnam

Thank you!

 

[Cuse44]

You welcome, a great place to visit, and luckily I worked for a Swiss Company on a contract so I only had to worry about daily living expenses and not housing. As I mentioned once you are in Switzerland it is very easy to move around Europe since they are part of the Schengen Treaty Countries so you can travel like you're going from one state to another here in the US. I lived 5 minutes walk from the French border and you could just walk or drive across the border without being stopped, most times there were no border guards on duty

 

[jwolf99]

Having visited a number of western European and eastern Asian countries, Switzerland would absolutely be my first choice. Just a beautiful country with jaw dropping scenery. Not to mention the car scene which is mad crazy. During a family visit 4 years ago, my sons were floored by the number of exotic and ultra lux cars that they saw while we were there, many simply parked right there on the street. When you throw in the watch stores, @Tall Steve , you would be in your glory there. LOL.

We found the locals quite friendly. In fact, on the first day of our visit, we stepped out of our hotel for sightseeing and got a little disoriented with our location. A local person stopped to ask if we needed help and gladly pointed us in the proper direction. Just about everyone seemed very welcoming and friendly.

Just a couple of snaps.

 

[Tall Steve]

Having visited a number of western European and eastern Asian countries, Switzerland would absolutely be my first choice. Just a beautiful country with jaw dropping scenery. Not to mention the car scene which is mad crazy. During a family visit 4 years ago, my sons were floored by the number of exotic and ultra lux cars that they saw while we were there, many simply parked right there on the street. When you throw in the watch stores, @Tall Steve , you would be in your glory there. LOL.

We found the locals quite friendly. In fact, on the first day of our visit, we stepped out of our hotel for sightseeing and got a little disoriented with our location. A local person stopped to ask if we needed help and gladly pointed us in the proper direction. Just about everyone seemed very welcoming and friendly.

Just a couple of snaps.

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My wife has reservations about a move there but I think we would love it. I've done a little research about moving there but need a lot more info... I still have 5 years before I retire so I got a little time, lol

 

[Neveready]

Having visited a number of western European and eastern Asian countries, Switzerland would absolutely be my first choice. Just a beautiful country with jaw dropping scenery. Not to mention the car scene which is mad crazy. During a family visit 4 years ago, my sons were floored by the number of exotic and ultra lux cars that they saw while we were there, many simply parked right there on the street. When you throw in the watch stores, @Tall Steve , you would be in your glory there. LOL.

We found the locals quite friendly. In fact, on the first day of our visit, we stepped out of our hotel for sightseeing and got a little disoriented with our location. A local person stopped to ask if we needed help and gladly pointed us in the proper direction. Just about everyone seemed very welcoming and friendly.

Just a couple of snaps.

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My wife has reservations about a move there but I think we would love it. I've done a little research about moving there but need a lot more info... I still have 5 years before I retire so I got a little time, lol

My Second cousin lives in Switzerland, she works for Nestlé. It's very expensive to live there, I'd say on par with living in downtown San Francisco... but just look at it. Definitely on my bucket list to visit. Maybe I could finally convince myself to buy my dream watch.

 

[Tall Steve]

My Second cousin lives in Switzerland, she works for Nestlé. It's very expensive to live there, I'd say on par with living in downtown San Francisco... but just look at it. Definitely on my bucket list to visit. Maybe I could finally convince myself to buy my dream watch.

I would love to just sweep the floors at the Rolex headquarters.... Oh man, San Fran expensive, I would have to live in the ghetto part of Switzerland too!

 

[Neveready]

I would love to just sweep the floors at the Rolex headquarters.... Oh man, San Fran expensive, I would have to live in the ghetto part of Switzerland too!

What's your dream watch or do you have it already?

I realized this question is completely off topic but now I'm curious.

 

[Tall Steve]

What's your dream watch or do you have it already?

I realized this question is completely off topic but now I'm curious.

This is my retirement dream watch..... I'm waiting on a datejust to come in

 

[Tall Steve]

Wow, while posting this my Rolex AD sent me an email and I got all excited, but it was to tell me that my extra link for my Explorer 2 was in. The wait continues and it's worse than waiting on a BW...

 

[jwolf99]

While we were in Lucerne, we dropped into Brucherer. Mind you, I am not a watch guy, and this was just a random stop in a watch store to check it out. We subsequently came to learn this was one of the premier watch stores in Switzerland. While browsing the display cases (most watches north of $10k, and fairly sizable number in the six-figure range), I overheard a transaction with a guy at at the counter where sales person quoted a watch at 175,000 swiss francs (pretty much the same in USD). The buyer made a quick cell phone call (Mandarin, I believe, so could not understand him), proceeded to show his phone to the sales person who then packaged up the watch and the guy casually walked away with it. Pretty crazy.

 

[Tall Steve]

While we were in Lucerne, we dropped into Brucherer. Mind you, I am not a watch guy, and this was just a random stop in a watch store to check it out. We subsequently came to learn this was one of the premier watch stores in Switzerland. While browsing the display cases (most watches north of $10k, and fairly sizable number in the six-figure range), I overheard a transaction with a guy at at the counter where sales person quoted a watch at 175,000 swiss francs (pretty much the same in USD). The buyer made a quick cell phone call (Mandarin, I believe, so could not understand him), proceeded to show his phone to the sales person who then packaged up the watch and the guy casually walked away with it. Pretty crazy.

I know a couple of guys with half million dollar watch collections and I'm jelly for sure! My little collect is very simple and not that costly.....

 

[Cuse44]

Having visited a number of western European and eastern Asian countries, Switzerland would absolutely be my first choice. Just a beautiful country with jaw dropping scenery. Not to mention the car scene which is mad crazy. During a family visit 4 years ago, my sons were floored by the number of exotic and ultra lux cars that they saw while we were there, many simply parked right there on the street. When you throw in the watch stores, @Tall Steve , you would be in your glory there. LOL.

We found the locals quite friendly. In fact, on the first day of our visit, we stepped out of our hotel for sightseeing and got a little disoriented with our location. A local person stopped to ask if we needed help and gladly pointed us in the proper direction. Just about everyone seemed very welcoming and friendly.

Just a couple of snaps.

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Mt. Pilatus and Lake Lucerne did you get a chance to visit Bürgenstock just of South Pilatus?

 

[Neveready]

Wow, while posting this my Rolex AD sent me an email and I got all excited, but it was to tell me that my extra link for my Explorer 2 was in. The wait continues and it's worse than waiting on a BW...

The Explorers and Day-Dates are classics It goes with just about everything from dress to casual... Awesome. Also helps that a Rolex, arguably has some of the highest resale values. I'd take an Air King myself.

I started buying mechanical watches at milestones in my life. My wife and I like the idea of being able to pass them down to the kids so we bought them each a watch the year they were born. I don't have expensive pieces and I have a few which I bought used. I'm hoping to get a Moon watch some day, I almost pulled the trigger as my first born had a due date of July 20th. He was born 3 days early.