Vanity Vs. Performance / New - Leased - Used Vehicles
Looks nice, but Drill Baby, Drill!!!!
I have been driving since 1969, and probably owned 12-15 cars during this time. I've leased cars, financed cars, paid cash for cars, and NEVER, I will repeat, NEVER had anything said about antenna mounts (left on my vehicles), rubber hole plugs, or ancillary wiring left in my vehicles upon disposal. On three separate occasions, I had the purchasing party say, "Oh, cool, you already have an antenna (or mount) on your car!" I even sold two of them to the same guy 12 years apart, and he "wanted" my cars because they had antennas (or just the mounts) left on the vehicles. The last two cars I sold were in fact former police vehicles when I purchased them from government entities, and they were well-taken care of by the previous driver(s), that's why I bought them.
My current car (two snapshots below) , has SIX holes with antennas mounted, three on the roof, and three on the trunk lid. I absolutely refuse to sacrifice performance for vanity. I despise magnetic antenna mounts, except on cars that I rent while traveling in other state(s), because they perform so poorly compared to permanent mounts.
I talked to a few leasing agents and ran this scenario regarding holes drilled for antenna(s), and all of them said that if I was planning on removing the permanent antenna mounts to put a rubber hole plug which I usually have several in the install kit / tool box. I asked one of them if they would rather that I left the antenna and mount on the car, and he said he more or less didn't care, and it made no difference to him, and wouldn't reduce the value of the vehicle if it were left on.
My "favorite excuses" are any of the following:
"My wife won't let me drill any holes in MY car!"
"I can't be distracted by radios or scanners, so I refuse to have any in my car."
"The leasing agent won't let me put any holes in the vehicle."
"I like poor performance, that's why I don't do it the right way in the first place."
More times than none, I've spoken with fellow hams, CB'ers, truckers, and on-the-road sales people who have asked me why my mobile install looks so good and/or how come I have an excellent signal? Don't scrimp, sacrifice, or make excuses.
In case you're wondering, the on-glass short whip is for a cell phone that was on the vehicle when I purchased it from a dealer from Florida.
Soap-box mode turned off. Your mileage may vary.
