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Lone Wolf
Retired
Premium Member
join:2001-12-30
USA

Lone Wolf

Premium Member

Theoretical Question

Let's say you are selling your business and retiring and you are over 60 years old. Pretend you can spend up to $75,000 on any car or truck you want, new or used, but you don't have a garage. Wife and kids are out of the house and you live alone so a 2 seat car will be OK. You're not handsome so you really don't want a convertible although a retractable hardtop is fine.

0-60 times and comfort are the 2 most important objectives but you want something different than a Corvette or Shelby Mustang. Entry and exit must befit an elder person and high maintenance vehicles are verboten. Also, this will be your primary driver.

What would you buy?

ironweasel
Weezy
Premium Member
join:2000-09-13
Belen, NM

ironweasel

Premium Member

Personally, I'd go with one of the new Ford Raptors....but that's just my inner redneck.

Here's my short list in no particular order:

2013 BMW M3
2009 - 2011 BMW M5
2010 - 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG
2009 - 2010 Nissan GT-R

There are a few M3's out there, but the others are rare enough that you would definitely be driving something "different" than a Vette or a Shelby. The GT-R is strictly a go-fast machine and you might have trouble getting into and out of it. If you prefer coupes then something like the SLK55 might be worth looking at, otherwise my favorite would have to be the M5.

Lone Wolf
Retired
Premium Member
join:2001-12-30
USA

Lone Wolf

Premium Member

I should mention that the vehicle will be driven mostly in the Philly area and Burbs.

Should also mention that I grew wood when I saw my first SLK55 AMG. (It's on my list)
Been reading about problems with BMW quality lately but my favorite is the Z8 and I can't find one in my price range.
Used GTRs in my area have been beaten pretty bad and they're not plentiful.
Test drove the Nissan Z, Jaguar XK, and will soon try a 2007 MB S600. Looking for a local E63 AMG Wagen and a Caddy CTS-V Wagon to test.
Bob4
Account deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey

Bob4 to Lone Wolf

Member

to Lone Wolf
said by Lone Wolf:

high maintenance vehicles are verboten.

Well, you've already violated that one.

Funny how you used a German word, too.

I AM
Premium Member
join:2010-04-11
Ephrata, PA

I AM to Lone Wolf

Premium Member

to Lone Wolf
I'd vote for the SLK55 AMG as well. Just don't put the top down if you're not good looking haha.
NGOwner
join:2000-11-21
Leawood, KS

NGOwner to Lone Wolf

Member

to Lone Wolf
CTS-V Coupe.

[NG]Owner

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County

CylonRed to Lone Wolf

MVM

to Lone Wolf
Frankly - the type of vehicles you are describing are high maintenance and the associated costs are not low...

DeltaElite
We Dont Dial 911
join:2002-03-29
Tucker, GA

DeltaElite to Lone Wolf

Member

to Lone Wolf
I'd wait and see what FMC does with the Lincoln line, every thing else mentioned is high dollar maint.

Perfectly good beer and hotel money spent on a car........

Lone Wolf
Retired
Premium Member
join:2001-12-30
USA

Lone Wolf

Premium Member

Thanks for the replies.

I would think the MB cars and the Caddys would have less maintenance problems than the Jags or BMWs, but I may be wrong.

The CTS V wagon would be my preferred Caddy.

Lincoln seems to be heading in the same direction as the rest of the US carmakers with small turbocharged engines. I've never owned a Ford product and the only one I'd consider would be a high powered Mustang.
said by DeltaElite:

Perfectly good beer and hotel money spent on a car........

There will be plenty left for beer, hotels and women. BTW, I'm selling a bar.

Any more suggestions? Nobody suggested any other MBs like the SL63 AMG or the SL65 AMG, etc.

What other vehicles in my price range would meet my modest criteria? And which one would YOU buy? 0-60 under 5 seconds and heated steering wheel with heated and cooled seats are preferred.

If I was 20 years younger I would probably get a Lotus or Porsche, but now I need a taller vehicle. Thanks in advance for any more replies.
Bob4
Account deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey

Bob4

Member

I saw two Lamborghinis this week. Pretty unusual, since it's normal to go over a year without seeing one.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Metronet

CylonRed to Lone Wolf

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to Lone Wolf
I think you will find Mercedes have their own issues with repair costs and reliability. It would be VERY important to do all checking with the specific model you are looking at. Adding in a performance customizer (basically AMG) and the repair costs can go up steeply.
Bob4
Account deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey

Bob4

Member

said by CylonRed:

I think you will find Mercedes have their own issues with repair costs and reliability.

Which is exactly why I mentioned the OP's use of the word "verboten", but that seems to have gone over his head.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
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CylonRed to Lone Wolf

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to Lone Wolf
quote:
If I was 20 years younger I would probably get a Lotus or Porsche
Porsche parts are 4 times the cost of any BMW M3 part. The prices of Porsche parts are insane.... Lotus I would bet is not much better.

ironweasel
Weezy
Premium Member
join:2000-09-13
Belen, NM

1 recommendation

ironweasel to Lone Wolf

Premium Member

to Lone Wolf
While I don't think I would personally own one....

Have you looked at the Lexus IS F yet?

0 - 60 in about 4.5 seconds and they usually start in the low $60k range.

Lone Wolf
Retired
Premium Member
join:2001-12-30
USA

Lone Wolf to CylonRed

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to CylonRed
said by CylonRed:

I think you will find Mercedes have their own issues with repair costs and reliability. It would be VERY important to do all checking with the specific model you are looking at. Adding in a performance customizer (basically AMG) and the repair costs can go up steeply.

Cost is not a problem, but spending time going to and from a repair facility isn't what I want to do. Reliability is important.

Any suggestions for sites showing reliability ratings for some of the exotic cars other than going into each specific online forum? Thanks.
Lone Wolf

Lone Wolf to Bob4

Premium Member

to Bob4
said by Bob4:

Which is exactly why I mentioned the OP's use of the word "verboten", but that seems to have gone over his head.

It didn't. My referral to verboten was aimed at BMW. I've spoken to people who have headaches with 3 series and 5 series Bimmers.

Years ago I had an employer who told sob (Saab) stories about his car every day. So, I get it.

Thanks though.
Lone Wolf

Lone Wolf to ironweasel

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to ironweasel
said by ironweasel:

Have you looked at the Lexus IS F yet?

0 - 60 in about 4.5 seconds and they usually start in the low $60k range.

I will check it out.

Thanks
Bob4
Account deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey

Bob4 to Lone Wolf

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to Lone Wolf
I knew someone who had a Jaguar. It had an oil leak. He asked the shop how much it would cost to fix. They replied, "How much can you spend?"

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Metronet

CylonRed to Lone Wolf

MVM

to Lone Wolf
IMHO - you will get solid advice at a good forum for a specific make - sorry. So many people on those forums have had cars and can't just compete with places like Edmunds. I would go with Kelly/Edmunds to get general ideas then go to specific forums. You will have to find the good people among the chaff of jackasses that abound at every forum.

For BMW - the folks at E46Fanatics have several forums for other newer series (like the E90x series and now F series). BMW also has a magazine (well the BMWCCA does) called Roundel. It is fantastic and does not tow the BMW company line because it is not a BMW owned/run magazine. Near the back is a column by Mike Miller:
»www.bmwblog.com/2010/10/ ··· agazine/

Fantastic guy and advice... See if you can get a hold of magazines - heck - you can probably email Mike Miller directly and he will answer any and all questions you might have about a BMW - new or old with no sugar to make the news go down easier.

I own an older E46 330i (2001) - I do love it and I bought it with just under 150K miles. They have things to be mindful of - cooling system will need to be replaced every 100K miles. The headliner will likely fall if kept for a long time. The early years of the paddle shifting automatics - sucked (I have a true manual). I know the earlier M 3's (E30, 36, 46) need their valves adjusted about every 30K miles. Not sure about the newer E90 and F series.

They will have sensors - tons of them. Newest BMW's don't have an oil dipstick or a spare tire - but then many of the newest cars don't have them either. This is one reason my 3 series will probably be my only and last BMW. I know my oil level sensor is bad - I know it is bad because I can use the dipstick to check. Can't do that with the newer BMWs.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd

Premium Member

no spare? Even my Chevy Cruze has a spare. I would expect when moving up to a 50K+ car it should come with a spare and the scissor jack that cars have always had.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County

CylonRed

MVM

Nope - run flats instead to save room and weight. It is a huge issue in the BMW CCA right now - had 5-8 letters on the dipstick and spare issue for at least 5 months this year.
Bob4
Account deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey

Bob4

Member

said by CylonRed:

Nope - run flats instead to save room and weight.

But not to save money!
Kearnstd
Space Elf
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join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to Lone Wolf

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to Lone Wolf
if you own a BMW money is a nil issue for you so the expense of a run flat is nothing at all.

I guess I never think of a spare effecting a car that much. 2000 Impala I had before my current car had one and no impact on trunk space it was still a 4 body rated trunk.

Wonder why they left out the dipstick though, 3oz of thin metal are not going to improve performance by being left out.

No_Strings

join:2001-11-22
The OC

No_Strings

said by Kearnstd:

if you own a BMW money is a nil issue for you so the expense of a run flat is nothing at all.

Glad to hear. My troubles are over.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Metronet

CylonRed to Kearnstd

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to Kearnstd
Not necessarily - depends on how you get the car. I have a friend that has his dads 911 when his dad suddenly passed away. He rarely takes it out due to the expense of the parts/maintenance.

Run flat technology has gotten better in recent years but early on they were horrible and they were not cheap to replace. Not necessarily cheap now...

Saving the weight was probably the #1 reason to skip the spare and not having to stock a bunch of spare tires/wheels (and not lowering the price of the car) was the #2...

I can't find any good reason for no dipsticks but BMW is not alone in this... Sensors are just as good... till they fail.

Then again I think every car should have a timing chain and can't understand why they are not used exclusively (I usually catch flak on that whenever I mention it here).
Bob4
Account deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey

Bob4

Member

said by CylonRed:

Then again I think every car should have a timing chain and can't understand why they are not used exclusively (I usually catch flak on that whenever I mention it here).

My Accord has a timing chain (and a spare tire!). EDIT: And a dipstick (besides the driver ).

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County

CylonRed

MVM

The one thing I hated about my Civic and hate about our Odyssey... Timing belts.

grobinette
Southeast of disorder
MVM,
join:2001-01-27
22152-1106
·Verizon FiOS

grobinette to Kearnstd

MVM,

to Kearnstd
said by Kearnstd:

if you own a BMW money is a nil issue for you so the expense of a run flat is nothing at all.

To quote one of the guys in a BMW forum - "just because you can afford to buy a BMW doesn't mean you can afford to own one"
To the OP, I find it hard to imagine any high end car that won't come with high end maintenance. It is just the nature of the beast.
Bob4
Account deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey

Bob4

Member

said by grobinette:

To quote one of the guys in a BMW forum - "just because you can afford to buy a BMW doesn't mean you can afford to own one"

Isn't that why leases were invented?

Lone Wolf
Retired
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join:2001-12-30
USA

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to grobinette
And here's one reason I never bought a used Ferrari. I had a chance to pick up a 1990's Berlinetta for under $30,000 a few years ago. It had just under 30K miles and was due for the 30,000 mile service. Just too much money for maintenance.

»www.ferraris-online.com/ ··· 00612_SS

Can You Afford $10.27 per Mile?

Only weeks into Ferrari ownership, the 30,000-mile service was repeated and the front shocks were replaced, for a total of $6,196.57