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Quote:"If you can do your own maintenance, owning a used high end car can be a very attractive choice."
Well, for a lot of the high-end used cars, doing the maintenance yourself can be quite impractical. As a hobby I used to build pro-street race cars (you can take a 1960's Chevy apart with about 3 wrenches) .
But for an example of a high-end car, I got a new 928S4 back in 1988, (kept it until around 2004). You can get them today for $6K-$12K. I bought the service manuals (it was 9 volumes, $1200, and when the volumes were lined up on a shelf, were feet long). After looking through the manuals, seeing statements similar to "using tool J-182 with the F-120 attachment, remove the left retaining bolt.", or to replace the water pump, "first, remove engine". I would need a tool set that would cost many thousands of dollars, and those tools would only be good for that car.
Some dealers wouldn't even touch the car, as they see them so rarely, that they tend not to have a mechanic familiar enough with the vehicle.
Fortunately, I found a small shop not to far away that only worked on Mercedes and Porsches. (He never had to advertise, as he got all his business by word of mouth). He groaned when he saw it, and said "I hate these cars", but he worked on it for years.
Besides just maintenance, there are other things: I lost the gas cap. That was $127. Tires were a fortune. It goes on and on.
But other than that, not much beats a high-end car (and a used one is perfectly fine, just remember that the purchase price is just the beginning)
The 928 is a special case. I've worked on a couple of them. There were some weird packaging decisions in that car, (like where the battery was located) and yes, since it was a Porsche, it could take special tools. But, my BMW 740iL uses standard hand tools, repairs and maintenance are EASY. The only thing that gets hard is recoding the computer, but by belonging to an owner's organization, members have access to the diagnostic and recoding tools so you can take advantage of that ability, too. As I said, I'm getting ready to replace the engine in my BMW in my home garage with just basic metric hand tools.
I've already done suspension work and an upper engine rebuild on the old engine (replacing seals and gaskets due to age. It had 185k miles on it) while in the car. I also replaced the water pump ($150 and it took about an hour to do, as it can be done right in the car, as well).
I've built hot rods as well, so I know what older cars are like, and this really isnt that bad. There are many owners for whom their BMW is the first car they've ever tried DIY on, and they are successful and find it easy and rewarding.
thats weird.....I just sold my 2006 BMW 330 for $23k
He was discussing auction prices, which are way lower than you can actually buy the cars for, or lower than what you can sell them for privately. But it does indicate how close in price the 7 and 3 series end up getting after a few years.
He was discussing auction prices, which are way lower than you can actually buy the cars for, or lower than what you can sell them for privately. But it does indicate how close in price the 7 and 3 series end up getting after a few years.
well, trying to equate prices of cars that are nearly 20 yrs old is kinda dumb (not what you said but what someone else said) especially when all cars have a certain shelf life and the average person does not keep the car till the day it dies.
a comparable 7 series is still going for nearly $40k in my area.
I say, if you can't afford to take care of a luxury car, then don't buy one. I have had less problems on my bimmers than the other cars I have owned. In my 5 years of ownership, I have spent a total of $386 which was for a repair out of warranty.
He was discussing auction prices, which are way lower than you can actually buy the cars for, or lower than what you can sell them for privately. But it does indicate how close in price the 7 and 3 series end up getting after a few years.
Exactly. A dealer buys a car like this which even if its clean may need tires and brakes and a good bath, and lets say it has a light or two on and he might end up spending a couple of grand or more on it easy. Then of course he's going to want to make some money on it and you end up with a car that's on autotrader for 25-29K.
So now, compare that to a brand new or 1-2 year old Camcordima with low miles and close to a full warranty? What's more practical to a person who needs to get to work EVERYDAY and use the car as a daily?
Unless its some sports car I would never own a non luxury vehicle. When you get to ones with a base MSRP around 50k, the build quality, features, safety, engineering embarrass a regular car. There is no getting around that.
In a Lexus, they are extremely complex and yet still the most reliable cars around and the Germans have improved tons.
Well, at 50,000 it had better embarrass a 25,000 dollar regular car. However, in terms of build quality, I think only the fit and finish come out ahead.
The luxury cars that are most reliable are made by Honda and Toyota - after that, all luxury brands don't have any advantage over regular car brands. I'm afraid that as with most things, the diminishing rate of return on investment just doesn't make a luxury car worth the cost (in my opinion). Sure it is better, but it's not that much better, and as the price goes up, more of what you're paying for goes to the badge on the hood, not the actual mechanics of the car.
German "luxury" cars are the best built mainstream cars in the world. They are the longest lasting, most enduring, and most reliable - in terms of drivetrains and general build. It's all about integrity and depth in engineering. After all, the Germans invented the automobile as well as have pioneered much of the technology all automakers take for granted today. The media and initial-type reliability and quality ratings are misleading.
German "luxury" cars are the best built mainstream cars in the world. They are the longest lasting, most enduring, and most reliable - in terms of drivetrains and general build. It's all about integrity and depth in engineering. After all, the Germans invented the automobile as well as have pioneered much of the technology all automakers take for granted today. The media and initial-type reliability and quality ratings are misleading.
I have seen a lot of built up "I can't afford it so I have to bash it" agnst against German brands especially BMW and Benz. German parts are expensive...repairs are expensive....BS. Have you guys taken a BMW or Benz to a qualified independent repair shop and NOT A DEALER aka STEALERSHIP? You take any car to the dealer and they will rip you off same thing goes with German cars. Like I mentioned before, I have spent $368 for 1 repair on my 2006 Bimmer. How many of you can say the same thing on your 5 year old car? I haven't paid a dime for oil changes, light bulb changes, brakes, wipers, etc etc.
I have seen a lot of built up "I can't afford it so I have to bash it" agnst against German brands especially BMW and Benz. German parts are expensive...repairs are expensive....BS. Have you guys taken a BMW or Benz to a qualified independent repair shop and NOT A DEALER aka STEALERSHIP? You take any car to the dealer and they will rip you off same thing goes with German cars. Like I mentioned before, I have spent $368 for 1 repair on my 2006 Bimmer. How many of you can say the same thing on your 5 year old car? I haven't paid a dime for oil changes, light bulb changes, brakes, wipers, etc etc.
But the reality is one can afford these cars. You just can't be so caught up on having a brand new car, have to really know what you like and want, and keep a couple thousand in savings as a warranty. You have to do a little work and research and search out low-mileage, pristine cars, possibly involving travel. German cars tend to be ahead of their time, so even if the car is up to 15 years old it's going to be a modern car, especially compared to a lesser-brand new car. With German cars you don't have to worry about the drivetrain, they are solid, but when you buy a used car it's critical to change all the fluids and filters at once, including the differential fluid on rear-drive models and the fuel and air filters, as well as the spark plugs. That and even if you don't do everything yourself, Mercedes oil changes, for example, are $110, but you only have to have the oil changed every 10,000 miles, so it's more convenient while costing about the same. Also, dealer's provide good work and if you have any sort of stature and even make a phone call to a reputable independent, the dealer will match or go under their price. I'm looking for a car right now, and I'd much rather spend less than $10K on a like-new, sub-50K mile C-class than, say, a new Malibu or Fusion that cost 2 to 3 times as much. That's because I know the C-class is a nicer, more pleasureable, and better performing car to drive and it will be on the road at a 250K miles still solid, whereas a Fusion or Malibu will be falling apart, vibrating and rattling at 150K miles. But yeah, I think people are just intimidated by German cars and fail to realize they're just cars. Honestly though, I think a lot of blue-collar/small-minded types are biased and are who spread the stereotypes about parts and service being so expensive failing to realize on a German car you don't have to replace major things like a head gasket, transmission, etc. like you do on a Cadillac and other poorly-engineered/built cars.
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