Cars We Drive!

Nice ride. Every so often I have to fight the urge to get a 928S4. I owned a 928S a while back and was quite fond of it.



impolyt_one said:

You are 20, living at home, and want to buy a mid-80's Bentley with only enough to insure it for 6 months? Good luck with that.

Click to expand...

The longest I have ever seen in Florida from any major company is 6 month policy. It's also cheaper to pay it all at once then monthly. I have a few interviews lined up over the week and pretty sure I could line one up in 4 months... But I been investing that money and successfully (luck: AAPL, F, AAIR) for a condo. Being young and seeing a Bentley in great shape with history that's affordable is tempting, so is the Rolls Royce with trashed interior (mothers a seamstress and we have tons of leather). But looking up about the Bentley looks like it would be easy to work on to an extent (GM parts, transmission, AC...) but pricey suspension and brakes. Again trying to talk my self out since I don't have a garage and in the pics does not look all that special. Jags look more exciting in the part era.

Well, if you want to drive one... but you are better off taking your $10-12K and socking about half of it away and getting a '90's or early decade BMW project car like most car enthusiasts your age. There is no point in requiring a 30 year old car to have history, if stuff on it breaks it'll be old age or bad design rather than ownership treatment, and there is no such thing as an 'affordable' Bentley or Rolls Royce. This Bentley idea sounds worse than the kid who was getting a $25K/year job and wanted to buy a $25K used CLK. I've never had a lemon (knock on wood) but ragged out European cars I've had, and the purchase price of the car means nothing in the big picture, TCO.

http://video.ultimatestreet.com/video/24695/james-may-reviews-the-bentley-t2

Watch this for a very honest review of old Bentleys.

That Bentley T2 from the 70's is actually somewhat desirable, looks-wise and mechanically. The next generation (the one Kurt is referring to) is less so, imo.



impolyt_one said:

$3000 a year in upkeep is approaching modern Ferrari ownership costs. That is pretty disappointing for the BMW's case.

Click to expand...

if you want your ferrari to cost $3000 a year in maint and service, you better not drive it then just go in for the annual fluid services lol
because engine needs to be redone every 30k, trans every 10k?
ferrari brake service is marsupialed because they use brembos and rotors for fronts alone are $1k ... so $2k for brakes not even including pads and service @ $300/hr



darnelled said:

Wow, that's disappointing. My G35 with 85k miles only costs me about $100-400/year and I use it at the track.

Click to expand...

because its a nissan...
and you arent replacing used parts...
i did clutch last year.. and that was $2500 with all the parts and labor (lots of preventative maint with that job too)
the way i do service and maintenance is preventative maint is better than breaking down and getting stranded even if i spend extra money

this year, i overhaul the entire suspension system, which is going to be $3000+, includes upper/lower control arms, new koni shocks, wheel bearings, and resurface brake rotors



KurtS90 said:

With that said I don't know what PCCB or Vanoos is...

Click to expand...

PCCB is Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes. The rotor is made of a lightweight ceramic material instead of iron like a conventional disk. Its main advantages are weight savings (around 9 lbs per rotor which is a big deal because it's unsprung weight) and a very long wear life. So even though it's very expensive, you shouldn't have to replace them very often. You see them on other high performance sports cars too.

VANOS is BMW's variable valve timing system. It's been in use since 1992 for both M and regular engines.



junior varsity said:

if you want your ferrari to cost $3000 a year in maint and service, you better not drive it then just go in for the annual fluid services lol
because engine needs to be redone every 30k, trans every 10k?
ferrari brake service is marsupialed because they use brembos and rotors for fronts alone are $1k ... so $2k for brakes not even including pads and service @ $300/hr

Click to expand...

Nah, I believe that I could get away with having a used (well picked out) modern Ferrari for a couple years, hope and pray a little just as with any used car, and put about $3K (maybe a little more) of maintenance into it per year over 2 years or maybe 3, barring tires. Consider that I would drive about 1500-2000 miles a year on a car like this and pull a Sir F and have a daily driver that would be totally less sexy to put the other 3000 or so junk miles on; that works out to up to $2/mile for maintenance. That is double what Ferrari owners tend to agree on with modern Ferraris like the 360, 550/575, 430, if maintained by a private shop - which I have plenty to choose from in my area, about $100/hr. Lots of Ferraris in this town and lots of indie shops and specialists. The Japanese have shops that specialize in just about any worthwhile car out there, so I'm not worried about that part. The car would stay in pretty perfect condition.
If I had a Ferrari, it'd never see the 10K miles needed for the ****** service, let alone 30K, it'd be gone by then. If it's a belt-run motor I would figure on doing S-belts once, just in case, and maybe an F1 pump or something like that, but those are maintenance items.

I have been thinking about all of this because the cars I had already thought about getting all sound somewhat similar in terms of maintenance requirements and costs, and yes, including the M5 - the E60 I would probably expect to put the same kind of money into for maintenance per year. That led to me to realize that I don't have a family to drive around, and what I really want is a sports car - a 575M costs the same as a nice used M5, albeit about 5 years older - just an idea I've been tossing around. A 575M isn't the hottest Ferrari out there and doesn't have the brute presence of the 599, but the difference is that I can afford to own the former plus a compromise in a daily driver, and the latter is in a different league in terms of cost.



impolyt_one said:

Nah, I believe that I could get away with having a used (well picked out) modern Ferrari for a couple years, hope and pray a little just as with any used car, and put about $3K (maybe a little more) of maintenance into it per year over 2 years or maybe 3, barring tires. Consider that I would drive about 1500-2000 miles a year on a car like this and pull a Sir F and have a daily driver that would be totally less sexy to put the other 3000 or so junk miles on; that works out to up to $2/mile for maintenance. That is double what Ferrari owners tend to agree on with modern Ferraris like the 360, 550/575, 430, if maintained by a private shop - which I have plenty to choose from in my area, about $100/hr. Lots of Ferraris in this town and lots of indie shops and specialists. The Japanese have shops that specialize in just about any worthwhile car out there, so I'm not worried about that part. The car would stay in pretty perfect condition.
If I had a Ferrari, it'd never see the 10K miles needed for the ****** service, let alone 30K, it'd be gone by then. If it's a belt-run motor I would figure on doing S-belts once, just in case, and maybe an F1 pump or something like that, but those are maintenance items.
I have been thinking about all of this because the cars I had already thought about getting all sound somewhat similar in terms of maintenance requirements and costs, and yes, including the M5 - the E60 I would probably expect to put the same kind of money into for maintenance per year. That led to me to realize that I don't have a family to drive around, and what I really want is a sports car - a 575M costs the same as a nice used M5, albeit about 5 years older - just an idea I've been tossing around. A 575M isn't the hottest Ferrari out there and doesn't have the brute presence of the 599, but the difference is that I can afford to own the former plus a compromise in a daily driver, and the latter is in a different league in terms of cost.

Click to expand...

i dont like to rely on luck or prayer...
i like to rely on knowing and eliminating the unknown... which is why i pay

i wouldnt dip into a ferrari if i am financially aware of money...
when i want to get a ferrari is when ... i would rather be filthy rich enough that i can just drop it off at the dealer and swipe my centurion card whether if its $5k or $50k and not blink an eye about it....

The clutch is a known weakness in the E39 M5. You'll need to replace that thing often.

Also, don't resurface your brakes. Get new rotors especially if you're going to overhaul everything else. BMW rotors are not designed to be resurfaced anyway.

Wheel bearings don't need to be replaced unless they're shot, and it will be obvious when they are because they make a lot of noise.



A Y said:

The clutch is a known weakness in the E39 M5. You'll need to replace that thing often.
Also, don't resurface your brakes. Get new rotors especially if you're going to overhaul everything else. BMW rotors are not designed to be resurfaced anyway.
Wheel bearings don't need to be replaced unless they're shot, and it will be obvious when they are because they make a lot of noise.

Click to expand...

yeah my wheel bearings are going bad
and i got stoptech bbk, so i technically dont want to buy $700 rotors everytime i get service
i called stptech and they say their floating rotors are resurfaceable

yah the clutch sucks on the m5 but meh... it is what is it...
probably good for another 60-80k
which will probably take 10 years



junior varsity said:

i dont like to rely on luck or prayer...
i like to rely on knowing and eliminating the unknown... which is why i pay
i wouldnt dip into a ferrari if i am financially aware of money...
when i want to get a ferrari is when ... i would rather be filthy rich enough that i can just drop it off at the dealer and swipe my centurion card whether if its $5k or $50k and not blink an eye about it....

Click to expand...




money buys a lot of things including sense of security



junior varsity said:

money buys a lot of things including sense of security

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it does little in the way of acquiring intelligence.