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... I think that post was deleted (regarding the GTI suggestion). The gist of it was, IIRC, was trying to encourage the person asking about these cars to look for something a bit more modest. Indeed, the cars he/she is looking at will be really, really painful to own at the $6k range. Yeah, the cars may be cheap, but, the parts aren't. I've been looking at cars in the same way recently, too. For the price of a recent Porsche, I can pick up an older Ferrari. But, a 30k service on the Porsche will run me $800-$1200 depending upon where I go to have it done (MUCH less than that, of course, if I do it myself). However, a 30k service on a 328 will run me $6-$8k.
Indeed, you (speaking to the person asking, of course) may be able to scrounge around for a $6 BMW, Jag, Audi, etc., but, when it breaks, it's gonna be painful. The parts costs are on par or far greater than the Saab (the Audi may be a little less for some stuff, actually). Plus, to boot, the prestige of these older cars really isn't very high. They're old cars - not even very desirable ones. Of course, there's the context to be considered. If all of your friends drive Hyundais and Hondas, well, sure, you'll stick out a bit. But, I really think, unless you're being really savvy about things and are budgeting for repairs, that you'd be getting in over your head. Image is nice, but, remember, it's just a car. You have to live with it and drive it every day.
I've had the privilege of driving some pretty amazing cars (Porsche 997s, Bentley Continental GT, among others). And even the exotics lose their thrill and become 'normal' to you after a while. Eventhough the deleted post was pretty harsh, it did make a valid point: don't let your esteem be contengent upon what you drive. Work on your education, your own personal image, and live within your means, no matter what that is. Someone alluded to previous posts you made indicating that you're in college or recently graduated high school... something like that. Trust me. I LOVE cars. I wanted it all at that age, too. But, you have your whole life ahead of you. Work hard and all of the neat stuff that you want will come. Do your best to stay out of debt, save your money. Drive something a little less exotic for a bit. You'll be able to relax and not worry about your car - that you MUST be able to rely upon - constantly helping itself to your wallet. If possible, get something that you can service yourself. Even if you do get one of the cars on your list, do all you can to learn about it and work on it yourself. Labor is the highest cost of maintenance and repair - especially on the cars you're looking at. Not just anyone can service a BMW or a Jaguar. German car specialists are quite a bit easier to find, but, none of them are cheap. Plus, remember, too, that older cars have already deteriorated significantly. That deterioration greatly accelerates as the car ages and is very difficult to keep up with if the car isn't kept in a carport or a garage. Look at your storage situation. If you live in a harsh climate, it's going to be very hard keeping an older car looking good. The leathers in these cars are very labor intensive to maintain. In order to keep them in good condition, the hides in a Jaguar have to be fed about every other month, otherwise they start to look kind of shabby. The Audis and BMWs have really tough leather, for some reason, and don't need quite so much care, but, still, if they're in the weather all of the time, they need attention. Not to mention the paint work. These cars had very fine finishes that are costly to properly restore and they need very regular maintenance (waxing 3 to 4 times a year, deep cleaning once a year) with good quality products that aren't generally available at most auto parts stores; it depends upon how much work you're really wanting to put into what you own and how you want it to look. Again, if your image is at stake, here, you're going to need to take care of this car. When I was in my early 20s, a 1976 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow came across my radar screen. It was $10k - just barely within reach. So, I decided to have a closer look. Needless to say, it had issues, from brake system and suspension problems, to a fairly poor paint job and minor rust. But, I thought, I could deal with that! It's a ROLLS!!! But, as luck would have it, during the test drive the car stalled. I was in traffic, and I couldn't get it started. Lemme tell you, there's little that's more humiliating than blocking an intersection in a Rolls-Royce that you don't own, have never driven before, and didn't know anything about, and being STUCK! Not only are people ticked that they have to drive around you, but, to boot, they were no doubt thinking to themselves: "Look at the kid in that broken Rolls-Royce. I may be driving a Honda, but, at least IT RUNS!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!" I did get it going, but, promptly brought it back to its owner and told them that I wasn't interested. WHEW! I'll tell you, it felt bad having to make that call, but, it's NEVER been one that I've regretted. After all, I had very little savings, didn't have a lot of income, and going through the brake system alone on that car would have exhausted several times the amount of cash on hand.
Please consider this carefully. It's very nice to see so many people giving you words of caution about go in this direction. It's nice to see people caring about your well-being. That's one of the things that has attracted me to the Saab family. We're a great bunch of folks. At any rate, regardless of your decision, I hope that you enjoy whatever you choose and that it gives you little trouble.
posted by 207.92.198...
, Mon, 5 Jun 2006 18:06:17
, Sun, 4 Jun 2006 16:15:48
, Thu, 8 Jun 2006 20:54:22, Sat, 3 Jun 2006 18:46:24, Thu, 1 Jun 2006 15:24:00, Wed, 31 May 2006 17:23:14, Sat, 3 Jun 2006 11:43:42
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