OMG I just realized that damn Bentley may be worth more than our H430 which is been upgraded and maintained too.
Partially saddened Jim...
Partially saddened Jim...
Buying a car, what are your preferences?
- Thread starter Brian D
- Start date
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 21,998
I can see you Chauffeuring the Lady along the beach roads to the Casino for breakfast. It will be a replay of Driving Miss Daisy... But you'll need a Chauffeur hat.
Nice!We just added a car to our family.
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Bentley S2 1961 Rolles Royce engine.
Good news...
1) Sat in a garage for 30+ years and we bought for $5000.
2) I am the only family member who has driven with Right side steering.
3) Leather interior and secretary fold downs in back seat, perfect condition.
Bad news...
1) Brake pads cost $700
2) Carburator $$$$$
3) $6000 so far.
Super good news...
Started up on first crank up, since sitting for so many years. Of course we took all precautions of making sure it would crank.
Happy Jim...
PS: Recent antique car sale of this car in NY City $130k.
PSS: Wife always wanted an antique car, won't sell it.
Can’t measure value of collectible cars solely in terms of money. At least that’s what I keep telling my wife.
Original dash?
Yes, all wood and so are the fold down desks for back seats [ eating and secretary desks] and door arm rests.
The interior is immaculate.
Better view of interior.
It appears to be "Rosewood" but need to get historical info. Army Green, two tone.
We are servicing the transmission, getting a new fuel pump, then then then...
To the Casino, James...you Chauffeuring the Lady
Like everything, what is it going to be used for and where? Hauling, city driving, interstate trips, off road, snow or sun, garaged or elements, solo or family? Once you have decided on a number of vehicles the meet your needs then you can look into reliability, maintenance costs, fuel mileage..... Only after you have decided on a vehicle should you worry about on whether to purchase or lease or new or used. Do not forget about the warranty terms.
Not sure what would be more e pensive, the rosewood dash or the weatherstripping around the doors/glass.
She is a keeper
I am sold on Hondas. I had an 89 Accord and traded it in at 420,000 miles. Still ran well.
For daily drivers it is simple:
Never buy new. Currently I am driving about 40-60K per year so a lease is a non-starter.
Being older and wiser we now stick with Honda or Toyota built vehicles (tried many other brands and they are far too expensive to maintain beyond 100K than a Honda or Toyota product.)
Buy non-rust belt vehicles and bring them to Maine
Always purchase a car with 125K to 225K on the ODO
Only buy vehicles with a full suite of service records
Max price for any car is 10K (never had to pay that much)
Drive said vehicle for 80-150k +/- or until it starts to get rusty then sell it. (always someone looking for a high mileage Honda or Toyota product and even with 300K + they sell in a matter of days but typically within an few hours)
Typically the Honda's & Toyota's will sell for within 80-100% of what we paid for them (nearly free ownership).
In May I sold my wife's 2010 Acura MDX. I paid $7350.00 for it with 188K. Vehicle was owned by an airline pilot and literally showroom condition when we bought it. He was even changing the ATF every 30K. Total non-routine maintenance was $361.00 to drive it 112K miles. I sold it for $6800.00 in four hours..
I am currently driving a Toyota Sequoia with 276K. In the last 80K miles it has needed just $234.00 in non-routine maintenance. I got this truck for free from one of my customers who bought a Range Rover. He had this one sitting up at his camp, and I saw it when doing an off-grid solar install for him. The e-brake cable had frozen, from sitting, and it would not move.. He told me if I could get it out of there it was mine... A $34.00 brake cable and about 45 minutes work and she was good to go! In June we drove this truck to the tip of New Brunswick and the tip-top of Cape Breton Island.
Don't get me wrong I do maintain these vehicles impeccably and consider brakes, tires, alignments, fluids, filters, tune ups etc. routine maintenance. Anything that goes wrong outside of that is considered non-routine.
Early on we went down the high mileage European auto route and lets just say the Honda's and Toyota's, even with with 3X the mileage, cost almost nil compared to Volvo, Mercedes, BMW etc...
BTW my customer with the Range Rover is back to a Toyota, with a brand new Lexus LX 570 (AKA Toyota Land Cruiser). "I loved the interior and ride but what an awful & unreliable piece of junk."
The most reliable vehicles we have owned are:
Acura MDX - 2010 - Unbelievably reliable, amazing in the snow and a lot more refined than the Pilot (shared platform)..
Toyota Prius - 2007 & 2010 - Mother in-law still driving 2007 at her home in Florida. It has 380K and is still on the original battery. The only thing that has gone wrong is a key died. This was the most reliable vehicle we have ever owned! Literally nothing went wrong with it.
Honda Pilots - 2005 & 2008 - Almost nothing broke on these and both exceeded 300k
Toyota Venza AWD - 2010 - Total cost of non-routine maintenance for 91k was $167.00 (still own this)
Toyota Tundra - 2006 - Replaced sway bar links and drove it to over 350k. Sold it for $400.00 more than I paid for it in less than an hour. (These have a literal cult-like following, just like the Tacoma)
Absolute worst cars we've owned:
Subaru Outback 2005 & 2007 - Head gaskets on both even when Subaru insisted "issue" was behind them. My mother just did head gaskets on her 2016 Outback. Not solved. Other than the head gaskets these are pretty reliable but nowhere near Toyota or Honda level reliability with high mileage.
2004 Audi All Road Wagon - $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
2002 Mercedes E320 4Matic Wagon - $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Volvo's - Multiple (1990's to 2002) 940, 850, V70 etc.. - $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
BMW M3 Convertibles 1997 & 2002 - Drove them 3-4k miles per year and spent nearly 4-5K per year on maintenance. Very fun but stupidly unreliable & finicky. They chew through Synthetic oil and BMW just shrugs and says "Oh that's normal". Can you say Vanos seals, suspension components, electrical gremlins, bent wheels (at least monthly), and insanely expensive tires that barely last 4K...!! I won't even get into the chafing convertible tops that BMW had no fix for.
Never buy new. Currently I am driving about 40-60K per year so a lease is a non-starter.
Being older and wiser we now stick with Honda or Toyota built vehicles (tried many other brands and they are far too expensive to maintain beyond 100K than a Honda or Toyota product.)
Buy non-rust belt vehicles and bring them to Maine
Always purchase a car with 125K to 225K on the ODO
Only buy vehicles with a full suite of service records
Max price for any car is 10K (never had to pay that much)
Drive said vehicle for 80-150k +/- or until it starts to get rusty then sell it. (always someone looking for a high mileage Honda or Toyota product and even with 300K + they sell in a matter of days but typically within an few hours)
Typically the Honda's & Toyota's will sell for within 80-100% of what we paid for them (nearly free ownership).
In May I sold my wife's 2010 Acura MDX. I paid $7350.00 for it with 188K. Vehicle was owned by an airline pilot and literally showroom condition when we bought it. He was even changing the ATF every 30K. Total non-routine maintenance was $361.00 to drive it 112K miles. I sold it for $6800.00 in four hours..
I am currently driving a Toyota Sequoia with 276K. In the last 80K miles it has needed just $234.00 in non-routine maintenance. I got this truck for free from one of my customers who bought a Range Rover. He had this one sitting up at his camp, and I saw it when doing an off-grid solar install for him. The e-brake cable had frozen, from sitting, and it would not move.. He told me if I could get it out of there it was mine... A $34.00 brake cable and about 45 minutes work and she was good to go! In June we drove this truck to the tip of New Brunswick and the tip-top of Cape Breton Island.
Don't get me wrong I do maintain these vehicles impeccably and consider brakes, tires, alignments, fluids, filters, tune ups etc. routine maintenance. Anything that goes wrong outside of that is considered non-routine.
Early on we went down the high mileage European auto route and lets just say the Honda's and Toyota's, even with with 3X the mileage, cost almost nil compared to Volvo, Mercedes, BMW etc...
BTW my customer with the Range Rover is back to a Toyota, with a brand new Lexus LX 570 (AKA Toyota Land Cruiser). "I loved the interior and ride but what an awful & unreliable piece of junk."
The most reliable vehicles we have owned are:
Acura MDX - 2010 - Unbelievably reliable, amazing in the snow and a lot more refined than the Pilot (shared platform)..
Toyota Prius - 2007 & 2010 - Mother in-law still driving 2007 at her home in Florida. It has 380K and is still on the original battery. The only thing that has gone wrong is a key died. This was the most reliable vehicle we have ever owned! Literally nothing went wrong with it.
Honda Pilots - 2005 & 2008 - Almost nothing broke on these and both exceeded 300k
Toyota Venza AWD - 2010 - Total cost of non-routine maintenance for 91k was $167.00 (still own this)
Toyota Tundra - 2006 - Replaced sway bar links and drove it to over 350k. Sold it for $400.00 more than I paid for it in less than an hour. (These have a literal cult-like following, just like the Tacoma)
Absolute worst cars we've owned:
Subaru Outback 2005 & 2007 - Head gaskets on both even when Subaru insisted "issue" was behind them. My mother just did head gaskets on her 2016 Outback. Not solved. Other than the head gaskets these are pretty reliable but nowhere near Toyota or Honda level reliability with high mileage.
2004 Audi All Road Wagon - $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
2002 Mercedes E320 4Matic Wagon - $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Volvo's - Multiple (1990's to 2002) 940, 850, V70 etc.. - $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
BMW M3 Convertibles 1997 & 2002 - Drove them 3-4k miles per year and spent nearly 4-5K per year on maintenance. Very fun but stupidly unreliable & finicky. They chew through Synthetic oil and BMW just shrugs and says "Oh that's normal". Can you say Vanos seals, suspension components, electrical gremlins, bent wheels (at least monthly), and insanely expensive tires that barely last 4K...!! I won't even get into the chafing convertible tops that BMW had no fix for.
My brother in law drove his 90's Accord to 845k (NH to Boston everyday) and finally had to get rid of it due to rust. He was trying to hit 1 million miles but rust got him before the car died. Still had the original engine and transmission when it finally went to the bone yard. He replaced it with a Mazda CX-9 that was nothing but problems for him so he traded it for a Pilot..
I find I get in the most trouble with the adaptive cruise control. The Jeep will apply the brakes if it needs to. My Wrangler does not have that feature, and occasionally I forget to brake when using the cruise - not good. And with that, Steering assist and the adaptive cruise are 2 features that make a huge difference in driver fatigue on long trips. Some cars do not apply the brakes with the cruise, which makes the adaptive part useless. I would not buy a new car without these features. I did not choose them with my Jeep, but they came with it. Now I can't live without it.
Incidentally I have 3 Jeeps. The Cherokee Trailhawk makes a great tow vehicle. Because of the off road capability, the rear axle is at the very end of the vehicle. That increases the stability when towing. Plenty of power and great handling when towing.
The only feature I hate is the Stop/Start/Accident waiting to happen feature. If the computer stalls the engine, just as you take your foot off the brake, the engine goes through a full shut down and restart. If there is a slight grade, you will actually roll out into the interception under no power. I've had cross traffic slam on the brakes to avoid hitting me, because the engine shut off right at the worst moments. I've argued with Jeep about it. They do not care. Hopefully the engineer who designed it will be put in jail for criminal negligence.
Both of our BMW's have the Stop/Start feature. We do not like it. However, we also have the Auto Hold feature which when engaged and the car comes to a full stop, the park function will engage. So you can take your foot off the break and the car will not move until gas is applied. We do have to remember though that all this is electrical/mechanical and things can go wrong. So far they have not.
We love our BMWs. We have owned 6 so far. All 5 series. We have an indie who takes care of our cars. We never go to a dealership for anything. The indie does it all. The last car we traded was a 2011 528i and the dealer said it was in pristine condition. No kidding. LOL
No doubt Ford builds one of the most reliable US cars. The only problem is that when you drive them to 200 - 400K they are worth nothing and the Toyota's and Honda's still retain an absurd value for the mileage.
This is how I do it. I've had loans on two cars in my life and paid off the 3yr loan on the second in under 2yrs, after that I decided no more loans on depreciating items. I currently drive a 2012 Camry and a 1989 F250 and I plan on keeping both for a while, I do all the routine, repair and preventable maintenance on both.
KG, I hear you. We have a bit of a flip of that one: moved from SF to B.C. Almost same distance from house to boat. Canadian gas prices are $1.40+ per LITRE. Do the math. I'm trying to figure out how to levitate to the boat instead of driving.
