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2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
However, I guess the maintenance on one would probably ensure that I'd never get rich...
Sightings lately - white 80s 911 cabrio, immaculate late W124 wagon, pop up headlights Accord covered with mold/algae growth.
So do I. My wife and I own a 2001 convertible, which is a great road car. It replaced a 1999 which gave its life to save us when someone drove his Buick into our right front at 35 mph or so. They took him away on a backboard whereas my wife and I opened our doors and got out. At the request of the salesman who sold us the '01 we provided pictures of the remains of the '99. He showed them to prospective XK buyers to give them the warm fuzzies about the safety of the vehicle. By the way, although maintenance is not cheap on these cars it isn't obnoxiously high either, and we haven't had any reliability issues.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
The bottom line is that maintenance and repairs are fairly expensive if done at a dealer (roughly 1/2 of the costs above were labor) but not exorbitant, and it is a great grand tourer.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Only thing remotely classic I've seen in a few days was 85ish two door Eighty-eight and an 88-91 Merc Grand Marq, but I see those everyday around here.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
Speaking of odd cars, in the past I have mentioned a 63 Impala that has been sitting in a driveway near my grandmother's house for at least 25-30 years. I visited yesterday, and it was gone. There's a big early 70s Buick parked alongside a house on the same street (ca. 1960 housing development with a lot of original owners still there) that has been there forever.
Speaking of the cars I mentioned, I took a quick trip to google street view, here they are - the big Buick, the Impala (70s Ford truck has also been there 25+ years and is still there), and apparently my uncle was visiting my grandmother that day, there's his LeSabre:
I think by the time the 4.5 V-8 came out, those FWD DeVilles and Fleetwoods were fairly sturdy. My grandmother's cousin neglects the hell out of hers, and it's still running strong. Looks like crap, as the interior is falling apart and the paint is peeling, and it needs tires. But mechanically it sounds great. Has a nice, strong rumble to it. It's not all that fast, but it's tolerable. Nice ride, too. IMO, it rides better than my 2000 Park Ave. But, in that typical GM fashion, it just "feels" like a bigger car than it really is.
If you like the car and enjoy it it's still cheaper than leasing or financing something luxurious for $800/month just to have a warranty.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
If you like the car and enjoy it it's still cheaper than leasing or financing something luxurious for $800/month just to have a warranty.
Yeah, the $4K bill was unexpected. More than half of it was the ABS module, but we also had other stuff done, mostly because the car was 10 years old by then. Your second statement hit the mark exactly. We still love to drive the car and keeping it is far cheaper than buying or leasing something that would give us close to as much pleasure.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
On a new car in the $30K range, I'd about .75 cents a mile after a couple years of use.
if it's a new luxury sedan like a BMW 7 series, figure $2 a mile for gas, repairs and depreciation.
A Maserati or Rolls, maybe $4 a mile.
As one point of reference, my 2000 Intrepid, from cradle to grave, cost about 18.7 cents per mile, plus gas, plus insurance. That's always how I quote vehicle running costs, keeping gas and insurance separate. Gasoline costs are highly variable, depending on market and local conditions, how aggressively you drive, and your local/highway ratio. And insurance is totally dependent on your age, driving record, location, and even your credit report.
My 2000 Park Ave, for reference, has been averaging about 39 cents per mile, plus gas, plus insurance. The Intrepid cost roughly $28,000 from cradle to grave, over the course of about 150,000 miles. The Park Ave has cost about $13,000 so far I'd guess, over the course of 33,000 miles.
My formula, however, takes into account purchase price, and sale/salvage price, but not depreciation, so that makes the Park Ave's average a bit high. What would the going rate for a 2000 Park Ave Ultra with 89,500 miles be, anyway? Maybe $3-4K? If I figure a current value of $4K, then my current average is 27.2 cents per mile, plus gas/ins. At $3K, it's 30.3 cents per mile. The 39 cents per mile assumed a salvage of zero.
If you were to throw gasoline in, well the Park Ave has averaged 20.5 mpg since I've bought it. It take premium, which was $4.099 as of the last fill up. So that adds about 20 cents per mile, just for the fuel. The Intrepid averaged around 22.5 mpg over its lifespan, and took 87 octane which is around $3.699 at today's prices. So its fuel portion, added in, would be around 16.4 cents per mile.
Now, to get technical, I guess it's still hard to directly compare my old Intrepid with the Park Ave, because of, of all things, inflation! I had the Intrepid from 11/6/99 to 11/18/09, when it got totaled. I've had the Park Ave since 12/12/09.
Even though inflation has been mild of late, it's still taken its toll. A dollar spent in 1999 equates to $1.38 today. Even moving up to 2009, a dollar spent then, equates to $1.07 today.
So, the $2000 down payment I made on that Intrepid really equate to $2764 today. I think the Park Ave ended up being about $8200 out the door, with tax, tags, everything. Even that comes out to $8802 in today's dollars.
Yeah, I know I'm over-analyzing here, but I have the day off, and I'm bored! :shades:
This formula tends to be really "front-heavy" though, in that the cost per mile (or month; I calculate both) is really high early on, because the purchase price is factored in. Or, in the case of the Intrepid, the down payment and then the monthly payments. The main reason my Park Ave's cost per mile looks so bad compared to the Intrepid is because I paid cash for the Park Ave, up front. About $8200 out the door. The Intrepid was only $2000 up front, $347.66 per month for the next 60 months.
Over time, the Park Avenue's cost per mile will go down. Hopefully. :surprise:
My 2012 Ram's cost per mile (and month) is absolutely hideous right now, according to the spreadsheet. It cost $19,451, plus my uncle's POS '97 Silverado. I've had it about 6 months, but it's only been driven about 1800 miles. And, I've paid it off already. So, with interest, it's come to maybe $19600 at best. So, right now, I'm at $3266 per month! :surprise: Or, about $10.88 per mile! Worse, if you factor in the $1300 trade we got for my uncle's truck.
But, as I said, my spreadsheet makes everything front-heavy. With time, the cost per month, and mile, will go down.
I thought I was the only one who remembers what my car payments were on past cars!
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
I guess the 80's were a major turning point for the Baby Boomers...why scrimp and save up for it when you can finance it, and enjoy it NOW!!
In Mom's credit though, I think GM was offering some low APR financing at the time.
As for my old Intrepid, I don't know why that $347.66 monthly payment sticks in my mind, but it does. Heck, I can't even remember exactly what the monthly payment was supposed to be on the 2012 Ram. I know it was $358.XX, but don't remember it to the penny like I do the Intrepid.
My first car was a 1980 Malibu coupe that my Mom gave me in early 1987. My stepdad made me get insurance in my own name, and I remember the bill for that first year, liability-only, was $1,361.
It's funny how, back then, that didn't seem like a whole lot of money, even though I was just a high school kid making $3.75 per hour, part time. It was my only real expense though, and back then we all whined when gasoline went up over $1/gal.
Plugging into an inflation calculator, that $1,361 is the equivalent of about $2,759 today! Incidentally, I think the insurance bill for my whole fleet these days is only around $2500 per year. Adding the Ram didn't really increase it a whole lot, but I upped my liability limits, and I think that's what did it.
Total purchase price + non-mainenence repairs divided by months owned.
I figure all cars will need brakes tires etc, even shocks and front end etc if you keep it long enough so generally it averages out over cars, although class of car will matter in cost of repairs and gas used. I just keep that in mind and when looking at a replacement car will do the gas mileage thing as an aside.
It's front end loaded too. I have gotten as low as $85/mo (late 90s Metro) and $110/mo (late 90s Grand Marquis). The gas savings tires etc with the Metro probably saved an additional $85-90 or so over the Grand Marq (that was before gas went through the roof), but hey, I'd rather drive the big Merc anyway
Wait a sec - that means compared to the Merc the Metro paid for itself! :eek:
I don't remember any of my exact payments, as I always paid ahead. E55 payment (with extra) 7 years ago was about the same as my current lease.
It does amuse me that a nice big comfy smooth Caprice was cheaper than a Celebrity.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
Still, I'd take a stripper Caprice over a fully-loaded Celebrity, any day!
Oh, on the subject of nice old B-bodies, this 1977 Bonneville Landau coupe looks kinda nice. Looks like it's been sideswiped on the passenger side, and just banged back out the best they could. Nice that it has the 403. And you hardly ever see these things with sunroofs.
Actually, if your formula takes into account the sale/salvage price then you are including depreciation in the calculation. For example, if you purchased your Park Ave for $15K and have a sale/salvage price of $5K, your implied depreciation is $10K ($15K purchase minus $5K sales/salvage price).
If you want to minimized the front end loading, you have to have a sliding salvage/sale price for the car (i.e. current market rate) which will show a more accurate depreciation cost on the car. For example, if you Park Ave is worth $8K this year, but only $7K next year, then your depreciation for that year is $1K.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
I remember seeing a new '78 Caprice Classic Landau with the steel power sunroof, in late summer '77. This young guy who washed and detailed cars at Ron Seidle Chev-Cadillac in Clarion, PA ordered it! I remember the sticker was $9,600, astronomical at the time. He said he ordered a '77 in the spring and it came in a '78, but he was OK with that.
It was dark blue with white half vinyl top and the door and window frames painted white, as was done on the Landau model at that time.
I knew I had seen that Bonneville before - a "Cereal Marshmallows" car, it has its own youtube video. The seller seems pretty honest, but a lot of his cars seem to have sat outside for 25 years, with the usual cosmetic decay. That car is very clean, but yeah, something up on the passenger side, and it is kind of faded overall. I like those stock hubcaps, too, although some spokes are missing. Good luck finding those!
When I bought my Celebrity, I bought the couple of extra gauges, and I liked the instruments as they had very thin needles and to my mind they resembled stereo receiver instruments of the day! For a Celebrity, mine was a nice, solid dark plum color, same inside, bucket seats, aluminum wheels (before they had the big ugly dust shield in the middle of them), wide Goodyear Eagle GT tires, etc. It did corner in a 'sticky' way for the time.
1) Why did Ford have the ignition on the left in the '60's, and put the radio on the left in '69 and '70 full-size cars?
2) Why did Chevy put the heater controls on the left in '71-76 full-size cars?
3) Why did Chrysler lugnuts turn in the opposite direction of everybody else's in the sixties?
4) Why did '63 Studebaker Larks have an ignition on the left, and have a clock or tach in the center gauge position and the speedometer to the right?
5) Why did VW Sciroccos and some M-B's have one center wiper?
I'm sure we could expand this list forever! LOL
I had a '60 Falcon, and it may have been to equalize the labor. When starting the car and getting moving you had to set the choke, engage the starter, put it in gear, and release the brake. The brake was on the left, so you could start the car and release the brake with the left hand while setting the choke and put it in gear with the right. Just a guess.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
I wonder if the rationale was simply that it would keep the kids from fiddling with the HVAC controls?
3) Why did Chrysler lugnuts turn in the opposite direction of everybody else's in the sixties?
they only had those left-hand lugs on the driver's side of the car. I think the prevailing theory of the time was that, on the left side of the car, if the lugs were tightened counter-clockwise, then they'd be less likely to loosen up while driving, because of centrifugal force. Did anybody else ever try that, or was it just Chrysler?
Actually no crazier a concept than "positive earth" on British cars.
DO electrons really care which way they flow? If they do, how did the British come to know that?