Saki GT

Or any German car for that matter? So many people have the opinion that German cars are great when they're covered by warranties, but once that protection runs out, big repair bills could be coming.

Now, if you look at some of these premium cars, the amount of technology packed into them that can possibly break with age/miles seems like a huge reason not to own one. I remember replacing $400 hoses on my german cars and grumbling, but what about having to fix stuff like adaptive headlights, adaptive cruise control, active steering, SMG or dual cluch boxes, etc.

Maybe its just me, but there's so much tech that could go haywire anymore, I wonder if I'd ever buy a used tech-laden car anymore. Imagine what could go wrong with a GT-R with some miles and age....

WRS2K

My 996 C4S has been the most reliable car I've owned to date.

I had the power steering pump go out under warranty on my E46 M3 when I had it and also a known issue with the HID unit on one side.

The S2000 had the chain tensioner go bad twice. Otherwise, reliable.

It's true that parts for my 911 cost more than the S2000. Am I worried? No. I'm doing what I can to be a good owner and maintain the cars that I drive. Plus, the cars above don't have the latest gizmos.

Now the cars I am concerned about German or Japanese or whatever are the newer sedans with all the electronic gizmos (S-Class, 7 series) as you kind of mention above. The electronics, in a sense, can date the car quickly.

I'd most definitely consider a V10 M5/6. I'll always love the E46 M3. I'd pass on the E93 M3.

Saki GT

Yeah, I guess I'm thinking not about the mechanical bits but all the technology being built in these days. If one of my adaptive healights gets stuck looking out to the side, will I bother to repair it if it costs too much? That kind of stuff.

bjohnston

^ In a similar vein, I had once heard someone speculating that the complexity of modern cars will limit their future collectibility, as it may be too difficult/costly to find replacement parts for maintenance/restoration. I dunno. Guess we'll see. Me, I would buy a used German car if I liked it enough. I'm becoming more nostalgic for somewhat older cars these days...

The Gasman

yup, we just need plug and play electronics, so if your adaptive whatchamadiggy goes out or if tech changes you can just upgrade the software.

trainwreck

i wont consider a used german luxo mobile, but i think the jap luxo cars are legit. my mom still has her lexux ls400 and nothing has ever broke on it. on the flip side my aunts old bmw, windows dont work, ac is broke, clock broken...

sahtt

That's why lexus is where it is. Old German cars are a financial disaster. I had an LS4 and it was rock solid.

Chris S

Based on friends' experiences w/ M3's and M5's, I wouldn't buy one w/o a significant remaining warranty. Great cars, but they can be expensive to own. BMW's seem like the perfect car to lease- take advantage of their subsidized rates, let them pay for maint. and repairs, thrash the hell out of it, and turn it in right when the warr/free maint. is coming to an end.

I'm not too worried about my CS since it's been rock solid and seems to be built to very high quality standards.

I don't know enough about M-B's, but I suspect they could be money pits. I know Audis often are!

Onehots2k

Here we go again...it must really be this site then. If we here on s2ki arent considering them, someone else must be! BMW's as a whole have very high resale values. Am I wrong? Please correct me if I'm wrong. They tend to hold their values better than Mercedes or Audi. Porsche is the German company with the highest.

sahtt

They do hold their values well, but that doesn't mean they aren't expensive as hell to maintain as they age.

What it means is there is a strong market for used BMW's. There isn't a strong market for many used MB's or audi's because they aren't as popular with younger people. There is a huge proportion of the population that likes BMW's but just think they are too pricey but are willing to get them at a discount.

They definitely have a strong following as thier resale is evidence. Doesn't mean they aren't expensive to maintain.