Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Seeking advice on a sedan replacement...

[jashburne (jashburne]

I would second a very serious look at the Audi

John
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

-----Original Message-----
From: "Dan Warlick" <edwf430 [at] att.net>

Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:36:14 
To: <jashburne [at] aol.com>
Cc: <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Seeking advice on a sedan replacement...


The Audi all the way. Insert any reason here______________.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dennis Liu" <bigheaddennis [at] gmail.com>
To: "Daniel" <edwf430 [at] att.net>
Cc: "The FerrariList" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 3:26 PM
Subject: [Ferrari] Seeking advice on a sedan replacement...


> [Howdy, all!  Please include me directly on any replies, as I'm not
> receiving any list-only postings... Thanks!]
>
> Ok, my much beloved 1995 BMW 740iL with 198.6k miles on it appears to be
> headed for the scrap heap (due to a projected $2k estimate to fix a 
> leaking
> hydraulic line in the self-leveling rear end system, which is more than 
> what
> I'd take for the car right now).  Too bad, as I do love the car, and even 
> at
> its advanced age, it carries 4-5 folks with plenty of luggage at 80mph+ 
> and
> 21 mpg.  I've always vowed to drive it until it either (a) burned to the
> ground, or (b) collapsed into a big cloud of rust.  Not quite there, but
> I've gotten my money's worth, I think.
>
> So, it may be time.  Am now looking for any and all 
> advice/ideas/collective
> wisdom on what to do next.  My ideal car is RWD, seats 4-5 adults
> comfortable (well, the 5th can be cramped), and probably has a V8.  Yeah,
> it's a big list, but this is half the fun, right??
>
> 1.  Start driving my wife's 996 on a daily basis.  Only has 53k miles on 
> it,
> and has been utterly bulletproof to date.  The girls are now big/tall 
> enough
> to sit in the back seats with booster seats (no more car seats), so 
> there's
> actually room for real adults up front.  Will need to get some snow tires
> for it, but there is no reason why this wouldn't make a wonderful daily
> driver, EXCEPT that it's a PITA on those occasions when I do need to take
> the girls in this car (my wife drives an Armada as her daily driver now),
> and the trunk is something of a joke (even my 355 has more trunk room).
> And, of course, it's dirt cheap because we already own it, AND would drop
> one car off the monthly insurance bill.  And I do love driving it,
> particularly as it's a manual, though that means my mother couldn't drive 
> it
> on those rare occasions when I need to borrow her minivan for one reason 
> or
> another ("hey, mom, let me teach you how to drive a standard
> transmission....")
>
> 2.  Buy a replacement E38 740.  I've always LOVED this car.  Fun to drive,
> all the room I want, and now I know about most of the usual failure points
> (cooling system, lower control arms, pixels in the dash, final stage
> resistor, etc.).  I'd look for a 2001 740i Sport model, with the lower 
> final
> drive and sport suspension.  Downside - these car are getting older, don't
> kid ourselves.  And, really, down on power and amenities compared to more
> modern machinery, though I'm not an "options" kinda guy.
>
> 3.  Buy that E39 M5 I've always wanted.  Yum, yum.  Beautiful.  And cheap
> now (in the mid-to-high teens for a good example, low $20k range for truly
> excellent).  While 400hp ain't what it used to be, it's still plenty for 
> my
> needs.  Downsides:  even more expensive to repair; smallish back seat and
> trunk is only adequate; will need $$$ for new wheels and snow tires; 
> again,
> standard tranny would rule out mom.
>
> 4.  Buy an E65/E66 7-series.  Ugh.  I've hated the looks of this thing 
> since
> day 1, and have not wanted iDrive either.  The look improved tremendously
> with the 2006 update to the 4.8 liter V8 (750), but still not what I'd 
> call
> attractive.  It would satisfy my BMW craving, and fairly reasonably priced
> at $25k-$27k for a good one with decent miles.  Prices will probably only
> continue to drop, especially as the new 7 rolls out and the 2006 models
> start to come off-lease.  UNKNOWNS - reliability, cost to repair??
>
> 5.  2006-2007 Infiniti M45.  Just stumbled across this model today, while
> pondering.  325hp, RWD, stealthy, all the needed toys without the iDrive
> cr*p, great handling/performance (won the last Car & Driver shootout 
> against
> 550i, E550, Lexus something or another), slightly more room than the
> equivalent 5-series or E-class, great quality (Japanese, and I *love* our
> Armada), and CHEAP - low $20k range for 40k-50k miles, still under 
> warranty
> to 60k miles, for a $58k MSRP vehicle.
>
> 6.  2005+ Audi A8 or A8L 4.2.  Now this has a lot of what BMW should have
> done with the E65 - light aluminum body, easy-to-use driver interface, and
> no Bangle butt!  Not a big fan of AWD, but it couldn't hurt up here in the
> snow belt.  Mid to high $20k range.  Anyone have thoughts on reliability 
> and
> cost to repair?  (too bad the Lambo-powered S8/S6 is too expensive!!!)
>
> 7.  2004-2005 Cadillac CTS-V.  400hp, manual transmission, woo-hoo.  Not 
> as
> sophisticated as an E39 M5, but cheap ($20k or less, for less than 40k
> miles) and dare I say it, could be more reliable and almost certainly
> cheaper to fix.  Small back seat, though, so the only real advantage over
> the 911 would be the somewhat larger trunk and the additional two doors.
> Caddy isn't really up my alley, but thought I'd include it anyway...
>
> That's about it.  Had fantasized for some time about a Dodge Charger Hemi
> with the POLICE PACKAGE, all the better to encourage idiots doing 61 mph 
> in
> the fast lane on the Mass Pike to get out of my way, but the interior is
> just too brutally cr*ppy, even by my low standards.  Dodge Magnum R/T 
> wagon
> ain't much better.  Briefly entertained the idea of a Pontiac G8, since
> we're looking at V8 powered RWD cars, but, please, a Pontiac?
>
> Not at all interested in a Lexus, nor Mercedes-Benz.  One exception might 
> be
> a CLS500/CLS550, but the four-seats only sorta rules it out, and I have
> little faith in MB quality/reliability (the CLS63 would make me change my
> mind about the need to seat a 5th person, but still way too $$$).
>
> The wife would love an E61 530i Touring wagon, but it's pretty not-fast.
> Though the Bangle styling on this make me want to claw my eyes out the
> least, especially as compared to the sedan.
>
> So...  Thoughts?  Advice?
>
> Thanks,
>
> --Dennis
> E38less, apparently
> Metro Boston
>
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