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

[E M (pokiebaron]

I know you said not interested in Mercedes, but they seem to have got their
act together with quality control over the past few years.  How about a new
S550.  Lots of room, V8, and returns pretty good mileage.

Or, you could just spend the couple of thousand on the BMW if it's otherwise
running well, get another year or so out of it, and then have a look at the
new Porsche Panamera 4 door.

Ed
911SC

2008/12/15 Dennis Liu <bigheaddennis [at] gmail.com>

> [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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