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

(continued)

Regarding the BMW VANOS assembly:

These are problematic on the six cylinder cars, the V8's don't seem to  

have a problem.

BMW only sells a (expensive) rebuilt VANOS ass'y, however the unit is  

repairable. There is someone who sells a seal kit for the units, I've  

got a car in the shop right now ok which I'm doing the VANOS overhaul.

If anyone wants the info send me a private email (I don't have the  

info with me right now)

Jeff

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 15, 2008, at 4:38 PM, cmlf1 [at] optonline.net wrote:

My wife drives an E39  sedan, and as far as reliability, the are not  

what they used to be... I had an e24 633csi With over 200K, and  

mechanically it was simple an reliable. A list of 4 years of the e39:

  Instrument cluster pixels (common, warranty replaced)

  Ignition switch (steering wheel would move up and down on its own,  

thought I had an acid   flashback) and horn would work intermittently

  Radiator (common)
  DSC control unit ($$)
  VANOS Controller ($$)

I have an e46 330ci that so far has not let me down.

I am not sure if I would buy another pre owned BMW again. They along  

with MB do not seem to be what they were in terms of reliability and  

quality, especially in the electronics department.

Carl

----- Original Message -----
From: Dan Warlick
Date: Monday, December 15, 2008 3:36 pm
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Seeking advice on a sedan replacement...
To: cmlf1 [at] optonline.net
Cc: ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com

The Audi all the way. Insert any reason here______________.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dennis Liu"
To: "Daniel"
Cc: "The FerrariList"
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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Re: Seeking advice on a sedan replacement...	<– Date –> <– Thread –>
From: Jeff Greenfield (coyoteacme-ltd.com)
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:19:10 -0800 (PST)