Ferrari Mailing List: Replacing the BMW - result... (1 of 2)

[Dennis Liu (bigheaddennis]

[Howdy, all!  Please include me directly on any replies, as I'm not
receiving any list-only postings... Thanks!]



As some of you may recall, back in January, I sought opinions and feedback
from all y'all on what should I replace my much beloved 1995 BMW 740iL with
198.6k miles on it.

The uber-sedan appeared 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 much more than what I expected to get for the car).  I
loved that car, and even at its advanced age, it carried 4-5 folks with
plenty of luggage at 80mph+ and 21 mpg.  

Thus, it came to be time.  My specs:  RWD, seats 4-5 adults comfortably,
with a V8.  Not at all interested in a Lexus, nor Mercedes-Benz.  One
exception might be a CLS500/CLS550 (still the most beautiful sedan even
made), but the four-seats only ruled it out, and I have little faith in MB
quality/reliability.

So I considered the following candidates:

1.  Start driving my wife's 996 on a daily basis.  Ended up deciding against
it, as just couldn't bear to see the abuse my daughters would have
eventually heaped on it, and it's just not that comfortable for all four of
us long trips (and trunk space, while acceptable for two, is insufficient
for four.

2.  Buy a replacement E38 740.  Oooh, the emotional choice.  Found a guy in
CA who bought a new 740i Sport in 2001, then stored it all this time.
Effectively a NEW car.  But he was asking all the money for it, and, sadly,
it's now 8+ years old, even if it only has a couple of hundred miles on it.
And it's still susceptible to the usual E38 maladies (e.g., suspension
pieces, cooling system, etc.)

3.  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.  Actually went to the dealership to check out a very nice black
one they had in stock, but when I got close to it in person, the looks just
left me cold.  I've driven them a bit before, but when contemplating the
possible purchase of this one, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  Ugh.
Didn't even bother taking it for a test-drive; yes, it is that ugly to me.
Also considered the E60/E61 5-series, but it's too cramped by comparison,
and if the E65 hit every branch falling out of the ugly tree, the E60
managed to dodge only 3-4 limbs.  

4.  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.  This was probably going to be it... But then a friend of mine
who used to be an Audi parts manager warned me off - "it's a **GREAT** car,
and reliable, but once you hit 100k miles on it, everything, and I mean
everything, will cost you $2k to fix."  Confirmed by several of you who had
owned Audis.  Doh.

5.  2007+  Pontiac G8 GT.  361hp, RWD.  Admittedly, it didn't even make my
initial list, but I received a bunch of enthusiastic votes of support, so I
went to check it out.  And it was... nice!  The interior is Spartan,
compared to the competition, but it wasn't typical-GM-ugly.  Lots of room.
Could I get over that ugly Pontiac nose, and see the beauty of the Holden
inside?  I had managed to convince myself that I could, and the $7500+ total
in rebates and discounts from GM certainly helped, BUT my wife spotted the
G8 brochure on my pile, raised her eyebrow, and asked me if this was what I
really wanted.  She doesn't care about the badge, but she knows me well
enough that I have a hard time turning down good deals, only to have regrets
later.  And as good a deal as this is, I... couldn't bring myself to pull
the trigger.

So what did I buy?

Well, before I get to that, I must admit, I ended up buying it (used) from a
dealer.  I stopped for a test drive, and was astounded that they made an
offer on the old Bimmer.  And, no, I know how much they paid for what I
bought and they didn't make much margin on it, so it's not like they bumped
up the trade-in value just to make it up on the other end.  The sales
manager said that he had a wholesaler that loves these beasts, and ships
them to Mexico where he could double the money.  Hmmm... Even with the
(fully-disclosed) power-steering-fluid-leak?  Yup.  That pushed me over the
edge, and I closed the deal.

And I ended up with an Infiniti M45.

More in the next post!

vty,

--Dennis
Without a BMW for the first time in nearly 2 decades
Metro Boston