Help me Oppo! I have arrived at a major automotive crossroads and IDK what to do.

"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt)
02/23/2017 at 18:48 • Filed to: None

I love my car, but if I’ve reached the point where it needs more maintenance than it’s worth if I want to keep driving it. Bonuses are paid out next week, so that has me considering my options: buy or lease a new DD vs. pick up an inexpensive classic as a second car.

The Q45 is lovely as always but it has many needs that I cannot ignore if I want to keep driving the car: broken A/C compressor, 4 ancient tires, wobbly driveshaft, blown suspension on all four corners, an oil leak deep in the engine somewhere, and an intermittent starting problem. And re: the tires? The stock wheels are trashed and would be replaced at the same time, there’s no way I’m spending $$$ on new rubber for them. So, all things considered, that’s 3-5 grand right there.

That’s a lease down payment right there. Believe it or not, the 340i, Giulia, and XE sport are all 4-6K on the down payment and under $500 per month. And please - the Q was purchased in between college and my current job; I am a very lucky guy in some respects and my life has changed dramatically since then. If you are not the type to lease a car I do not want to hear about how financially irresponsible you think it is.

Another option would be to take out a loan on a sub 30k car. I miss driving a manual so I’ve whittled it down to three contenders: E9x M3, F30 335i fresh off of a lease, or a 2015+ 5.0 mustang. No suggestions please, I put a lot of thought into this. I can’t think of any other modern manual transmission cars that would be worth taking out a loan for.

The third option is to deal with the Q’s issues and buy one of the still-reasonably-priced-but-not-for long classics I’ve always wanted. XJS V12, E23, E21, E28, square headlight fox, the list goes on. It’d be fun on the best days but miserable on the worst - breakdowns, still no A/C, stressful in the rain/at night. I DD’d an E24 for a year and it was amazing 70% of the time, but that last 30% was hell.

4th option: get something “new” but shoot lower. Sub 20k with a fat maintenance budget - A8L, E46 M3, 996, etc. That scares me though, out of warranty german car issues are no joke. I’d rather have a $3000 NA Miata than two new air struts on my used S class.

So - without suggesting any more cars, what would you do in this situation? I’m leaning towards paying a shop to fix the A/C no matter the price and buying a classic for the upcoming car season. That old E24 really did me in... classic cars are like crack

DISCUSSION (45)

Vicente Esteve > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 18:58

If I know I can make the payments every month comfortably , that’s what I’d do.

MylesD > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 19:01

Keep the Q45. Plus, you do all that work + new wheels/rubber (maybe a detail) it will be nice, clean, reliable.

B_dol > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 19:01

What do you honestly use the car for? Commute, spirited driving?

Seems like you have stepped into the luxury interior realm (Infiniti, BMW) and Ford’s Mustang interior will be hard to swallow. I like the E9X M3 or F30 335i option, plenty of fun to be had and no need for serious maintenance just yet (a la E46)

Giulia is a great wild car but not a car I want to be involved with during the 1st year production.

E92M3 > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 19:10

E9X M3 or a classic pickup get my vote (or both depending on your bonus).

Kinja'd!!!

Land_Yacht_225 > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 19:12

What flavor of Q45 with how many miles?

You can’t go wrong with option 4. Maintenance is perfectly manageable as long as you know where you’re getting your parts from and you have a good indie mechanic, and you don’t go overboard. W12 A8s and S600s are nice, but they’re going to demand far more than they’re worth from day one. Best leave them for the fanatics. Now and old S550 or an A8 4.2? Reliability and issues are always exaggerated. Even I have reached a tipping point with my basket case S600, I haven’t had to go to my mechanic for anything major in 7 months.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Land_Yacht_225
02/23/2017 at 19:19

I wrote this when it had 116k and the A/C still worked. 1999 Q45t. The interior is in mint condition and so is the body, minus this big spot on the trunk lid which I should probs add to the list in the article

Saracen > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 19:23

Past the IMS bearing upgrade, 996's don’t require a fat maintenance budget. Especially if you DIY.

Leadbull > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 19:29

My aunt and uncle drive an F30 (328i), and they love it so far. It’s just a solid car all around.

So, uh, second option I guess.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 19:30

Leasning a 340, Giulia or XE for under $500/month means they have to be lease specials, right?

I’d imagine you’ll show up at the dealer and probably decide you want the one that will actually run you $575-$600 per month. Unless you up your down payment quite a bit from $6,000. I, uh, speak from experience. Experience that I, honestly, do not regret at all.

I would encourage the lease, but maybe on something you get to choose the model and all the options/packages/etc. I love going into our Audi dealership every 2 years and saying, “We are tired of the [Alpha][Number] and want a new [Alpha][Number] with these options. Our lease ends in 12-18 months. How much do we need to make the check out for?” Fun fact, the Q5 is the longest lease kept so far at a current 27 months.

Land_Yacht_225 > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 19:33

Hmmmm, a Q41 you say...I don’t know if I would tell you to stick it out with a Q41. An original Q45a or a fully loaded gatling-gun Q45 with LIDAR cruise control sure, I’d tell you to take it with you all the way to the grave. Like I said. Pick up an old German something sub-20K and get it registeted for a Carchex or Car Shield warranty to protect youself to some degree from the big stuff af least.

Noah - Now with more boost. > B_dol
02/23/2017 at 19:33

My driving habits are odd. I take back roads to work every morning for fun: 40 minutes. But the ride home is close to an hour via the highway due to traffic (should be 25 mins). I’m also the group day trip planner and driver, so a sedan would be nice. TL/DR: probably 50/50.

The Mustang’s interior ruins an otherwise beautiful car.

That’s a good point, I don’t want to drive a Fiat 500 half of the time.

Steve in Manhattan > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 19:41

Take it to your mechanic, and pay him for an hour to go thru the car and estimate what needs to be done so that, if he had a 17 year old daughter, he’d let her drive it. Then you can decide whether another 20, 30, 40K in it is worth the price of admission.

Noah - Now with more boost. > E92M3
02/23/2017 at 19:41

That’s a great pair, polar opposites! As a BMW nerd the E90/92 M3 has always been a halo car for me... is it as good as I imagine? If you don’t mind me asking, ow many miles does this have/how has the maintenance been?

Noah - Now with more boost. > MylesD
02/23/2017 at 19:46

I neglected to mention this massive rust bubble in the trunk lid. That’s another G between buying a new one, shipping it, and having it painted. It needs a lot. But then I could keep it. And also buy a classic so that would be fun.

E92M3 > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 19:50

It’s pretty good. I can’t find anything to replace it with this side of a 911. Only has 21k miles, so no maintenance issues yet. “E90M3" user on here, has more miles on his, I know he’s had to replace the throttle actuators.Not sure if he’s had to do anything else.

B_dol > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 19:57

Lots of miles or only a little? MT or Auto?

Noah - Now with more boost. > Vicente Esteve
02/23/2017 at 20:09

Yeah the payments would be fine, thinking of all the cheap classics I could have instead is the only issue

Noah - Now with more boost. > E92M3
02/23/2017 at 20:10

Cool, that’s good to know! I’d be looking at examples with 40ish thousand miles on the clock.

Noah - Now with more boost. > B_dol
02/23/2017 at 20:12

10-15k per year mileage, Auto right now but I miss MT.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Land_Yacht_225
02/23/2017 at 20:13

An aftermarket warranty + A D3 A8L would be awesome.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz)
02/23/2017 at 20:17

600ish would be doable, I’m not stretching on the monthly. I don’t know if they’re specials, I got those numbers from the North American websites. 600 would be fine still, more of a psychological issue than anything else...

Noah - Now with more boost. > Steve in Manhattan
02/23/2017 at 20:27

lol I don’t have a mechanic, my friends and I do all of our own work because we don’t trust them. The car is safe. It’s just very old and uncomfortably hot in the summer.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Saracen
02/23/2017 at 20:29

Yep, my friends and I are DIY fanatics. I’m just not sure that I could spend $20k on something so outdated. I’d save another 5K and go 997 instead

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 20:42

Understandable. Worth going in to see what the deals are and what options you have to get those deals. Maybe they’d be just what you want, only one way to find out.

shop-teacher > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 20:44

I say pay a shop to fix the AC, and buy a classic. Two cars are better than one, and monthly payments suck!

Textured Soy Protein > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 20:58

If you’re into working on your own car and/or customizing it, you might not like leasing. I leased a car and ultimately I was frustrated by things like it being equipped with shitty run flat tires that needed to be on it when it was turned in. Make sure you like the car totally.

I think your idea to finance a newer used car rather than something older with a maintenance budget makes the most sense.

Not sure you’d like an F30, the steering is precise but lacks feel, and it’s got an open differential.

Saracen > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 21:15

$25k for a 997? Not for a good one, that doesn’t have a ton of deferred maintenance, and has a manual transmission.

I’d know. I’ve been looking for two months and I’m picking one up next week.

Carbon Fiber Sasquatch > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 21:21

I think the lease option is your best bet. If you don’t care for the car, you always dump it after the 36 months are up.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Saracen
02/23/2017 at 21:22

Lol. 35k for the 997 hence more saving. Good luck with the 996!!

Saracen > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 21:44

You typed $5k more and thus I thought you meant $25k.

And I meant I’m buying a 997. Carrera 4S, specifically.

Land_Yacht_225 > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 21:47

I got approval for a one-step-above-basic-coverage Car Shield on my 2005 S-Type R with 101,000 miles. Those guys will cover anything, believe it or not. If you can find something with less than 100k on the clock, you’re golden.

Steve in Manhattan > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/23/2017 at 22:21

At least take it to a garage and have them put it up in the air for you .... amazing what you find looking underneath.

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/24/2017 at 00:32

Depending on where you’re located, keep the Q for the winter months when there’s salt on the roads. You like the car, so why not hold on to it until it can’t run any longer? As you mentioned, fix the essentials and then park it while you enjoy whatever else you pick up for the car season.

TheBimmerGuyWhoNowOwnsAChevy > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/24/2017 at 01:00

I straight up went for a new car, was in the same seat about 2 weeks ago, I tried to keep it under 25k andended up only spending about 22k, all according to plan. Next thing is to sell the old car, not sure what your bmw will sell for but every bit counts.

Tapas > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/24/2017 at 02:02

Get a Guilia!!!

My personal suggestion: get a CPO S7 or CPO 981 Cayman S or New/CPO Corvette”Stingray” (we know it isn’t one, but is cool) !

Noah - Now with more boost. > Saracen
02/24/2017 at 09:02

That’s going to be awesome. The wide rear haunches on the 4 look so good...

20K is the “cheap” price range, 28-30 is the max hence 35. sorry for the confusion

Noah - Now with more boost. > Steve in Manhattan
02/24/2017 at 09:03

We were underneath the car last weekend haha. And I will be tomorrow too, there’s an exhaust leak that needs fixing

Noah - Now with more boost. > Land_Yacht_225
02/24/2017 at 09:04

Car Shield? Ok I’ll have to look them up. I’m amazed that you have a warranty for that.

Vicente Esteve > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/24/2017 at 09:22

Ah, I get it. It’s a tough choice then.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Vicente Esteve
02/24/2017 at 09:32

Yep. Today is a cheap classics day. So many beautiful XJ6s with working A/C on craigslist right now...

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > Land_Yacht_225
02/24/2017 at 09:47

Will anyone cover an S600 ? I figure that they would cover a pump because it’s technically a PS pump.

Saracen > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/24/2017 at 10:24

Gotcha. You can get plenty of 997 for 35k.

Steve in Manhattan > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/24/2017 at 10:26

perfect.

Land_Yacht_225 > V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches
02/24/2017 at 10:50

Well, my shitty $60 an hour labor and only aftermarket-not-genuine-parts warranty covers every pump but the power steering tandem pump. But it does cover the rack and pinion and PS lines, so who knows what kind of coverage anybody offers. Apply for some reputable ones online and see what kind of rate and coverage they offer you. Most have a 100,000 mile cutoff for anything more than drivetrain and some limited interior motors/actuators. You get what you pay for. I paid $1,200 and they paid out $600 on a $3,100 front suspension rebuild for control arms, ball joints, and tie rods...once.

Land_Yacht_225 > Noah - Now with more boost.
02/24/2017 at 10:53

I did not buy the warranty...yet. The guy on the phone tried to sell me too hard, I got upset and hung up. They wanted $495 up front, like now today hand over the credit card info, plus $283 a month for 18 months which would have gotten me a 5 year, 75,000 mile policy with a $100(?) deductible.