Insatiable 'Car Greed'

[BEM-S4]

I also have the problem of romanticizing every car I've ever owned. A couple of months after they're gone I forget the bad stuff and want them back.

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by edcvin

The Supra has been more of something for me to visit than drive lol.

I picked up a 94' 1 owner vehicle. The car is a mint Cali car, no accidents/paintwork. It is red, targa, and of course twin turbo. The car was also owned by the owner of a Toyota dealership and only 40k original miles.

Upon purchase, I was totally set on going the bpu route (basic power upgrades), lowering it and building a set of wheels for it. However, the market for that car is going a bit crazy and a stock unmodified one retains the best value. So as hard as it is, I am not modifying it. The only way I can possibly control myself is to not have it in my possession.

I have left it stored at the dealership that I bought from. I will pick it up and do some driving with it this summer.


-Vin

Poor car is being wasted.

I am thinking of trying to find one local to drive & see what I think.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Not so much better cars but different cars, once you hit a certain level they're all pretty good.

Come talk to me when you stop to test drive your next car on your way home from taking delivery of your current car. I've done that.

Close. As I was waiting for my newly purchased fully loaded 340i to be detailed I noticed an M3 on the floor and said "next time, baby" like Rhodes did to the War Machine armor in Iron Man. 3 months later I came in after work and sold them back my 340 for a new M3. That was 2 days ago.

[Em135eye]

Are you serial car "buyers" actually buying or just leasing/PCPing?

[chunho01]

Originally Posted by Em135eye

Are you serial car "buyers" actually buying or just leasing/PCPing?

I know right. Reading this thread makes me feel poor. Frequent car change = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ loss with all the depreciation hit and taxes.

So far I still don't consider leasing an option due to the obvious depreciation hit and interest loss. I only go for brackets that I can really afford (which isn't that high...)

[Em135eye]

I save up and buy with cash. So I appreciate my cars/vans.
I think the debt culture has also removed appreciation of valuable items.
Camper ready next week; that'll be a big wallet hit...!

[martin mustang]

I buy my cars cash, and still constantly planning to change, I agree the lease culture makes it more cars are sold with a big hit on devaluation of our assets at ever faster rate, I am still with my F10 now 5 years from new, but the demons are never too far, like this morning I dropped my car for service and realised I no longer have the 5 years inclusive service, hence need to pay for it, another argument I am sure for yet a new plan, pointless never the less.

Originally Posted by Em135eye

I save up and buy with cash. So I appreciate my cars/vans.
I think the debt culture has also removed appreciation of valuable items.
Camper ready next week; that'll be a big wallet hit...!

[Em135eye]

Originally Posted by martin mustang

I buy my cars cash, and still constantly planning to change, I agree the lease culture makes it more cars are sold with a big hit on devaluation of our assets at ever faster rate, I am still with my F10 now 5 years from new, but the demons are never too far, like this morning I dropped my car for service and realised I no longer have the 5 years inclusive service, hence need to pay for it, another argument I am sure for yet a new plan, pointless never the less.

I think five years is plenty long enough to hang onto a car; our record is 5.5 years (E91 335d); it's those that change annually (or more) that I despair of.

We have an old Subaru (2006) Outback 2.5SE; just a beater but it's comfortable, handles brilliantly, light and airy, huge boot (slept in it last week), bullet proof. It just works and does a good job. It's not flashy, fast or equipped with the latest automatic eyelash curlers but it's so dependable. The polar opposite of constantly craving the latest rented (leased) toy.

The M135i does it's jobs well too; fast, subtle, RWD, decent boot, well made. No plans to change it.

And the VW California, due in a week will do its job well too; well hopefully it will; our last one was brilliant but a reliability disaster.

I only change cars if they let me down. If they work as intended, they get very well looked after. And I get a lot of pleasure looking after them.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Em135eye

Are you serial car "buyers" actually buying or just leasing/PCPing?

This is the first time I have done something like this. I wouldn't say I'm a serial buyer at all. I do both purchasing and leasing depending on the car and the situation. Leasing makes sense to me when I want to get rid of the car in 3 years for a new one and can take advantage of a slightly better corporate write-off. I leased this M3 because I will be getting another daily driver and I want to purchase the next gen M3 in 3 years. I own my other cars.

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by Ali Shiralian

I bought my forth car in two years last September, a 1990 Miata, since then I've spent as much upgrading it and actively looking for the fifth. It's an addiction that has no cure unless I go bankrupt of course...

I miss my 97. I'm actually looking for another one...because I need 3 cars

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by Em135eye

I think five years is plenty long enough to hang onto a car; our record is 5.5 years (E91 335d); it's those that change annually (or more) that I despair of.

We have an old Subaru (2006) Outback 2.5SE; just a beater but it's comfortable, handles brilliantly, light and airy, huge boot (slept in it last week), bullet proof. It just works and does a good job. It's not flashy, fast or equipped with the latest automatic eyelash curlers but it's so dependable. The polar opposite of constantly craving the latest rented (leased) toy.

The M135i does it's jobs well too; fast, subtle, RWD, decent boot, well made. No plans to change it.

And the VW California, due in a week will do its job well too; well hopefully it will; our last one was brilliant but a reliability disaster.

I only change cars if they let me down. If they work as intended, they get very well looked after. And I get a lot of pleasure looking after them.

5 is too long Longest I have had a car is about 3 years &, out of over 20 so far, that has only been 3 of them.

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by chunho01

I know right. Reading this thread makes me feel poor. Frequent car change = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ loss with all the depreciation hit and taxes.

So far I still don't consider leasing an option due to the obvious depreciation hit and interest loss. I only go for brackets that I can really afford (which isn't that high...)

Not always. If you're always buying new cars & doing it? Sure.

Buying used & doing it? Not if you buy right. You make your money when you buy, not when you sell. I always buy my cars right so I am always in the black w/their value vs what I paid.

[TSM330i]

OP: I just believe this is what makes us "car guys." Nothing wrong with looking!

I'm in the process of getting ready to sell my BMW. I have a 2015 GTI that is my everyday car and love it to death, but on a daily basis, I look at all kinds of cars. I even go to the company websites and "build my own" just for fun.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by chunho01

Do you find yourself looking at better cars all the time?

What does "better" mean for you? For me, its a car with +10mph more trap speed that my current car so I can really feel the difference in acceleration potential. I also really value that a car that an sustain the performance during HPDE, and that won't break down much/at all with that kind of usage.

Because of that, I don't think about cars that much after I got my F80, because it starts to get REALLY expensive to have a car that traps in the 130mph+ range and can do it reliably. a modded C6Z and C7Z are probably the only options.

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

What does "better" mean for you? For me, its a car with +10mph more trap speed that my current car so I can really feel the difference in acceleration potential. I also really value that a car that an sustain the performance during HPDE, and that won't break down much/at all with that kind of usage.

Because of that, I don't think about cars that much after I got my F80, because it starts to get REALLY expensive to have a car that traps in the 130mph+ range and can do it reliably. a modded C6Z and C7Z are probably the only options.

"Better" is not always about faster.

[newoldbeemer]

Oh yeah this is me. Went through four cars in four years. Its an addiction, maybe even some disorder and I'm only half joking.

[chunho01]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

What does "better" mean for you?

Originally Posted by OrangeZ06

"Better" is not always about faster.

Yup, better is not always faster. A car can be very fast, but crap. My 'better' ranking is something like...(no haters please, I just quickly typed this up without checking much. Just for illustration)

The-omg-you-can't-touch tier Mclaren P1, Porsche 918, koenigsegg, basically everything is so expensive it's just a pile of mud here....
^^
Extreme tier specials Lamborghini SV, Ferrari Speciale, etc
^^
Ultra tier base Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, etc
^^
Super high tier decked out Boxster Spyder, Cayman GT4, Jaguar F-Type SVR
^^
High tier base Porsche, Jaguar
^^
Mid tier proper sports car like 1M, M3, M4, CLA45, S3, C63
^^
Low tier sports variants like M-sport package, AMG package, Golf GTI, etc
^^
'Normal' BMW, Audi, etc
^^
VW Polo, Passat, etc
^^
Toyota Camry or any other family cars (no offense, crap drivers' car but superbly reliable for daily drive)

Originally Posted by TSM330i

I even go to the company websites and "build my own" just for fun.

That is soooo me! Been there done that!

[Em135eye]

M Sport, fake AMG, S-line sits BELOW normal BMWs, Mercs, Audis because it's visual tat that actually makes most cars slower (due to weight).
At least M Performance stuff is faster. Often significantly so.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Em135eye

M Sport, fake AMG, S-line sits BELOW normal BMWs, Mercs, Audis because it's visual tat that actually makes most cars slower (due to weight).
At least M Performance stuff is faster. Often significantly so.

Sorry, I have to disagree. Not all of them fall victim to this. The M Sport bumper on my 340i, for example, came with the Track Handling Package, which necessitates a fog light delete for the additional radiators behind the bigger openings of the M Sport front bumper.

That being said, there are a section of BMW owners who appreciate style, and lets face it, style is just another aspect of the desirability of our cars. The same could almost be said of your M135i. Your faster engine and go-fast bits the M brings to your 1 series is countered with fancy bumpers and fenders that simply weigh more... kind of counter-intuitive isn't it? The M135i is supposed to be faster, yet by your own argument is fitted with inferior, heavier, body parts.

You for got one thing: Your car also has the fog light delete does it not? For the exact same reason my 340i had the fog light delete.

Lets not insult a whole population of BMW enthusiasts just to elevate our own status, least we look in the mirror and see those same flaws in ourselves.

[Em135eye]

My last car was an E91 335d SE. The wheels alone (rare 17s) weighed bit far off 10kgs EACH than an M Sport on 19s. That's a vast amount of unsprung weight that's meant to be "sporty."

Now the M135i has unique front and rear; get an M Sport 125i and it's totally different. It's all functional in the M135i. There is no M Sport box to tick.

Okay some M Sport bits (brakes) do have a tiny benefit but most of it is just looks. And for some of us, going subtle is far far cooler. Especially when it's faster too.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Em135eye

My last car was an E91 335d SE. The wheels alone (rare 17s) weighed bit far off 10kgs EACH than an M Sport on 19s. That's a vast amount of unsprung weight that's meant to be "sporty."

Now the M135i has unique front and rear; get an M Sport 125i and it's totally different. It's all functional in the M135i. There is no M Sport box to tick.

Okay some M Sport bits (brakes) do have a tiny benefit but most of it is just looks. And for some of us, going subtle is far far cooler. Especially when it's faster too.

To be fair, the M Sport comes with 18s and Michelin Pilots, but most cars come with the 19" upgrades, which is more a reflection of the market demand than the package itself.

The difference between the M Sport 125i and the M135i is exactly what I mentioned, fog light delete for additional cooling which is the same as the M Sport 340i w/ track handling package. So I can't agree that all M Sports and AMG tagged cars are inferior to their regular counterparts; it just isn't true. Plus, people put different values on different aspects of motorsport and street cars. If it was JUST about power and speed, then motorcycles should be considered the only real vehicle we should be considering in the quest to be fast. Your car and my car would be giant wastes of time and money to try to get to go as fast as we could, because if that was truly the ONLY goal, then we should lose 2 unnecessary wheels.

[Blackraven]

I definitely do.

My dream one day is to house a four storey facility that can house 400-500 cars for my personal car collection.

All car brands represented