1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
By which I mean, to what extent you are willing to give weight to the rumblings of someone who's heart beats faster in the driver's seat of a rusty Alfa (No, I didn't buy it yet, but there was a close brush yesterday and tomorrow is a new day).
I have the mixed blessing of working with my father who is a car guy in the sense that he likes to drive nice cars that go fast, but not in the sense of being able to pick a torque wrench out of a box of screwdrivers. In the time I have had my 91T, he has had a NG900se turbo, a 9-3se and a Lexus GS300. The NG900 held up well, but never really delivered the spark it promised. The horrible rumble from the AC compressor was one of those "lease is shorter than warranty" items of no concern. The 9-3 was faster and handled better, at least until the turbo blew up at 35K miles. That took the dealer a week to sort out. And it was never the same after. Oh yeah, and there was the ACC circuit board, which was another special order item. And the wheel/tire problem his favorite shop was incapable of diagnosing. Horrible vibration at highway speed from that one. The Lexus is really nice, goes fast and is even sort of sporty. But let's just say it's not from the people who brought you the Supra.
Anyway, the point of all this is that during these years of lease payments and warranty repairs, I have spent less, and been stranded less, by my 91 9000 cd turbo than my dad has with his flow of new cars. Don't get me wrong, my 91 9000 has been a demanding distraction of countless little aggravations. More than half of which have been ac related. But where it has really counted, getting from here to there, this 9000 has been surprisingly dependable. At least when it's not hot out. Because that Lexus will cool from 140F inside to 50F out of the center vent in about 2 minutes. And on those days I would much rather go from here to there in that car than mine.
If you want a nice car, you have to pay for it one way or another. A new car, just as nice as yours, is available for a lease payment of only one turbo charger a month. But, if you only want to shell out one turbo charger in the next 2 months, you will have to content yourself with a nice old car. And if the road rises to meet you, and the sun shines softly on your shoulders, next month, it might not cost you a dime. Particularly, if you happen to be on vacation out of the country.
posted by 24.50.5...
, Wed, 31 Jul 2002 19:00:32, Thu, 1 Aug 2002 10:45:47, Thu, 1 Aug 2002 13:58:13
, Wed, 31 Jul 2002 10:28:08, Tue, 30 Jul 2002 23:03:38, Wed, 31 Jul 2002 00:33:50
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