After more than a year of reliable, trouble free service, time caught up with the Oldsmobile this week. I took it to the shop, knowing it needed brake work, and walked out facing $1800 in repairs. I got the brakes fixed, and other misc. items for $800, but the other big ticket item, replacing the intake manifold gasket, will wait until I decide what to do.
The 3.1 liter V6 in the Oldsmobile has a reputation for trouble with the intake manifold gaskets. It's either a poor design, poor quality gasket, or a problem with the antifreeze they used--possibly all three. But the 3.1 and other engines in this family, made between 1995 and 2005, are prone to this problem which causes antifreeze to start leaking into the intake and into the combustion chambers. Left long enough, and the engine will eventually seize or destroy itself.
Now I have a choice--spend another $1000 and fix the problem or start looking for a replacement.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
The $15,000 Question - BMW E38 7 Series
My wife asked me a dangerous question the other night. It was dangerous enough on its own, but that night we were drinking Pimms and enjoying the cool evening breeze:
"What would you buy for $15,000?" she asked.
I hoped it was a rhetorical question. Car nuts like me are a cross between serial monogamists and high functioning heroin addicts, and like an addict I became tormented by her question. Not because I was scared of falling off the wagon and replacing my Oldsmobile, but because I didn't have an immediate answer to the question.
The problem is, there are lots of choices for $15K. On the practical side, any number of late model sedans are available with low miles and a factory warranty. But for the same money, you can also buy any choice of high end luxury sedans from eight or ten years ago. Cars like the Mercedes S Class, Lexus LS, Jaguar XK, or one of my other favorites, the E38 BMW 7 Series.
The E38 is by no means cheap to own. It costs more to run than a Honda Civic. It guzzles fuel and is as maintenance intensive as a Desperate Housewife. But for the same price as said Honda, you can buy a flagship luxury sedan that sold for almost six figures when new. One that has heated, massaging seats, dual climate control, sat nav, and more features than you could want. Owning one would be like dating Teri Hatcher--sure there could be problems... but it's Teri Hatcher.
Compared to the later 7 Series with its Bangle-butt and flame surfaces, the E38 has a clean, almost timeless style to it. And unlike the Mercedes, Lexus, or just about any other full sized luxury sled, it is a driver's car. I like it as much, if not more, than the Jaguar XKR. But while the Jag only fires the synapses on the right side of my brain, the BMW appeals to my left brain as well.
Besides the great styling and performance, it offers the practicality of a large car and its almost indestructible. For those times when it needs maintenance, there is a large online community to offer advice and a number of independent repair shops in town, both of which could help take the sting out the bills. Plus, you can buy one for much less than $15K. In fact, if you're careful, you could almost buy two.
As I write this post, there are several well cared for examples, near where I live, for less than $10K. Unfortunately, they all have very high mileage and are for sale at the kinds of "fly by night" places run out of a trailer on a vacant lot.
But there is a 2001 740i at a nearby Ford dealership that would be very tempting...
"What would you buy for $15,000?" she asked.
I hoped it was a rhetorical question. Car nuts like me are a cross between serial monogamists and high functioning heroin addicts, and like an addict I became tormented by her question. Not because I was scared of falling off the wagon and replacing my Oldsmobile, but because I didn't have an immediate answer to the question.
The problem is, there are lots of choices for $15K. On the practical side, any number of late model sedans are available with low miles and a factory warranty. But for the same money, you can also buy any choice of high end luxury sedans from eight or ten years ago. Cars like the Mercedes S Class, Lexus LS, Jaguar XK, or one of my other favorites, the E38 BMW 7 Series.
The E38 is by no means cheap to own. It costs more to run than a Honda Civic. It guzzles fuel and is as maintenance intensive as a Desperate Housewife. But for the same price as said Honda, you can buy a flagship luxury sedan that sold for almost six figures when new. One that has heated, massaging seats, dual climate control, sat nav, and more features than you could want. Owning one would be like dating Teri Hatcher--sure there could be problems... but it's Teri Hatcher.
Compared to the later 7 Series with its Bangle-butt and flame surfaces, the E38 has a clean, almost timeless style to it. And unlike the Mercedes, Lexus, or just about any other full sized luxury sled, it is a driver's car. I like it as much, if not more, than the Jaguar XKR. But while the Jag only fires the synapses on the right side of my brain, the BMW appeals to my left brain as well.
Besides the great styling and performance, it offers the practicality of a large car and its almost indestructible. For those times when it needs maintenance, there is a large online community to offer advice and a number of independent repair shops in town, both of which could help take the sting out the bills. Plus, you can buy one for much less than $15K. In fact, if you're careful, you could almost buy two.
As I write this post, there are several well cared for examples, near where I live, for less than $10K. Unfortunately, they all have very high mileage and are for sale at the kinds of "fly by night" places run out of a trailer on a vacant lot.
But there is a 2001 740i at a nearby Ford dealership that would be very tempting...
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Year of the Cutlass
I've driven my 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass for over one year. It was originally intended to be a stopgap car. I would drive it until my wife and I saved up some money to buy a new car for her, and then I'd drive our 1999 Nissan Pathfinder.
But the Cutlass turned out to be a decent car. It's not pretty, with it's metallic tan paint, dents and missing trim. But it had only 76K miles when I started driving it last year and has proven to be dead reliable. It's gone another 12K miles and NOTHING has gone wrong on it. Once a week I fill it with gas, and I've changed the oil twice. That's it. In turn it's served me faithfully on my commute to work, weekend errands and transporting kids to ballet, basketball, and swim practice, all while getting around 24 MPG.
There are only two things that have given me trouble. First, driver's door handle doesn't always open from the inside, requiring me to roll down the window and open it from outside. This has been a minor problem, and one that has only truly been embarrassing once. In January I had a job interview in a building with valet parking. The interview lasted until 5:00, so when the parking attendant pulled up, a crowd of people witnessed him trapped in my car.
The second problem was the air conditioner. This summer, when the temperature hit the century mark, the a/c blew cool air, but not cold enough to cool off the car when it sat in the hot sun. Knowing air conditioner repairs can be either a $100 or $1000 fix, I thought I might have to replace the Cutlass. But the fix turned out to be cheaper than $100--much cheaper. The knob for the airflow had broken, so it wouldn't set to the max a/c setting. Channeling my inner McGyver, I used a pair of pliers and some tape to fix the problem.
Besides being cheap to own, there are intangible benefits as well. The Olds provides piece of mind. I don't think twice about parking it downtown, on the street or in a parking garage. I don't worry about it being dented or scratched. And I don't mind squeezing into that space at the mall partially encroached by a shiny new Escalade or some other behemoth. When relatives come to town, including ones who drive like escaped convicts, I don't think twice about handing them the keys.
The car is a rolling punchline and it reminds me not to take things so seriously. People ask me if my grandfather knows I borrowed his car or if I use a fake id to get an AARP discount. I've also been tempted to take it to an expensive restaurant with valet parking, just so I could tip the parking attendant extra to put it in a prominent spot next to a Maserati or Porsche and make sure nothing happens to it.
But the bottom line is this: After one year, I saved $4,800 in car payments. Or to put it another way, this year the Cutlass paid for a new washer and dryer, a new refrigerator, and a family vacation to Florida. And instead of a stopgap car, it has turned into practical longer term solution.
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