The current state of automobiles is no good (bring your emotional support Iguana)

[Jdesign]

I have a love / hate relationship for new cars. I get it, I understand why, but I also am nostalgic. Everything has its place, and I look at it from a more "fits the criteria" perspective. The modern car makes sense from the typical modern owner. Its very similar to owning a condo vs. a house. 

If you enjoy working on your own car, older cars tend to fit the bill more often due to cost and complexity. 

Think of it this way too, a lot of us daily a more "modern" BMW than the one we work on. Why is that? 

Enthusiast will always be enthusiast. It goes far beyond the date, tech, fuel as we all have our preferences to "fit the criteria". I believe its more of the emotional experience that makes the enthusiast exist. 

The current state of the automobile will always evolve, and I never look at this as a bad thing. With that evolution always comes new experiences and more knowledge.

[SteelBlue]

Jdesign said:

Think of it this way too, a lot of us daily a more "modern" BMW than the one we work on. Why is that? 

I don't know if I can go back to not having a heated steering wheel.

[i_love_cars]

Jdesign said:

I have a love / hate relationship for new cars. I get it, I understand why, but I also am nostalgic. Everything has its place, and I look at it from a more "fits the criteria" perspective. The modern car makes sense from the typical modern owner. Its very similar to owning a condo vs. a house. 

If you enjoy working on your own car, older cars tend to fit the bill more often due to cost and complexity. 

Think of it this way too, a lot of us daily a more "modern" BMW than the one we work on. Why is that? 

Enthusiast will always be enthusiast. It goes far beyond the date, tech, fuel as we all have our preferences to "fit the criteria". I believe its more of the emotional experience that makes the enthusiast exist. 

The current state of the automobile will always evolve, and I never look at this as a bad thing. With that evolution always comes new experiences and more knowledge. 

emotion is a pretty key concept here. At the end of the day, the people who love something are always going to care more and be opinionated about it. So those of us who truly love cars are attached to the concept of what we love. 

I enjoy driving my E46 more than my E92, but I daily something from 2018. Pretty much in line with what you're saying. We all want to drive the older stuff but many people aren't dailying those things. I also think not having something like an older M3 as a daily, and instead as a weekend car, makes it more special. Same way that bringing a car out of storage feels in spring time. People can say whatever they want - the fact is everyone becomes numb to a certain degree to their routine. Cars are no different - if you drive a classic BMW every day, it doesn't feel as special. Intellectually you know what you're driving all the time, and as an enthusiast you are like "cool" and have some level of appreciation but it's not quite the same as leaving your modern daily for something special to you at the end of the week, or whatever.

[B C]

You definitely need contrast in your life to enjoy/appreciate things to their fullest

[Earl]

Up until a few weeks ago my newest car I had ever bought was a 96. I still don't want to even daily something newer than 2000 lol. I'm just weird and really prefer older vehicles for fun cars and daily duties. Maybe as I get older I will change my tune and be accepting of an automatic newer car. At this point I still will not own an automatic car for any purpose.

[B C]

I thought for sure id be 55 or older before I wanted a soft ride, low end power, spacious interior, taller ride height, easy to enter/exit, quiet etc.

but holy crap, it has hit in my early 30’s 

I now completely understand why floaty 70-series sidewall Cadillacs exist. 

But again, its about contrast. Too much of a soft cushy thing makes you yearn for the opposite thing

[B C]

Earl said:

Up until a few weeks ago my newest car I had ever bought was a 96. I still don't want to even daily something newer than 2000 lol. I'm just weird and really prefer older vehicles for fun cars and daily duties. Maybe as I get older I will change my tune and be accepting of an automatic newer car. At this point I still will not own an automatic car for any purpose. 

If you ever procreate, safety ratings suddenly become more important. I dont want my family driving around in something that doesnt have side impact airbags. They make a hell of a difference. I never thought id become this guy. Its frightening

[Earl]

snap said:

If you ever procreate, safety ratings suddenly become more important. I dont want my family driving around in something that doesnt have side impact airbags. They make a hell of a difference 

If I'm being honest even at that point I probably won't care about safety ratings. If I did I would 100% drive an early 90's Volvo over anything else.

[wally509]

i_love_cars said:

emotion is a pretty key concept here. At the end of the day, the people who love something are always going to care more and be opinionated about it. So those of us who truly love cars are attached to the concept of what we love. 

I enjoy driving my E46 more than my E92, but I daily something from 2018. Pretty much in line with what you're saying. We all want to drive the older stuff but many people aren't dailying those things. I also think not having something like an older M3 as a daily, and instead as a weekend car, makes it more special. Same way that bringing a car out of storage feels in spring time. People can say whatever they want - the fact is everyone becomes numb to a certain degree to their routine. Cars are no different - if you drive a classic BMW every day, it doesn't feel as special. Intellectually you know what you're driving all the time, and as an enthusiast you are like "cool" and have some level of appreciation but it's not quite the same as leaving your modern daily for something special to you at the end of the week, or whatever.

This ^

snap said:

I thought for sure id be 55 or older before I wanted a soft ride, low end power, spacious interior, taller ride height, easy to enter/exit, quiet etc.

but holy crap, it has hit in my early 30’s 

I now completely understand why floaty 70-series sidewall Cadillacs exist. 

But again, its about contrast. Too much of a soft cushy thing makes you yearn for the opposite thing

I bought an STS in my early 30's and drove Caddys for.....well, let me know if you want me to tell you how this plays out.  I don't want to spoil anything for you.

[straight6pwr]

i_love_cars said:

if you drive a classic BMW every day, it doesn't feel as special.

i've been driving e30s for over a decade and when I drive mine I still grin like a fricken teenager who's just touched his first pair of boobs.

i wish my second car could also be an e30.

if you could snort e30s, I would.

long live e30s.

[jc43089]

My wife and I daily drove the e36 coupe with 3 car seats in it.  Am I a bad dad?  Now we are rocking a 200k mile 1st gen Sienna that I got for 500$, it's an XLE with a VHS player!  Until I get the swap van done anyway.

I daily my e36 and wouldn't pick anything else, although it would be nice to fix the door handle so I don't have to lean in the passenger door and open my door every time.  I have another handle I just have been busy.  It is more fun to drive than my 300HP Volvo. 

The Volvo is only an '05 and it is a manual transmission but it's drive by wire, and to counteract the laggy throttle response there is a sensor on the clutch pedal so that the ECU can smooth out clutch engagements.  The sensor goes bad and it gets jerky engaging the clutch because the ECU doesn't know when you are engaging the clutch.  Why is that necessary?  All because they switched to drive by wire to help meet CAFE standards by buffering your right foot input.  That's just one example.

It's not the technology that I dislike though, it's the disconnection and lack of "character".

[andyhundley]

straight6pwr said:

i've been driving e30s for over a decade and when I drive mine I still grin like a fricken teenager who's just touched his first pair of boobs.

i wish my second car could also be an e30.

if you could snort e30s, I would.

long live e30s.

THIS!

[rampelsauce]

TRIGGER WARNING!!!

[m42b32]

rampelsauce said:

TRIGGER WARNING!!!

I pretty much gave up when they went from E to F

[rampelsauce]

m42b32 said:

I pretty much gave up when they went from E to F

I gave up when they went from MXXBXX to NXXBXX.  Unless they have an N64 because I'll get that to re-live my childhood.

[retoropak]

1. Its all about the packaging. I can swap the m10 in my e21 in couple hours without a lift if needed. Now try to do the same or even fix some smaller stuff on a car with really crowded engine bay. Most people wont even try to touch it. Thats why i got rid of my m62 powered e53. I could not convince myself to do the timing chains. Than all the special tools needed to fix things and there is a coding aspect too.  

2. Thre is more aftermarket for the older bmw’s. Small shops with access to cnc means you could get some nice parts at resonable prices. 

3. Electric motors are good for the freight trains? See#4

4. If i ever had tesla i would convert it to stationary Whole house UPS.

5. Idk.

[straight6pwr]

i'm currently searching for a new winter/daily/road trip vehicle.

I'd like to say that is fricken bananabonkers that trucks/suvs with 200,000 miles still have price tags of $8,000+. mileage seems to be totally ignored in valuing the vehicle.

[rampelsauce]

straight6pwr said:

i'm currently searching for a new winter/daily/road trip vehicle.

I'd like to say that is fricken bananabonkers that trucks/suvs with 200,000 miles still have price tags of $8,000+. mileage seems to be totally ignored in valuing the vehicle.

Because they know you'll pay it like a good little consumer whore. Oh you got a BMW? Do you wear gucci face masks and supreme hoodies too? You guys make me sick. All about the hype of owning a luxury german car. Do you think that makes you better than me? News flash, cars are just transportation. A Nissan Leaf will get you to the same place as any other car. So will a 1993 Toyota Camry.

[HipMF]

straight6pwr said:

i'm currently searching for a new winter/daily/road trip vehicle.

I'd like to say that is fricken bananabonkers that trucks/suvs with 200,000 miles still have price tags of $8,000+. mileage seems to be totally ignored in valuing the vehicle.

I don't really disagree with this. In the old days engines used to wear out after 100k miles. The bores would be 1/16" bigger than they came from the factory and the cam lobes would wear down to nothing. Valve seats and guides wore out. Basically the whole engine would be junk. The build quality of the rest of the car was similar, and cars just didn't last that long.

These days the materials used are better and the technology has come a long way. Engines routinely last 200k-300k or more without a major rebuild. I don't see a problem with buying a vehicle with 200k on it, but when you're fishing in that end of the market you really need to have some evidence that the vehicle has been well maintained. Paying $8k and then shelling out $2k more on nickel and dime maintenance is a big hassle and probably not worth the grief.

[Boris3]

The challenge with used trucks with 200k+ around here is that typically they are often rust rotted: rockers and cab corners on Chevy and GM especially, also Ford; frames on the first gen and beds on second gen Toyotas; and pretty much everywhere on the used Dodges. Add in that a new truck costs upwards of $35-90k depending on how tricked out you want it and you have upward price pull on the used market.

Factor in potential issues with Chevy/GM transmissions (4L60E) in the used 1/2 tons, and the head/plug issues in 5.4l older Ford 1/2 tons, etc means maintenance and service records are key. Some of the smaller dealer lots also price flip trade ins from the larger dealers or auctions which adds to the fun.

The Toyota "premium" can lead to silly prices on used Tundras. I'm kind of looking for a lower mileage second gen in decent shape to replace my 2003, but between price point and that at 161k my motor seems to be just breaking there's in no rush. By the way I could use an access cab passenger-side front door, paint code 1E3 if anyone has a line on one.  

Best advice in used truck buying seems to be head/look south. Though with the Texas flooding in 2017 this put a dent in the used southern truck market and you have to be careful with flood salvage. 

Good luck in the hunt.