Insect goons who love cars

Thanks rayrard. My last 3 cars have been blue. Reminds me of morpho butterflies because of the different shades it takes on depending on viewing angle. You should check out "structural blue" by Lexus.

When the G37 came out, I didn't like it very much either, but over time, it grew on me. The thing about cars going up in value after a few decades is that they are usually low mileage. If you've gotten 210K miles out of it, there's no way you're going to sell it for profit. The car served its purpose well and you got very good value out of it. I'm not sure how long I will keep my car, but at the rate I'm going, even after 20 years, it will probably have less than 60K miles. I like Infiniti and I think they have well engineered cars that provide good value for money. It's just that the last few years, their product line seems to have stagnated. The products are still good, but year after year, the cars will remain almost exactly the same with no major updates whereas other manufacturers will introduce new redesigns every 6-7 years.

Chuck, I have not had the chance to try out as many cars in my life as you. Generally though, I think cars made in the UK and US have reliability issues and I'm generally very wary. There are exceptions of course, but the burden of proof is on them. For reliability, other than Porsche, I think Japanese companies are hard to beat. Lexus/Toyota/Honda/Acura all seem very good overall. Nissan is probably a tier below but still pretty good. I haven't had issues with them so far, but then again, I don't put on many miles.

Agree on the Maserati. For the money, that thing is atrocious.

While I don't have any expensive cars now preferring to keep my money in the bank I do enjoy working on my own cars and haven't taken a car to a garage or mechanic for over 20 years. This is not just to save money, I genuinely believe that I do a better job because it is my car so genuine parts and fluids are used to ensure that it is in top mechanical condition. It is serviced meticulously and there is very little that I won't have a go at, the only problem is that now I'm nearly 60 I feel it for a few days afterwards. Last summer I replaced the clutch and brake servo, combined the garage wanted £700 for both jobs. Doing it myself the clutch cost £40 and a second hand servo £30, they have both been perfect ever since. I would encourage anyone to buy a decent set of tools and learn how to work on your own car. I have a well paid proffesion for my day job but the ability to be your own mechanic is a skill that is in high demand, saves a mountain of money and stops you being ripped off by garages and dealers.

I keep my cars for years, pay very little for them and I have never failed to reach a destination. 

Imgur seems to be down right now, so I'll have to post pictures later.

Panacanthus - man, a supra!! That is indeed a rare sight now, especially one in such good condition. I'm glad you got to enjoy such an iconic car. 460hp back then was Ferrari beating! I am careful with my car but I also try to use it as much as I can, in any weather. It's my first, only, and probably last "dream car." My wife says I only get one in my lifetime... All the more reason to enjoy it and keep up with the maintenance haha.

Yorky - agree completely. I know there are good garages and good mechanics, but they are rare. The dealers are under pressure to make money and do jobs fast(er), so I just don't want to take chances. Every time I come back from the dealer for service, there are small scratches or knicks on the wheels or whatever, and I hate that. I'm a perfectionist with butterflies and cars. Dealers also tend to over-torque absolutely everything. Do these people not have a torque wrench in the entire building? I'm just one guy and I have 3! So I started to do these jobs myself. The tools cost a lot of money to begin with but the money you save makes it a good investment in the long run. Besides, these days everything is on the internet! I was able to locate the service manual for my car, the one that the mechanics use, and it outlines every step in how to maintain or disassemble components of the car. You can find part numbers, torque specs, everything! You can also save money buying OEM car parts online instead of at the dealership. I don't have the big machines to do stuff like tire mounting or alignment, but everything else, you can do at home if you want to invest in the time. It's very satisfying to learn new skills like that and you get a fantastic sense of accomplishment and self sufficiency. You also get to know the inner workings of your car intimately. There are so many videos on Youtube now on how to do basic car maintenance on just about every model that it's really not that hard to learn.

Chuck - the GT-R is indeed rare up here. I've seen fewer than 10 on the road in my entire life. Over the past 10 years, on average, in Canada, fewer than 100 GT-Rs are sold every year. A small fraction of those are daily driven cars year round, and I'm one of those.

I almost bought an MG, then logic and reason stepped in.

My 1987 Pontiac Firebird, built during the Metric Scare, had both metric and inch fasteners all over. It was a nightmare to work on. The BMW is easy- 8mm, 10mm, 13mm. Done. Hey, anyone seen my 10mm sockets?


I'd love a Gen I RX7, should have bought one when they were all $2200. Then almost bought a Gen II GTU-S (very rare) but there was no title. Then almost bought a Gen III, which I'm glad I didn't because they all blowed up.


This one was great, not pretty, a real momentum car. At Watkins Glen I passed a Dodge Viper, he wasn't happy.



But she had to go, the baby seat didn't fit.

Doing your own work on modern vehicles is almost impossible- starters buried under intake manifolds, exhaust headers that require the subframe to be dropped and then the engine, etc. Even dealers can't fix them- I know of numerous BMW 7 series that suffer "limp mode" that no matter how many times they go into the shop, even the factory-certified experts can't fix. You can buy a nice mid-2000s BMW 3 series here for $2500, but that little light is on- meaning another $2500 for a catalytic converter.

I don't get the new vehicle thing. Typical American suburbanites blow $600-$800/month for auto payments, and typically have two of them. That's the monthly payment on a house. And then the only other thing they own is a set of golf clubs and a big TV. Of course, that $600/$800 gets you a generic Audi, Mercedes, or whatever- not a top performance vehicle...just a pedestrian piece boredom mobile. Kudos to Eurytides for blowing big bucks- that money now will get you a Tahoe or the GT-R, I'd much rather have the GT-R! Gimme $50k and I'll buy a used 911, not a new Hyundai SUV.

Bill, what are the old Datsuns going for these days?

Of course, we haven't even touch the real expensive, high maintenance topic...