safulop

So after 6 years putting up with my wife complaining about how much my S4 cost to keep up, it turns out that the family minivan we bought at the same time has depreciated so much, the total cost of ownership ends up to be mathematically equal for both vehicles.

Hah!!

Adk46

Damn, I was thinking of restoring a Dodge Grand Caravan I found in a barn. Guess not.

Tampa 928s

If you can restore a high end car think 928 or Bmw for less then a deposit on a new vehicle what's wrong with that??
I always look for, I spent all this money on this car and it still does not run right. Let me see new parts can't find the problem now I have a high end car with new parts that needs to be finished, what's not to like. Once all the deferred maintenance is done and things are sorted out in my opinion it's a lot less then buying something new and you have saved another classic.

gazfish

Is that based on the actual costs or what she knows about ;-)

hwyengr

Call this guy (http://bringatrailer.com/listing/198...r-lebaron-gts/) if you change your mind.

dr bob

So way-back-when, I was offered my 928. I looked at the purchase cost plus first-year ownership expenses including recovering the car from Denver, plus Cali registration fess, taxes and insurance. It was roughly the same as buying a new Accord or Taurus (top-selling cars at the time) and putting one in my garage. The operating costs would be less for the Accord or Taurus, but the depreciation would have been way higher. Insurance and fuel for the 928 more. Which would I rather drive? Not even close.

I figure that I could easily get my initial purchase price plus first-year costs if I offered the car today. No way to recover the maintenance and insurance dollars though. So it looks like I've been "renting" my car for about $2000/yr plus insurance costs. For almost 20 years now. One would think the "lease payments" would drop after all this time, but they don't. Oh, I forgot to include maintenance labor in my cost accounting.

I could be driving a late 90's Taurus instead!

safulop

Pretty much actual

This equation was helped by two things: First, I bought the S4 in pretty good condition so it has had only limited restoration done. Like, I bought undertrays and got new side-scraper seals for the windows. My costs have been for upkeep only, but they are heavy costs because I drive it daily, it's a high-miler, and I don't do any of the work myself.

But the second important thing is, the van we bought (Kia Sedona) turns out to be the absolute worst depreciating vehicle out of any car, van or truck on the market.

docmirror

I too have a wife. I too have problems with complaints on parts/labor costs for my vintage vehicles(including the 928s). So, we sat down with the check book/CC statement for a 3 month period one night and went over the costs. Then, we looked at the depr cost of her 2012 Mini Cooper after 4 years, and repairs on that. Several of the vintage cars won or were equal to her cars LTV.

Didn't help -- she still complains about the cost of my vintage cars.

sigh,,,,,

docmirror

Yup, that's a bad one alright. But - compared to some of the full size lux sedans from MB or BMW, not even in the same zip code. Those old tanks drop like a rocket fired missile compared to the free-fall of the import mini vans.

GT6ixer

Good thing it was a Mini that you got to compare it against. Every family member, friend, co-worker and acquaintance that I know that ever had or has one was constantly doing repairs on them. IIRC the Mini has had one of the worst reliability rankings every year since its release.

docmirror

I believe the Fiat now has the corner on the poor reliability ranking. However, Mini is always close to the bottom. Mine currently has the dreaded MIL on for cam timing. Since it's a common fault, the fix is to replace the solenoid for the cam chain plunger, and it's sitting on my counter. I don't want to mess with it yet. We also have a brake fault which looks like some kind of sensor issue. Every time I want to take it to the shop, my wife complains about driving the truck. So, it stays on and she drives it as is. Until time for safety inspection, then it'll go in anyway.

safulop

Well I don't know how they measure, but I do know that Bankrate.com crowned the Kia Sedona as queen of the depreciators. Our 2009 model that was over $25,000 MSRP is now worth just $3500.

Captain_Slow

Wow...I've been considering selling my 928 to buy a much needed family hauler (my elderly mother lives with us, too). I've been looking at used Lexus LX470s because they are a relative bargain - dressed up Land Cruiser that due to the status of "Land Cruiser" name sell for less. All we really need is a minivan...but choosing a used same-age Toyota or Honda van is the same price as the LX470 (and I'd rather drive the LX if I have to spend that coin). This thread caused me to research the Kia Sedona. It may be the minivan equivalent of the 928 (great and overlooked)...Mom would have an easier time getting into a Sedona. Thanks!

dr bob

Jon, everything in your post is OK except the part about "selling my 928" to buy a [insert rapidly-depreciating crossover box here]. Selling an appreciating asset to buy one that's depreciating is, um, not a good idea financially.

I bought a Honda Pilot for a DD about 4 years ago. It's been pretty darn bulletproof, especially with the gold-plated care it gets. But for a geriatric-hauler, it's not that great. Plenty of seats, but they are pretty high up. Even with running boards, some have a real problem getting in and out. Especially if someone needs to slide to the middle of row 2, or (gasp) climb back into the third row.

We've had Odysseys before as part of some Tournament of Roses duties in Pasadena, and they are very easy in and out. Low step up, easy access to rows 2 and 3. They seem to hold their value pretty well compared with most others in their class.

My grandmother found it easiest to get in and out of my black MB s-class sedan. No matter how much work it was getting in, she thought arriving somewhere in it made the initial effort worthwhile. The seats comfortable and easy to get into, sit up a little vs sports-car on-the-floor seating make a big difference. I'd have no trouble adding one to the mix here if I had more garage space. Performance is good, mileage is poor on the gas versions. We are shortchanged here, vs the high-perf Diesel options available in the rest of the world.

SteveG

All of you: Logic?????????????? in regard to the ownership of of Pcar, of whatever model/series.

Get out of here.