Would you consider 135i or 335is as threats?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2005
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C32 AMG
Since you're still alive it obviously didn't kill 'ya with maintenance costs 
My '87 325is soured me on very old German cars after it ate about $12k in repair and upgrade costs over a two year span. But I suppose an E36 M3 at this stage could easily put you in the same boat. You may laugh but how about an '03-04 Focus SVT? Probably less than 10k and would be cheap to maintain.
My '87 325is soured me on very old German cars after it ate about $12k in repair and upgrade costs over a two year span. But I suppose an E36 M3 at this stage could easily put you in the same boat. You may laugh but how about an '03-04 Focus SVT? Probably less than 10k and would be cheap to maintain.And I agree regarding old German car maintenance and repair. Certainly not cheap, but I'm learning to do a lot more myself. I did my entire suspension replacement (coilovers) myself. The brakes are stupid simple, and the parts cost is NOT typical Porsche pricing.
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Joined: Jul 2004
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2002 C32, 2011 VW GTI
Spec Focus is a great NASA racer class. Cheap and competitive. But I really like having RWD.
And I agree regarding old German car maintenance and repair. Certainly not cheap, but I'm learning to do a lot more myself. I did my entire suspension replacement (coilovers) myself. The brakes are stupid simple, and the parts cost is NOT typical Porsche pricing.
And I agree regarding old German car maintenance and repair. Certainly not cheap, but I'm learning to do a lot more myself. I did my entire suspension replacement (coilovers) myself. The brakes are stupid simple, and the parts cost is NOT typical Porsche pricing.
I'm somewhat mechanically inclined but my problem was the 325is was a winter beater/track car, and it seemed to like to break down in the dead of winter when I had no choice but to bring it in to a shop. Plus all my DIY energy goes into my old house these days, sigh. I'd definitely do everything myself if I could do it all over. That would have dropped the cost somewhat, but I still would have laid down a good penny for parts. I think a Ford Focus would be cheaper to buy parts for, and "average" local mechanics would be able to work on it. Owning an old German car taught me that most neighborhood mechanics have absolutely no clue how to diagnose and fix things on it.
