I have been lurking on this forum for quite some time and noticed enthusiastically that the price of the BS has dropped quite a bit. Now, I'm seriously considering one and have spent hours on this particular forum to educate myself with enough knowledge to hit the dealers for quotes.

1. any issues that you would have addressed to the dealer had you known about it before writing that check?

2. What is the service intervals and cost per?

3. I've noticed that this car does not come with Bluetooth. Have some of the later production vehicles had this added? What is the estimated cost to have this added?

4. What did you guys pay for the extended warranty? Is there a maintenance inclusion plan?

5. I've found a tick under 50 BS on autotrader. Is there anything in particular to watch for in purchasing a new or used vehicle?


I really appreciate the feedback. Merry Christmas fellas!

 

i wish i could give you more feedback as i just got mine a couple of weeks ago. however, i think you will be very happy if you were to pick one up

 

1.None
2.oil every 10k mi cost depends on dealer
3.Bluetooth is a dealer install about $2000.
4.$1900 fully refundable if I sell the car, maint not included.
5.Two wheel makes, Avis and Alcoa, try to get all the same make on the car.
Jimmy

 

Jimmy, I think you forgot a big one.....tires, about $1700.00 per set and he is going to happily burn through a set every 1500 miles or so

 

Is there a maintenance program available for the BS? I do plan on keeping the car for some time.

Thank you very much!!!

 

Ya, the burn rate is equivelnt to the amount of fun.. I guess I'm slower as I got 3900 mi (first 1000 was driven by factory test driver) with 3 track days as my car has much less power and I'm old nd too much fun sends the heart rate monitor off.
Jimmy

 

If you aren't a track junkie, it looks like Bridgestones will go at least 15,000 miles. I use the Corsas for the summer only with several trips to the track, and I think they will be good for about 6,000 miles. My experience suggests that one track mile will take at least 10 street miles off of any tire.
I had the bluetooth installed, and it works extremely well. I have had only one issue, and that was a camshaft adjustor that went out and was replaced free (had a cel and transient rough running- went away when I restarted, but was repaired anyway). AS

 

6000 miles including a couple of track days on Corsas? I must be a loon on the track. I am luck to get home on a set of tires after a two day track session......

 

Ditto, I wasted a set of Corsas in 45 laps at Road America, 45 laps x 4.1 miles/lap = 184 miles. They were brand new with only about 100 road miles on them and after 45 laps they were toast, the front left was gone (lots of left handers at RA) and the rears where shot, the only tire that looked somewhat decent was the front right.

Track Day at Road America with the Porshe Club $315.00

Set of brand new Pirelli Corsas $1900.00

A complete brake job $2200.00

Tank of VP C10 race fuel $200.00

Motoring past a 997 GT2 and every other P car on the track that day and seeing the look on their faces afterwards...Priceless

 

jim, do you ever have any check engine light issues from the ecu reflash?

 

As I think about it, I probably do fewer laps per session than you. I find that when I go out, I usually do my best within 5 laps, and then stop for a pressure adjustment. There is also a point when the rear tires go gooey, and there isn't any point in staying out, as you just go slower.
Still, 45 laps at RA despite the long straights has only 14 corners per lap . That wouldn't be much difference in wear than a shorter course with a similar number of corners (granted the carousel could grind off a left front tire if you understeer thru it-jr don't you mean "right" corners"?)), as the straights don't use up rubber. I suspect our styles may be different or both of you may just be much quicker than I. AS

 

Yep, meant lots of lefts, my bad. The carousel is a real problem with this car, even under only moderate throttle the back end wants to pull around. I was giving up easliy 1.5 seconds in the carousel. I don't think the carousel was as bad on the fronts as you would imaging, the rears were getting spun up pretty bad in that sections which allowed for pretty easy throttle steering, however, I am positive that is not the fastest way through that section, my M3's are much more planted and feel quicker in that section. I tried dialing the suspension and it would go from extreme understeer if I was light in the throttle to the extreme over steer when on moderate throttle, I could not find a happy medium. The fast right hand kink after the carousel was what was eating up the front left, the car would just plow from the inner apex all the way across to the left side, it was controlled but hard on the F L tire. Turn 1 and 2 had to be pretty hard onthe tires as well since I trail brake hard through both turns...the P cars were out braking me something fierce into 1 so I had to trail brake it to to stay close between 1 & 2 to be able to set them up for a quick pass on the exit of 2 which would give me enough straight heading down into 5 where the same scenario would not play out again, 5 at RA is a very hard braking section, if a P car was even close I would just slide over and let them out brake me, my big pig is no match on the brake in that turn for a GT2, I would usually have them passed again before we got to the top of the hill entering 6 and then they were in my mirrors for good turn 6 to 14 there was not a car on the track that could touch my Black Series, even some of the P cup race cars were slower through that section than my car.

 

okay, I'm not racing you. AS

 

Get the car. I have alot of great cars and this one ranks right up there. You won't be disappointed!

 

Don't let me fool you, RA is my home track and favorite track, I live less than 3 hours away and probably have well over 500 laps under my belt on a motorcycle and another 200 plus in cars. Back when I was club racing superbikes I won 14 straight races there (I raced 5 races/classes per weekend) 14 out of 15 races, the only reason I did not win 15 was a lapper took me out at the end of a race I was leading. I know the track like the back of my hand, I know where there is and is not traction when straying off the traditional lines. I know where there are bumps where I can force another rider/driver into losing some drive by upsetting their chasis (I was a smart, but sort of dirty racer) You are probaly quicker than me around Gingermann or Grattan I have only raced on those tracks a couple of times and never been on either in my Black Series.

 

Have any of you tried adjusting the bump and rebound on the dampers and if so which direction did you go {softer-firmer} front and rear?

 

Will be taking one home in a few days. Thanks for all the advice!!! btw, there is a dealer in Socal trying to sell a "new" car with 9k miles. Is this even legal? I spoke to one of the sales rep there 2 weeks ago. The car is probably still there for anyone looking for a never titled BS, but there is 9000 miles on the odo.

 

I made a few changes to the set up. Wider wheels/ tires and lowered the ride height. Front shocks only: stiffer under compression and rebound. Left the rear shocks as it comes from the factory. By doing that you take some of the oversteer out. However, any car that likes to turn in has a tendency to oversteer. Compared to a Porsche it has really only one disadvantage: Weight. You'll feel it mostly under braking. Ohterwise, it has a lot of mechanical grip, and even when the rear starts to brake loose, it's quiet easy to control. In faster turns (over 100 mph) it could use some more aerodynamic downforce. It depends on how big your attachment is . It could be fixed with a wing, just not a big fan of those on this particular car.

I'm sure you will have a lot of fun with your new car, on and off the track! If you want my exact shock settings, PM me and I'll look for it.

 

If the car has never been titled, it can be sold as new. It will get the full 48 month warranty but 9K of the 50K miles are used up. It would be better to find a certified one that gives you a 5 year/100K mile warranty. Congrats. They really are awesome cars. People gawk at mine every time they see it and they are quite rare. As a package, I don't think there are many better cars out that especially if you can pick one up at market price, whatever that is. Clearly the price of the BS and all luxury cars have been affected and the more expensive the car the more the impact in real dollars. However, on a percentage basis it is bad for other cars as well. I traded an '07 RS4 with after only 18 months and with just 5K miles on the black series. I couldn't find anyone to buy it for anything better than the trade in value of $53K on a $73K original MSRP. And that was back in April '08 so now I bet the 73K '07 RS4 can be had for the high 30s, low 40s after just 2 1/2 years.

If you can afford the car, don't worry about depreciation, just enjoy it. Personally I don't know why people want to sell them unless they have been hit by the financial crisis. They really are awesome. Guess people are just fickle and looking for something different. I'm keeping mine and I have a big smile on my face every time I drive it.

 

I just found it funny that the dealer was selling it with a new car price tag despite the 9000 miles used on it.

 

My baby is home - pics to come shortly!!!

 

CONGRATS !!!!

 

Hope it treats you well.
Now you need to schedule some track time.

 

Evosport has another track day coming up Feb 19th @ Willow if you're interested.

 

it finally arrived. It's a very different beast from everything I've ever driven. Time to get it out to the track!!