Which car should I buy?
Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 10:35 amI'm in the market for another car (always am really) and have 3 options that have presented themselves over the weekend.
The 3 cars are:
'96 BMW M3. Black on black. Facelift, so its 3.2 and 6spd. Damn high k's though (260) Appears to be in good condition considering the k's. Full BMW service history. Completely standard. Current owner has owned for a while and put most of the k's on it. He says it doesn't miss a beat and I think this could be true.
'72 TE27. This is the car I had a month or so ago. New owners plans have changed and has offered it back to me first. For less than he paid me for it too. I only sold it as I almost doubled my money in a matter of weeks. Very tidy car; (I bought it off a collector)
'90 S5 RX7. White. Very good condition. Stock. Owned by a perfectionist. Drives very nice.
Pros and cons of each car. BMW M3 is the quickest, but in the worst condition. Not that it is in bad condition, its that the other two have been so well treated. NA Power, most comfortable. Although appears to be in good mechanical condition, will cost the most to fix if something breaks. Especially as my nearest BMW dealer is 400km away.
TE27. Obvious pros. Cons are that it is easily the slowest, although speed is becoming less and less important as I get older. I get the biggest grin from driving this. Rare car, but parts still able to be sourced ex Japan. Next year it will be able to be registered as an historic car so rego is only about 20%. This is the car that I feel the most confident of maintaining, as its effectively so simple. A good porting and a light flywheel will have it singing. Guy I originally bought it off imported it himself from Japan. Guy I sold it to has had it less than a month and done less than 100km.
RX7. Pro is that it is much cheaper, which is a big pro. Comparable speed to the M3, and could easily be made quicker - although I probably won't do this. Hard to find an example not owned by wankers. Cons is that there is naff all leg room, and its easily the most uncomfortable of the three. The front kit and the wing aren't really to my taste either. Still can't get over the feeling of being worried about getting stranded when driving it. Engine runs really well, no smoke, but no history either.
I think all three would be the same effort to sell if I chose to move on. Also, I think all 3 have reached their depreciation limit, which maybe the exception of the M3 which may go a bit more. If I moved back to NZ, the TE27 is the one car I would consider bringing, the other two I could find after a bit of searching in NZ. I'll put some pics up later today.
When voting, keep in mind the prices. M3 and TE27 are the same. If you choose the RX7, you get $7000 to keep in your pocket.
The 3 cars are:
'96 BMW M3. Black on black. Facelift, so its 3.2 and 6spd. Damn high k's though (260) Appears to be in good condition considering the k's. Full BMW service history. Completely standard. Current owner has owned for a while and put most of the k's on it. He says it doesn't miss a beat and I think this could be true.
'72 TE27. This is the car I had a month or so ago. New owners plans have changed and has offered it back to me first. For less than he paid me for it too. I only sold it as I almost doubled my money in a matter of weeks. Very tidy car; (I bought it off a collector)
'90 S5 RX7. White. Very good condition. Stock. Owned by a perfectionist. Drives very nice.
Pros and cons of each car. BMW M3 is the quickest, but in the worst condition. Not that it is in bad condition, its that the other two have been so well treated. NA Power, most comfortable. Although appears to be in good mechanical condition, will cost the most to fix if something breaks. Especially as my nearest BMW dealer is 400km away.
TE27. Obvious pros. Cons are that it is easily the slowest, although speed is becoming less and less important as I get older. I get the biggest grin from driving this. Rare car, but parts still able to be sourced ex Japan. Next year it will be able to be registered as an historic car so rego is only about 20%. This is the car that I feel the most confident of maintaining, as its effectively so simple. A good porting and a light flywheel will have it singing. Guy I originally bought it off imported it himself from Japan. Guy I sold it to has had it less than a month and done less than 100km.
RX7. Pro is that it is much cheaper, which is a big pro. Comparable speed to the M3, and could easily be made quicker - although I probably won't do this. Hard to find an example not owned by wankers. Cons is that there is naff all leg room, and its easily the most uncomfortable of the three. The front kit and the wing aren't really to my taste either. Still can't get over the feeling of being worried about getting stranded when driving it. Engine runs really well, no smoke, but no history either.
I think all three would be the same effort to sell if I chose to move on. Also, I think all 3 have reached their depreciation limit, which maybe the exception of the M3 which may go a bit more. If I moved back to NZ, the TE27 is the one car I would consider bringing, the other two I could find after a bit of searching in NZ. I'll put some pics up later today.
When voting, keep in mind the prices. M3 and TE27 are the same. If you choose the RX7, you get $7000 to keep in your pocket.
