Fifty years ago, I learned to ride on a Honda. A few months later I bought a police surplus Harley. That Hog taught me many lessons, the first of which was, don’t buy another HD. After riding the Harley for a year, I sold it and switched to Japanese bikes, except for one Ducati. Every now and then I rent or borrow an…
David Schwartz
imon2nd
Until Soylent starts making “Green,” I’m not a buyer.
Even more than 45 years later, I still regret not bringing cash with me to buy a 1948 Packard Woodie on a cold, dark, Sunday afternoon near Pittsburgh, PA. The asking price was $1,250 and well worth it. The car was a maroon beauty; all original, no rust and the radio worked. Seller would not take a check and there…
Flood damage can be subtle and take years to kill a car. The main thing is corrosion of electrical connectors and around the chips on the controller boards. They will all die, eventually. I’m not sure what the wiring harnesses and controller boards add up to in this car, but I’d bet they’re at least $10K plus a lot of…
Note that late 1960s and early 1970s Buick 225s are becoming collectible, especially the rag tops. Deuce and a Quarter, forever.
As a Cali motorcycle rider for the past 30 years, I’m glad to see lane splitting formalized, mainly because car and truck drivers will become more accustomed to dealing with it rationally. The 15 and 50 rule makes perfect sense to me. While I’ve never had anyone do anything stupid to me while splitting, I’ve heard…
Having owned an E36 M3, and two “normal” E30s, I can say with some certainty that you are correct. Fact is, every performance-oriented car I’ve ever owned has had issues, though the Brit cars were by far the worst. All of my sporty Fiats with the exception of my Dino Spyder were better than average for the type.…
GoPro video? Please.
Great review and excellent writing, Jason. Always a pleasure to read your stuff, even when it’s about a rat’s nest in an old VR4.
Bon voyage, Doug. I’m sure and your lady will have Tons-O-Fun no matter what. Having done more than a few trans-continental road trips in old Italian and English sports cars, let me assure you that most big rig repair shops have a guy who can patch anything made by anybody. My only concern for your Aston is with the…
Geez Loueez, Raphael. Don’t you know anything? The Brits haven’t made a car that will hold together for 3 months since, well, since never. It took me 3 Brit cars to figure this out. (Right, I’m a slow learner). Don’t let all that Brit charm and low prices sucker you in.
Pretty good review, Alanis. I can’t give you 5 stars because you failed to mention the cost of complexity, which is especially relevant in this Benz. Having owned an E-Class, I know the warranty will fix anything that breaks. But, that doesn’t help much when you’re spending your own time schlepping the car in and out…
Good article, David.
RIP, Dwight and Paul.
At the time, I thought the 850 was a step backwards. In terms of longevity, the 850s tended to die off. The early FWD setup was not that great. I admit to a bias: My son is still driving our RWD 1989 740 intercooled Turbowagon. Maybe it’s possible to wear one out, but then again, maybe not.
OK, so I’ve been lane-splitting here in cali for years. Easy peasy at low speeds. But, holy f**king jeebiss on a stick, that Russian is insane.
CP. Waaayyyy overpriced. I sold my highly modified ‘95 Miata on eBay a few weeks ago for what the market agreed was a fair price: $7,800. The car was properly supercharged, lowered, roll bar, factory air, power everything, etc, with 60K all-California miles on it. The turbo M above might be worth $12K, tops.
You’re correct about Ferrari value appreciation, especially the stick shift models. But, if you want to own AND drive this car, the running costs will most likely wipe out any gain. With luck, you might be able to own it for free if the running costs equal the appreciation. That will only happen if no major components…
Nice. I’m guessing that baby will sell for over $75K.