The post-92 Mercedes also had those annoying biodegradable wiring harnesses. I almost plunked down $5K for a 94 S500, but close inspection revealed lots of cracks in the front wiring harness and the owner was suddenly reluctant to discuss how well it behaved in the rain, so I had to give that a bye. Shame, really, as…

I never had any interest in this latest incarnation. I loved the original design, and the 2005 version was still pretty, but this one is just....meh. The original design study for this one looked pretty cool, but whatever compromises they made to get it into production just killed the vibe.

Big ticket items were a clutch ($1500) and the 90K service ($800), but other than that it’s just been wear items. Oil, tires, brakes, timing belts, spark plugs. I’ve spent much more on the wife’s 2008 Grand Caravan ($3500 for a new valve body + transmission control module), but that’s predictable.

Perhaps the inspiration for the Ford Probe?

Came here to say this. As someone who’s been rocking the same 944S for almost 25 years, they’re incredibly reliable cars. Get a PPI by a reliable shop, or get a CPO warranty and you’ll be golden.

Great tech until the screws holding the butterfly plates come loose and end up in the combustion chamber...

Where do you live? Out by me, there are only 3 Leafs on CL, and all three (a 2016 and two 2015s) are over $12K.

And that also assumes that the government and/or insurance can’t see how many cars are registered to a given address (unlikely).

Not to mention a control system developed using 100+ year-old technology, and largely not modernized since the 50s.

I can’t imagine how people look back at them and consider them at all desirable.

To a true redneck connoisseur, the difference is obvious. To anyone else, odious.

people people may steal whole cars with the intent of fencing them in Europe

Custom + BMW = no. Just no. I don’t want a maintenance-intensive vehicle that doesn’t even have the original parts in the original location.

Dunno, I think it looks like a dog straining to take a dump. Maybe it’s just me.

Or the Honda Passport / Isuzu Rodeo?

Yeah, but how much does it cost to produce one gallon of diesel vs. what you pay at the pump? Not to mention hydrogen’s hellish storage and transport requirements.

Old truckers never die, they just get a new Peterbilt.

I totally crushed an essay on the lighter verse of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Got me an A in the course and never-ending stream of odd looks from the faculty for the rest of my time there. Unfortunately, I fell in with a bad group of software engineers and wound up writing code for a living. I still drink like an…

In fairness, removing your own appendix is easier than replacing the timing chain tensioners in an Audi S4. Probably less painful too.

Actually, most BMWs have those. It’s just that the blinker fluid reservoir is so hard to get to that most owners don’t keep the fluid topped off, so the blinkers don’t work.