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I own used luxury vehicles because the upfront cost to purchase is very low. Since I do all of my own maintenance and repairs, my cost of ownership is only in time and parts, if any. Most people I talk to think cars are difficult to work on but I say the opposite. Keep in mind that cars are designed to be assembled, at the factory, by unskilled labor. Now disassembly or gaining access to the offending part may be difficult, but typically the correct diagnosis is more difficult than the repair. When listening to DIY repair stories, I find that a large number of DIY’ers just throw parts at the car and hope for the best.
Engines today usually go 300,000 miles without a fuss. No more points, condenser, timing, carb balancing, valve adjustments, pretty much nothing to do but filters, oil, and spark plugs every 80-100,000 miles. When a repair is necessary, yes, there is the occasional stuck bolt, getting dirty, having a garage and tools, lack of detailed knowledge or experience, and other problems to overcome but in general, most are not too bad.
For that, I get to drive a 7-Series BMW or an S-Class Mercedes, granted the car is 6-12 years old but the ride is nicer, the creature comforts are welcome, and the (electronic) technology is old enough that understanding has become common knowledge.
The tough part is reading proprietary codes, Volvo VIDA, Mercedes STAR, BMW TIS systems now require a subscription and off line aftermarket readers only do a so so job. BMW readers from Peake Research readers are the best but, there not too many low cost alternatives for other brands available to us DIY’ers. Every once in a while I’ll have to pay to have a code cleared or a retro fit activated, but that does not cost much and most of the time I can figure something out.
Having a good relationship with the dealer is nice too. My dealer has given me so many unrequested free services that I gave the service manager and the mechanic a Christma$ bonu$ last year. They really appreciated that. Going old school really has paid off there.
I own used luxury vehicles because the upfront cost to purchase is very low. Since I do all of my own maintenance and repairs, my cost of ownership is only in time and parts, if any. Most people I talk to think cars are difficult to work on but I say the opposite. Keep in mind that cars are designed to be assembled, at the factory, by unskilled labor. Now disassembly or gaining access to the offending part may be difficult, but typically the correct diagnosis is more difficult than the repair. When listening to DIY repair stories, I find that a large number of DIY’ers just throw parts at the car and hope for the best.
Engines today usually go 300,000 miles without a fuss. No more points, condenser, timing, carb balancing, valve adjustments, pretty much nothing to do but filters, oil, and spark plugs every 80-100,000 miles. When a repair is necessary, yes, there is the occasional stuck bolt, getting dirty, having a garage and tools, lack of detailed knowledge or experience, and other problems to overcome but in general, most are not too bad.
For that, I get to drive a 7-Series BMW or an S-Class Mercedes, granted the car is 6-12 years old but the ride is nicer, the creature comforts are welcome, and the (electronic) technology is old enough that understanding has become common knowledge.
The tough part is reading proprietary codes, Volvo VIDA, Mercedes STAR, BMW TIS systems now require a subscription and off line aftermarket readers only do a so so job. BMW readers from Peake Research readers are the best but, there not too many low cost alternatives for other brands available to us DIY’ers. Every once in a while I’ll have to pay to have a code cleared or a retro fit activated, but that does not cost much and most of the time I can figure something out.
Having a good relationship with the dealer is nice too. My dealer has given me so many unrequested free services that I gave the service manager and the mechanic a Christma$ bonu$ last year. They really appreciated that. Going old school really has paid off there.