I have a confession to make

[89Firebird2.8]

Well, i've been gone a couple years, and I should get something off my chest.

in March 2009, I sold my 89 Firebird for $600. It was still running okay, but I left the country for a couple years and figured that would be a good time to sell it and buy a newer car upon my return rather than let it sit. I had plans to buy a 4th Gen Trans Am when getting back, but after checking prices, I can't justify buying one(especially with cost of insurance factored in).

So I bought a 1992 Lexus LS400. Yeah, it's weird, I got a really nice Lexus for cheaper than I could find a good 4th Gen Trans Am. So for the next few years, I'm out of the F-body world(sort of, we still have the 67 Firebird 400 sitting around under a cover). I hope to get back in one after college when I can afford a second car. This Lexus is so fricking nice though. It has a 4.0 V8 making about 250. That's double what my POS v6 2.8 was making. It gets about the same mileage, but has leather seats, A/C, air suspension, and just looks really nice. Has a lot fewer miles on it, only 112,000, and these things can go past 300,000 pretty easy. I miss having a manual tranny, but oh well. Also, it has butt warmers. The one thing I hate though is the car alarm. Darned thing keeps going off sometimes when I unlock it. It may be because the previous owner took out the factory radio and installed a JVC. I'm pretty sure the factory radio was connected to the security system somehow. For those curious, I paid $3,200 for it. Rides soooo smooth and drives like a new car.

[89Firebird2.8]

Well, I think i'm being punished now for going to a Japanese car. This thing is getting expensive to own. In the week i've owned it, i've spent $300 on registration, $50 on new hood shocks, $15 on antenna, and now the power steering is leaking really badly, which is going to be very $$$$ to fix. I should have stayed with GM or Ford........

[FishFind]

I had a BMW an dgot rid of it for the same reason. To replace the power windo motor it was like $300 and the same part for my gm was like $60.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by 89Firebird2.8

Well, I think i'm being punished now for going to a Japanese car. This thing is getting expensive to own. In the week i've owned it, i've spent $300 on registration, $50 on new hood shocks, $15 on antenna, and now the power steering is leaking really badly, which is going to be very $$$$ to fix. I should have stayed with GM or Ford........

I would say your buying a 20 year old vehicle and expecting new results is funny !

you purchased an old vehicle , this means you must fix it or best sell the beast fast...the more bells/whistles/push puttons the greater the cost when this OLD !

the new japanese vehicles have some issues but compared to GM with how they handle the new vehicle problems toyota is more responsive .

ALL NEW VEHICLES HAVE DEFECTS IT'S HOW THE MANUFACTURER HANDLES THESE ISSUES !

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by FishFind

I had a BMW an dgot rid of it for the same reason. To replace the power windo motor it was like $300 and the same part for my gm was like $60.

IF you own a bmw cost means nothing ...its performance ..

an OEM window regulator for my GM truck is over 300.oo at the dealership...

I purchased 2 of these with a lifetime warrantee for 112.oo ....

[FishFind]

Used to have a BMW that is sold. I was saying for the type of car he has parts are costly and most of the time you have to go to the dealer to get a lot of them

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by FishFind

Used to have a BMW that is sold. I was saying for the type of car he has parts are costly and most of the time you have to go to the dealer to get a lot of them

if you had the money would you get another BMW ?

any top of the line vehicle is expensive on parts. some caddy shocks go for 1500.oo or so ea. tahoe air ride suspension is great until its time to replace those shocks !

when I buy new vehicles I always try to get the min of the bells and whistles to avoid expense costs as the vehicle ages..I get 10 plus yrs out of these vehicles .working on vehicle #4 since 1967. GM not making much on my purchases.

The internet has saved me thousands of dollars on parts and fixes ...

[Pontiacfreak1017]

ahhh thats a lexus for ya. BMW and Audi seem to do the same thing... "high end, luxury" cars like that seem to go to total crap really fast. eveybody i know who has a car of those three brands has issues with them. my friends Audi (a-4? i think) has a problem with some technical thing and it shifts really hard, and accelerates like crap also. I'm no expert, but all the expensive cars that you pay a ton for seem to crap out on you pretty quick. thats just what i've seen. correct me if im wrong.

[89Firebird2.8]

If i could have my cake an eat it too(meaning lots of $$$$), I'd look into getting another 3rd gen Firebird, doing a frame-up resto, putting in a 383 stroker with a supercharger, and blacking it out(except for the rims). The 3rd gen really has grown on me. Although i still would prefer a 67.