My dream car......what's yours?

I used to have a shop a few doors down from a British car mechanic. He worked on Richie Sambora's V-12 XKE and some of the other local celebrities cars. He thought they were great cars but crazy expensive to maintain. Inboard brakes, valves that got out of adjustment and took all day to get adjust with little shims. He said that the notorious Lucas electricals were fine once you replaced the switches - they just had lousy contacts. Sambora's car, of course, had a killer sound system.
 
Jaguar in now making the "E-Type Zero." Same weight distribution, similar horsepower, same great looks, but all electric.

jaguar-e-type-zero-placement2-1535147319.jpg
 
No question with the exotics bring by nature "high maintenance". Typically, American power trains were much less so, along with the cars that housed them.
OHC was generally exotic here, until it wasn't. Iirc, the first Crosely cars with the welded engines were unusual for having OHC.
 
Having owned a few exotic autos in the past, I do have a little personal experience on this subject . For me I've learned, I want the highest performance but still when I jump in the cabin I want RELIABILITY ....... I do not want to deal with the stealearships every week. So for me it would have to be an Audi R8 (V10) Quattro, with upgraded intercoolers and exhaust.
 
Withe all the chatter about putting American V-8's in British cars got me thinking of the early Cobras, Sunbeams and TVR Griffiths. There was probably a lot more, the basic idea was to take a European sports car and cram some American muscle under the hood. Actual origin was not important, the combination was the key. Lots of kit cars were also based on this premise .
Like this Griffith

griffith.jpg
 
Withe all the chatter about putting American V-8's in British cars got me thinking of the early Cobras, Sunbeams and TVR Griffiths. There was probably a lot more, the basic idea was to take a European sports car and cram some American muscle under the hood. Actual origin was not important, the combination was the key. Lots of kit cars were also based on this premise .
Like this Griffith

View attachment 1422949
Facel Vega.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facel_Vega
 
I'm looking to buy another car and was looking at some Audi's and the concern (for me anyway) is how much a car will cost me when it breaks. I like Audi and BMW's, but I won't own a car I can't afford to get repaired when something breaks.

For the past 40 years, I have owned a number of German cars, (6 BMWs, 3 Audis), have pulled my own wrenches on everything within my ability. Unless you are a dedicated DIYer, owning either brand out of warranty will likely be a painful experience for you, especially if you frequent the dealer, at their highly-inflated prices. Let`s use brakes as one example....on a typical BMW 3-Series, I can purchase (from several good on-line vendors), OEM or better quality rotors, pads, and sensors, and perform a 4-wheel brake job on a Saturday morning, at a cost of around $350. A dealer will typically charge $1100-$1200 for the same service.
A competent, honest independent shop ( IF you can find one !) will probably save you 15 or 20% off the dealer prices, but still not "cheap".
"Caveat Emptor", as the old saying goes....
 
For the past 40 years, I have owned a number of German cars, (6 BMWs, 3 Audis), have pulled my own wrenches on everything within my ability. Unless you are a dedicated DIYer, owning either brand out of warranty will likely be a painful experience for you, especially if you frequent the dealer, at their highly-inflated prices. Let`s use brakes as one example....on a typical BMW 3-Series, I can purchase (from several good on-line vendors), OEM or better quality rotors, pads, and sensors, and perform a 4-wheel brake job on a Saturday morning, at a cost of around $350. A dealer will typically charge $1100-$1200 for the same service.
A competent, honest independent shop ( IF you can find one !) will probably save you 15 or 20% off the dealer prices, but still not "cheap".
"Caveat Emptor", as the old saying goes....
I've been wrenching for years as well, and what deters me is the cost of some parts that commonly fail.

I can't afford to buy a new vehicle made by the high end manufacture's, so that leaves me to buying used. When buying used, ya really have to do your homework and research what you may be getting yourself into.
 
A little curious? How many R8’S have you personally owned?

I worked in an engine shop for a lot of years. The 5 valve Audi paid a lot of bills. Valve guides were completely worn out by about 70K. Techs that worked in Audi shops told me they were very expensive to keep on the road. This was hard to swallow, because Audi and VW were pretty good cars previously. Those two marques were known for longevity, but as technology increased their reliability took a nosedive.
Consumer Reports warned buyers to stay away.
I've never owned an Audi but know their history from being in the auto business for so long. I will look for an A8 for sale with a couple hundred thousand miles on it and get back to you.
 
I worked in an engine shop for a lot of years. The 5 valve Audi paid a lot of bills. Valve guides were completely worn out by about 70K. Techs that worked in Audi shops told me they were very expensive to keep on the road. This was hard to swallow, because Audi and VW were pretty good cars previously. Those two marques were known for longevity, but as technology increased their reliability took a nosedive.
Consumer Reports warned buyers to stay away.
I've never owned an Audi but know their history from being in the auto business for so long. I will look for an A8 for sale with a couple hundred thousand miles on it and get back to you.
.

Having owned both BMWs and Audis, I can tell you for certain that Audis are considerably more finicky compared to BMWs, and one MAJOR drawback with Audis is that most of them are Quattros, and that extra layer of complexity and expense stemming from the AWD system can be a real ball-breaker. The flip side of the coin is they had several really good qualities, like high-quality, comfortable interiors, with unique little things like an oil-temperature gauge (ALL high-performance cars should have one), and a third sunvisor, a cute little sucker up behind the rear-view mirror, that perfectly blocked that pesky spot that`s so annoying in most other cars.
 
Fortunately I must live right. My 2002 Passat 30V V6 “B5” was the best car I have ever owned. 160,000 miles over 15 years and 0 drivetrain problems beyond routine maintenance. The guy I sold it too is still driving it nearly 3 years later. Though I did crack the transaxle “pan” and learned about $28 per quart trans fluid. On the other hand I just found out my buddy pays $18 per quart for his BMW M spec engine oil. Yikes.
 
Fortunately I must live right. My 2002 Passat 30V V6 “B5” was the best car I have ever owned. 160,000 miles over 15 years and 0 drivetrain problems beyond routine maintenance. The guy I sold it too is still driving it nearly 3 years later. Though I did crack the transaxle “pan” and learned about $28 quart trans fluid. On the other hand my buddy pays $18 per quart for his BMW M spec engine oil. Yikes.
The required engine oil for my Indian Scout is likewise be$poke, but the recommended change interval is 10k.
 
The required engine oil for my Indian Scout is likewise be$poke, but the recommended change interval is 10k.
Like Rosanne Rosanadana said its always something. My 2.0T R Line VW takes regular oil every 10k but the 40k service on the DSG was $400 in large part because of the special oil for those 2 computer controlled gear boxes. You plays, you pays.
 
Truth be told I’ve had my dream car. I haven’t posted pics of the 65 El Camino that was the cause of elcoholic’s addiction in a long time. Note the clarity of the reflections in the depth of the paint
056ADA2A-430B-44C9-BC8A-5E7A44D8D20A.jpeg F5FDCF61-67BA-4D18-BA4B-DAF5FE008BF1.jpeg 0FE81E6D-D5D6-4A8A-8C81-7FD3DA2E5538.jpeg
 
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