What are you in?

I don't hate American cars -- currently have a 2010 F150. Have driven it from 100k to 130k with nothing but oil changes and the typical transmission wiring harness gasket leak that was ~$100 to repair.

I am OK with Japanese/Korean cars. I've owned 4 x Mazdas, an Acura, a Hyundai. The Hyundai was garbage. The Mazdas were simple, fun, reliable cars. But also buzzy and cheap feeling.

But I love German cars. I like the feel -- the way they handle. The solidity. Part of that is generated by rubber bushed control arms that wear out from 60-80k.

Like most German things, they achieve high performance through engineering that can lead to some fragility.

I've owned (still have those in bold):

Audi: '98 A4; '03 A4
BMW: '11 X3; '04 330Ci
VW: '09 Eos
Porsche: '88 911; '05 Boxster S

The '03 A4 almost weaned me from German cars -- it was a CPO, and was in the shop every other month. But this was before I challenged myself to work on cars.

Once I bought some tools, started watching youtube, and figured out most car maintenance is bolt on & bolt off, I am back in love again.

I buy all my cars used -- to avoid the killer depreciation, and do my own work on brakes, gaskets, cooling pipes, control arms, sensors, and the basic stuff that kills you at the dealer, but are not really difficult to do in your garage.

I've owned American trucks, an Infiniti G35s, and now a BMW 650, and the BMW is absolutely the only car that was truly fun to drive and puts a smile on your face every time you look at it, punch the gas pedal, or take a turn faster than you should. It's had a few engine issues typical of their twin turbo V8 (oil leaks and fuel system), but both were fixed under new (no charge) or CPO warranty ($50 deductible) in a couple days with a free loaner.

I would have a hard time justifying buying new and taking the depreciation hit unless money didn't matter, but it's hard to beat driving a 3yr old $100k car for about half the new car price.

Appreciate all the insight. Isn't making the decision easier, but luckily we have plenty of time to try out a bunch of cars to see what makes sense. Will alternate looking at/test driving regular loaded cars then luxury ones to get a nice compare and contrast going.

The Fife said:

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Also curious to read other people's thoughts on the G90...

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I bought one today. Fabulous car. Shopping was frustrating since you have to get past the internet sales coordinators hawking 2017 Sonatas on a 72 month note but once I found a Genesis specialist it was great.

Nice! Rule #1? By the time we replace Mrs Fife's car these should have been out there for a couple of years so I'm curious to see how depreciation goes.

The Fife said:

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Nice! Rule #1? By the time we replace Mrs Fife's car these should have been out there for a couple of years so I'm curious to see how depreciation goes.

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I've bought CPO imports for years to avoid the depreciation hit and planned to do the same thing this time around -- I wanted an Lexus LS460. But when I did my research, the G90 got better reviews than the Lexus did. I drove both and found the G90 to be far more solid and comfortable than the Lexus.

I cut a purchase deal for a 2018 G90 that was a little less than the price for a 2016 LS460, but when I looked at the incentives I changed my mind and did a lease. As a rule, I hate leases but this seemed like the best hedge against depreciation on a brand with limited experience.