Upgrading from a 370 to a Lexus IS-F

Pushing_Tin

In a few years I will be looking at a used IS-F, Jags and M3s. No more brand new cars for me.

PapoZalsa

However the maintenance on those luxury cars is expensive. Not to many tech outside the dealer except for the M3 to work on them.

Even that I would love an used IS-F.

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2009 370Z MB Base w/Sport Package 6MT
Modshack's Custom Air Intakes /3M Clear Bra/ Illuminated Kick Plates / F. I CBE w/12" resonators / EVO-R Front Lip / Rear Hatch Wing / Tein S-Tech Springs /Ilegal Tint in the Rep. of VA/4x20mm Z1 Spacers/ Vinyl Roof/Liquid Carbon Designs

Pushing_Tin

Yes, unless you have a good local mechanic that only charges about 50% of the dealers do.

PapoZalsa

You are totally right, but hard to come by!!!

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2009 370Z MB Base w/Sport Package 6MT
Modshack's Custom Air Intakes /3M Clear Bra/ Illuminated Kick Plates / F. I CBE w/12" resonators / EVO-R Front Lip / Rear Hatch Wing / Tein S-Tech Springs /Ilegal Tint in the Rep. of VA/4x20mm Z1 Spacers/ Vinyl Roof/Liquid Carbon Designs

Pushing_Tin

I was lucky to find one with his own small shop. An ASE master mechanic with good parts hookups, he give me his cost on parts. The Jag is going in tomorrow for some work.

Love the new car smell, but the $15k two year depreciation is nuts.

PR370z

In my case, I would get the service manual and do almost all the work on my cars myself. Good mechanics are hard to find. My stories at my Nissan dealer are out of this world, sometimes it seems that they NEVER had worked on a 370 before.

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MODS:293 Whp/ 246 Tq K&N drop ins, ERZ HFC, JIC-Magic Y Pipe, HPS post MAF tubes, Nismo shift knob, 30% tints, JDM rear fog light more to come!

ImportConvert

The question here is...is it really cost-effective?

I worked on my own cars all through highschool and college, except for jobs I didn't have tools for (clutch-swap on my WS6, re-building the rear-end, etc.) because I had no real source of meaningful income.

Now the question is: Would I rather go in to work for a few hours and cover the labor, or would I rather spend a few hours doing the labor myself? When I work on it, it has no warranty. When they do, it's their baby, not mine. It breaks, not my problem.

For me, having the dealership work on the car is annoying, as I know they are ripping me off for some things, but on another point, it's "guaranteed". Basically, I am betting that it will break again, they are betting it won't, and I don't want to cut my hands up or smash a finger or worse out in the cold working on my own car beyond minor maintenance items like AC filters, oil, plugs/wires, etc.

When it came to doing the motor-mounts, changing the thermostat (A PITA on a G20, apparently), etc. I just made it their issue and not mine.

I cannot imagine an E92 M3 or IS-F being very fun to work on, or very practical without specialized tools.

wolf370z

It's really not. I owned a Mini Cooper S for a short while and they apparently use the same windows as the 3-series. Long story short I essentially had to replace the entire driver's side window mechanics (window motor, regulator). Even that job had a freaking special tool associated with it and what I got quoted for it was OUTRAGEOUS. It was a lot cheaper doing the work myself and went fairly smooth. Probably won't ever buy a BMW again without some sort of warranty.

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Good drivers just drive.

ImportConvert

Replacing window-motors is a PITA. At least, on my WS6 it was. Had to drill through the door-panel, or drill the rivets out of the glass. Guess which one I picked. Sucks. Friend at the MOPAR dealership did it for me for $100 including a water-pump change. Can't beat that.

Either way, I am done with un-warranteed cars. The DD is the last of its kind I will own. From here on out, certified pre-owned for a DD, new for a fun-car.

ProfessorDave

Had my driver's side window motor replaced twice on my Cooper. The parts are crap.

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Rain, snow, sleet, hail: 2009 Mazda 3 sGT HB
Everything else: 2009 370z, PW Touring 6MT

PapoZalsa

Well in PR I can understand, not to many 350Zs or 370s!

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2009 370Z MB Base w/Sport Package 6MT
Modshack's Custom Air Intakes /3M Clear Bra/ Illuminated Kick Plates / F. I CBE w/12" resonators / EVO-R Front Lip / Rear Hatch Wing / Tein S-Tech Springs /Ilegal Tint in the Rep. of VA/4x20mm Z1 Spacers/ Vinyl Roof/Liquid Carbon Designs

PR370z

There are a lot of 350,G35 here but not too many G37 and 370.

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MODS:293 Whp/ 246 Tq K&N drop ins, ERZ HFC, JIC-Magic Y Pipe, HPS post MAF tubes, Nismo shift knob, 30% tints, JDM rear fog light more to come!

Montez

I'm with you, no more brand new cars for me either....I'm letting the other man take that hit!

ImportConvert

...and he is letting you take the headache.

I have always bought used cars, and all but one of them ended up sucking. I would encourage someone to buy late in the year and get a good deal. used cars are just cars that someone else didn't want, or was too irresponsible to afford once they got (do you want that person's car?), or in rarer circumstances had to give up due to family/medical/financial circumstances outside their control, in which case, it's a good car probably, but you won't discover what happened until after you buy it and it sucks (or not). The dealership always has a glamour story about the last owner.

Seriously, how many people post up saying "should I take the cam out before trading in?" or "This POS always grinds 2nd gear, I'm getting rid of it." or something similar, compared to "This car has been dependable, fun, and a delight to own. I'm getting rid of it!"?

Right.