-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: savvo <zuiko@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> I wouldn't mind having the kind of money necessary to buy that sort of
> thing. But I wouldn't spend it on that sort of thing.
>
In my defense, and to rebut the presumption that I am a capitalistic captain of
conspicuous and callous consumption, let me point out that should I purchase a
BMW Z4M, a Chevy SSR, or a Nissan 350Z in the near future, it will be the first
new car I have bought since July of 1989, when, two weeks after their arrival
at the dealerships, I drove home in a 1990 Nissan 300ZX, which, I might add,
sits right now in the garage, with just over 80,000 miles on the odometer, both
looking and running like new.
The 1997 Toyota 4Runner I sometimes refer to as the "OM-4Runner" I got as a
hand-me-down from my wife, who decided she wanted a bigger SUV in order to cope
with the idiots who regularly drive the Atlanta interstates, many of them being
confused Yankee tourists and obnoxious transplants and/or illegal aliens, plus
the indigenous reckless rednecks. Her replacement, a 2001 GMC Yukon Denali,
was big as a small house, nearly impossible to park, and so under-powered it
could hardly get out of its own way. It was soon replaced by a 2003 Chevrolet
Trailblazer, which has turned out to be much more better. The OM-4Runner, with
not yet 60,000 miles on the odometer, also still looks and runs like new.
Bottom line: I'm one of those "car people" who take care of their vehicles.
I'll be 65 years old in February, and this will most likely be the last new car
I'll ever buy. Let's assume a 2006 BMW Z4M, with all the optional goodies,
costs about $60,000, and assuming I make it, hopefully, another 10 years before
mad cow disease gets the best of me and puts me off the road forever, and
assuming it's as well maintained and with as little mileage as is normal for
the vehicles I own, it'll probably be worth half, or more, what I paid for it.
I don't find $3000 a year in depreciation all that excessive, and certainly not
for a car of this quality and with so much fun potential for anybody with a
pulse. Hell, Yugos depreciated more than that per annum.
Walt
--
"Anything more than 500 yards from
the car just isn't photogenic." --
Edward Weston
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