For those of you with a forever car, how do you prepare for it? What gave you the faith that you'd get the support you need from the automaker/aftermarket, etc.?
Posted by Temporary-Chest-3111@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 16 comments
For those of you who intent to keep your hobby car forever, when/what was the moment that really solidified the thought for you? What are your concerns and worries?
A few months ago I bought an E85 Z4 3.0si as a hobby car; it's a 2008 with reasonably low miles. The original intent was to keep something fun and reasonably cheap at hand, and keep looking for a 986 Boxster in my ideal spec a few few years down the line (986.2 S, manual, black leather with IMS work done). However, as I started doing work and spending money on this thing, and with the improvements I have been getting from it, I am now entertaining the possibility of keeping this as a forever second roadster, especially when the little one in the house seems smitten with it as well. It is however not the ideal spec as what I was originally looking for (it's a ZF automatic, but BMW Japan never brought manuals ashore for non-M variants of the Z4 ever since), and parts of me do still wonder how it would be to own a 986.
Realistically, for a N52 with regular maintenance, I do not expect the engine/powertrain would be an issue to keep running down the line, but the rest of the car is worrying since bit of plastic trim bits and wiring are already starting to fall apart. Mechanically the car has no issues and is frankly a relatively easy car to work on, compared to the mid-engined 986; however with the 986 part availability might be slightly better due to the 996, even though E85 parts and interchangeability with other models are surprisingly aplenty.
The rub is that where I am I no longer see BMWs from the 80s or 90s on the road, so is it going to be the same with the E85 another 10-20 years down the line? Even E46s are starting to dwindle in number. Porsches of similar vintages are also very rare sights around here, and when I see them they are usually in rougher conditions than an E30 or E36; not to mention that Boxster S'es are almost non-existent on the used market, and thanks to the 25 year rule I would expect JDM supplies are about to go extinct on what I want (for manuals, there were a lot more LHD variants than RHD)...
What are your thoughts about this?
Otherwise-Ad6675@reddit
My forever car was only supposed to last 6 months it's going on 6 years of random junkyard parts and ghetto fixes and it just refuses to die.
It's a 1996 Oldsmobile cutlass Ciera for reference
stonewall028@reddit
my forever car is my 1988 integra. it is my first car and has been my daily for 7 years. it has 200k miles on it and parts are getting scarce for them so my plan is to get a 2nd car (probably a 3rd gen integra - i want to have something that actually has aftermarket tuning parts support) and tear her down to the frame to clean and restore it from the ground up. im going to get the engine and transmission rebuilt, the dents hammered out, get the paint redone, everything i can to get it to as close to factory perfection as possible. i also have a set of Mugen CF48 rims and a Mugen spoiler, and am looking at a Kaminari Aero bodykit to add some period-correct tasteful appearance mods - the kind of stuff youd put on it if you had bought one brand-new in 1988. once shes all finished, she'll stay garaged and become a weekend/car show car only.
tokidokithrowie@reddit
Had a few cars that I’d thought would be forever cars, but at the end of the day money talks and now I’m happily in a brand new EV and decided to invest my money more wisely now.
Malarky3113@reddit
I have 2;
1997 Integra I bought in 2003 at 17. It's a little worse for wear and needs a refresh, but I drove it to the store earlier with the windows down and yup, I still love it.
1959 International B110. I absolutely love the look. It's still a project, but I got it running great. Just needs the brakes gone through. And it's literally the only one I've ever seen outside of a junkyard. I think that's awesome.
Stelios619@reddit
Buy a second one to use as a parts car.
Seriously.
xTheGame69@reddit
I have three cars and rotate them. That way j can repair as needed
whozwat@reddit
My classic bug is simple and relatively cheap to maintain. Daily ride is a 2014 plug in hybrid that I expect will last another 6 years. Who knows how the automotive, or any other landscape will look by 2032.
TheWhogg@reddit
I intend for my wife to own her car effectively forever. I prepared for it by positioning it as my daughter’s future car and doing all the DIY on it.
Windermyr@reddit
I'm old enough that "forever" may not, in fact, be a long time. My "forever" car is a 2017 NSX, which I bought new, and is now 9 years old. I try not to worry too much about parts availability, and just try to enjoy the car for as long as I can.
Outside-Rain-7410@reddit
Good taste! My forever car is also an NSX, but I have an NA1. Luckily Honda recently announced a heritage program and will begin remanufacturing parts, so maintaining it for another 30+ years shouldn’t be a problem.
Wishing you good health so you can enjoy your 2nd Gen for many, many more years! 💪🏾🥂
jrileyy229@reddit
Almost nobody who buys their forever car earlier in life keeps it very long, and definitely not forever
rudbri93@reddit
I had several e30s, and my current one was in decent shape when i bought it. So it was either paint and preserve it (no more winter usage) or watch it rust into the ground. So i chose to make this one clean and have a beater daily to keep it for good weather.
Ive been in e30/bmw groups for a while. So if and when certain parts become hard to find i have a network i can use to try and find repair info and parts.
Temporary-Chest-3111@reddit (OP)
Good point on joining groups for support, as I honestly have no idea how big of a community there is for E85s in Japan. I fortunately live in an area where roads are not salted in the winter so rust is less of a problem, albeit with no covered parking...
Adorable-Reward8523@reddit
Keep it out of the sun . Uv kills interior , good tint helps. Get a desirable car so you know the support will be there for the long haul .
Agile_Session_3660@reddit
Once cars hit 30+ years you generally don’t see them often because only the garage queens are largely left. I have a somewhat low mileage 2002 M Coupe and put about 1000 miles on it a year, and it sits during the winter for obvious reasons. I don’t really worry about parts because BMW generally does a good job of maintaining parts on older models, and I’m at the point where not much should break on it for another 20 years at this point. Eventually though, at around 40-50 years parts will absolutely be a problem. It is what it is.
omg4serious@reddit
by not being "a car guy". simply by being "a car guy" you won't ever be satisfied with having just one car.