BF Goodridge Comp T/A? Big fat raised white letters, LOL

For me in the early 80s, it was the Goodyear Eagle GT. Super expensive, and lucky if you got even one season out of them. Whatever handling performance my car had was all in the tires. The 82 Trans Am could only go straight, and looked best when just standing still.

Funny about automotive values... back then I never gave a moment's thought to the brakes. And yet 40 years later, look at the brakes on my G today.

 

You have a great memory! My step dad had a new 1980 or 81 Firebird Formula with a 4 speed and that car was how I learned to drive a stick at age 14. Loved those old Formulas and Trans-ams.

 

A little update on the Miata I bought for $1000. I originally wanted to do my typical go all out go fast mods and crazy build, but my wallet didn't like that idea, and neither did my RX7. So OEM plus it was the direction I went. Daisy replicas, coilovers, full brake and suspension overhaul, full LED conversion inside and out, new OEM tails and turn signals, pioneer w/ android auto, door and headrest speaker upgrades, etc.

 

Coming along nicely. Those wheels are dope. Deep dished version of the OEM wheels. Wish there were more aftermarket wheel options that look OEM for our cars.

 

Sadly the company that makes them is probably going out of business because of the tariffs. They had some other cool wheels made, or in the works for Euro cars.
https://www.rmlwheels.com/blogs/news...eardrop-update

 

So darn tempted to trade in my wife's car on this: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ATURED/DEFAULT

I'd probably have to sell the Infiniti too. But man, that car is beautiful, and a good price for the mileage when those run like $80k new?

The ad doesn't say it, but it's actually an X3M Competition, which has a few more features and a better tune to make it 503hp.

 

That's a lot of power to have in a high-center-of-gravity car...

 

They're built to handle it. Of course I wouldn't be expecting it to handle like a coupe/sedan, but then again, I never track my vehicles or push them anywhere above 7-8 / 10ths of their limits.

 

Only 7500 miles, and OMG it's pretty AF. Sure would be nice to own, and certainly nice to drive, what with all those suspension upgrades, and all that HP out of BMW's silky inline-6. Wow.

Would it be nice to maintain out of warranty? Probably not. This isn't the right car for someone who has to make concessions to own it, or is living with a thin margin for discretional income. However, if you've got the means, I sure understand the want.

As god is my witness, I didn't even know this car existed. And I like it. Just look at that interior. Again... wow.

 

The extremely low mileage would help tremendously with keeping repair costs down for the next several years and would give us time to pay it off before major repairs started hitting.... ideally

Do I want another car payment when both of our cars are paid off? Unfortunately that's probably the deal breaker. Wish I just had money lying around for good deals like this.

 

That's a nice, low mileage example. Love the brown leather. If you are in the market for something like that, I'd take a hard look.

It's funny to look back at how perspective changes from the beginning of this long running thread. I'd have laughed at a high HP SUV years ago. But now? I'd happily rock that -- or even a X3 M40i, SQ5, Macan etc. My body isn't as young as it was, and it's not getting any younger. I'll probably continue to suffer though, because I don't want a car payment.

 

"ideally" Sure, for a normal car. But for a five year old M-Class Bimmer, that might be wishful thinking. I'd be living on the BMW forums and SM and whatnot to educate myself before jumping on it.

No Stelvio?

Lego, you might feel less pressure when you get on the other side of college expenses for your kids. My youngest graduates in a couple weeks, and then we're done. Done, done, done, LOL

 

I've been loosely researching the trio of sport SUVs I posted. The drivetrains are all reliable, and routine maintenance isn't terrible, and you can DIY it -- it's everything else you have to worry about. That being said, you're probably good to 100K.

I don't want to outright lie to my wife when I say "it should be pretty reliable". Besides, I loathe taking my car in for service.



I've got like a decade before that happens lol. Taking on a car payment when I drive 3-3500 miles a year would be silly.

You're never done. My buddy is telling me how much he's dropping on his daughters wedding

 

Oh man, you're feeding backman's monkey . That X3 is as good as sold now

At this point, yes. Post retirement though? I see nothing wrong with a hobby car.

We'll pay for flowers, maybe the cake too. Everything else is on them. We're done with anything beyond them just living at home until whenever. Between tuition and cars, they could be a little spoiled. They aren't, but they could be.

 

Rough draft of for sale ad INITIATED:

It's a 2012 G37S sedan 6MT. I bought it from a forum member, Jsolo, on July 22nd, 2019 with 36,893 miles at the time and he was the only owner of the vehicle. He ordered it brand new from Infiniti in December of 2011. Right now it has around 48,xxx miles and absolutely zero issues, only a few cosmetic things like rock chips here and there. The back seat has been sat in only a handful of times, ever. Always garaged it's whole life and rarely driven in rain, never in snow (and only rarely when Jsolo owned it, I believe). Very meticulously maintained vehicle by both owners.

The mods I can think of:

Exterior:
25% tint ($250)
Black vinyl on window chrome

Interior:
RJM Clutch Pedal ($350)

Wheels / Suspension:
18x8.5 and 18x9.5 Superspeed RF03RR with Pilot Sport A/S3+ tires (wheels weigh 18 pounds each) ($1200 for wheels)
370Z Nismo red springs ($150)
Eibach front and rear sways ($600)
NEW Z1 2 piece rotors front and rear ($1700)
NEW Centric Posi Quiet pads ($150)

Engine:
2.75" CAI with custom velocity stacks by Rabbit Hole Motorsports ($500)
Ported throttle bodies ($250)
Ported upper intake manifold ($150)
Ported lower intake manifold ($150)
GTR 550cc injectors ($200)
AAM Resonated high flow cats ($700)
Fast Intentions 2.5" CBE with 18" resonators ($1800)
8lb Antigravity ATX-30 battery ($400)
Ecutek tuned by Eugene at Enthusiast Auto Care ($800)
Z1 differential brace ($100)

Total $9,450 or $10,000 with installation labor