[V8] Replacing your V8? You may be out of your mind!

[John Bysinger]

I think you hit the nail on the head with your maintenance comments.  As an
older jeep owner who likes to take it off road and push it's limits, I know
the value of having the option of parking a vehicle and taking the 'spare'.
I don't have as much time for maintenance as I used to and it's nice to have
that option.  With the v8 here, we're a 3 vehicle house with 2 drivers I
know I can always take my time with maintenance.  This proved quite handy
this last weekend when I decided it was time to R&R the heater blower motor
(thanks to Chris Millers great writeup.)

I for one love not having the $500 a month car payment + insurance costs,
yet enjoy driving a car that feels like it does.  I can't compare it to any
late model Audis as I have never driven them, but I will be keeping this car
around for quite a long time.  (And if I keep reading this list daily, I may
give in to peer pressure someday and buy a 2nd haha)

-John
'90v8

-----Original Message-----
From: v8-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:v8-bounces at audifans.com]On Behalf
Of Stephen B. Harper
Sent: Saturday, June 04, 2005 10:51 AM
To: v8 at audifans.com
Subject: Re: [V8] Replacing your V8? You may be out of your mind!



I think the thing to remember is that everyone has different thresholds
with regards to the automotive shenanigans that they are willing to put
up with.

I love my V8, and having driven a few newer vehicles (see my previous
post) and toyed with the idea of getting something newer, I can honestly
say that they don't measure up.  So certainly for the short-to-medium
term I have no intentions of selling the car.  Somewhat ironically, most
of the arguments made against the Saab and the Jaguar (excepting the
fact that they don't drive as well) are the very same arguments that
were made years ago by people opposed to my purchase of  the 5000 Turbo
and then the V8.  At that time, the nearest Audi dealer was a 45 minute
drive away (now it's 5 minutes!), and there were only 4 or 5 Audi
dealers in the entire western half of Canada.  Nobody wanted the cars,
resale value was a joke, and reliability was an altogether different
issue.  How things have changed for Audi during the last 10 years!

Having purchased the V8 in 1993 for $35,000 CDN, I have subsequently
spent an additional $30,000 CDN keeping it in perfect running order.
The car has stranded me on many occasions, and has at times been
frustrating to deal with, but to me personally the pros outweigh the
cons.  But as a Lotus owner, I do recognize the fact that not everyone
has the time, patience, and money to keep an older car on the road,
especially if they are not mechanically inclined and don't have a second
vehicle.  For example, the Lotus requires approximately 1 hour of
maintenance and repairs for every hour of driving.  As much as the
people on this list are true die-hard car enthusiasts, I doubt that many
of them would be willing to own a car that requires that much of a
commitment.  Everyone's standards are just a little bit different.

As our V8s continue to age, there will be more and more people on this
list who will be faced with the prospect of getting a newer vehicle.
Nothing lasts forever.  Perhaps the best thing I've ever done is buy
another car to act as a supplement and backup to the V8, thus ensuring
that I'll always have access to reliable transportation while also
helping to split the mileage.

Regards,
Stephen
1990 Audi V8
1993 Isuzu Impulse
1975 Lotus Elite
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