91 Octane

Since acquiring the latest beater, a high mileage but lovely BMW, I had been using 89 Octane mid-grade fuel, typically from 7-11. With a new membership to Costco, however, I noted that their 91 Octane fuel was about the same price per gallon as the swill at 7-11. So, about four tanks later the car is getting 1 additional mile per gallon, up to 23-24, during mixed driving of 80% freeway and 20% stop and go in-town traffic. Further, throttle response certainly seems stronger and the availability of torque between 60-80 mph is noticeably better.

Though I'm in to the car about $8000 at this point, it costs very little to insure and register due to its age (1998 vintage), and I can foresee hitting the 200,000 mile mark with not much further effort. However, and it's a big however, the suspension will need a going over some time between now (145K) and then, which would run probably $3,000 if I did the lot with a good Koni or Bilstein setup. That's still only $11K for a fun car that I can likely get close to 100,000 miles of use from. With a standard new car going for $30K plus much higher insurance and registration, I think the math will work out in my favor in the longer run.

About $1,000

That's what I hear from the independent BMW shop every time I bring in the 328i for anything. About a thousand dollars. Every time. Oil change; tire rotation; brakes; tail light out, doesn't matter. What is it about German cars that makes their parts so expensive? Though I can't answer that completely, I know that the car brings me a degree of happiness that didn't happen in other cars.

It's a visceral machine that needs just a little more work to be close to perfect. The 2.8 liter inline 6 starts with a "whomp" even through stock mufflers. That sound alone engages a connection between man and motor. The engine was rated at 190 hp when new, though with nearly 140,000 miles on the clock, it may be producing a bit less. If so, I don't notice. The thing pulls strongly from stops and always feels in the power band. Where the car really comes into it's element is through the curves. My morning commute is dull except for one or two onramps. One of them is a two-lane loop onto the interstate where I can take the inside line and keep my foot on the accelerator through the whole thing. It feels as if it may want to plow at first, but keeping the pedal down brings the car to a neutral bearing around the loop, and I'm flying by people by the time it's over. What fun! That such a routine drive brings this kind of joy to a 45-year-old wannabe racer is testament to the quality of the BMW. At $1,000 per shop visit, I hope to at least get a few thrills along the way!

Next stop: M3? What will my wife say if this turns up in the garage tonight?

The Vicious Camry

I am almost embarrassed to post this unfortunate detour, but I must. 2010 went like this: Accord-SC300-IS250 AWD-Camry-328i. Of these, this bland white former rental car haunted my garage for maybe two months toward the end of summer.

This was the random, ostensibly reliable car that I first saw on the Lexus dealer's website a few days before I fatefully returned the '09 IS 250. It had about 38,000 miles of what I can only imagine was wanton full-throttle abuse. The interior initially reeked of cigarette smoke and the floormats were gone (maybe because of the Toyota recall for unintended acceleration?). This one was about $15K and I sold it to a chap for just under $13K about two months later. The Carfax that I pulled initially did not include information about a crash the car had been involved in somewhere in Arizona. My buyer, being far more astute than I, pulled a more recent Carfax and discovered the incident. This immediately brought the value of the car way down from the $16.5 I had been asking.

Rules for future purchases: No dealers whenever possible; Under $10K, always cash; Pay for a current Carfax, and; have anything at least glanced at by a trusted mechanic.

Bimmer-Beamer-Beater?

Beater or not? $4700 plus about $1000 for new tires, fluids, belts, fuel pump, and an alignment, as well as a few miscellaneous items. It's getting 23 mpg all around with the automatic...though I would rather have the 5-speed, but that will be my next BMW. This 1998 is the last year of the E36 body style and I would like to upgrade to an E46 or an E92 for the next go-round. Not sure I'm ready for an M3 yet, plus it would be tough to find one that hasn't been redlined too many times.

Five Cars Later

2010 will go down in history as one of the most tumultous of my lifetime. The year began with me in a 2005 Honda Accord EX, completely paid off and with 71,000 miles. That car was sold for $12,000. Then came the 1993 Lexus SC300, which was $3900. Another $600 in repairs later, I sold it for $3700 for a loss of about $800.

Now for the doozy, the big bomb. I decided to surprise my wife and break my vow to NEVER have a car loan again (which I hadn't had since 2007) and pulled into the Lexus dealership one fateful noon in late July. There was a breakwater blue 2009 IS250 AWD with less than 10k miles that whispered to me and ended up in my garage later that day with a big red bow on the top of it. Though it was "affordable," my wife insisted I return the car 9 days later and get a less expensive model. It is not that easy to just take a car back to a car dealer; definitely not like returning clothing or an appliance. With no thought at all, I pointed at a white '09 Camry in the used lot and said I'll take it. So now that thing was in my garage; a refrigerator on wheels, reliable and dull as the day is long. It is now parked with a For Sale sign in the window.

What graces my garage now, and will for the next several millennia, is a silver 1998 BMW 328i sedan with 134,000 miles on it. The approximate result is that I paid about $4,000 for this "new" ride. Maybe not my smartest financial decision, but I have more fun on the apexes in the Bimmer than I did in the Honda. Pictures to come soon.

A Beater is a Beater

Rethinking my "real cost" outlay for the BB: $3900 was the purchase price in May. 7.725% Sales tax is not collected on private party car sales in Washoe County Nevada, so that saved me $301.27, and the $300 I spent on window tint was not totally necessary to make the car road ready. I will count the fluid changes, window regulator, and DMV fees for an adjusted "basis" of $4600.00 ($3,900+$1,000 maintenance/DMV-$301 sales tax).

The rationale behind the adjustment is not to simply make me feel better about the purchase, though I did negotiate the price down from $4800, I did not thoroughly road test the car, nor did I run a Carfax before buying. All of this led to not discovering the non-working A/C, the low oil level at purchase, the condition of the front suspension, and the fact that the car had failed emission testing twice before being repaired and had been in an accident in Florida on Christmas eve in 1994...though the title to the car was clean in California and remains clean in Nevada.

OK, the adjusted basis DOES make me feel somewhat better about the car, and I hope to learn from it so that if next spring comes round and I cannot upgrade to a better-than-beater car, I will at least have a stronger inspection and purchase method in place.

At 35 miles per workday and somewhat less each weekend day, I'm looking at about 1,000 miles per month and another 10,000 miles on top of the 121k on the car now. Two more oil changes between now and the end of May, 2011 at $35 per change at Preferred Auto, barring any unforeseen breakdowns, will bring my final basis to $4670 at that point. Making the wild assumption that I can sell the thing for $2500 then, my total cost of ownership, not including gasoline, will be about $2170 over the course of twelve months, or $180.83 per month, $5.95 per day, or $0.17 per mile assuming a total of 13,000 miles driven.

Admittedly, this is being selective in what I count as driving expenses, so they should be qualified as "beater driving expenses" that likely will not apply to normal cars. AAA says that a medium sized sedan costs $0.173 cents per mile to operate, not including insurance or DMV fees, though this figure DOES include gasoline, which they reckon to be about $0.12 per mile. SO, I am an idiot, obviously, because I'm REALLY paying close to $0.30 per mile to run this beater!

In the next installment of Beater Blog, I will refine these calculations so as to provide a more accurate and thorough analysis of actual operating expenses of the Beautiful Beater.

The Summer of Discomfort-No A/C in the Beautiful Beater

The National Weather Service repots a Red flag warning in effect from 3 PM this afternoon to 8 PM PDT this evening for gusty winds and low humidity for the western Nevada Sierra front...

It is 94 degrees and 10% relative humidity right now in Reno, NV. I just stepped into the air conditioned comfort of my office after the 12.4-mile round trip to the gym for my regular lunchtime workout and I feel nauseated. The five tacos and one large chocolate shake from Jack in the Box may be contributing to my queasiness, but I would rather blame the heat.

The Beautiful Beater (BB for short), my '93 Lexus SC300, has no working air conditioning. The last time I had a car with no A/C, it was a 1987 Dodge Ram-50, essentially a Mitsubishi Mighty Max pickup. Somehow, putting both windows down and venting in reasonably fresh air made it bearable, plus I was 25-years-old at the time. But twenty years later, and something may be wrong with me or age has made me more sensitive to extreme heat and cold, it's like being in a steam box during these midday jaunts. Both windows and the sunroof open, and driving at top speed makes no difference. Plus, the leather on the driver's seat is trashed to the point that the underlying foam layers have begun to emit odors of decay and rot, which is made more aromatic in near 100-degree heat.

But I don't care. Seriously. I can do 10 months of no A/C standing on my head. It will be in the 70's in a few months and then I will be a happy Bozo. Winter problems will consist of traction issues with a rear-drive car on Goodyear Eagle GT's with 35% treadlife by that time. I will cross that bridge, or slide across it sideways, when I get to it.