[Shop-talk] Let's run right out a get a Porsche

[Jim Franklin]

> On Jan 21, 2026, at 8:05 AM, Douglas Shook <dirtbeard at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I think Moose's 2015 "cut-off date" for purchasing a vehicle is sound.
> 
> Remember when exhaust systems on new cars would rust out in three years (in Northern climates), starters and alternators would need to be replaced by 50K miles, water pumps, hoses and radiators would be fortunate to last 70K miles, brakes would need to be relined every 20K miles, etc.? Spark plugs, wires, caps, rotors, etc, were regular maintenance items? When cars would be high performance if they had over 250HP, and average gas mileage was in the teens?

Agreed - my '04 WRX went almost 200k with needing only one easy to reach sensor. 

> 
> I have never leased a car before, but I almost think that now it may make sense to do so if you want to drive a new car. Buying a new car and keeping it for ten or 15 years does not sound like a good option anymore. I just cannot imagine what one of the new cars will be like to own once all of the electronics start to age and fail, or what equipment one would need to try to even diagnose the faults, let alone get to the defective part if it still is even available.

I'm looking at CX-30s, and they had a head cracking issue around 2020. The fix was to replace the engine, since getting to the head was a multi-day job even for the dealer. I hadn't considered leasing but as I near retirement it seems like a more and more viable option. Everything else is going subscription model, why not cars?

> Attaching a photo of two of the old cars that I still can maintain. ;-) 

I wish you hadn't done that :-)   I bought a house with no garage with the intention of building one but I live in MA and this year it decided to finally have a real winter. The ground froze a week after I closed and there's no sign of a thaw. 

jim

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