About to Order, Engine Failure Questions

[RDATLTE]

View attachment 29180

Pundit Says Foreign Leaders Just Learned The Simple Key To Manipulating Trump — HuffPost

Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell said "Trump is trying to repackage the status quo as a victory."

apple.news

 

[CA139]

So, back to the point of this thread: the OP wants to buy some cars.

Aside from the obvious financial impact (which he says is not currently an issue, good for him!) for me the biggest issue has always been storage. But then I thought about it last night, and people that have serious money usually also have no problem building serious garage space, so I guess that's not an issue either. Me personally, I don't think cars should be stored, put on battery tenders and driven only occasionally just to keep things in shape, rather than being used and enjoyed on a near daily basis. But hey, people collect things, and so if your collection is more than one, than you do have to do some kind of juggling.

OK, that got us nowhere.

How about waiting a few years to see how things settle down? Then, if you still want a BW, find a nice used one owner garage queen and get that. The engine lottery is something that no one can predict, other than to suggest that more people than not have had zero issues.

As for the GR Supra, I just bought one of those (new) in December. It just turned 1000 miles yesterday. It's a fun car, I like it. The manual transmission shifter is much better than the typical BMW stuff, but the rest of the car, except for the body, is all BMW. So it feels all familiar to me, the only real downside is that it's a low production car and whereas you could take a Z4 to a BMW dealer with a pretty good chance of it getting repaired, anecdotal evidence is that when you go to Toyota for service, they are somewhat clueless. And, you know, Toyota. The land of Camry and Prius.

Like the BW, the Supra is difficult to find, difficult to purchase at a discount, and production is ending next year I believe.

I would rather buy new so I know exactly what happened to the car, that it was never abused, that it was broken in properly and especially a performance car, never modded or tuned.

Currently money is not a problem. I am almost 50, come from a few generations of some money not huge amount and got great advice starting to invest young. I studied, then worked my ass off, worked in the family business and started investing in stock index funds and an asset allocation with my first paycheck in my mid 20's. Kids kept our spending in check and I was able to invest heavily in the big bad bear market of 2007-09 all the way to the bottom and up. As I got into my 30's I started working less to spend time with the kids but lived well below my means. Now at almost 50 the last 4-5 years our nest egg has yielded more money than I can save into it. Its that critical point of inflection where your investments start to compound and thus future money put aside is less important I could almost retire now but for mental health and security would rather keep working also to set a good example for my kids, just less work, do more things that I love and when possible spend/enjoy more.

Not sharing my job but work with public and every wealthy/rich person that retired young is very bored, unfulfilled, and has mental health issues. There's something where if all 168 hours in the week are yours you don't value them but that's a different story. So this year I am buying up a bit of a collection of manual cars as I have been driving cheap boring ones most of my life except a sport compact a few years ago that blew up after I tracked and abused it. The value of all these cars brand new is slightly less than half of my after tax income for a year. 529's fully funded years ago. So that means I won't invest anything for a year except max out my retirement accounts including profit sharing but I always do that.

The cars for the foreseeable future would live in a storage unit and not see any salt on the ground winter miles. No trickle charger as they don't have power but during winter there's always a rainy day of two above freezing where the salt leaves the roads and those are the opportunities to go out and put some miles on the car once a month or so until Spring kicks in. The long term plan will have me build a garage on the end of my property for them. Town law only allows for only enough square footage for a separate 2 car garage but I can make it taller with lifts to fit 4: GR Corolla, Supra, Blackwing and eventually a Dark Horse Mustang. All manual.

I am aware of some of the issues with servicing and repairing Supras w/ Toyota. While under warranty I would always take to Toyota can find a dealer that knows more about them. I just custom ordered one in Manual w/ PP and the driver assist in the color I want at list price and that particular dealer while not close isn't crazy far and they are known to sell Supras. They are high volume in a $$$ area. Damn I wish I knew before locally purchasing my wife's Grand Highlander turbo, would have gotten the Hybrid MAX they told me they can get me one in a couple months. Out of warranty there is a local German car shop that mostly deals with track/autocross and modded rigs, a German speed shop where a lot of people also take their German cars for past warranty work except of course my plan is to keep all my vehicles stock (reliable). I learned my lesson modding already never again.

Thanks for the update on the Supra. It sounds a lot of fun. I always wanted a lot of fun cars. I usually lived below my means but you can't take it with you. I recently almost died actually but I was nursing this idea for a long time. Now that its nearing the end of the manuals I know I'd be kicking myself the rest of my life for not taking advantage.

 

[CA139]

Thanks for this post.
And with that, this it to say that I need to get back on track myself, especially as I am the kind of forum member who complains when these threads go off on long political tangents.
So, my deepest Canadian apologies for the distraction, and, yes, stop worrying about the engine and buy a BW, they are one of the greatest things to ever come out of America, fantastic vehicle, and there are a lot of more important things to worry about than whether a magnificently engineered engine with a 7 year warranty is going to blow up.

I ordered one over the weekend.

 

[CA139]

There is a convertible Supra, it's called the Z4. Unfortunately, it's fugly.

As for the tariff discussion, they had Robert Lighthizer on 60 minutes last night. Mr. L has been a economic advisor to several administrations since Reagan, including T's first one. He (Mr. L) is, dare-I-suggest, a rabid tariff proponent, and he's dead sure that this is the right way to go. I don't necessarily agree with anything that he said, but it's probably worth watching this interview to better understand their perspective.

I went with Supra because of the better manual, because it has a more sparse interior. I like more Spartan and seat of the pants, something that drives and feels like a 1990's or 2000's car. Also I don't live convertibles and prefer the Supra styling.

 

[CA139]

Which gets us back to why - or at least maybe why - this thread has been hijacked about tariffs and other boring sub-topics and tangents, probably mainly by me.
The question has been answered.
Should you avoid buying this car because of worries about the LT4 blowing up?
F*ck no!
If it does, it will be replaced under warranty and you’ll still be driving one of the most fun and desirable sedans ever built by any manufacturer on the planet.

Like I said fuck it. I ordered one. Was told to anticipate arrival in May or so.

I have my own political opinions but recognize everybody's got one, they're worth what you pay for them, and they all stink. So am keeping what I think to myself coz I don't care about the BIG BAD BULLY DEFECATED ALL OVER THE WICKED BITCH or whatever version of tariffs affect or don't affect your feelings. I just want a collection of fun cars with manual transmission. Whomever is president is invited to my house so I can lower my pants and underwear in the back and kiss where the sun normally doesn't shine.

Here's a valid opinion: GR Corolla is a lot of fun glad I picked one up. Light and responsive like a go kart. Makes all the tuner car sounds but subtly in a civilized way. Love the LSD traction. Its a hoot.

Here's my emotional feeling: can't wait for my Supra and Blackwing to arrive. Its like waiting for Christmas as a kid but don't know the date. Then having to wait the break in miles to actually enjoy it is HAAAARD but I know I have the willpower/self control to do so.

Make Manual Transmissions Great Again. MMTGA.

 

[MookdocOE]

Like I said fuck it. I ordered one. Was told to anticipate arrival in May or so.

I have my own political opinions but recognize everybody's got one, they're worth what you pay for them, and they all stink. So am keeping what I think to myself coz I don't care about the BIG BAD BULLY DEFECATED ALL OVER THE WICKED BITCH or whatever version of tariffs affect or don't affect your feelings. I just want a collection of fun cars with manual transmission. Whomever is president is invited to my house so I can lower my pants and underwear in the back and kiss where the sun normally doesn't shine.

Here's a valid opinion: GR Corolla is a lot of fun glad I picked one up. Light and responsive like a go kart. Makes all the tuner car sounds but subtly in a civilized way. Love the LSD traction. Its a hoot.

Here's my emotional feeling: can't wait for my Supra and Blackwing to arrive. Its like waiting for Christmas as a kid but don't know the date. Then having to wait the break in miles to actually enjoy it is HAAAARD but I know I have the willpower/self control to do so.

Make Manual Transmissions Great Again. MMTGA.

Politicians suck no doubt! Anyway, let us know about the Supra. I assume it's the latest version a car I almost puked when finally unveiled but now I really like? The Giulia too...l wouldn't mind one myself.

 

[CA139]

Politicians suck no doubt! Anyway, let us know about the Supra. I assume it's the latest version a car I almost puked when finally unveiled but now I really like? The Giulia too...l wouldn't mind one myself.

You can't get the Giulia in manual. I tried a few of the modern automatics and semi autos. Yes they are better on track and faster too but far less engaging and I don't like how they kick down with more than a little gas. With that logic then the EV is obviously best but in either case you can't really enjoy the car's sounds and feel throughout the rev range giving it some gas like a manual. I don't care for them.

 

[BimmerFan]

I recently almost died actually but I was nursing this idea for a long time.

Anyone else notice how he wrote 6000 words and then slipped this in near the end?

Holy smokes dude! That will certainly change your perspective on life. Glad you survived OK and hope you are well now.

 

[Deneed4spd]

i been pondering getting a extended warranty to 84 months but the power train is already at 72 months so is it worth then $2k. Of course the warranty covers other stuff but this car doesn’t really have too many random stuff like my wife’s X5. On the flip side, they beat the hell out of the CT5 at spring mt and some of them have 30-40k miles on them. It has to be somewhat robust to handle that. So I wouldn’t worry and just order one.

I always pondered about getting a GR Corolla as my winter manual but I hear many folks sell them off early because they are just not very comfortable.

Carrot man is just throwing these tariffs in because he said he would do it and now backed off since he got some concessions of which were already promised in Dec (Canada) and old man Biden got them from mx couple yrs back without a threat. Now he can hopefully back off since he checked the box. But if he does go down the idea of tariffs paying for taxes, I think that is flawed. The world economy is a lot different in the 30s than now. Back then, most counties were still horse and buggy. Not anymore. Other counties will be fine without US exports.

On the drug front, I always get confused on what people cherry pick. Drugs is a problem so take away the drugs and the addict will stop. Then they apply diff logic to guns. Don’t take away guns, instead fix mental health to reduce mass murders.

Good to jump into engine blow up alongside politics topic. Ha!

 

[jbawden]

Anyone else notice how he wrote 6000 words and then slipped this in near the end?

Holy smokes dude! That will certainly change your perspective on life. Glad you survived OK and hope you are well now.

Ha, (not in a funny way) I missed that. A lot of those 6,000 words are about postponing life's finer things until a future date and its solid advice for sure. I hedged my bets a little and indulged in all sorts of detours and shenanigans and created some incredible memories and experiences that I never could have done (or enjoyed) later in life. Finding the right balance of (financially) planning to live to 90 while at the same time living for the moment was critical for me. Retirement is bad for your health and you never know when your card will come up.

 

[revvhigh]

My $.02 worth:

I have about 3k mi on my 2023 CT5BW.

This is the nicest car I have ever owned, or probably will ever own. I am not poor but it was definitely a stretch and a sacrifice. I had planned on keeping this car forever, I do not see myself having the spare change to buy another car of this caliber.

It makes me absolutely sick to my stomach and keeps me awake some nights knowing that in this huge investment I have made, there is potentially a grenade just waiting to explode for some random reason. I probably could not afford a $50k+ engine replacement and would just have to sell it for salvage if it came to that.

I thought my car might even have collectible value one day so I only drive it for pleasure and keep the miles low, but now that seems like a bad idea, since the engine might grenade at 40k miles, I better drive the shit out of it and hit 40k miles while it's under warranty, no? So this has completely warped my lifelong plans for how I would own and drive the car and I am thoroughly disgusted with GM.

I do not want to take a bath by selling the car at its current value and I do love driving it, so I am at a conundrum as to whether to keep hold of it and just cross my fingers and pray that I didn't get one of the shit motors, or just "take my medicine", dump it at a loss while it still runs, walk away and move on and never buy another GM product. (I have been debating trading it in for one of those hellcat Wranglers but that's another story and Chrysler has its own quality problems so IDK.)

So my advice to anyone in a similar situation would be, if a 1-in-50 chance of your engine spontaneously nuking itself after the warranty expires would be financially ruinous to you, DO NOT BUY this car and plan to hold for life. If you want to lease one, or plan to trade it in before the warranty expires, that's probably fine.

It sounds like you are in a more comfortable financial position than me, I could never afford a barn full of exotics, so maybe my recurring financial nightmare as I have described above is not something that would trouble you as much.

I sincerely hope this does not annoy anyone. I am a long time enthusiast who has reached financial independence in middle age and because of the rapidly changing environment for cars going to electric and manual transmissions going the way of the dodo I am in the process of picking up a few different performance cars to store, drive occasionally like on weekends or when its nice out and keep for a long time, like decades long past the point when all cars will be not fun as in automatic and especially electric. EV owners rave about one pedal driving, I absolutely adore three (3)!

Am in my late 40's and my objective is to keep these cars the rest of my life to cherish as I enjoy driving. The CT5 V Blackwing is one but the reports of motor failures is giving me some pause. I know it won't be in production much longer so I have two questions.

1. Does anyone especially working at a dealership or in the industry have an idea of how likely this engine failure is? I am looking for approximate likelyhood but I know there's no way to predict because they will go when they go suddenly there's no anticipating the problem AND

2. As production ceases over the next year or two, if my car should fail will there be a reserve of motors? How does it work to get a new engine especially something so bespoke and hand made on an out of production car?

Even though mileage will be very low like a few thousand miles per year 3-4k tops I am concerned if the motor should fail down the line when they stop making them how availability for replacement parts could be.

Thank you for your time

 

[1Evil55]

Don't live in fear. Buy what you can and use it when you can.

 

[1Evil55]

On the drug front, I always get confused on what people cherry pick. Drugs is a problem so take away the drugs and the addict will stop. Then they apply diff logic to guns. Don’t take away guns, instead fix mental health to reduce mass murders.

Good to jump into engine blow up alongside politics topic. Ha!

apples and pickles.

 

[Deneed4spd]

apples and pickles.

Both edible things.

 

[minn19]

My $.02 worth:

I have about 3k mi on my 2023 CT5BW.

This is the nicest car I have ever owned, or probably will ever own. I am not poor but it was definitely a stretch and a sacrifice. I had planned on keeping this car forever, I do not see myself having the spare change to buy another car of this caliber.

It makes me absolutely sick to my stomach and keeps me awake some nights knowing that in this huge investment I have made, there is potentially a grenade just waiting to explode for some random reason. I probably could not afford a $50k+ engine replacement and would just have to sell it for salvage if it came to that.

I thought my car might even have collectible value one day so I only drive it for pleasure and keep the miles low, but now that seems like a bad idea, since the engine might grenade at 40k miles, I better drive the shit out of it and hit 40k miles while it's under warranty, no? So this has completely warped my lifelong plans for how I would own and drive the car and I am thoroughly disgusted with GM.

I do not want to take a bath by selling the car at its current value and I do love driving it, so I am at a conundrum as to whether to keep hold of it and just cross my fingers and pray that I didn't get one of the shit motors, or just "take my medicine", dump it at a loss while it still runs, walk away and move on and never buy another GM product. (I have been debating trading it in for one of those hellcat Wranglers but that's another story and Chrysler has its own quality problems so IDK.)

So my advice to anyone in a similar situation would be, if a 1-in-50 chance of your engine spontaneously nuking itself after the warranty expires would be financially ruinous to you, DO NOT BUY this car and plan to hold for life. If you want to lease one, or plan to trade it in before the warranty expires, that's probably fine.

It sounds like you are in a more comfortable financial position than me, I could never afford a barn full of exotics, so maybe my recurring financial nightmare as I have described above is not something that would trouble you as much.

Geezus, if it worries you that bad sell the thing and move on with your life. No luxury car should keep someone awake at night.

 

[1Evil55]

Both edible things.

fair
Now put each item in a basket pertaining to laws. Drugs, not so much. 2nd Amendment still legal.

 

[bloominguez]

I don't have a spreadsheet its only 4 cars.

I currently picked up a GR Corolla, about to pick up a GR Supra, going to order the Blackwing tomorrow and need to save up likely for a Dark Horse Mustang sometime next year. If Toyota does come out with their new MR2/Celica "without electrification" and with a standard tranny I will get the mid engine one when it comes out in a few years.

All are or will be manual because its my favorite. I have automatic vehicles and they are no fun. I've driven EV's and they are even less fun. While they offer eye crushing power (feels like my eyeballs will penetrate backwards into my brain in a way that makes me dizzy when going WOT) they are very monolithic. You only have straight line acceleration, they don't have a complex, multilayered personality certainly not the kind that is brought out by manual. I love the mid gears and just feeling all the whines and resonances and quirks of a powerband from down low to wherever I want. I hate how even the semi-auto gearboxes will kick down if you give it enough power to start hearing and feeling stuff.

I know the type of car I enjoy driving is about to die forever and I am capitalizing on this moment because it shall not pass this way again.

+1 to buying MTs while you can, i feel the same way. Same reason I bought a 5BW and a GRC (great car, both practical and fun). Will get to enjoy a Dark Horse when my buddy (a Ford guy) gets his. And I will also buy the new Celica if/when it comes out, only if it's not a hybrid and only if it has a manual transmission. No interest in the Supra, though.

 

[albertw]

So my advice to anyone in a similar situation would be, if a 1-in-50 chance of your engine spontaneously nuking itself after the warranty expires would be financially ruinous to you, DO NOT BUY this car and plan to hold for life. If you want to lease one, or plan to trade it in before the warranty expires, that's probably fine.

I don't follow the logic. A 5% chance of losing the car prematurely is unacceptable. But a 100% chance of spending 2X or more what you've already spent by leasing or trading every few years for 20 years is OK.

 

[bloominguez]

I don't follow the logic. A 5% chance of losing the car prematurely is unacceptable. But a 100% chance of spending 2X or more what you've already spent on by leasing or trading every few years for 20 years is OK.

I don't follow the math. 1 in 50 is 2% (which only makes your point stronger).

 

[albertw]

Just goes to show that 3 university math classes don't make you competent at basic arithemetic!