hi all.
first, i want to thank Al Gore for 'creating' the internet. without him i could not have found such awesome source to feed my obsession.
i have been lurking around for a while and reading the board and getting some good information.. but straight answers and opinions are hard to find (of course, everyone loves their pagodas..)
anyways, i have always been a japanese car kind of guy. what i want above all is reliability. Only when that requirement is met, i will consider style, love, and everything else. i have been a long admirer of old cars' beauty and soul (and always hated the nature of my japanese cars).. ever since i was in high school, i have wanted a mustang fastback.. but the reliability aspect of these older cars kept me away.. i just don't have that much time to deal with it.
past year, i have been researching stingrays and fastbacks. Only recently i have found that pagodas are not so prohibitively expensive and sounds like there is good reliability to be had for a 30 year old car. and it is soooo beautiful!!!
anways.. i been looking around, and it seems like i can get something in good condition for about 40k.. which seems like a bargain to me.
i am wondering..
how many of you use your car daily (not that i plan to drive it daily)? what year and model is most reliable in your opinion?(i guess i want to have pre-emission control year car). are there alot of horror stories?
i am almost tempted to run out and buy one right now, but fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how one looks at it) i am on a foreign assignment in Russia for my company for atleast one more year.. so i have plenty of time to research more. I plan to purchase something that can be my passion when i am back in california in a year or so..
My passion has been motorcycles(yes, god awful sportbikes and racing) and i am feeling my age and i may have to give it up as i met a girl which i will soon marry. I am not sure if i want to be riding sportbikes when i have a wife and kids... it would be unfair to them.
i have put some cash aside so i can buy a new 911 upon my return (no car payments please!) but i am beginning to feel that porsche is not going to keep me happy.. when i look at older porsches, they just look old, and not beautiful...
anyways, i would greatly appreciate your opinions in regards to any aspects of this post.. maybe about recommendations of which year and model(main theme here), maybe about the stupidity of my obsession over owning an 'old' car (my friends don't get it).. any input would be appreciated..
i hope the value of the cars don't go up too much in next year or so..
thank you.