Thanks guys. I feel like this is pretty locked up now. I was approached by two serious buyers behind-the-scenes after post 957. I won't go into detail, but I got my full asking price and the buyer that lost out ended up letting me know last night that they would match the best offer if the current deal falls through for any reason. The current deal is strong, but it's always nice to have a strong backup too since it seems like these types of purchases don't always go through as planned. It'll probably be a couple of weeks before the keys change hands. I'll let the buyer reveal themselves and/or the purchase price at their discretion.
Skeltic - Thanks buddy. You should have jumped in after my last announcement
What's next?
Family hauling burnouts!
Haha! Actually, I think I would enjoy an astro, but my wife just isn't ready for that. I have no shame when it comes to minivans. They are a purpose built vehicle and they do exactly what they are designed to do exceptionally well. Try and explain that to a 30 year old woman though
I actually convinced her to go with an astro for about a day, but she came to me with tears in her eyes that night and said she just couldn't do it. Ah well. I'll revisit that dream down the road.
No, the plan right now is to divide the proceeds into 3 departments. 1. Baby fund (umbrella to partially cover my wife's doctor cheddar while she's on extended maternity leave). 2. Family Vehicle. 3. Replacement DD vehicle for me
I'm at the end of the pecking order, but that was my call.
I'm also selling my ~212k 04 BMW 525i. Its' in good shape but I'll probably only get ~$3k for it.
The family car is most likely going to be a 06+ Mercedes Benz R350. I couldn't convince my wife to get an astro, but we've compromised on the R350. It's fairly luxurious and has almost the transporting power of a van. It's a funny looking SOB but I think we'll be happy with it.
My replacement car is a little fuzzier at the moment. I've actually been causally looking at replacement options for several years now, and seriously looking over the last 5 months. Being the nerd I am, I even put together a spreadsheet of candidates listing their pros and cons for all my potentials. I even created new metrics for myself including measurements of mod fever, DD guilt, rarity, and sleeper levels. The mod fever metric was especially helpful because it ruled out 335i's and WRXs. I realized I couldn't trade projects for projects in the sense that certain cars are a sandbox for tinkering. I was seriously working towards buying a 12k mile 2002 bugeye WRX in pristine condition for almost a month. The problem was it was really only a pristine roller because its engine and transmission were gone. I actually preferred that as I could pickup a rev7 EJ205 from Japan with a 6speed gearbox. However, I finally rattled back to my senses and realized the WRX was just the beginning of another money/time pit and I had to put a stop to those dreams. Similar story with the < 09 335is. The TT N54 is an amazing engine. Seriously, to me it's the modern equivalent of a DI supra with 4 doors. With software tunes it can match the performance of a e39 M5. With boltons it can easily surpass it. All while being cheaper... At least initially. Walked away because I know a turbo'd car is just too tempting to mod.
I think a good bit of you know I've looked into e39 M5s and W211 E55s pretty seriously. Unfortunately I'm not 100% I'm going to able to get into one since my budget is going to be around $16k after everything shuffles out. I don't want a car payment, so that's pretty much it. $16k makes it really hard to get a cared for M5 under 100k. E55s are a little easier to get in that range but I'm still concerned about finding one with adequate service & documentation vs mileage. The newest player in my quest for a replacement cars is the MB W220 S500. I've never really been into S-class MBs, but looking at the market is swaying me. The depreciation on these is insane. I could easily pick one up with 40-50k miles on it in pristine condition within my budget and still have some money left over for goodies. Yes, they have their flaws. Everything on my list does. But, for some reason the W220s really scare people. After reading up on them for months I found out why. Their owner-base is filled with people that can't even change their own oil and they're extraordinarily vocal whiners. The warnings of cost of ownership come from the lips of the uninformed OR people who can't do their own work. Sure its going to be expensive for them to own because they truck their cars to the dealership for everything, but me? I think I'll be fine. I keep coming back to the fact that pretty much ANYTHING I choose is going to be cheaper to own and service than what I've put into the RX7 yearly for 6 years now.
I can setup a MB STAR diagnostic system and I've worked on my own german car for 5 years now. It's not complicated. People just fear the unknown and the electrical side of these cars scares the crap out of them. Not that I'm complaining. That's whats going to make the prices so sweet if I pick one up
So yes, the next car will be a big departure from the RX7. I'm getting older and I like my luxury rides.
As for the RX7, I'll be closing the loop on this build thread over the next month. I'm planning to document the last bit of work on the car (battery lead, plugs, and wires) then I'll get into posting pictures I made for the sale of the car.
It's been a lot of fun. I'll definitely be hanging around. Lord knows I won't find this level of competency around the MB / BMW forums
Lane
