Are lexuses cheap to fix?
If you are buying something old, it will need fixing. If it’s one of those where a new rear view mirror is NT$25k, then a rebuild of an old suspension will set you back a damn sight more.
MJB’s most suited vehicle!
[quote=“Mr He”]Are lexuses cheap to fix?
If you are buying something old, it will need fixing. If it’s one of those where a new rear view mirror is NT$25k, then a rebuild of an old suspension will set you back a damn sight more.[/quote]
Yes and no, import the 2JZ parts from the states and its cheap.
Getting someone to install them or to diagnose whats wrong with the bloody thing in the first place is troublesome and expensive 
VAG 2l turbo is the most ideal engine for taiwan, hell the 1.8t with mild tuning is awesome for here, but finding a QUALITY car with said engine at a good price is impossible…
2.0L VW only the diesel versions or the older GTI golf they bring here but Audi with 1.8T i think good enough. A4 should be nicer than a lexus
Agreed, but try finding a good used one… 
Guys, this is MJB we’re talking about here. Plus family. I don’t think he’s gonna feel happy cramming all his stuff and people into a Golf… we’re looking for a power limo on a budget, okay?
740 iL would be good… tires are expensive, though.
[quote=“sulavaca”]MJB’s most suited vehicle!
[/quote]
440ci Police Interceptor…Oh yeah baby!
Planning to have a look at this one tomorrow…1997 735iL
And this from a supposed high end dealer down south that often procures governmental cars and such.
Was it a submarine? Only closer inspection can tell…And they even offer HSR pickup.
GS300 is still my first preference though…What a quagmire to wade through.
Hm, I think the black 740 iL would be good, kind of back to the sicilian roots or so… 
I hope you are good at spotting well concealed water marks.
Is this where I get into trouble for warning everyone not to buy BMWs?
Tyres being expensive are the least of the problems. At least tyres are reliable and a great deal more predictable than anything else on a Beemer or Benz for that matter.
Personally if it had to be German then I’d go VW and then Audi and in that order, then I would stop.
What’s wrong with Beemers? Two of my brother-in-laws have had them for over 10 years and have been very impressed – one is a rather staid gentleman, the other is an airline pilot who drives fast. Both have been VERY impressed by how little they’ve had to spend on their rides over the years and the fact that they’ve been so utterly reliable.
Flyboy, in fact, just sold his and replaced it with an X5, which he also is very impressed with.
My sister, on the other hand, is mightily pissed off with her year-old Audi (XX? – kind of station wagon/hatchback-type thing) – nothing but problems!
I had a BMW for a few years and it was a good car. Didn’t have much problems. But it was expensive to get fixed and the people at the BMW shop are real snooty. I had the most problems with the security system that someone had slapped into it.
nothing wrong with Beemers or Benz…it’s just that Beemer, Benz and Taiwan cannot be used in the same sentence!!
I know that’s the sentiment being put forward, but my question is why? Both my brothers-in-law live here in Taiwan and drive Beemers they bought here, which they’ve both been very happy with over the years. My sister lives in Edinburgh and bought her Audi there.
Come to think of it, there’s a Forumosan here who’s driven some kind of Mercedes for several years and he seems to like it, too.
I am certain and fully aware that great numbers of people swear by BMWs and Mercs. These brands have such a huge following and they represent certain points that users wish to exude.
Many people who refer to their cars as “very good” will also tell you that they do suffer faults, but by their opinion are acceptable. In this case I say “so be it”. I can’t argue that common faults should be acceptable or not. Each to their own at the end of the day. I’m not going to argue that top sales numbers aren’t achieved by the two Bs and Lexus in Taiwan.
I’m simply stating that from my own personal opinion and experience sourcing and checking the two Bs up until now, that they are extremely poor investments.
I am also certain from a technicians point of view that they are troublesome, very badly designed vehicles. Up until the mid nineties a typical BMW or Benz had brakes that were indistinguishable from a Morris Marina. They recently suffer larger numbers of faults, are very expensive to repair, if repairable at all and the used market is riddled with the poorest of examples which are almost always faulty, crash repaired or simply beyond rescue at much higher prices than much better alternatives.
I will also say that the opinion of a technician and the opinion of a driver may sometimes be two polar extremes. Even drivers and sellers who will commonly tell me that their vehicles have suffered no problems at all, show multitudes of problems on closer inspection. I have come to think that many drivers don’t actually know or can’t actually distinguish a faulty car from a trouble free one.
I’m happy with my Golf now. It’s more me.
Ah well, I’m pretty sure there aren’t many prospective buyers who include their mechanic’s ease of work in their buying decision. 
Still, your point of view is sobering and worth balancing with my family’s experiences, which are that Beemers are the dog’s bollocks. Of course, they bought new, but I’d buy either of theirs off them in a heartbeat. They just don’t go wrong. Ever! Unlike, say, wee sister’s shitty money-pit of an Audi.
I have always asked my mechanic or anyone better at it than me for their opinion. I know my limitations, and well, a 25k NT wreck I would not care about any issues, IE if it drives it’s good, but say NT$300k?
An older second hand car will have things go wrong. If it’s a strong construction and repairs are relatively cheap, the damage to your pocketbook over time will be smaller.
If you buy an expensive but rather old imported car, where you are not 100% clear about its history, you risk a lot of unpleasant surprises, once it is yours.
I knew of one bloke, who bought a second hand Saab from a friend. My brother is a mechanic, and he had told me several times that saabs are great, as long as you buy them from new, you will have nothing but problems with them if you buy one with say 200,000 km on the clock. He did, and a constant theme in our conversation was the current thing going wrong on it needing to be fixed. It cost nt$25k most times, I think, and there were a lot of those. He was rather sick and tired of it by the time he got rid of it.
If I were to buy one, I would get it checked through, and still consider it a folly. if I were to buy a lexus, I would wait until I could afford a new one.
Ah well, I’m pretty sure there aren’t many prospective buyers who include their mechanic’s ease of work in their buying decision. [/quote]
I wasn’t actually referring to the ease of work associated with the vehicles, but the reason for many of the faults associated with them. Of course ease of work is a factor, but not the driving factor in the majority of car purchases. It is something which I would state is a strong factor in Taiwan however.