With our rides surpassing the 10yr mark and with them selling for as little as $15K (less than 18% the cost of new), what are your thoughts on 'new' owners getting in to these rides. The majority of the cars out there no longer qualify for warranty coverage so anyone that owns a car either has to be good at performing their own work, or have a decent sized wallet. This was afterall a vehicle that cost $85-90K USD new ($120K CDN) and when you are an owner that is buying vehicles that expensive, you aren't concerned about what it costs to maintain or you only own long enough that the vehicle is covered by warranty.

I've always had a concern that because the price to get in to one of these cars is now as low as it is, that some owners find out the hard way that owning becomes a cost prohibitive proposition. They've always wanted to own one and can now finally afford to purchase one. They then jump in head first and realize after a while they are having a difficult time still justifying ownership - cost of gas aside. Yes, it matters on what maintenance work has been performed over the years, and yes it matters that the bit ticket items (TQ, Tranny, DRC) have been attended to, but there is still brakes, timing belts, etc. Hell - even an oil change if you have zero mechanical skills can set you back a host. Money-pits aside (there have been a few examples over the years), I find these cars to require no more maintenance than other similar performance cars. I'm personally fortunate enough to do all my own mechanical work irrespective of complexity so having more than one of these hasn't been a true 'burden' on the pocket book.

Just wanted to hear other members thoughts on whether or not you agree or disagree with these observations.