Only out of college for a couple of years, this Buick would have been the last thing I would have looked at. Too big, too boxy, too expensive. I can see why Buick had an image problem. It's a gussied up Chevy Monte Carlo. (It may have had great underpinnings, but most car purchases are emotional decisions, not rational ones.)

I was too tall for the Honda Accord back in '87, checked out the Mustang, but the trunk was too small to be useful. Test drove a Honda CRX-Si. Fun car, but again too small for my torso length. Ended up buying a VW Jetta. Huge trunk especially for a compact, and I could sit in the car and not have my hair brushing the headliner. My son who came home from the hospital in that car owns it now.

Nowadays, the image problem with Buick is those advertisements on the TV that want to make me puke. Their ad agency needs to be fired. I totally understand that beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, but truth be told, I think today's Buicks are ugly. They look like a bloated cross-breeding of Lincoln styling and the lines of an over-weight Jaguar. At least they don't employ those huge gaping grills that remind me of a basking shark. (You just can't make some people happy. Rant off.)

You did it! You made the same argument we make for Tesla: you've been buying the same car over and over again. Did that to a guy at a car show here last month. Circumstances provided a 1964 Impala next to a 2016 Impala. I was telling people to go look inside and notice all the same buttons, switches, knobs, many still in the exact same locations. Not a lot to show for 40 years of supposed advancement. Oh and the 2016 made less power from a bigger engine for the same approximate mileage.

The Japanese crushed the big three back in the 80's and 90's. Took away so much market share and thru the 00's and 10's, they've continued to take market share. Why? The Japanese studied our culture. They designed cars that they though we'd like. They built in quality. Longevity. Low cost of ownership. Over 1M miles on a Lexus (odo goes to 999,999 and stops). Not many Citations that made it over 100K - GM junk.

Sorry, but I'm not a fan of the Tesla. Why?

The number one reason is that I don't like paying (our tax money) to subsidize a consumer goods producer. Giving tax credits to the public, so they can purchase a Tesla car? I would rather see the government give low interest rate loans to subsidize the company directly. This allows the company to get on it's feet, so after they can get private financing.

I could go into the other reasons, but the one above is a big one for me.

That list is a Who's-Who of forgettable cars.

And that's only GM. We have Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, AMC, Jeep, Sterling (remember how they messed up an Acura car), Merkur and Eagle.

Merkur XR4Ti or the lovely Scorpio!

Eagle Talon, Premier, Summit, Vista, Medallion, Vision and SX/4. Remember that one!

Here's the red hot Eagle Limited!

Where are my corduroy pants and turtleneck?

Back around 1980, my neighbor had a red hatchbacky wagon, but without the "classy" upgrades.

Today, BUICK is GM/China's "halo" car...in China, not USA!

Oh, for the days of 'yor when BUICK, CHEVY, OLDS, PONTIAC each had their own unique body styles, engines, and -- occasionally -- transmissions.

I thought GM should've kept Pontiac alive. They could've made it their "specialty" car line. Brought back a real GTO. Trans Am. Formula. Made a few GTO Judge cars. Or a Trans Am SD.

Toyota just brought back their Supra in the guise of a BMW Z4. And they're selling them for $35K over sticker!

Chrysler could've kept the Plymouth line open. Same thing, specialty cars.

Plymouth Road Runner! Or 'Cuda. GTX! How about a Duster 340! Or a Superbird!

I believe they'd sell!

I'm young,

I'm upwardly

I'm an urban professional.

So, what do I drive when I pick up my date?

BMW understood the value of simple, clean lines.

BMW got it. Clean style, check. Fun to drive, check. Quality materials, check. Long lasting, check. Great handling, check. Comfortable, check.

I still own a 2001 BMW 530i with over 220K miles. Drives great! Good power! Feels great inside! Looks good outside! I won't embarrass myself if I pull up to a hotel/restaurant/my friend's house in the car. Or if I need to drive someone home.

I have learned that I don't want to take a client in the car. Why? I want them to be happy with their new car and if my car feels better than their car, then they won't feel good about their purchase. I learned this years ago when I had an XJ Vandenplas and my client mentioned how nice my car drove and when they jumped in their new car, there was a sense of disappointment.

382hp 391ft-lbs torque. Independent rear suspension RWD

$1000 avg. less than a comparable year and equipped Mustang

edmunds.com/mercedes-benz/clk-class/2008/features-specs/

And with just a bit of research you can put the car in 60's mode with no ESP or ABS

https://mbworldthose-would-like-completely-disable-esp-here-s-how

No, I won't pay for your tires

Mike, the maintenance is scary on an AMG. I have clients who owned them - the worst was an S55. He didn't even get to 100K and he got hit with a $18K repair bill for the air suspension. Crazy expensive to keep on the road. That's why you can buy a $179K car for $65K five years later. And why a used 2000 S500 is worth less than the same year Honda Civic.

I did the Mercedes thing years ago. Yes, I like how they drive. Yes, I like the materials and the feel of the car. Yes, I like the performance and comfort. No, I don't like the complexity and the cost to repair when it breaks. Why do you need an electric motor on the ignition key - the key doesn't turn itself, it's to release the key cylinder so you can start the car. I paid for one of those motors before my car got to 100K miles.

Hey Mike,

That AMG car doesn't fit your #1, 2 and 3 criteria for buying.

#1. Used motors and trannys are expensive!

#2. Rarely do you see a 200K mile AMG

#3. These cars need a ton of repairs and the cost is very high.

I had a nightmare of an experience with BMW in the form of a 2009 Mini Cooper S. The engine destroyed itself while sitting at a traffic light. The cam tensioner failed and the intake valves in cylinder 4 knocked a chunk out of the top of the piston. The dealer fixed it for $480 because it was a factory recall. The extra cost was for cleaning the intake ports on the direct injection engine. No fuel ever passes by the intake valves or ports on a direct injection system, so the dual crankcase ventilation return lines fill the intake manifold with oil vapor, which solidifies in the ports and on the hot valves. This chokes off the intake passages. Talk about a maintenance nightmare. I sold that car at a giveaway price, threw in a code scanner and a Hayes manual. Good riddance.

I own a 2009 Mini Cooper which has been a horrible car.

Pros: Fun to drive. Handles well and carves through corners. I actually like the size of the car too - easy to find parking in the city. Good on gas. Looks good. Nice materials inside. And cool key!

Cons: I'm not sure who engineered this thing, but they must've been on a cost cutting program. The problems this car has had is unbelievable for a "modern" car. Motor blew from overheating. In fact, it was so bad that the plastic valve cover melted and the molten plastic dripped into the head. The oil fill cap fell into the valvetrain! My mechanic was shocked at how badly the plastic had melted.

Had a new motor put in (actually a used one) and we've driven the car a couple hundred miles, then the CEL turned on and it's been stuck at my mechanic's shop.

The older version of the new Cooper is a much better car. I have clients who have had good luck with them. The first year was not a good year though.

I have owned BMW's and they've been pretty good cars. I have a 2001 530i with 225K miles and she drives beautifully! Great car. I also have a 2009 328i that's been a good car, but it has had it's share of issues and she is still a little under 100k miles. Oil separator, spark plug coils and plugs have been changed. I expect those parts to last to 100K or more. I also had a 2006 E90 325i that was phenomenal! over 133K miles and the only issues was spark plug coils. It also felt more solid than the '09. And years ago I had a 1992 325i that was a true champion, until the dash died around 142K miles. I could've replaced the dash, but I chose to sell the car. What an nice driving car. I also had a 1997 or 98 328i sedan with stick. That car drove so well - I really liked the car, but my friend needed a car, so I sold it to him for a very low price. He wound up totalling it! And i almost forgot about my maintenance nightmare. My 1994 540i. At 85K my mechanic told me to get rid of it. It drove so nice, so I kept her. She now has 118K and she's been a problem car since she hit 85K. I'm waiting for the E34's to go up and I'm going to try to sell her on Bring a Trailer. She's very clean and I've owned her since 2005 or so. Good candidate for BAT.

I've developed a strategy for buying used beaters and fixer up vehicles.

1. Look at what a used engine and trans costs for the vehicle, if they are cheap, they are most likely dependable, if they are expensive, they must have a high failure rate, (unless they are limited production)

2. Look at how many of the vehicles you can find with over 200,000 miles

3. Research what the wear items and rebuild kits cost

That's an excellent strategy! I am in full agreement as this is how I analyze used cars for myself and my clients. I do have a point that will define a couple scenarios where statement #1 needs a bit of tweaking.

Statement #1 is in general a very good idea that works most of the time. Going back to Econ 101, the principle that rules prices is based on supply and demand. Mike's right that most times when the demand is low it's because the part doesn't break often and vice versa for expensive parts. One other factor must be considered and that's the the supply side. Supply comes from totaled cars at the junk yard or from Craigslist ads where people are stripping their own car. When supply is high enough to support the limited demand, prices remain low, however there are times when supply is short due to too few totaled cars and normal or even low demand. When this happens, prices are excessive.

Example: I highly recommend Toyota Tacoma trucks to my clients, however if I based my decision on #1 above, I shouldn't. Right now a 4.0L V-6 engine for a Toyota Tacoma is in the $2,500 to $3,500 range. Very, very few Tacoma's are blowing up their motors, so it's not a demand problem. The supply is just very short, because the Tacoma's that have been in major accidents are bought at auction and rebuilt (they retain value so well, so it's a better economic decision to rebuild vs scrap). Since the normal attrition rate is very low, thus supply is low and used motor prices are high. Items #2, number of vehicles over 200K miles is high. #3, wear item and rebuild costs are low. So one would not want to disregard this car, because the cost of #1 above; a used motor is expensive.

The opposite could also be true. There may be a lot of used cars being totaled, because the resale value is low. An insurance claim of $2000 could be enough to deem the car a total loss. For these cars, there will be excess parts available and prices will be low. #2 and #3 are fulfilled as there are a lot of 200K mile cars out there and wear items and rebuild kits are inexpensive too (again due to oversupply). So would this be a good car to buy? Not necessarily, since the car may have a useful life of 15 years, due to the quality (or lack of) of the paint, seals and interior. So even though the car was good for 15 years, it's now at a point where major used parts are cheap, however it's not a good car to buy.

I hope this helps.