Re: Disco expensive/difficult to maintain? Posted by kkaeding on December 30, 1998 at 18:40:19: In Reply to: Disco expensive/difficult to maintain? posted by Rubi Dhillon on December 30, 1998 at 15:37:35:
The situation with a L-R is no different than with a Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes or any other car in this class-- there are two types of owners. Hobbyists tend to buy these cars at the bottom of the depreciation cycle and enjoy learning where they can get mail order parts, who locally can be trusted to attempt repairs on certain types of problems, etc... these people enjoy talking about their experiences and giving advice and also enjoy hearing about the experiences and advice of other enthusiasts. Indeed, cars in this class all tend to have a loyal following. I have a '98 L-R and an old Mercedes with almost 250,000 miles (in perfect running condition, with extremely low maintenance and repair costs). Owning the Mercedes has been alot of fun for me, but I do know other Mercedes owners who are of the other type-- let's call them non-hobbyiests... they tend to buy their cars before they depreciate significantly and they tend to just have them repaired at the dealers. A good friend of mine is a Mercedes owner, non-hobbiest, and he told me his theory on why Mercedes are expected to last forever-- it is because the dealer slowly over the years replaces all the sub-assemblies within the car, so essentially you are slowly getting a new car over time-- very expensive, but this goes with the territory on this class of car. L-R takes the sting out of this by offering such lengthy warranties, but there is a reality here that should not be ignored. A dealer does not have much freedom in how to service a car-- there is a protocol that must be followed (and there are very good reasons for this). If you want economical transportation, buy a two year old entry level Honda or Toyota. If you want to drive a L-R or any car in this class, either find a reputable dealer and just accept the economics of the situation or become a hobbyiest. Now before anyone jumps on the "hobbyiest" bandwagon, understand that there are ups and downs-- part of being a hobbiest is learning at the school of hard knocks-- not all the advice you get is sound, and seldom are expectations met. Many a dealer can tell stories about hobbiests who were too smart for their own good and did things that were really stupid. Hobbiests are a hardy lot who take the good with the bad. Owning any car in this class can be pure joy or a pure nightmare-- it depends upon your temperment, expectations, and ability to appreciate reality. Sorry if this is a little preachy. Just thought I'd give my two cents worth.
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