If this ever moves from daydream to reality (I like to think of my daydreams as planning for reality) it'll be necessary for me to justify the more expensive choices as at least half-decent investments. Even if my wife didn't insist on it (she would) I can't see spending over, say, $40K for a weekend car that is going to be worth $20K in 3 years. I'm too cheap, there's a reason why I buy all my cars used.
So that's why one factor is whether the car will depreciate from here. 512BB prices have stopped going down, they're not really going up yet , probably a good time to buy. XKE prices have been going up, although they are incredibly dependent on condition, with a Series 1 nice restored driver worth 25-30% what a top-condition concours car is worth. The Lotus will keep declining until it reaches Toyota levels, and by then they'll be disposable cars, costing more to repair than to buy. Not sure about 928s, I think their declines have mostly stopped but they'll never be worth very much, being far too common and not particularly popular when new.
So this desire to not lose money would rule out anything new, be it the Porsche Panamera (?) or a Factory Five, also most 911s, such as the 993s.
I love the 3.0CS, not sure if its going up or down from here, but it is the most beautiful BMW ever made.
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