[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by 911_Dude

I understand what you are saying. But its really just a mind set adjustment. I have 4 cars and two bikes I maintain. Only the Cayman R is new. Your right, the new cars have a bunch of ECU modules. But as a DIYer on these newer cars you just have to accept that you need to add a laptop and cable to your big red tool box. There is aftermarket software for every car maker out there that will do most, if not all, of what a dealer can do. For the Cayman I bought a Durametric Pro cable in a group buy. Once you get used to the software, I think it will be very helpful as another tool in the tool box. Another expense? Yes. But the price of doing DIYs on newer cars. You can justify the expense like any other tool. Guys were saying the same thing when OBD ports first showed up on cars back in the 90's. Once you get past the software layer, they are all the same.

Kurt nailed it in his reply below. I'm not a technophobe, far from it actually. But there are manufacturers that lock down their code such that an aftermarket program (like Durametrics) will not provide access. In those cases you are SOL without taking it to a dealer or very well equipped independent.

Originally Posted by javadog

I think you should ask your wife what car she would be interested in. Nothing on your short list is anything short of vastly expensive to maintain. There are many cars out there that would probably be a better choice, both for casual use around town and from a maintenance standpoint. Something like a large, older Lexus, for instance. You have a couple of toys already; why add another one?

JR

It's not for the wife JR, I only added her opinion as commentary. She frequently dislikes my cars, that's why she has her own shiny new one. As for me, I have a genuine dislike for boring cars. Sadly interesting tends to equal maintenance intensive, but you have to pay to play I suppose.