Comments by "yankee2 yankee" (@yankee2yankee216) on "The Car Care Nut Reviews" channel.

  1. Those aluminum wishbones are certainly an improvement over the steel units that came before. There are no doubt a lot of improvements in the new Miatas, but I regret that they have gotten more complicated, mechanically and visually (mostly visually). I have not YET warmed to the ND MX-5 Miatas. Maybe I need to drive one?
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  2.  @michaelmartin4366 My BMW 128i has been totally reliable for 50K miles, but I also (until recently) had a Toyota 4Runner, which was totally reliable for 200K miles… There is no denying that the Toyota was far more durable than ANY BMW, especially over the long term.
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  3. I’d say “take the antenna off to take the car through a car wash”, however, the real message is DON’T TAKE IT THROUGH A CAR WASH (especially any convertible)! Car washes damage the paint, and convertible tops, and occasionally takes off parts… It’s a small car. It can easily be washed by hand.
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  4. I have a 10yo BMW, a 128i coupe, which I’ve owned for 6 years and 50K miles (now at 60 K), and apart from a couple of expected minor issues (oil filler housing gasket and some ignition coils), she has been trouble-free. Of course I have an exceptionally reliable model. I’m her 2nd owner, the first having been an older couple in SoCal, who special ordered the car. She is a “stripper,” i.e. ordered without any options except metallic paint (deep blue), leather seats (parchment) and wheels (18”). She is iDrive-delete, and she has the 6-speed manual transmission. On top of all that, she has the in-line 3.0L 6 (N52) that is used in many BMWs, which is exceptionally reliable (for a BMW). BMW has a bad reputation for reliability, but so far, in 50K miles, mine has been pretty reliable, and inexpensive to own. BMWs being extremely good cars from the perspectives of performance and luxury, a lot of people find them to be well worth the trouble and cost. The thing about BMWs is that if well cared for, they CAN last a long time, without major issues.
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  5. Sorry, but “Does the Miata still HAVE the Magic of the Original?” I never thought so. I own a 1997 M-edition, NA, which I consider the pure Miata (I would prefer a ‘94, one of which I owned for 11 years). I have always thought the NDs were a little over-the-top, i.e. trying too hard to look like a supercar… But I WOULD have to admit that to drive (I’ve never driven one), the newer Miatas/MX-5s must be excellent. Everybody says so! Personally, I prefer the NA-NCs, in appearance, which still preserve the simple roundedness of the Lotus Elan it was based upon. If I could have a second one, it would probably be an NC, possibly with the folding metal top. There’s nothing else like it!
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  6. I’ll sell my now appreciating BMW in a few years, likely for thousands more than I paid for her! It sure is nice to drive a spectacularly beautiful, highly desirable high-performance car for 10 years, for less than the cost of an old, wrecked Corolla…
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  7.  @goatninja5303  An 83 is a B, and for most people, that’s good! It’s satisfactory, if not the best possible. For the money, in the middle range, the new Supras must be among the best sports cars available, or even possible! There must be better sports cars, for a lot more money, but not much better!
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  8.  @kapuatron  Good maintenance and maybe replacing a few plastic engine parts I believe will work wonders. From watching I do cars, a big problem in many BMW engines are the timing chain guides, which seem to be involved in many failures. Other than that, changing the engine oil and other lubricants more often than the factory demands is a good idea. I change the synthetic oil in all my cars (I have 3, plus my wife’s) every 5K miles, without fail, which is about once a year. I also change transmission and gearbox oils every 60K or 120K miles, and most maintenance as the factories require. Other than that, I fix what needs to be fixed, and I keep them reasonably clean (a never ending task) and garaged.
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