Although I am not in that position, I know the problem, so here is my view.
I had the SLK55AMG, and when it started playing up, I had the ECU remapped so gave it a bit of a thrashing. The V8 is still missed, but the 2 seats, and the 6 trips to get it fixed in 12months did not win the heart and mind battle.
However, the performance certainly affected my choice of car since. That means, now I can put a standard down for cars and very few meet it, in my price bracket, so I don't go there. It also means that I know on the very few occasions when I really could exploit the performance of the car were so limited, it becomes a very expensive and little used toy. It did spend a lot of time cruising to places to be given about 25seconds of full throttle. Most of those who got passenger rides in it will know what I mean.
It got 2 laps of silverstone, and pretty much full belt, and several runs down a runway.
I now live looking at boats, and due to the way my mind works, and the way the motorist is demonised by everyone, the boat would be the better way to go. That is also in part due to my changing life, getting older, and feeling having a boat would allow me to go and relax while it cruises about, and you get to see the world for what it is, rather than a blur.
But, and this is the point, I can only say that, as I have been there and bought the t-shirt. (I know my SLK only had a sub 5 sec 0-62 and I got 164mph out of after its remap, but reality means, it was very quick)
So that means, get the car, for a short time, and then relax having pushed the bar to a point you will not reach again in car world, so you can live knowing you have made it. Same as the guy who walked up Everest! You know, the guy who came down and said "right, what next?" If you buy the car, you will never be able to replace it with better, or faster again, so thats the defining point.
I run about it a bag of spanners at present, but I don't look at other cars saying I wish I had that anymore. I have gone beyond, so the car I have now is the replacment for the other car (which was a workhorse) and just sits next to the sea, and ferries me about the country. (Although I just had to tamper with it so its not completly sluggish)
So, the car now, the boat 2010.
But do things with the car, like the 'Ring, and so on. Take it to a VMAX event, find out what it will do properly. enjoy it, then let someone else get new tyres, fix the worn out bits and so on. Thats what they will get for buying an car like that, cheaper, used etc.
And cancel the idea of fishing, take up reading books. Far better to be sat in a boat, in the sun, mellow to the world reading a book. I really can't see anything more dull that looking at the end of a fishing rod, for hours on end...oh wait.....GOLF (A good walk, spoilt).
