quick! what car should i buy?

2minkey

2minkey

bootlicker
so i was about to buy the car i've been leasing. because of some weird rules, i may end up having to pay over FMV for it, which i don't feel like i should do. this is unfortunate, since they aren't making any more altima SE-Rs and i really dig the SE-R badge (i had a sentra SE-R for years).

i like fast, small, nimble.

mazda rx-8 looks nice and i can get a new one for what i may end up paying for my car.

but i'm really tempted by the lotus elise. is that a foolish idea? (yeah, it'll be cool until it breaks!) and perhaps the M version of the BMW z4.

mini-S looks cool but i'd have to go to a builder to have it made quick enough to be fun.

saab aero 9-3 looks pretty decent, too.

but i think the lotus would be coolest.

cost isn't really an issue but i'd rather keep it down to around $50k. (i'm not worried about insurance costs either.)

what else is cool out there? (no GM or chrysler... probably no ford either...)
 
The Elise is a sweet ride... but I'd say stick to something in the same vein as your SE-R... maybe a Subaru WRX or Mitsubishi Lancer Evo.
I'm thinking that because you still get a lot of performance, but still have some sort of utility... it's hard to shag your woman in the back seat if there is no back seat. Or bring home a new computer, etc. The WRX and Evo should come in well under $50K.

If you would consider Volkswagen, you can get the GTI (two-door pocket hatchback) or GLI (four-door sedan). I looked at a GLI and it was $28K, and it was a little out of my price range... and then I moved, which took away what would have been my car payment money. So I'm still driving the old beater... a 2000 Neon with 118K miles on it.
 
yeah the more i think about it, the elise would be great if i bought a beater honda civic to drive on a more 'everyday' basis. the lack of truck was a big reason i got the altima over the 350z about a year ago. but the elise is sooo cool...

i would consider a VW, but everybody i know that's had one... well, you know the story.

yeah i the super peppy version of the WRX does 0-60 under 5, dudn't it? i just wish it didn't have those retarded gold rims and the giant wing on the back.

hadn't thought of the lancer evo... will check out...
 
I think you can still find a few of the Ferrari 308's "Magnum PI" cars for under 20,000. Then sink 10-15k in a restore... and you have a sexy beast on your hand.
 
Mazda is made by Ford.

That being said, I own a Mazda. It has been, hands down, the best vehicle I have ever owned for my own personal use. The only times it has ever left me stranded were when the thermostat stuck (can happen to any vehicle on the road at any moment), and when the serpentine belt broke on me, which was my fault...I thought I had changed it, but after reflection realized it was my previous vehicle instead, and I was 40K over the recommended mileage when it finally went.

To preach on another pet peeve of mine, I am firmly and irrevocably convinced that a lease is the absolute most expensive way to buy a car, and I suspect you're about to learn that too. If a dealer recommends a lease to me, I stare dead at them and with appropriate venom in my voice kindly inform them that if they insult my intelligence like that again I am leaving without another word. And I've done it.

Looked at a Benz?
 
If you're one of those people just has to have a new car, all the time, a lease makes sense. IF you're gonna make payments, all the time, anyway, why not get more bang for the buck.

Personally, I drive 'em til they don't drive nomore. Car payments suck.
 
unclehobart said:
I think you can still find a few of the Ferrari 308's "Magnum PI" cars for under 20,000. Then sink 10-15k in a restore... and you have a sexy beast on your hand.
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yeah those are pretty cool. i know a guy that had one of those and a 930. guess which one spent more time in the shop?

neither! they both pretty much lived there. so that would be another situation where i'd need a beater honda for everyday use.

newer porsches are reliable enough for everyday use.... but they're a bit pricey... except the boxster, and they suck.
 
i haven't considered a benz. too overly 'luxury' for me. i'll buy a 'fancy' brand but it needs to be more performance-oriented. but yeah they are nice.

i need to research interior space on the elise. but the rx-8 is at the top of the list, too. it's half the $ and i can prolly add a good chunk of horsepower for an extra $5k with a supercharger.. though i'm not sure they're available for a rotary engine.

i'd agree about leases but sometimes you can get a super deal when the dealer is really desperate. but i'm not buying the kind of car they get desperate about....
 
We've been pleased with our Lexus...beyond some rust damage to some part that eventually made it need to be in the shop - but that was the fault of the previous owner...or at least where the previous owner lived or something.
 
Gonz said:
Personally, I drive 'em til they don't drive nomore. Car payments suck.
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:thumbup:

The Elise is a good choice (the Europa was always a dream car for me), but if you're going to get a purpose built sports car, looking mainly to performance, you're better off with a purpose built sport bike IMO (you probably can't afford a car that does 0-60 in under 3.5 seconds, I have a 25 year old bike that does it easy). That said, I notice that hardly anyone talks about the S2000, A friend has one and it has plenty of power, rides and drives nice and it's a Honda so reliability is a given. Re Boxters, you cant' turn around without seeing one around here anymore.

You do know they make a supercharged Mini, right? Also, I have another friend who has an RX8, it doesn't need a supercharger.
 
yup know about the mini and it's under consideration. s2000 is cool too but it's well more than an rx8 and not as fast.

no bike for me. i'd prefer not to end up as an amputee. but i do appreciate their speed. i'm told 170 on a bike is quite strange...

yeah SnP i know some of those mercedes are pretty 'sporty' but i'm not going to pay for the 'prestige' and luxury that comes along with it. if i'm going to spend 50k+ it's going toward fast only. that's why the elise is interesting. it's spartan as hell. you can see the frame inside the passenger compartment.
 
2minkey said:
no bike for me. i'd prefer not to end up as an amputee. but i do appreciate their speed. i'm told 170 on a bike is quite strange...
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Interestingly, I've been riding since 1972 and I still have all my appendages. I actually only know one motorcycle related amputee (among the hundreds if not thousands of riders I've met) and his happened on the track. If you're scared just say you're scared, don't make shit up (crap like that is a pet peeve of mine). Oh, I've never gone 170 on a bike and I seriously suspect whoever told you the story hasn't either. There have only ever been two street bikes that would get to that speed and I'll bet you could count on both hands the places where you'd have enough traffic free space to attain it. I've gone 160 though (at a race track on radar on an alcohol-fueled, highly modified bike) and I must say that it's around 130 (for me anyway) where everything changes. It's not really weird, but the track (or the road) gets apparently much narrower. It's an interesting optical illusion and it's not just me. I know lots of people who have noticed the same "effect." After that things just happen faster.
 
i'm not 'scared' i just happen to know someone who is an amputee and involved in a support group for such individuals, and MANY of the folks in that group got that way due to bike accidents. or so i am told. but then maybe i am scared of riding a bike here in seattle because most drivers are only half present when driving.

and yeah, he has gone that fast, but it wasn't for long, because he did run out of space, and it's only happened once. it was not a stock bike. in fact he said something similar to what you did about there only being a couple street bikes that could hit that speed.
 
If you went Mercedes, I'd figure you'd look at something from the AMG division. That's kind of like the M division at BMW.
 
2minkey said:
yeah i the super peppy version of the WRX does 0-60 under 5, dudn't it? i just wish it didn't have those retarded gold rims and the giant wing on the back.
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One of the guys who works for me just bought one. Those wheels and wings are options. ;)
 
I know you said no domestic models, but I think this still qualifies :D

Because the Crossfire is a very impressive performance vehicle. That's what happens when you take the old Mercedes SLK chassis, the old AMG motor for the performance version of the SLK, and put a Chrysler body on it. That motor, a supercharged SOHC 18-valve 3.2 liter V6, is throbbing with 330 horsepower at 6100 rpm (just before the rev limiter kicks in) and 310 lb-ft of torque from 3500 to 4800 rpm - wow! Furthermore, this intercoled helical-type supercharger helps reap 90% of the peak torque from 2300 to 6200rpm. It pulls very strongly at 2500 rpm, despite a very tall 3.07 rear gear ratio, and 1000 revs higher it is raging on at full bore, storming forward like an animal on fire. Being one gear too high is not enough to kill the performance of the Crossfire. It pulls pretty strongly in third gear around the mid 2000's rev range, and once it winds up past 3200 it is back on track, drawing you back into the seat like a lover that's hungry for more. It takes some very high speeds to make this Crossfire's acceleration curve start to wane significantly. From wheelspin to speedometer spin to triple digit speed, the Crossfire waits for no one.
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