I was in the same position last year, on the day I was supposed to picked up my 2012 inferno orange vette , the detailers scratched the entire clear coat of the vette. So pissed I cancelled the deal.
On the way home I passed a Nissan dealer and decided to test drive a 370z , which I decided was not fast enough for me, as it didn't have a V8 and over 400 hp.
When I got out of the car I spotted a 2012 white pearl , sport package with a manual transmission, and I loved it , even with the V6 and only 330 hp it was more than enough for me and I saved over $17,000 by getting the 370Z.
After owning the Z for a year now and passing other vettes, specially the same color as the one I was going to get, I sometimes regret not getting the vette.
The one area I feel the vette was a lot better is in low end torque it had and you could have a lot of fun driving it with out drawing a lot of unwanted attention.
The 370Z really needs to be driven fast to really appreciate its design and power band, otherwise the 370Z just feels like a normal nissan sedan when its babied and the only thing that reminds you its a sports car is the road noise and looking out the windshield at the hood. The vette will never leave you with this feeling.
The other issue with either a vette , 370z or any other sports car is that they really aren't that practical for daily use or trips and you really need to worry where and how you park them to avoid , theft or damage. The main worry isn't the actual damage or theft , its the hassle of dealing with the aftermath. Driveways and speed bumps really tear up the front lips on most sports car to, depending height.
Then you also only have room for 2 ppl and to small travel bags.
If I had to buy a sports car again I would tend to just go for either a 2 door sports sedan or coupe from BMW or Infinity etc , that seats at least 4 ppl. Most will handle just as good as the 370z and are a lot easier to live with on a daily basis.
One car you should look into and test drive is a Mazda RX8 , while its not as fast as the 370z or a vette , they are a lot of fun to drive, due to the characteristics of the rotary engine, it feels like your driving a grand prix car on a daily basis and it has 4 doors and seats 4 ppl. if needed , a good used ones are available really cheap.
So unless you intend to use the car as a track car, the real fun factor is how the car performs from 0-70 mph or with in the normal speed limit.
Last edited by gsxr750; 01-04-2013 at 04:59 PM.
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