Agree with AK: used is used. I would wager people with sports cars tend to baby them more (maintenance) then you going to get a nice used Accord/Camry/Altima etc...where people beat the snot out of the when cold, give them jiffy lube and call it a day.
Bottom line is cars are more resilient then we think: used is not the risk it once was. Stuff breaks on anything. Being an educated consumer and patient is key.
My first used sports car I got with 50K on it...sold it with 154K and it was quite well behaved (including a ton of mods I put into it).
Next used sports car was the 370Z. 2400 miles on it, someone didn't really fit in the seats well. Win for me.
Third used sports car is the Cayman we now have. Its still new, and yeah got an extended warranty for some piece of mind (wife wanted it, not me so much).
You an read the reliability studies and perhaps state that Honda or Toyota eek out a few points in issues per 100 then other brands but honestly, Nissan is right up there. A bulk of their cars are Altimas, Maximas, Sentras, Versa etc...the Z contains some unique components, lots of shared ones.
OP: find the lowest mile/year car you can find in your budget. If a few K is going to stretch you too thin...you should *really* reconsider the price point for now and save longer. I would shop within 5K ranges, so say 25K is your top end. If that hurts too much, then lower it to 20K.
- b
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