I would never buy one without a full warranty from the dealership. That's just asking for a disaster.

No one is laughing. It's just fun because you made the ImportConvert show fun and entertaining. You were like the Rebecca Black of the forum. Z06 Corvette, 370Z TT, which car should I take? We hate and love you for that.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to see you finally get your Z06.

<3 u Import Convert. <3 you always. :tup:

Yeah I'm not, but I will be living with the family and paying for a house too by then. I was kind of the same way with my last car purchase, but just with my family and friends instead of on the forum. The only thing holding me back was getting my parents permission to get the Z. When they finally said yes, I got the Z 2 weeks later :)

:bowrofl:

Most of the crap I got was from the Corvette/Viper forums, actually. There are some seriously snotty 'vette/viper owners who think anyone under 30 just COULDN'T POSSIBLY buy a 'vette/viper on their own. They are forgetting its a dodge and a chevy, albeit nicer than the normal images conjured by those names.

The 370Z TT setup was just something I considered after seeing on on the highway. It looked clean and I liked the interior of the car. After looking into what I would have to do to make it work like I wanted, it seemed like a $55K answer to a question that would better be answered by spending a little more and getting all the resale/warranties that a car in that price-range should have.

Still, I considered it, because I would HATE to spend this kind of $$ and have not considered all options.

Cars I considered:

-'08/'09 Viper
-'11 Z06
-'09-10 GT-R
-'12 GT500
-'12 Cayman R
-'11 370Z TT
-'11/12 E92 M3

Reason I went with the Z06:

The Viper had a poor warranty and costs about 50% more than a Z06 to work on, doesn't offer cruise control or other creature comforts, and has a small tank and poor mileage (sucks for road-trips), no traction control, and only about 5% better performance when driven by world-class drivers.

The 370Z TT setup would have no warranty or resale and was not as well-rounded a package as the Z06. The interior is nice, though!

The E92 M3 is more of a luxury car with performance, not a performance car with a bit of luxury. Mustang GT's are ringers for it, and I wanted "more" after racing a few Camaro SS's in my WS6 and being dead even with them and seeing how the mags got the same #'s out of the SS as the new GT. I viewed the M3 as a step up from my WS6 in luxury/handling only. I wanted a bump in speed, too.

The Cayman R. Tons of pricey options, not much faster than a stock 370Z if you get over the PDK or go from a roll.

GT500. Didn't like the driving position, the SRA, or the shifter and the reports of grinding transmissions left and right.

GT-R. If I were to buy one, it would have to be new after reviewing all the grief the transmission. What did it for me was the long-term test car that one of the magazines had where they said "It does great, there is a little hitch in the transmission, but nothing to worry about" something like that. Yeah, I knew I'd worry. Also, Nissan doesn't discount them enough to put it in my budget of trying to stay under $75K total TTL/Warranty, etc.

The Z06. Interior was comfortable and of good quality but looked a bit dated. The rest of the car was superb, as was price/warranty, etc.

I went with the one I could afford that wouldn't wrap me around a tree for looking at it wrong that would still stomp 99% of the cars out there and look good doing it and have all kinds of warranty backing it up.

Anyway, I put a ton of research into each car on my list and that's what I came up with. Maybe that will help OP in some way.

I'm not a family kind of guy and didn't want to buy a house where I live. I am waiting for this car financing deal to take my credit to the near 800 region before I buy a house--in some other state. Louisiana is crap.

I did similar research when buying my car, just my budget was significantly lower. My family/friends got tired of me talking about it, especially when I asked them for help in making the decision. :icon17:

My budget was all over the map but I guess at the end of the day I am cheap.

My co-workers actually talk about my car more than I do it seems. They haven't even seen it.

Nothing wrong with looking for the best bang for buck. Of course you missed it by not going with the M3 :roflpuke2:

:icon18:

When it came down to the G37 vs 370Z for me, not a single person I knew or asked picked the Z. Everyone said I should have gotten the G. When I brought my car home, every single one of those people changed their mind and said I made the right decision. :)

True. I mean I toyed with the idea of ordering a 2012 GTR for crying out loud. I definitely should have bought the M3.

Should have gotten the GT-R or the M3, then maybe I could have driven your car :p

I would venture to guess that there are very few engineers less than 5 years out of school that own a Lambo. Of course, that's also because most people choose to spread their money around - nice house/apt, nicer clothes, going out more, and the big killer (family). But if you live like a poor college student while you are working, then sure, a Lambo is attainable. Actually, in the south you see something similar with people living in a busted old trailer park with a brand new SS camaro in the driveway. (And by driveway, I mean the patch of dirt and gravel out front).

The real question is, 5 years down the road will your priorities still be the same? Maybe, maybe not.

In the end it's your life, do what makes you happy.


/threadjack complete

Yeah I did mention that my priorities would probably be different by then. I guess I do live a sort of Spartan lifestyle when it comes to things like going out. I'm not talking about a new Lambo here though. You can get a 5-6 year old Gallardo for under $100k, which is the only way I would be able to get one anyway. I'm more likely to get a GT-R anyway.