So I went test driving this weekend. Looking to get myself a new car. One of my first BAMF posts back in the day was regarding my quest to purchase a new automobile (which I did, a Honda Civic EX… wheee.) so it seems only fitting that I poll you suckers for a little advice on my next major purchase. Right now I’m leaning towards the following:
- Nissan 350 Z – I actually test drove this bad boy on Sunday, after my Civic blew up. Lemme tell you son… daddy like. I tried out the 287 and 300hp models, and I was at half mast by the time we reached 90MPH, which took all of five seconds. I loved this car. Loved. It’s slick as Hell, not uncomfortable for my 6’3″ frame, and handles like a well-trained Taiwanese hooker. The only drawback is that it only has two seats… but I hate people and have little chance of talking my current girl into a threesome, so those additional seats would only drag down my gas mileage I suppose.
- Infiniti G35 – Haven’t had a chance to drive this thing yet, but I will in the next couple of days. I’m hoping that this thing blows me away, as it will completely solve the two seat dilemma of the 350Z. Plus it’s downright sexy, as long as it’s the two-door model. Those additional doors are like adding a few lbs. to Jennifer Lopez’s ass… you’re already at maximum “junk in the trunk” capacity. Any more and the bitch will look ridiculous.
Those are basically the top two at this point. I’m really just looking for suggestions and comments, so if you’ve got any, have at it. I’m not a truck or SUV type of guy, so if you planned on telling me to invest in an automobile that could possibly contain a gun rack: don’t bother.
…350Z gets my vote.Although I think I would take an RX-8 to either of those, but I’ve always been a fan of the rotary.
350Z / G35 = Same car.The 350Z and G35 Coupe are, in essence… the same car. The G35 is on a stretched 350 chassis, and they have to same engine (Nissan VQ35, V6). Only real difference is performance (G35=heavier & slower) and size (G35=4 seats). If you want performance, 350Z Track is the way to go.However, since you can slap a Vortech supercharger on either and solve the performance problem… not a big deal.At that price point, you might want to wait a year or two… http://autoweek.com/files/specials/2006_detroit/dodge/challenger/pages/01.htm6.1L, 425hp, 0-60 in low 5s, 1/4 mile in low 13s.
you can’t go wrong with nissanMy first car was a ’89 nissan sentra way back in ’95. I’ve owned Nissan’s ever since. They last forever and are well built. My first brand new nissan was an ’00 Maxima. I’ve still got it and it still runs great.
STi?Have you given any thought to the Subaru WRX STi or Legacy GT? It’s in a similar price range, similar horsepower, but it’s AWD and *hella* fun to drive. At least give it a chance– you’ll love it.
sdfsdlong time reader, from the days BEFORE doug, wrongforum/jeff, and the days of *free* pie..get the Z. No question
ummmI’m glad you established you creditials as a long time reader before you gave your oppinion…
Z is good.Here is my take. The G35 with spoiler is a very hot car. There isn’t really another rwd 2-door sports car that would be worth it for the price. The Honda s2000 is a very nice car, but a little overpriced in my opinion. 240HP 8k or so redline, very nice. The Mazda rx-8 is kind of there, but the power is a little lacking for the price. For the price you may even be interested in a BMW 330ci. IMHO though the Z is the best bang for the buck (if we are talking new cars) Also you must get either the Z or G35 in BLACK. NO OTHER COLOR WILL DO. ESPECIALLY NOT SILVER. EVERYONE HAS SILVER. IT SUCKS. GET BLACK.http://www.h-tphotocrew.com/mtk/img1.jpghttp://www.h-tphotocrew.com/mtk/img2.jpghttp://www.h-tphotocrew.com/mtk/img3.jpg
rx-8Rx-8 if you can deal with it having a few quirks and being a bit worse on gas and an oil hog. It’s hands down the best car in that class of cars. G35 handles better and imo looks a lot better. I don’t dig the way the Z looks and too many people have them. The z’s faster in a line of course, but how often are you going to be drag racing the thing? Also the BIGGEST differnce in the two is that the G35 is an infinity and their customer service is consistently in the top 3 which cannot be said about Nissan. The new vette and a boxster are both similar in price and will out preform either though you’re looking at some other hidden costs in both.
BMW FOR LIFEjust get a used M3. at least test drive one if your test driving cars already. comparing the G35 and the 350Z is like comparing a Yukon to a Tahoe. pretty much the same car. at least test drive a BMW, M3 if you can find one. fuck that japanese shit. but if you really wanna go jap, get an RX8, imo.
Get the GGet the G35 coupe. You won’t regret it.RX-8 is drinks oil, the BMW is overpriced German shit, and the S2000 is entirely unpractical as a daily driver.
D) None of the aboveYou want to blow $35k on a new clunker and these are all you’re looking at? Look at the sexiness that can be had for that much:BMW Z4: http://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/Z4/25i/Chrysler Crossfire: http://www.chrysler.com/crossfire/index.htmlAudi TT Roadster: http://www.audiusa.com/model_home/0,,bodyStyleId-8,00.html
WeightsOnly about 150lbs difference to go to a G35, so the 2 extra seats aren’t that much of a factor for gas mileage really.
HahaI pulled out and rammed into a G35 about two weeks ago. Busted up the old cranky dude’s back door pretty good.No deductible on the insurance, zing! … Got a ticket though.I vote 350 Z those things are freaking sexy.
Used CarsDon’t buy new. Get a lease return. You save a ton of money and get the same warranty. I got a Benz CLK 55 AMG and it smokes!!! It was only two years old and I got the full warranty but saved about 40k on the new one that had the same body style and basically the same features.The 330ci is a hot car but checkout the \”M\” series. Between the Benz AMG and BMW M series it is pretty close.My last car was an infiniti and I never had a problem with it for 4 years. It was nice overall and the service department was great.Get a two seater if you want to get out of driving all the time with your friends. Sometimes I wish I had that when we go out drinkin’.
Harrybits speaks the gayAll those suggestions suck. AFAIK, Sharkey isn’t a flaming homosexual and therefore all three of those cars are disqualified.
Owned a Z. BewareI owned a 2003 Z for over a year. It burned up the front tires every 12 – 15,000 miles. Went round and round with the dealer. The replaced one set and gave me a free alignment. The next time, they rotated my tires front to back(retarded), and aligned for free but wouldn’t replace the tires. When third set started to feather on the inside I dropped it. The tires are bridgestone potenza RE040 tires. Check the price.
so….I had an ’04 G35 coupe. I sold it after about a year and a half. Honestly, I am one of the people that will complain about the rattles and I dont think a 40 grand car (after premium package and tax) should sound like that, period. It was also becoming just too much $$ to maintain.Let me warn you…especially if you’re coming from Honda-land. Make sure you have money for the maintenace. REALLY make sure. I had enough but damn…it was like ALL my money was going to that car. It wasnt worth it to me.Oh yeah It was also in every couple of months or so for TSB’s and random crap that was breaking/clanking/being broke. I basically needed something RELIABLE, something I could keep for 100k miles, and the G wasnt it.
lexuswe get shitty weather in the northeast so i bought a lexus is250 awd, if you need the performance then get the is350. Imho the interior is much better than the g35
g35g35 for the win. its dead sexy
The TT….is a chick car (my sis has the 225hp one) and its small inside The Z has a cheap ass interior. Since most of your time is going to be spent inside It totally sucks. The Crossfire is just gay. Check out the new Charger with a Hemi inside the fucker. I had the pleasure of waiting at a stop light next to one of them and by the time that shit turned green it pretty much was a speck on the horizon. Well thats what I get for riding a 145 Suzuki Aerio, but still I check the Charger out.
Fuck this ShitWTF?….Buy a cheap ass ride and spend the rest on Booze and Women!!….What ever you decide to buy will break down anyways. Go to Vegas and have some fun with whats left over Mr Money Bags.
They’re sports cars peopleYou’re going to spend a damn arm and a leg on new tires, new breaks, and god knows what else on a sports car. That’s just part of owning one. That said BMWs and the likes are a lot more to get that simple stuff taken care of which is why people get the japs.
RX-8Not only do I own one, but I’m a member too! RX8Club.com! Test drive everything you could possibly think you might want. I drove the 350z, s2000, g35, IS300, TT, RX-8, just to name a few. RX-8 won my heart.The G35 would be my choice between just the two.Side Note: check the forums as well. Full of tons and TONS of usefull information.Email me if you need some extra opinions, I also sold cars in Los Angeles for about a year.
CHECK COMPLAINTS ON BOTHSharkey…You should really check into the complaints made from current and previous owners. The last major one that I heard about both cars was that the inside tread on the wheels of both of them wear down extreamly fast. According to Nissan, there was a problem with the wheels leaning in and I never did hear about them comming up with a solution to fix it.
Lexus ISI love my Lexus IS250. It was a bit pricey, but for the love of Jeebus it has sequential paddle shift.
Now for something completely differentSee if you can find a decently priced 95-99 3000GT VR4. Awesome power, decent gas mileage, great luxury accomodations, not to mention it’s a slick looking car too. Classified as a 4 seater sports coupe, it’s also a little less hard on the insurance
drop topGet the Z drop top, roughly the same price as a G35, and it looks great.
To summarize:G35/350Z – Same car, tire wear problems, recall problems, Sharkey \”loved this car. Loved.\”S2000 – overpriced tin bucket with tupperware interiorCrossfire – only really fun in the SRT6 version (a dirt-cheap SLK AMG in drag)WRX STI / EVO9 – fun cars, but different \”status\” bracket. Most people who want to drive a 350Z wouldn’t be caught dead in a econo sedan with a big-ass motor shoe-horned into the front endBMW Anything – same problems as the Z/G35; overpriced car that has squeaks, rattles, and is expensive as hell to repair once you’re out of warranty. Plus, you instantly become a tool when you own a BMW.My left-field recommendations:Audi S4 / RS6 – total sleeper that destroys just about anything on the road. You can’t go wrong with 400ish HP and AWD.Charger SRT8 – have you driven this thing yet? 4-door muscle car. 25 more hp than a Corvette, and the back seat is very hard to find on a ‘vette.Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 – 0-60 in under 5. AWD. $39k. Gun-rack delete option.And for shits and giggles – buy a used SRT4 ACR, drop $5k in mods, and destroy anything mentioned on this list. And you do it in a 4-door Neon. That really seems to piss people off.You may have noticed that I like the SRT groups’ vehicles. There’s something to be said about a 4000lb sedan that can blow the doors off a 350Z.
M3Nobody can hang with my Mazda 3 GT. I bought the car and then my income went up and now I’ll be paying through the nose next year to get out of my lease. I’ll be looking at AWDs.
EhAs far as the Charger goes, I wouldn’t recommend it for a tall guy like you. I drove one as a rental (not the hemi). I’m 6’2\” and everytime I pulled up to a stoplight I had to hunch over the steering wheel to see if the light was green because the roof is so low. Also, if you actually check your blind spots when you change lanes and not just use your mirrors you can’t see shit in the charger. The frame blocks the right blind spot and the head rest blocks everything behind you to your left.It looks like you want something more powerful, but I’ve had my Pontiac G6 GTP for a week now and I love it. Only a week, but still, no complaints. It’s plenty fast for me without having to worry about an insane speeding ticket. I think they electronically limit the max speed to 118, that’s as fast as it would go. Good low end torque too. Very good acceleration at lower speeds. It’s not really a sports car, but I don’t know what you are looking for. Comes in a coupe too.Oh, and the Chrysler Crossfire and that new Jeep look so gay I’m surprised they don’t burst into flames.
both are winnersknow 2 people with the G35 and both fell in love with it immidiately. no personal experience with either and havent heard anything about the nissan, though i’ve wanted a Z since i turned 17 and the new ones make me sploog my pants when i see em on the road.as another option, the new GTO is smokin. havent driven it but ive sat inside one and it was freaking HOT. bigger than the Z and maybe the G35 but it’s got the engine to go with it. it’s a screamer and supposedly handles like a dream.if i were in your situation, i’d go with either the Z or the GTO, and since you havent mentioned the GTO, the Z would be my pick.
HAHAHOW DOES THIS STUPID POST GET MORE COMMENTS THAN AMANDA WENK
EVOLUTION 8/9I recommend you just test drive those cars. Honestly if it does depend on what YOU’RE looking for. 2 seater? Cruiser? Pure straight-line speed, or a combination of both? If you just want an all out FUN car to drive, I Highly suggest you test-drive an Evolution 8 or 9. You won’t find anything else that has the practicality (4-doors, AWD) AND fun to drive (not to mention fast, and mod wells).
BMWI’ll throw another vote in for BMW… Though I will admit that either of your choices are pretty nice looking too. (I haven’t driven either.)
EitherAs has been said, the 350Z and G35 sports coupe are practically the same car. I’m guessing you’re looking for something that looks good and is alot of fun to drive, and in that case, there really isn’t a whole lot of other options. Really, the only other cars to choose from would be the rx-8, s2000, boxster, or z4, all of which are slower and/or more expensive. The closest thing might be the rx-8 so you may want to check it out, but I think you’ll like the Z better. If you do go with the Z, DON’T get the track model. It’s a waste of money unless you actually plan on driving it on the track. Probably go touring for the leather, heated seats, etc. The tire wear problem was only on the first year models. I sold Nissans for a number of years, and the Z always got lots of good comments from my customers. Hell, I even sold 5 to a dad and son over a 2 year period. Anyways, you really couldn’t go wrong either way, although with Infiniti you will get some better customer service (loaner car if yours is in the shop, etc) – that just comes from buying from a luxury brand.
S4 > M3I second the Audi S4 (I assume the RS6 would be out of the price range, if you could find one).Think M3 for those who aren’t wankers.
arrrrYo man fuck the rest, go with a GTO or a Charger, or a Challenger if you can wait for it. Jap and Euro cars break down just as much but cost more to fix. And BMW = overpriced pieces of shit. If you insist on a jap car, go with a EVO or WRX, both you dont see much and you cant beat AWD and 300 hp.