Help me pick a car
 

I kinda started the idea with my other thread about the 240SX. Anyway I'm looking for a good daily driver. Winter is coming and I really don't want to put my Z31 through the winter, the 76 obviously will not go through the winter. Besides the Zs aren't exactly the most practical daily, although the Z31 has been fantastic sometimes I'd like to be able to carry more than 1 passenger in a car that doesn't have a kidney smashing stiff ride.

Anyway I'm basically looking to find a car under $10k I'd go up to $10, but I'd prefer to stay lower as I've already sunk a good amount into the 280Z and there's still more to go. I'm trying to find something newer, late 90s into early 00s. I'd think 4-door would be more preferable, but I'd go 2-door depending on the car. I want something that has a nice ride, nice interior, looks decent, and hopefully has a little power.

I think I might go look at a 2000 Lexus GS300 tomorrow. So we'll see how that is.

Subaru.

^^^ Hopefully you mean WRX / STI because that's the only Subi worth mentioning. :D

I suggest a nice BMW E46 (325i / 330i or 325xi / 330xi AWD). You can find 01's for $6k-$9k easy. And you'll be cruisin w/ elegance & style.

http://www.rearent.lv/teksts/images/...01BMW330xi.jpg

I agree, Subaru....get a 2.5RS, 2002 or newer, maybe a 2004 WRX would be nice...BMW are nice also.

I might have to look into an E46. My friend has a 97' 328is. It's pretty nice, handles good, rides good, and has a decent motor. Everyone is always like holy crap a BMW, how did you afford something like that.

I was going to go check out a Lexus today like I said, but it was all rainy and I didn't feel like standing out in a lot in the rain. Hopefully tomorrow, I'll have to start browsing around for some Bimmers.

You guys have an opinion on miles? Like the GS300 I want to look at is a 2000 and has 100k miles for around $8k. I'm sure you can get them to go down. I'm so used to driving things with well over 100k.

i dont have problems with my z being a daily but i cant hauld my friends any where in it, just my fiance.
all my friends are hella fat for some reason, i guess skinny guys get fat guys as friends to level the feild out?

so i am in the same boat.
subaru is OK but older ones like Loyales are still not fat friendly and i am having a hard time being to tall and driving it.
so i am checkin out older mercedes, should be able to find a decent one for 10 grand. more than i am looking at but they are cheap to insure and i am looking at the old ones that dont break as often

I think the GS is pretty sick! Can't go wrong w/ the 2JZ motor. Or you could be a big baller & get the GS400 V8 version. I worked on an LS400 (same V8) this spring... Toyota motors are just like Nissan's. Tho the 400 engine bay is cramped as hell.

100k miles is no biggie as long as the previous owners took care of it (always ask detailed maintenance questions: how often oil is changed, what type of oil, who did the work, any receipts, major repairs). I bought my 92 325i from a 65 year old guy who needed to replace it with a new model for his wife. That car was babied.

lexus in general have cramped bays i've noticed but those are pretty cool cars

Thanks for mentioning the bimmers I do keep coming across some 00-01s around 7-8k. Actually they have a nice looking black 325i at the same place as the GS.

Well, I didn't go check out a GS300, instead I went and test drove an 03' Infiniti G35 Sedan. It's a really nice car and I loved it. Plenty of power from the VQ35, automatic, but that's something I really don't mind. I know the coupe is sportier, but I do like the 4-door and kinda prefer it. The car is comfortable, quiet with a good sound system, but the suspension is rougher than I expected. I like it as it to me more resembles a BMW, smooth, but stiff enough that you have good handling. Just overall the interior seemed very nice and like a nice all around car. I still gotta look at some Bimmers too, but I think I'm already swaying towards paying a little more and getting the G.

Right on. Can't go wrong w/ the G... unless you're in a blizzard. :D

I'm on the prowl for an E39 530i... they are amazingly cheap these days!

Attachment 20650

I wonder how the G35x does in a blizzard? Since it has basically the ATTESA-ETS or whatever 4WD system that the GT-R uses, but that BMW there is not a bad looking car. I haven't settled on anything yet. I'm using this opportunity to drive and check out different things. At least this way I can feel serious when I go into a dealership about wanting to test drive the car.

I went and drove a G35 Coupe today. An 05. It was pretty awesome. I do have to admit in person I love the look of it. It's literally like a 350Z 2+2 with a functional back seat and better styling in my opinion.

Well I'm still looking around. Have some more cars to look at, but I started thinking maybe I could go into a higher bracket and buy a much newer car. Finance it and see, so I've been looking at more cars. Here's what I've driven so far.

93' Nissan 240SX
95' Infiniti G20
00' Infiniti G20
03' Infiniti G35 Sedan
05' Infiniti G35 Coupe Sport
05' Lexus IS300
06' Lexus IS250 AWD
06' Lexus IS350
06' BMW 330i w/6-speed Manual
07' Nissan Altima

I'm planning to go test drive an RX-8, 07' Subaru STi, and my friend was recommending driving a Mazdaspeed 3. I really like his Mazda 3 as it seems like a really nice car, and the speed3 supposedly is pretty quick. I've started to broaden what I'm looking at. The Altima was the salesman at the dealer trying to get me to test drive something. It was a nice car, but the interior was a little lacking and 140hp in a car like that is just way underpowered, plus the CVT is weird.

The 330i was a nice car, smooth, handled great, the power I felt was a little weak. When I jumped back in my Z31 I felt like it had just as much go if not more than the BMW.

The IS250/350 are very nice. The 250 isn't bad, but definitely feels underpowered. I know they have a regular RWD 250, but I'm having a hard time finding one to test drive. The 350 is pretty much identical except it has a lot more power/go.

So right now I'm kinda somewhere in the middle, for a while I was determined to only get a really nice car, but now it doesn't quite matter to me so much. I'm just looking until I find something I really like at a nice price. I'm thinking I do need to go check out some E46s though.

Z32 2+2 with a TT swap? :lol:

300ZX 2+2 auto, non-turbo... :)

Ha, Bleach might be right, although I may as well get another 2-seater at that point since those backseats seem pretty darn tight.

Well I went ahead and test drove an:

04' Mazda RX-8 w/6-speed
06' Subaru Legacy GT Limited
07' Mazdaspeed 3

Out of all the cars I've test driven, they're all nice and decent in their own ways, but for some reason I'm finding that I seem to like the Mazdas. They have their own unique styling for the interiors and they seem fun to drive, while looking decent.

Subaru Brat

Do it to it.