Purchasing a car in the US, advice appreciated

note: the convertible was not built by nissan so safety isn't guaranteed by any means. for me and my 240sx, the rolling over part isnt such a big deal being in california, but in the snow region i'd add a rollbar...
the tops however are very nice quality, fully powered, not manual.
 
Havnt visited this thread in a while...
v0od0o said:
Ok more news and more stuff to think about people.

I've learnt today that the market trade-in value for that TT is around 26K, that means if you have one and walk into a dealership they will take it from you for 26K no questions asked, the guys at the used car dealership wanted to give it to me for less than 24K, basically that means that the deal is most probably too good to be true and the car must have serious problems. CarFax is no assurance too because I've learnt that you can get around it and have accident records deleted from the dmv and the carfax report. All this is from an insider in the car dealership industry.
So that basically means that the TT probably has something wrong with it. This friend at the dealership told me he could look for a good deal on something used for me if I wanted. A z4 or a G35 for around 25K

On the up side I paid another visit to the bmw dealership to discuss the z4 2.5 leasing options, they told me it's the end of the month now and they get new deals on Monday so they'll call me back with the news then.

AND, and this is an important one, they gave me a spin on a '95 M3 with 70K miles on it (very low mileage in 10 years), certified pre-owned, just came in, and the salesman wanted it to himself but they refused to give it to him. It's in excellent condition and has the luxury package which means dual zone climate control, heated seats, 8 way powered seats, cruise control. Only problems are 1)its age, 2) wood trim, 3)it's an auto

But it's only 16K, it kinda fits the bill for a cheap car, and it's soooo much fun to drive I just couldn't stop the grin on my face when I drove it, and it's an M3 after all
What do you think of that now?

P.S.
Drove the rx-8 today, didn't like it. No steering feel, doesn't pull as hard as the z4 or even the TT, very low torque on low revs, gear shift not at all what I'd call smooth, and of course strange sound.... I really wanted to like this car but I just couldn't
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Between the Z4,G35 and TT, i'd go for the G35. I like it and we dont get them here in Aus. But what you said about the 95' M3 was interesting. If it puts such a smile on your face, it would be better + you will save yourself a lot. You can actually live with this 95' M3 cos of all the luxuries it has.

Personally i'd save the cash and go for the M3 :D Forget the 300ZX :roll:
 
AutoMX said:
note: the convertible was not built by nissan so safety isn't guaranteed by any means. for me and my 240sx, the rolling over part isnt such a big deal being in california, but in the snow region i'd add a rollbar...
the tops however are very nice quality, fully powered, not manual.
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The convertible was built by Straman as a Twin Turbo conversion initially in 1990, with a rollbar and manual top. In 1993, Nissan produced an in-house convertible 300ZX based on the NA 2-seater model that was almost identical to the aftermarket version, complete with rollbar and manual top.

Interestingly enough, the less-expensive 240SX had a power top, while the Corvette-fighting 300ZX had a manual top... :?

SL65AMG~V12~604BHP!!!!!!! said:
Between the Z4,G35 and TT, i'd go for the G35. I like it and we dont get them here in Aus. But what you said about the 95' M3 was interesting. If it puts such a smile on your face, it would be better + you will save yourself a lot. You can actually live with this 95' M3 cos of all the luxuries it has.

Personally i'd save the cash and go for the M3 Forget the 300ZX
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If luxury accomodations are what you're ranking them against, the 300ZX has all the M3 does except the badge cachet. Both have two seats and decent space for stuff. But more importantly, both are fast and loved for their performance and handling (even though the 300ZX is a seemingly whopping 3400lbs, it doesn't feel that way).

And while I love the M3 and wouldn't think twice about killing a busload of nuns with a hacksaw for one, my only misgiving with this particular one is that it's an automatic. Blasphemy! It's like garnishing a delicate medium-rare Porterhouse steak with ketchup, or feeding crack to a stable of racehorses. It's sacreligious.

Don't buy it, vo0d0o. People will laugh at you, old ladies will poke you with canes, beautiful women will refuse your sexual requests, and Jehovah's Witnesses will pee in your mailbox. Don't do it! Think of the children! :p
 
the 240sx and 300zx convertibles were sold through nissan dealerships as a factory option, but i know for sure that at least the 240sx was chopped and converted by a california based company, i forgot the name but i have their business cards in the owners manual of the car, it's called Nissan Performance or something like that. as far as i know, and i've heard this from quite a few people, the 300zx was the same thing. this sucks badly since there's few if any replacement parts. the 240sx convertibles also had a very complex trunk strut assembly which i have not been able to find on other non-convertibles...
 
BlaRo said:
Don't buy it, vo0d0o. People will laugh at you, old ladies will poke you with canes, beautiful women will refuse your sexual requests, and Jehovah's Witnesses will pee in your mailbox. Don't do it! Think of the children! :p
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loool :lmao:
 
Hi guys, I know I've been a headache for the past few days, it's not easy at all car shopping (but it's still fun ;) )

So I've got more news, I heard back from bmw ppl today, they have a fully loaded z4 3.0, spots pkg, premium pkg, xenon headlights, m sports seats, heated seats, just about everything. I configured a similar car on bmw's website and it wasvery close to $50K

They've made some discounts for me and the numbers on a 30 months lease now work out to $4K down payment (around $1200 refundable), and $630 a month all inclusive with 12K miles annual allowance.

I really really like this car and I am seriously considering it now. The residual value is around $29K so after the 30 months I can refinance those 29K (should be easy) or return it back to them if it's worth less than that in that time's market value.

Should I get it?
 
I was going to say "go with your instinct" based on a test drive, but reading your blog it looks like you've already tested the TT, Z4, and the G35. Sounds like the G35 is a good match between the two Germans. Plus, it looks far better in my eye and has more features than the two, though a top-down thrills make for a compelling argument for the Z4.

Either way, you can't go wrong! :thumbsup:
 
Gut instinct v0od0o. I should have bought that 99 328is but I didn't. I'm still kicking my ass about that. That was my gut instinct and I didn't go for it.
 
I think I just did :D

Just came back from the dealership, they gave me a $3K discount on that fully loaded z4 3.0

So hopefully I'm gonna be leasing it for the next 30 months, we already started off the paperwork and I should bring them the rest of the paperwork on Tuesday so that I apply for approval.
If all goes well I should take delivery of it in a week or 2 max. :mrgreen:

And I still can't believe I did it :D
 
i always thought and always will think the z4 is a beautiful. back when it was launched, everyone thought it was ugly but look now and it can only get better.
 
patrick10 said:
i always thought and always will think the z4 is a beautiful. back when it was launched, everyone thought it was ugly but look now and it can only get better.
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Definitely gunna be a car that ages well, i always thought it was quite the looker, and im not too fond of non M Bimmers. good choice! :thumbsup:
 
v0od0o said:
I think I just did :D

Just came back from the dealership, they gave me a $3K discount on that fully loaded z4 3.0

So hopefully I'm gonna be leasing it for the next 30 months, we already started off the paperwork and I should bring them the rest of the paperwork on Tuesday so that I apply for approval.
If all goes well I should take delivery of it in a week or 2 max. :mrgreen:

And I still can't believe I did it :D
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We are expecting photos of the car and a huge grin on your face in a few weeks then!
 
watto said:
v0od0o said:
I think I just did :D

Just came back from the dealership, they gave me a $3K discount on that fully loaded z4 3.0

So hopefully I'm gonna be leasing it for the next 30 months, we already started off the paperwork and I should bring them the rest of the paperwork on Tuesday so that I apply for approval.
If all goes well I should take delivery of it in a week or 2 max. :mrgreen:

And I still can't believe I did it :D
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We are expecting photos of the car and a huge grin on your face in a few weeks then!
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YES PHOTOS! Cant wait to see it :D
 
Oh, wow! Great deal on that Z4! Definitely go for it.

From what I've heard, the G35 is a bit numb and not very engaging...not unlike other Japanese cars in its class. As for that RX-8...well, I can't say I'm surprised that you didn't like it, considering the other cars you've been considering.

What color is that Z4?
 
patrick10 said:
i always thought and always will think the z4 is a beautiful. back when it was launched, everyone thought it was ugly but look now and it can only get better.
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Ironically I've always thought it was ugly, at least the front end....
Now I'm not quite sure :D

Weirdly enough I just got a t-shirt that has your avatar picture on its front, Pink floyd's 1973 tour? weird coincidence.....
 
SL65AMG~V12~604BHP!!!!!!! said:
We are expecting photos of the car and a huge grin on your face in a few weeks then!
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YES PHOTOS! Cant wait to see it :D[/quote]
Of course! photos inside out, everything.

Dr. Woo said:
What color is that Z4?
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It's toledo blue metallic, I'm not really a fan of that color but that's the one I could get my hands on.
With black leather interior and aluminum trim.
 
^If thats the colour, I like it :) Whats wrong with it, it looks cool? I think theres a sport pack or something on the Z4 pictured cos the front lip looks a bit diffrent.
 
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