Car question

There are quite a few BMW-certified mechanics out there who are pretty familiar with the components, as far as Florida goes. I don't know all that much about the market in Texas, but I'd assume it's similar. Parts are expensive though... maybe the Nissan would be the best route because its parts should be comparably less expensive and therefore maintenance costs should be lower. The nissan z series is pretty common in the Ft. Lauderdale area, but yet again, I don't know what the market in texas looks like.

The 370z is quite nice, as is the Z4, but I've known Subaru vehicles most of my life. Durable cars that can take a lot of wear and tear.

I wouldn't get a BMW unless it's an M or a 3/5 series.
the Z4 (and Z3 for that matter) is more like a mid-life crisis kind of car. in terms of a car you actually want people to see you in, the Z4 only ranks slightly above the Mazda Miata.

you would eventually regret owning a Z4.
you'd never regret owning an Impreza or 370Z.

my vote is for the Nissan.
it's the most unique vehicle of the choices, the best looking, and provides at least as much "headroom" (if you will) as the Impreza when it comes to aftermarket capability. if you're into working on your cars to make them faster then you should know that the 370 takes to bolt-ons extremely well. you won't have to drop a lot of cash to squeeze out a lot of extra performance. and you can do most of it yourself with basic tools in your driveway.

c'mon, who could say no to this?

Co-worker of mine swears by his Impreza WRX and having been in it I can see why. Not familiar with the other ones, but the Impreza seems like a robust car.

I would definitely test drive both the 370 and Impreza.
but don't waste any time with the Z4.

The WRX is a great car (test drove one before I got my tC), but they aren't built for quiet and comfort. They are pretty loud. Definitely worth a drive, though.

Jacks:SmirkingRevenge said:

c'mon, who could say no to this?

Click to expand...

There's a point where I gave up the M3 search and started looking at these. I dunno though. I hate how they went with the pacman design on the head/tail lights. It's also a very bubbly car and while it stands out, I would still prefer the more subtle and classy design of the BMW.

Definitely +1 for an Impreza or WRX. Both the 370 and Z4 are awesome but definitely a bit more expensive and not quite as practical. So deciding between those would really a be a question of how sporty you want your car to be. I just think the WRX would be the best of both worlds while being more affordable in the long run. You might also want to check out its rival at Mitsubishi.

Are you looking at used cars at all? There's always tuners. I love GT3000's or even Civics they're done properly. A Dodge Stealth is almost literally a 3000 but for less. The main problem here is just finding cars that haven't had the snot beat out of them or have been owned by morons that have no idea what they're doing.

I would for sure not get the Z4. It's way too small for Texas, and I wouldn't recommend it for here. That's a final thought there.

The Impreza WRX will make you crap your pants. It's so much fun to drive and it handles the best out of the 3 choices you originally went with. I have worked on them before and it's ok. Lots of power crammed in there, as is with most cars these days. The power and AWD make it a great Texas car, especially since we get some ice and snow every now and then. It's also great for the rain, not that we get it much here in the DFW area, but still, it's there and it's very useful. Another thing is that the Impreza is bigger. You have more head room, and the 4 door option too. The exhaust sound is great. I love it. It's more comfortable than the 370z too. If it was my purchase, I would go with this car.

The 370z is a sports car. Great for Texas, not so great for the roads here, at least in Fort Worth, they aren't all that great, and last time I was out in Dallas, they weren't all that great either. The 370z sits lower to the ground and you do have more road noise. But fuck that, you'll be jamming to some nice tunes I'm sure anyways, so don't worry too much about the road noise. It's a rear wheel drive car, which are fun as hell for driving around corners and doing burn outs. It's smaller of course, so I didn't care for it. I'm 6'2, and found the Impreza much more comfortable. The 370z is sport tuned (most of them anyways) so it's going to be a bumpier ride than the Impreza (which you'll buy in blue... right?)

What do you plan to do with your TC? give me some quick specs about it, and how much you want for it. I'm looking for a convert car that I want to start working on rally racing with it.

I own a 2003 BMW 330CIc (Convertible) it's great. It's sport tuned, and it's much rougher than the Audi A4 I have. I also have a Toyota Tundra, which I love. The BMW is a fun sports car, even though it's quite heavy because it's a convertible so there is added support through-out the car. The Audi is great during winter and longer road trips because it's much more comfortable, but is more expensive to fix. The truck is most excellent to have here in Texas, where 75% of vehicles are trucks.

Go with the Impreza. You'll have more fun, and they know what they are doing with their cars.

GT-R Black > 370z

Subaru Impreza WRX all the way. My first 2 cars were Subaru's and even though they were ancient, they were great.

Since if I recall right you live in the Plano-ish area, there are plenty of places to have fun with the WRX's offroad and RS offerings.

70k miles is NOT high mileage for a modern car. More in the range of 150-200k miles. Also, never judge a car by how many miles are actually on it; the much more important factor is how well that car was maintained and how the car was driven over those miles. Mileage is NOT a reliable method to judge how mechanically sound a car is.

The best way to judge an engine is visual and aural inspection. Look at the engine from all possible angles (including under the car, if possible) and check for rust, leaks, and smoke coming from places it shouldn't. Leaks will usually be at the front of the engine (pump gaskets, front main seal) at the rear of the engine (rear main seal) or the top of the engine (valve cover, cylinder head gaskets) and at the sides of the engine (exhaust manifold gaskets, etc.) Listen to the engine with the hood open at both idle and at ~50% throttle. It should sound smooth, relatively quiet, and exhibit little-to-no visible vibration through all RPM ranges.

Transmission and driveline components go into account as well. If there is grinding or slipping while driving it means something is on it's way out (gears, differentials.) If certain gears are hard to shift into on a manual, it's a red flag (synchronizers are probably worn.) Any of these things will eventually require rebuild/replacement of the driveline component.

Just some things to keep in mind, is all.

go for either the Mitsubishi Evo or the Impreza!