Xoutpost.com - Update - pulled the trigger - Thinking of buying a car....

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Quote:

Originally Posted by X5rolls (Post 687333)

I'm thinking of adding a car that I will drive everyday, looking for power, quickness, handling and it must be an old school manual transmssion. Prefer a 2 door, convertible is nice but not a must have.

No more garage space so it will sit in the driveway and I want to be able to park it in a resturant or store parking lot without worring about someone messing with it.

Cars I'm considering for a test drive before I narrow it down - Anyone have any of these cars and can share some insight?

08 BMW M3 coupe
07 Corvette Z06
10 Shelby GT500
10 Camaro SS
09 Audi S5
0? BMW M5

Not on the list for $$ reasons and it needs to sit in the driveway vs inside the garage and I don't want to worry about it. Also more of a dream car list for me.

Ford GT
Aston Martin Vantage
Ferrari California
Ferrari 348 or 360
Corvette ZR1
Lambo Gallardo

I'd say get an BMW M5 '06+ and kick the wife's car out of the garage......

I'm currently looking at an M5 myself.

http://images.autotrader.com/images/..._A.562x421.jpg

No Audi R8 or Maserati?

They are all good, so you can't go wrong.

R8 is unique and I like the way it looks. Maserati Gran Turismo with a Ferrari engine is a very cool car as well. However, both are beyond the budget we have set so they don't get on the finalist list. I'd be happy with either for sure although very different cars from one another - but that is ok because beauty runs deep in both.

Took an 07 Z06 and a 2010 Shelby GT500 out for test drives this weekend.

The Z06 was not as comfortable, the seat bottoms were short, strange. It is a great car with tremendous torque all across the rev range. I especially liked the heads up display. Car is well balanced, 3300 ish lbs. Clutch take up took a little getting used to, it's hydraulic and it's essentially all or nothing, it engages all at once. Not a big deal but different feeling than mechanical clutches. This particular car however had headers and a non stock exhaust - sounded amazing but the sales guy told me after my test ride that it didn't come with any of the remaining warranty. It was the headers. He is checking but they are leaning towards installing stock manifolds which is ok but they want 4500 to do that. So that car isn't going to do it for me. Someone is going to take some heat at the dealer for buying a car that voids the warranty.

The GT 500 actually surprised me - I was not anticipating how impressive this car actually is. 550 hp and 510 tq is a little hard to put down but the car is very easy to drive with no surprises at limits (just driving on the road), it's comfortable, has great brakes, super short shifter, great steering wheel and the sound it makes is really incredible. A little front weight biased and a tad heavy around 4000 lbs but very predictable and easy to drive quickly and fast. The power feels flat across the band and when you spool up the super charger you can hear a whine (not too pronounced) that reminds you there is a blower under the hood - pretty cool.

Two very different cars, the Z06 is quicker and goes faster but I think the GT500 makes for a better daily driver.

I'm thinking about the GT500 as a convertible - it will give up some of the handling, lose some of the stiffness (it didn't have a jarring ride) but there really isn't anything like top down driving in the nice weather, especially with the sound coming from the engine and pipes.

That GT500 would be my suggestion as well for your "situation"... (lucky bastard :D)

As much as I love the M3/M5, those 2 (vette and GT500) you test drove are both great cars, and the GT500 is just an amazing car for the price. The owner of the dealership I work for has an 07 (bought in 07) that he has added rousch stage 3 supercharger, 1 piece driveshaft w/loop, full exhaust, adjustable suspension and drivetrain links, etc. He now has this car pushing over 900hp with all the add ons and loves it. He bought the new camaro ss... and hated it. Only kept it for a week before giving it back to chevy with great dissapointment. He stated that the GT500 fully stock would out perform and out handle the SS with the greatest of ease, and is much higher quality overall.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thunder22 (Post 687343)

This is your list of "leave in the driveway and not worry about someone messing with it in a parking lot?" You must be over-vehicled. :confused:

08 BMW M3 coupe
07 Corvette Z06
10 Shelby GT500
10 Camaro SS
09 Audi S5
0? BMW M5

:rofl: i was thinking the same...

Chevy dealer called and will come back back with a better offer and make it a GM certified used car which equates to 12 months 12k miles bumper to bumper, plus comprehensive inspection etc. on top of the standard 100k mile powertrain warranty. If they are willing to make a really really good deal down from their asking price, I'll have to give it more consideration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JoSB5_PF0Y

Starting to look at the available Shelby GT500 convertibles in the eastern 1/2 of the US today. Not sure about colors, I want to see the Kona Blue in person, in one of the pictures it looked a little purple. Metallic grey with black stripes is interesting and the black with white stripes is striking but hard to keep clean.

YouTube - First Test: 2010 Ford Shelby GT500

Again, I recognize how very fortunate I am to have these kind of choices to sort out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thunder22 (Post 687343)

This is your list of "leave in the driveway and not worry about someone messing with it in a parking lot?" :confused:

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking!! None of those would I even consider parking near the general public - my X is 8 years old and still doesn't have a door ding on it. Of course it does have a dent in the passenger side, but that was from the previous owner.

Y, being obviously partial to Vettes, (though that 'Stang is Titz), I am surprised you didn't drive a C6 Vert, in addition to the Z06.
But, verts/cabReOhLays, regardless of brand, are fun: sort of m'cycle feeling with the top down, but one has the comfort of 4 wheels...
GL on your hunt.
BR,mD

Quote:

Originally Posted by X5Dawg (Post 690986)

I should qualify/clarify the parking lot comment. There are few if ever times I will even consider parking close to the entrance, typically I'm looking to the very back of the lot on an end space as close to the curb as possible. Unless I'm in a rental car truth be told.