New Car: Tough Decision

[Hiltonian]

My friend just totaled my car and my insurance gave me a check for $8200. I have another $9000 that I want to put towards a new car. So I have about $17,000 to work with and i've narrowed it down to three cars: 350Z, G-35, or an RX-8. Since I only have 17 grand to work with, money is a huge factor in this decision. My obvious favorite out of the three is the G-35, but i'm not sure if it would be the best decision to get a G-35 that sells for only 17 grand.

Right now my primary source is ebay and I have been checking around on car auctions for about a week. With only 17 grand to work with i'm most likely getting an older model (probably '03 or '04) so that I can afford it. Which car is the best buy for my situation?

[vikefan24]

Get a used Cadillac and throw some D's on that bitch

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

Not the RX-8. I don't know about the quality of each car you can get for $17k, but I'd go G35, then 350Z, then RX-8. The wankel engine is pretty sweet, though.




Are you really that hard set on these exact three cars?

[Mondogarage]

Any G35 you can afford at that price is most likely to be a 2003 model with over 100k miles. While it's definitely the best of the bunch, if you're not willing to finance $4-5,000, you're pretty much going to be scraping bottom of the barrel on the G35 front. For $22k or so, you might actually be able to get an '04 or '05 with 60-70k miles.

Anyway, it is an awesome car. But if your budget is only $18k, you might want to consider the Altima with the 3.5 liter. It's not the same, but it really is pretty badass for what it is.

[Osprey]

You can get a decent RX-8 for $17K. But then you have to repair it if something goes wrong. It sounds like there are good and bad ones out there, but RX-8s are a big gamble, and I wouldn't without a warranty.

[inside??]

[ QUOTE ]
But if your budget is only $18k, you might want to consider the Altima with the 3.5 liter. It's not the same, but it really is pretty badass for what it is.

[/ QUOTE ]

[SackUp]

Why pay all cash? You should typically finance the car if you can get a decent rate so you have some cash on hand in case of problems.

You can get a loan at like 5.9% at pentagon federal credit union. You can almost get that amount back by putting the money in a high yield savings account - and you have the money on hand. You can also afford a bit higher of a car.

I purchased a 2005 G35 manual sedan for $22,000 with only 17,000 on it. This was back in November of 2006. This was a great deal, but if you look around you can find it. I looked on autotrader.com and ebay daily until I found the deal. I got it from a toyota dealer who abused a dude when he traded it in. It is in mint condition and under full warranty.

Go for the G35 and finance some of it - the best car of the group. Just do your homework so you get a great interest rate and a great deal on the car.

[kabouter]

I would pick the z350 here, simply because I hate the rx-8 look, and the G35 will have a lot of miles for that price.

[mbillie1]

Where are you located geographically? Used car markets can vary to the tune of a few thousand bucks, it's worth checking out surrounding areas, poorer towns, etc. I live in a poor-ass town and used cars can be like 1-3K cheaper. It's worth checking out. Of the cars you picked, I like the 350Z but that's mostly a "cool" factor I guess. I'm not sure how much style points count for you, but I know that you can get a great condition Honda or Toyota for $17K that will run forever, might be a better long term solution (although admittedly much less baller)

[NoSoup4U]

You should consider a WRX, almost always the best answer for bang for the buck questions.