I considered this for a long time. M3s, 335i, exige, mustang etc

Really it just keeps coming back to a z06. I'm not a muscle car guy, nor a RWD guy, however it's pretty much indisputable that for a pick up and go package at a certain price point, the z06 is absolutely unmatched.

 

^ I wouldnt say 'unmatched' the GTR will hang with it and is priced respectively if your speaking about C6 and newer vettes.

 

He's talking about <45k. You can get '05-08 Z06 for around $40k. You can't touch a GTR for $45k.

 

The LS7 engine seems to fail quite easily also. Something to think about.

LOTS of people on second third, even saw a fouth motor, 2 times rebuilt with forged internals and still failing, the car having less than 70K miles.

Is the 2009+ dry sump setup a lot better?

 

1-2 shift has been an issue on some mustangs recently... the rear end is covered in rust brand new... next time you're at a ford dealership look at the rear axle, you will see what I'm talking about

 

That's getting less and less true every day:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...r_id=304457534

 

Yeah but that one is $60 vs. my $45k budget. There are a few $60k GTR's out there, but $60k is still 33% more than I want to spend. That's not taking into account the maintenance. I have a buddy with a GTR and he broke down the maintenance he's had to do so far on his, and it's not an amount I'm comfortable with at this time.

 

Absolutely, I would never DD a GTR. Between fluids, brakes, rotors, and tires - wow, forget about it.

 

I disagree i found several GTRs this summer in the $40-50k range besides my statement was aimed at another poster that said the ZO6 is untouchable the OP didnt bring up interest in one so i wouldnt suggest it for him, Maintainence is a given even with the Vette, I assume that since you are spending that kinda money.

If your worried about cost of ownership wait for the STI BRZ to come out next year it can be had in the LOW 30s and will be the cheapest to maintain by far.

 

Is Vette really that bad for costs? The only thing I could think of that would be expensive is the tires, everything else should be pretty common Chevy parts although I haven't really looked into it.

I agree BRZ will be by far the cheapest to maintain. Just with the light weight alone you will be saving lots of money on tires.

 

A GTR for $40-50k likely wouldn't have a warranty anymore and that's definitely not something I'm interested in. STi BRZ sounds like it would be cool, but I'm not going to wait around for that to come to market.

 

Less true? $60k is nothing like $45k. At least you could have come within $5k of his top end price.

You didn't find a clean title GTR with under 100,000 miles for 40k. Until you provide proof, I'm waving a giant BS flag.

OP, you should just get a Ferrari 599. I saw a bunch under $45k last summer.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GTR-P...item519c5b7728


If your a dumb poop and pay sticker price then no you cant find them for that cheap.
The examples i found were through manheim auto auctions one of the used car managers i work for looked them up,
The three examples i found all had between 23-47k miles on them and all sold in the $40k range.

The example i posted about gives you an idea, how much do you think that dealer REALLY paid for that car i bet they own it in the MID to LOW $50k range.
Thats for a low mileage one.
Now tack on 30K miles, and the even worse economy we had in spring and you can see where you can find these cars in the 40s


EDIT another example this sold in the last 15 days on ebay where these cars get bid up higher then value sold at 60 with only 19k miles and a clean title hmmmmm....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2009-...item2eb9b4af7c

 

The STI version that they leaked pics of might be the hot ticket for you anyway, Would be cool to own a car that most people are clueless as to what it is for that kinda money.

 

So your proof that you could have had a GTR for $40k is posting a completed ebay auction for $60k, and another where the price is set at $65k with two failed offers? If it was as easy as going to an auction and dumping $45k into a car to put it on ebay and pull $60k, we'd all be car dealers. Although markup can differ between dealers, rarely is there a $20k markup. In fact, there's not often $10k in markup, and don't forget that they usually pay transport, prep, and sales staff to sell them.

Fact: The GTR is not in the OP's price range, and is therefore irrelevant. Based on OP comments, I would recommend the Z06 hands down. If I could fit in them, I would already own one.