Need car purchasing suggestions....

So I had a BMW 135i with the twin turbo straight 6 engine and that thing was a blast with a few bolt-ons and a tune but I hated the turbo lag. So I got a 2013 Mustang GT and that car was amazing I loved the engine in it but I hated the suspension. Then I ended up in a Honda S2000 and I loved the suspension on that thing and it was pretty quick, but not quick enough after a while and I sold it to buy a house. For a while I was rocking a Miata which was a delight just like the s2000, but now I sold that too.

What I really want is a car with a good suspension and good power on a naturally aspired motor. I'm trying to spend less than 15k but if a unicorn comes along for 17k I might be able to figure something out. So far I seem to be looking at C5 Corvettes and e46 BMW M3s. Trying not to get anything TOO old. Are there any options I'm missing?

Well everything you mentioned is a 2-door so have you considered the GTO's along with the C5? Also, the Nissan/Infiniti duo can be pretty competent with a large aftermarket (350/270Z and G35/G37). I think a C5 is a great bargain at the moment.

CobraSpdRH wrote: Well everything you mentioned is a 2-door so have you considered the GTO's along with the C5? Also, the Nissan/Infiniti duo can be pretty competent with a large aftermarket (350/270Z and G35/G37). I think a C5 is a great bargain at the moment.

I don't think a GTO would fit in the good handling department too well. I had an '04 and it was quite heavy, and you could feel every bit of that 3800lbs when the auto-x course was very technical. I love the car as a powerful and comfortable GT cruiser, but a Miata, it wasn't.

Sounds like he needs the Vette.

If you can wait a little bit I'll have a C6 Z51 M6 coming up for sale for less than your top budget price

Yea, C5 is gonna be really hard to beat, weighing performance against buy-in and maintenance costs. From everything I've read, the M3 is going to be in a whole other stratosphere of upkeep.

GTOs are cool, but much more GT than sports car. They're bigger, heavier, are limited in the amount of tire you can fit, and certain parts are (apparently) getting difficult/expensive to find. Keep in mind this is a car built in relatively limited numbers for only a few model years on a bit of an oddball platform.

So now that I've already poopooed cost of ownership of the M3, how about a Porsche 996 or an FD RX7 ?