This probably won't be a popular thread, but I decided to make it anyways to get the opinion of my fellow Lexus owners

Let me tell you a little about my situation. I just graduated from college in June and bought a 99 GS400. I've loved the GS for a long time. I still remember the night back in 2000 when my family and I were going to a David Copperfield show, and we passed a GS400 on the road and I fell in love immediately. It's rare that a car can make that kind of impact on me that 6 years later I can remember the exact car that made me fall in love with the model. I've wanted one ever since then, so being able to afford one right out of college was a dream come true...partially

The problem is, I really don't want or need a 4 door sedan weighing 3700lbs. I'm a young, single male, and I like to drive hard (I don't drive stupid though, I got over that back in my high school days when I used to race my mother's 138hp Camry ). I got a great job right out of college that let me easily afford the GS, but I had to buy the car in the summer before I started work since I needed the car to drive to the US (I'm Canadian) and commute to work. That meant my parents had to lend me the money to buy the car this summer, and they refused to lend me the money to buy a sports car, so I bought the GS since it was the best sedan I could get.

Now I'm close to paying them back for the GS and while the past 6 months of GS ownership have been great (besides having to pay for a new starter 2 days after I bought the car ) I still want a sports car and I find myself dreaming of a smaller car that's more tossable than a midsized luxury sedan.

I've basically narrowed my choices to either a Boxster S or a Corvette. I'm looking to spend no more than $30000 and hopefully closer to $25000 if possible, so I would be getting something in the 2001-2003 range. I would appreciate input from anybody who has owned/driven either of these 2 cars, or even anybody who hasn't driven them that has any kind of opinion on them, or other cars in their class (At this point I'm not seriously consdering a Z4, 350Z, Elise, etc. but I'm open to suggestions)

I know that there are a lot of more responsible things I could be doing with the money (my degree is in Economics! ) but my plan has always been to enjoy myself for at least the first year after college and then start being fiscally responsible. After spending the past 4 years being miserable at an 'elite' Ivy League college that I really did not enjoy, I understand the pros and cons of delayed gratification.

I would appreciate any feedback you guys could give, especially from former/current GS owners.

 

important question, do you want a sports car that your planning on tuning/modding or something really fast "out of the box"?

 

Are you implying that I should look at a Supra

I'm not really into tuning at this point in my life. I wish it weren't the case, but I'm not very mechanically inclined, and I live in an apartment so I don't have a garage or anywhere I could work on a car. I also just moved to Boston so I don't really have any friends here that could help me out with working on the car. I would prefer something that I could buy and drive fast without having to ever upgrade or do anything to the car.

 

in that case...

Used BMW M3

Mitsubishi Evo 9

Subaru Impreza WRX STi

already turbo'd Lexus GS300

Nissan 350xz

Mazda RX-8

NEW Ford Mustang GT (if your that kind of a guy

early Acura NSX

Honda S2000

Hayabusa 1300.

 

I want something (relatively) light and tossable, so a turbo'd GS3 and the Mustang are definitely out of the question (I'm more of a Camaro guy anyways, in high school I used to dream of owning a Z28). The M3 is an amazing car, but still more of a 2 door sedan than a true sports car.

I'm not into Evo's and Sti's, although they're cool cars, I want something a little classier.

The RX8, 350Z and S2000 all have their positives, but they all seem like kind of a class below the Boxster/Vette class. And the Boxster outhandles all 3, while the Vette is much more powerful than any of them.

That leaves the NSX which I might look into, but I've always thought any NSX with decent mileage would be out of my price range. Maybe not though, thanks for the tip

As for the Hayabusa, I'm hoping to start with something smaller like a Ninja/EX500 or a Suzuki GS500. I have the ***** to drive the fastest car I can get, but bikes are a completely different story My friend from school just bought himself a Ducati this summer and he loved it, but he's been riding for 3 years now, I'm hoping to start riding in the spring, and I'll probably blow most of, if not all ofl my disposable income on a car, so I'll have to go with something cheap as far as a bike is concerned

 

For 30 grand I'd go back and get a '99 Carrera.

 

I've concluded that a Boxster cannot be justified for twice the price of a new Mazda MX-5 (Miata) especially if it's one of the early ones with horrible interior and not even a glovebox. And I'm saying this as someone who loves Porsches.

And the MX-5 can even be had with a power hard top now like an SC430.

As for the Corvette - there's really nothing else like it. But insurance is gonna be rough for you.

 

I already have my plan for the next car. Right now I have a GS400, the next car will be a C6 vette add a STS twin turbo kit and call it a day.

At least that is the plan as of now.

 

I would be getting a 2001-2003 Boxster, so the interior would be better than those first ones. Interior isn't a big thing for me anyways, which might surprise you considering I'm driving a Lexus. And I don't really care about showing off, but a Miata is a huge step down from a Boxster as far as sex appeal, and as a young, single male, I can't say that's not in the back of my mind

Plus the Boxster is mid engined, and as well as the Miata handles, I doubt it could match the Boxster with its engine in the idea position for handling

I also wouldn't want to get anything slower than my current GS, and the Miata is much slower than the GS400, the Boxster S is probably a little faster than the GS.

In Toronto, my insurance for the GS (I had insurance in Toronto for 2 months in the summer before I moved to Boston) was $3000/year without collision! In Boston my insurance is about $1700/year for full coverage. Canadians (at least those of us from Toronto) are used to getting absolutely raped on insurance so the insurance on a Vette or Porsche down here isn't going to seem like that much to me, it would probably be less than I'd pay for full coverage on a Camry back home

Thanks for the suggestions though, I appreciate it

 

For 30k, and your lust for Vette performance...Three letters... G.T.O

 

Damn, I hadn't even thought about the GTO. I guess I forgot about them since I don't think they're sold in Canada, and I've rarely seen them since I moved to Boston. That's definitely an option, but I don't know if I would be able to justify the price over a fully loaded 2002 WS6 Trans Am. The GTO's definitely the classier car, but like i said, I was a huge Camaro/Trans Am fan in high school

 

LS2>LS1 imo, better build quality than the camaro/trans-am as the car is a Holden Monaro from down under. Take a trip down to Niagra falls, NY.. I am sure there are pontiac dealers there.

Here she is in action
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xTg3hVxhyYI

 

You must not have gone to Harvard.

If you're in Boston now and are planning to stay for winter months (read: Sept-May), between the two I'd go Corvette.

 

If I had gone to Harvard, I would have enjoyed myself more because Boston is right there so you can get away from the ivy-league social scene which is something I'm not a fan of. My school was in the middle of nowhere in New Jersey, and I was stuck on the campus without a car to get anywhere.

Are you implying that the Vette would be a better car for the winter than the Boxster? I thought it would be the other way around. I know neither of them are going to be fun to have to drive in the winter but I'm sure I could handle either with a good set of winter tires. I learned how to drive in Toronto (although I was driving an underpowered FWD car) so I'm comfortable in the snow. Snow is only actually on the ground maybe 15-20 days out of the whole year anyways, so I'm not going to let the snow make or break my decision. I would be able to get to and from work safely regardless of conditions though

 

Out of all the cars mentioned, the Vette IMO is by far the best choice. Nothing else will come close, not even the pig of a car they call the GTO that can bearly break 13's. Just go to their forums and look at what a lot of people are running stock, some are even stuck in the low 14's. Not to mention that it seems like you want a nimble car with good handling with the GTO is definatly not.