thanks e, yah getting sleep is not as easy as it use to be,that's for sure.

Don't worry, the grass is always greener on the other side. There are things about the 400 that are plusses too. Eshift and if you want something you can make faster and mess with, the 400 is great because you can sc, do the tc and lsd without cel probs.
If you don't really plan to mess with it much and want lux , warranty and great power, the 430 does shine. I wouldn't be surprised if I own 400 someday though. What bugs you about yours? It sucks when you buy and then see prices go down eventually after, but what can ya do
54k is low miles for a 98 still.
chuck

 

Chuck -- As for sleep (or lack thereof), that will come around much sooner than you think (as you already know from your first one). Just wait until the two of them start going at it with each other -- my younger one torments the older one. It's pretty funny to watch.

As for my car, well, a few things bug me. First of all, it's not the money at all. Hey, there's nothing you can do about that. A car is a depreciating asset. We all know that. When I bought the car, I expected it would go down in value (especially with the 06 on the horizon), but I really didn't care because, in the long haul, it wouldn't matter -- I was planning on keeping the car for at least 5 years (I've kept my previous cars at least that long -- an 87 GT and a 93 300zx). But, what I didn't consider was that if I was planning on keeping the car that long, I had better make sure that it had everything I wanted. I had never bought a used car before, and every car I bought new had exactly what I wanted. With respect to my car, yeah, the miles were very low and the car is in immaculate condition (both inside and out), but when I look around, pretty much every 400 I see has at least one of three options -- HID, Nakamichi or Navigation. My car has 17s -- that's it. Heck, even my wife's ES had the Nakamichi (which we special ordered). And now that we're in winter up here, the car has 16s on, and my car is basically indistinguisable from a GS300 (not that there's anything wrong with that). The truth is that I would have gladly given on the 17s for HID and/or Nakamichi. And, you can always pick up a set of 17s if you really want them. The problem is that I was so dead set on alpine silver (which, in hindsight, was just plain silly), that I compromised on many other things that should have taken precedence to color. I traveled 300 miles to Columbus, Ohio to buy my car, I probably shouldn't have done that unless the car had absolutely everything I was looking for. I guess I had an itchy trigger finger and just plain pulled the trigger a little too soon.

So what's the solution? Well, now money does become a factor. Because the car has decreased in value as much as it has, it doesn't make sense to sell it after less than a year and to buy another one with the options I want. I'm keeping my eyes open, but I just don't see it happening. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. That's all. Thanks for letting me vent.

e

 

I'm looking to sell my car.

Test drove an 00 M5 with 35k miles. STELLAR car. If you drove one, you would cry when you hit the gas in the GS.

Also M3 (03 or 04 maybe).

I want something more fun to drive.

R

 

Sold my '02 GS300 SD w/ 12,500 miles for an '03 MB C32 w/ 14K miles...luckily I sold my car to a family member so I see it almost everyday and can still drive it if I would like to.

Test drove the S4 and C55, opted not to test the M3 as everyone and their mother has one where I live and I needed four doors. The C32 is a great buy, solid car, slightly quicker than the C55 and way faster than the S4...also got 4 years/50K maintenance & 4 year/50K warranty...I'll be out of it by then anyways.

I simply switched for more speed...with only laying out a few thousand more than I sold the GS for.

 

i just sold my 2000 gs400 this past weekend. i really was sad to see it go, but i just wanted something new. i would never have traded it for a 300c tho. anyway the local porsche dealers cant seem to find the exact car i want. actually, they know of a few dealers with the car i want, but those guys arent willing to give up the car. so when i finally sell the 350Z, im going looking myself. having a trade-in is hampering my search

 

How much did you get for the GS?

I may have found my M3 today!

R

 

............$24,500

 

Which is exactly why an 01-02 GS 430 will be my next car. It will just be hard to find a black/black. . .

I can understand people giving in to the looks of the 300C (although I think the right GS is better-looking), but I CANNOT understand giving up the build-quality, reliability, and driveability. People gasp when they see a Lexus where I live. . .

 

For 03 and most of 02, almost every GS430 made was black on black.

 

Really. . . Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places. Good to know!

 

For me, I'm a conservative car buyer looking for a quality auto that fills several needs/desires. I'll own the car for more than a handful of years so long term dirveability is top on the list. Toyotas since '68 have done well in this household and that track record is one we come back to when considering a car. What Toyota has is long term driveability, I'd even pick a first gen GS over a many new offerings.

The 300C is a trendy car that does little for me and certainly not enough to motivate me to buy. While I initially found the design fresh it has already worn thin. My observation is that certain car drivers follow the auto rags closely so their desires seem to be linked to media releases. Not to say they are turnips, they seek changes...in which the writers provide lucid descriptions of. In a couple years, there will be another and the masses will flock again.

 

I wouldn't feel guilty, it's capatalism. Whoever makes the better product gets my $$$. Besides, many of those foreign car companies opened up factories in the US, which provides jobs for us while some of the American based companies are making some of their cars in Mexico and Canada.