SpmMorrow

Im considering a new car purchase. Looking for some feedback from other car buffs.

Im very interested in the upcoming 2015 NSX but Im not the most patient man in the world so Im considering a new purchase to hold me over until this new car is available for purchase.

Im looking for a sporty car that would be easy to live with as a semi daily (80 miles per week average). The car must also retain a certain amount of professionalism as I will be driving to appointments with various business partners.

I have driven the Porsche 996 TT but never a 997 TT, The 996 was a beast and would work as a great daily driver while retaining that fun driving experience. I prefer the styling of the 997TT so If I go Porsche I will be looking for a 2007+

Audi R8, I drove my first R8 about a week ago and fell in love, the ride quality is good (in my opinion), the performance is decent (Similar to my ISF) but feels much faster due to the driving position. I feel this could easily get the daily job done, while retaining a professional look.

Acura NSX... Been a while since I have been in one, never driven this car but have LOVED the look of this car since I was a kid. I would be considering 2002+ on these. Rare, great driving position and timeless looks makes this one hard to pass up.

Price wise, the Acura will be the best option, a little cheaper than the others, more likely to retain a better resale value and would be good to learn this car before the purchase of the new one (If it turns out to be as good as I hope).

Reliability? Acura should be the winner here, while not as cheap as an Accord to maintain these cost should be far less than Porsche and Audi. (Both have average oil change cost of $300) and brakes/rotors are very pricey.

Looks.... I go back and forth on this, sometimes I feel the NSX is getting dated (It is much older than the other two). However when you add the right wheels, suspension it looks amazing. The R8 in black with carbon "blades" looks great, Im also one that appreciates the 911s slight styling improvements over the years actually look good. Only problem here is in SoCal we see a ton of these and most people cant tell the difference between a TT, S, GT3 etc... They (people like my wife) think they all look the same.

GAS... I really shouldn't care about this, its not a money thing but I hate seeing the super low numbers on the cars computer.... Perhaps with the right car ill get over it but Im about done with my trucks 11 MPG (Lifted with 35's). Porsche and NSX for the win here, Audi would not be too bad as most of my drive is Freeway.

I don't need storage or rear seats, we have a SUV and truck for moving the kids around. I don't plan on tracking the car, however I WILL enjoy a good canyon drive every now and then.

Thanks in advance for the read and comments, ALL comments are welcome. I dont have a ton of car friends to bounce this off. My wife says the NSX looks too old, the porsche is too common and the R8 is perfect. lol

jwong77

Just dropping thoughts from my personal experience. I have a friend who is fairly well off, and he's owned quite a few cars, include the (previously) R8 and several NSX's and also a 996 GT2 (current).

He's allowed me to drive all of the cars, and I'd have to say if it were my money, and I had to pick one of the three (all of which are great cars) I'd pick the R8 without hesitation. I know the driving experience is much more sterile compared to the others, but the pure performance to comfort ratio is by far the best. Its the only car that I would consider taking on a long trip in. Also, lets be honest, anyone who is considering these cars care, at least a little bit, about catching people's attention, and the R8 with its cool LED headlights, etc, does just that. Just because I say the driving experience is the most sterile out of the three, its not bad, its much better than any car that I own.

In terms of driving pleasure, I'd give it to the NSX just slightly better than the GT2, simply because its a manual. The NSX makes me feel like I'm a vital part of the machine. Whereas the R8 feels more like I'm along for the ride while all the electronics are doing the work. The GT2 feels like a monster, and it scares the snot out of me.

So there, those are my random thoughts, best of luck to you. I hope to be able to make such a decision myself someday

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

New Porsche 911 is a great all arounder, with plenty of comfort now to boot. Otherwise I'd choose the R8 simply for it's for extotic nature. my 0.02

LexFather

R8 gets my vote

NYKnick101

By your post, it sounds your looking for a practical (sub)supercar which is really hard to do here since practical and supercar dont really go together. If your looking to buy soon then the NSX is out of the question. with honda, you have to put down a 25% deposit to preorder your NSX which wont start mass production till mid 2015 so you wont get it till like early 2016 if your lucky. If im not mistaken, they first few hundred are already accounted for world wide. So your looking at a 2.5 year wait with the NSX.

Between the R8 and the Porsche 997TT, Its a tough call because I really like porsches but their resale value really tends to take a nosedive when ever a new model comes out. It will never get old though because its a porsche and its timeless design and in about 20 years its resale will go up but thats even if you decide to keep it that long. Its maintenance is starting to become a little practical though because its becoming more common. My friends begin to call porsches the poor mans sports car because you can buy a 2001 for about 20 grand and it looks exactly the same as the newer ones.

I really love the R8, especially the quattro model. It got some really great reviews and not as common so the R8 really gets my vote. Plus its sexy as hell and its exhaust sounds amazing

rominl

iTrader: (4)

the 997tt is a more refined and quite a bit better than 996tt from what i hear (friends who have had both). 997 is also quite a bit more expensive (996 tanks like no tomorrow).

r8 is an awesome looking car, very stylish and modern, but i just feel that it lacks a bit on the performance side compared to the other two cars. and reliability overall i am a bit unsure

nsx is proven, for sure you will retain the value. basically it's a car that's appreciating in value so you likely won't lose anything at all. it's very reliable to say the least and maintenance is very cheap (i bring my own oil and i pay 20 bucks for oil change, beat that). i do think it's a valid point that the design is getting dated, no doubt. performance is also lacking too, it's definitely not super fast by today's standard.

gas mileage i would say nsx wins, i am constantly getting over 20mpg. r8 for sure way less, i am not sure about 911tt but i don't think it will be more than nsx

overall, if you just want a car for this quick period and not to lose much, nsx might be my choice. if money is not as much of an issue and you are a bit of the flashier type, i say r8 is a better choice

rominl

iTrader: (4)

he's talking about the previous nsx for now before considering the new one

I8ABMR

R8. The Porsche will be faster but when you are at a light the Audi will look like a real super car. The 911 will look just like another 911. They are both AWD so they will be amazing handling , but the torque delivery of that sweet V10 is going to be difficult to match

Coconut

The new R8 is coming soon and the 911 just doesnt feel that special (I'm not a fan of the 911).

Be patient and get what you really want, which sounds like the 2015 NSX. If you can't wait that long, get a nice older NSX now and enjoy it. You probably won't loose any money on it if you decide to sell it in 2-3 years time.

I8ABMR

The turbo will dust them all, the NSX will be new kid on the block again so you will gets lots of attention and kids taking pics ( pretty cool), and the Audi will make you look like Iron man

edgeucated

iTrader: (4)

From a money standpoint, this is totally correct. Neither the Porsche nor the r8 will keep its value as well (new r8 is coming). Buying, driving, and flipping a clean NSX will probably not cost you very much and will tide you over till the new NSX comes out.

But if i had to choose illogically, it would be the r8; that car is beautiful

SpmMorrow

I need something in between the 2015+ NSX, I have been leaning toward an 02+ as a bridge because of the way they hold value, I would get the enjoyment Im looking for and would not loose as much on the resale while I wait.

I see you have a Supercharged NSX, how do you like it? There is a 2004 that Im considering with a Comptech Supercharger on it already. Low miles, seems like a great deal.

SpmMorrow

Excellent replies and post by all, keep them coming!

I always dreamed of purchasing a higher end car but when you are actually able to the decisions are harder to make. I cant imagine what people go through in the $200k price range, there are lots of great options there.

2015 will be interesting... the New R8 should be here, New NSX, and rumor of the baby McClaren so I fear Ill have an even harder decision to make then.

What is everyone's thoughts on the 2014 Vette, This may be one of the best performance values we have seen in a long time but with the price range I feel they will be all too common. I like owning cars that have a little something special to them and they are not as common around town.

My ISF and SRT8 Jeep are perfect examples of that, there are only a couple in town that I know of.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i have a 02 nsx as well, like the car a lot. real driver's car, very balanced and great handling. power like i said can use more, so the supercharger is a huge plus. everyone i know with the superchargers say it brings the car alive.

but keep in mind the interior is definitely dated, and after all we are talking about a 10 year old car. in that area it's very hard to compare to say the r8

i got my nsx last year (very close to when coconut got his), put over 10k miles on it already, and if i sell today, i don't lose anything

rominl

iTrader: (4)

you want something different and special and man the 911 is definitely NOT on the list then. there are quite a lot of 911tt to begin with, plus all the 911 looks similar to each other. i love the 911tt but i want it as a driver's car.

both the r8 and the nsx are rare cars imho. nsx from 91-05 sold less than 9k cars. i hardly see them around town and in the past year i have only run into 2 other nsx. same with r8, rare and a lot more flashy. are you considering the v8 or v10?