Why NOT to buy

[Zyphyer]

This may wind up being long winded. hear me out.

In the next year/ or two i'm saving up about 1000 a month and plan on buying a nice sports car. Nice being in the 40-60 thousand range after about 20 grand down.

I've looked at lots and lots of cars out there. and i've narrowed it down to 4 cars. Truthfully the only way i'd be happy is to own all four, but alas! I recently learned money does NOT grow on trees.

The four cars in question are :
2006 Corvette Z06
2003 - Mercedes Benz SL500 or 600
Lamborghini Countach Newer the better (or a diablo if they've come down enough)
Ferrari 355 Newer the better

Now i can look at a stats list and find a dozen reasons to buy any of these cars. Now i want to know why i shouldn't buy them. Heres what i think so far.

Vette. Cept for a diablo, the new z is by far the fastest of the bunch. Has only a V-8 although 7.0 litres is huge! Cheap interior . can get some amenities like dvd nav and premium sound. Everyone has a vette! not very exclusive. no convertible! can afford one with a warranty.

mercedes. I am a proud owner of a c-class so i know mercedes is awesome for interiors. 600 has powerful V-12. (cant afford a sl65 605 hp 720lbs torque....oooooohhhh) As luxurious a ride as you can get. heavy for a sports car. Mercedes safty record (trust me. i hit a concrete wall in mine at 60mph and me and the car live). power Hard top.

Lambo. Coutach is somewhat slow compared to some of the other cars. Diablo would be nice. Exclusivity. You see a lamborghini, you stop and stare. No convertible. Diablo did have a road\ster prob too new to be affordable in two years. V-12 sound. If you cant pick up chicks in a lamborghini you have problems Boyhood dream car.

Ferrari: testarossa would be nice too. no convt though. 355 has convertible. Slightly slower than other cars on list. Ferrari! ummm... help? Why didn't they make 360's 15 years ago?

Please add anything else! Maintenence costs, upgradeable?, MPG, Can i add navigation/system easily, interior nice/crap, resale value (NO!).

Anything will help. I dont want to buy something half as much as my house without a good idea of what i'm getting into.

And ahead of time, thanks for all the help

[talonlover]

A 30k service will set you back at least 2500.00 and probably more like 4k on the Ferrari and the Lamborghini. The new Mercedes sl is a fine automobile and probably be my choice because I have had both the new sl's and the C-5 corvettes at triple digits and let me tell you the MB is a hands down winner. The C-5 was VERY scary at 125. However, I have never driven a ZO-6, it was a 2000 C-5 LS-1. I have never driven either the Ferrari or Lamborghini so I can't help you there but the maintainance costs alone makes me think those cars are for someone who doesn't need to save to buy one. I think for what you want to spend you should look at the vette or the MB, I also think once you drive both of them you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt which car you want.

[Zyphyer]

Is that 2500 for the mercedes and the vette?

The Z06 looks to be a killer! I sawa road test between a gt-40 viper and a vette and the vette beat the viper by 1.5 sec and lost to the ford by .3 sec. It also had the fastest 1/4 mile when all three were tested the smae day minutes apart.

Why cant they put all the goodies in the mercedes.. in the vette! that would be perfect!

[talonlover]

A major service on the SL will probably be in the neighborhood of 500.00, I would imagine the corvette is about the same. The 4k figure is on the two exotic cars you mentioned(probably more). I was hot and heavy and almost ready to purchase a 1988 Ferrari 328gts until I found out what a major service costs.

If 1/4 mile times, stright line acceleration and horsepower is all you want then the corvette is your ride. Like I said you need to drive both of them and judge them by your own criteria.

[Jaguar D-Type]

The new Corvette Z06 has a lot more than just hp and 1/4 mile times. I saw one at an American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race earlier this year and thought it was the best looking Corvette since 1967.

Jan Magnussen drove a new Corvette Z06 at the Nurburgring in 7:43. He was one of the drivers of the Corvette C6-R that won its class (GT1) at the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2005 Petit Le Mans.

http://www.nuerburgring.de/

[Zyphyer]

I'd like a nice interior too. Between my truck and my mercedes i've become spoiled

I just wish i could buy all 4

[aaengkari]

the battery on my 1979 300D keeps draining-it is brand new-any clues?

[TransFukinAm]

Well, i work for Mercedes and we get nearly no SL600's in for repairs, so they are very good cars, that and i drive them all the time, so i practicly own one (oh how i wish i really owned one) and they are astounding vehicles. They really turns some heads, esspecailly with the top down. They are worth the coin most def. The whole car is pure sex. If you are lookin' to pick up chicks, saying you own a Mercedes SL will get you some bumper, hell, just saying i work for them works for me. They also get pretty decent gas mileage for a 12 Cyl.
The only down side is, if you need to bring it in for repairs, it can sometimes get costly, but not too bad, but as i said we harld get any in for service. Just the usual Serv. A and Serv. B and brakes and oil checks.
But, if ihad the choice i would take the Benz. Convertible hard top, German Engineering, sweet body, insane handling, great speed, and the Touch Shift feature is frickin' sweet (you tap the shifter left to downshift and activate what i call "Semi-Manual" mode where you tap the shifter to switch gears) and the seats are so damn comfy. Oh yeah, if you are looking for manual, SL's do not come as so. they only that what i just described.

I hope i helped a little. If you need more info on the SL just ask. I love those cars.

[Zyphyer]

Originally Posted by TransFukinAm

Well, i work for Mercedes ...
Just the usual Serv. A and Serv. B and brakes and oil checks.

Heres a question. Why does the service cost 400 frickin dollars? What the hell do they check. I got a pamphlet and it made it out to be tire rotation, wipers, and sythetic oil chage, which doesn't cost more than 150 together?

Anyways i do love the mercedes cars. As a sports car manufacuter I dont think mercedes get as much attention as they deserve.

Me and my wife did finally agree on a car though. it will be a 4th generation corvette, used. Then after a trip to lingenfelter (read engine manufacturer) I'll have a quick , quick car.

[TransFukinAm]

Cool. Vettes are pretty sweet. have fun my man.

[TransFukinAm]

Oh, i also have no idea why they cost that much... they run it through the diagnostics and stuff, it takes like 3 hours for a Tech to finish one service A.

[kstan299]

To the sl lovers, what do you guys think about the sl 280/300/320 of the 90s? are they as good as the bigger sl 600?

[zcdc]

It depends on your size, how much driving and the ablity to handle the speed with the car, If you are a large person trying to fit into a Z06 seat, you may want the mercedes, easier to get in and out. But lets say you fit in all of them with easy, then it may depend on how much driving around town or cross country because cost of tires and normal wear and tear can be different as day and night plus down time waiting on parts. Usually, imports take more time in shipping parts than american made. The other part is how heavy is your foot at the light? Now days such as in the state of Texas if you get caught racing on the street it can be a life sentence? I love sports cars and they can cause problems too. The look cool factor is now questionable if you can handle the social pressure of kids with pocket rockets wanting to race at every traffic light to see if they can take the yuppie!