FISH22

Well, it's been nearly 4 months since I've had a sports car. I sold the Nismo 370Z back in July. Didn't have time for it due to work picking up and family. Instead of finding another 2 seater sports car, I have been tossing around the idea of moving into a dual purpose car. I did this back in 2012 when I bought a new STi, but never loved it. Over the last few years I have been wanting an E9x M3, so I think now would be a good time. I have been daily driving our '13 Fit for the last couple years, and I'm sorta over it. It's been a great car with nice MPG, but that's pretty much it. I would be getting rid of the Fit for the next car, and I realize I will be sacrificing the $30 fill-ups twice a month. I do know that the next car has to be a V8. The 370 was my first big-engined sports car, and I loved it… The sound, the torque; the whole package was fantastic. My budget will be around the mid-40s.

These are the cars I'm considering:
~E9x M3: wanting an AW coupe, but I know the sedan will be much more family friendly.
~CTSV(gen 2)
~BOSS 302
~New '15 Mustang GT with track pack

Some of you are probably wondering "why the Mustang?"… I'm not a big Mustang fan, but have a soft spot for the BOSS, and the new Mustang seems promising. The E9x is one of my dream cars, and it's very attainable right now. The only concern with it are any expensive repairs down the road, but they seem to be very reliable. Either of the Mustangs seem that they would be much cheaper to maintain. And CTSV would probably be somewhere in the middle. The down side to the Mustangs and CTSV, is that they're big cars, especially the V. The sedans would be much easier to live with, but a coupe is not a deal breaker for me. This would not be our primary family car (we have a '10 Pilot). The next car would be more of a "throw the kids in the back and go to Cars and Coffee" type of car.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

** UPDATE 01/10/15 **
Finally picked up the car last night! Nestled in the garage until I get the title and register it. Everything about this car reminds me of an S2000, it's seriously unreal. I'm just kicking myself in the ass for putting off getting an E9x M3 for so long.

Anyways, I've attached a crappy phone pic. Barely any space in our small garage, especially considering over the last 7 months it has turned into a storage unit. Big detail for the car planned next weekend.

silentdancer

I would go with a brostang Pete. Looks to be a very promising car from the reviews and I saw one in person the other weekend and I was very impressed.

ninjajwl

What about the IS-F? 2011 models and up have shown significant improvements over the earlier models. Only downside is that it does not come in manual and probably less engaging to drive than the other cars you've listed.

mosesbotbol

How old are the kids? How much do you need for storage space? How about a Maserati GranSport or GranTurismo?

FISH22

They do look awesome in person. Saw my first one last week and loved it. But I'm sure within the next 6 months, they're gonna be everywhere.

I have thought about an ISF. I probably just have to drive one, because there doesn't seem to be much appeal there for me. Although, I know they're extremely reliable.

1 and 3. Not worried about storage space. The Maserati sounds cool, but like the ISF, not much appeal.

woodburn

I would get the ctsv from the options. I think it's a really nice smooth ride with tons or power and probably the fastest from the bunch.

d1rtyc4r

I've had a '12 CTS-V. That was a great car. If you get it, put an intake on it and you will hear the amazing sound of supercharger whine

EastS2k

I was looking into the new 5.0 stang as well, seems like an awesome car - great interior, engine was upgraded with boss 302 internals (easy to FI down the road), as far as being everywhere - the v6 and ecoboost, yes. The 5.0 will not be as common as you think... the v8 and the insurance rate will scare away your average buyer. Make sure you get it with a track pack though, it will stand out and have a greater presence.

Honestly I always disliked the s197 mustang, but this new s550 chassis really caught my eye - looks like a great deal overall. The new interior is on par or better than the old e9x m3 interior, the performance also edges out the e9x m3.

One thing that was scaring me away from the stang is the perceived notion of huge stang depreciation, however I looked at used 11-12-13's and the depreciation is on par with other sports car like the 370z, etc. One good thing about having so many on the road, the maintenance will be dirt cheap and you won't have to pay a premium on parts.

It is on the heavier side but it has a respectable 0-60 (4.4, some tests had it down to 4.2).

fernando.

Darn, you didn't like the STi?

That's the only car I've wanting to sell my S for, a '08+ STi hatch. But seems like multiple people aren't happy with them for some reason.

blkwidow

Sti over an s2000? Based on fun factor only then hell no!!