doddg

1. There is nothing more exciting than your 28 yr. old son, who never spends time with you, but is hanging out on Mother's Day, and he let's me know he's been thinking about an upgrade. (b/c of his upbringing, he knows he should feel guilt!)
2. He presently drives a car we got after we spent 3 weeks researching when he was a couple of years out of college and was driving my del sol Vtec that he stole off me for $3000, ha!
3. After a few cars didn't measure up, we ended up looking very seriously at the Civic Si, and the Scion tc; for the extra $5k, he was that not that impressed with the Si, he wanted low-end torque, like me (I'm so proud!).
4. So, for $17,000, and with Dad paying for $1000 extra for a wing and some other upgrades (payback for helping sister w/cars in college), he got a great new 09, which now has 31k miles on it, great huge sunroof, sound system, and wheels. Manual, of course!
4.5 We would have bought used, but like me when I wanted to look for a 2-3 yr. old car back in 05, instead of a 4-6 yr. old car, is b/c for a little more money, you could get new car in the Corolla range (using my formula of being willing to pay $1000 more for 10,000 miles less, and a $1000 more for a year newer. So the $16k Si with 30k miles, and 3 yrs. old was worth $6k less than a new one, which was $22k at the time, so go ahead and get the new one, same value, if you can afford the higher upfront price.
5. He would love to have the Nissan 370, but they are pricey (but his dream car), Subaru WRX very interesting (a friend has the STI version, and my son loves it), Mini-Cooper S (b/c I suggested it as a possibilty), Accord Coupe 6 cylinder (my favorite practical personal recommendation, no turbo to mess with down the road, yes, I'm anti-turbo!), Mazdaspeed 3, Genesis, and VW GTI .
6. On a secondary level, the Toyota FR-S and the Subaru BR-Z, and the Miata.
7. You get the idea, $25,000 is where he's at, but if his cheap-arse Dad told him to spend more and not be like him, ha!, he could, for the right car (350Z).
8. He wants primarily low-end torque, not looks, he wants the 0-40, 50 and 60 type of fun.
9. He doesn't even bother to ask to drive my S, he enjoyed driving the del sol Vtec more? Go figure. Makes no sense to me either! Just today, after lunch, and we had to go pick up a vid, I asked him if he wanted to take my car and drive, and he just said, "You can just drive my tc."
10. He loved a friend's RX-8 turbo b/c of the torque, with the feeling that he was being jerked back in his seat during acceleration, but, due to my influence, that car isn't even on the list.
11. I always stress to him the repair record and value in the long run: #1=price; #2=maintenance; #3=resale value
12. I have given you the profile, and as I told my son, once you get in a certian price range, engine size, etc., you just have to drive the cars and see which one "feels" best, and noone can make that decision for you! But, I did want to benefit from the advice of those who had owned some of these cars, and would say, "buy this one," or "don't buy this one," based on your experience and some of you might have had 2 or 3 of these cars.
13. As you know, I could say more, but I'll stop!
14. Let the games begin.

zippity

05' - 07' Mustang GT
Maintenance cost is low
initial price on used car is low
reliability is high
Low end torque is very good

i_heart_my_DB8

I've never looked, but I'd be surprised if you couldn't get a 370z for $25k

If that's his dream car, why not just buy that?

(Sorry if the answer to the above question was addressed in your post, but to be honest... it was pretty difficult to read.)

mchi5

Yeah, many lower miles 370Zs are in the $25-27k right now.

If new, I'd say the Scion FR-S. Even a mazdaspeed 3 would be fun.

S2K Al

Clean C5 Z06? And allow for some flex in the $25k budget for the right one. H/C/I and tires down the road, if he somehow outgrows the car stock. And plenty of parts and knowledgeable owner base for him to learn to do stuff on his own. I think it hits your priorities pretty well too.

RedCelica

Since you live up north...STi /thread

Oneloveknk

I think if he can find a 370Z in the price range he feels comfortable with he should go with his dream car, even if it has a little bit more miles on it. just because what ever else he gets he is just going to always compare the two and he is going to be upset with not purchasing the car of his dreams at the end. So in my humble opinion he should just get it out of his system and go for it. PS It is always best to go with your Heart because in the end you will be willing to make sacrifices for the things you love.

doddg

1. Son-in-law had one; can't drive it in snow and ice.

doddg

1. There is much wisdom in what you say, but he's never even driven one, so he'll need to find out how it feels compared to some of the others, plus, being rear-wheeled drive, there is the snow and ice factor in the Indy winters.

doddg

1. STI, not the first time I've heard that!