Lotus Elise or 350z

[FLT LNR]

cannot see me ever buying anything other than 80s japanese cars, until this earth runs out of affordable fuel.

didnt notice if you're looking to buy new.... but i would never buy new either, cos one 6 months old will save you anything up to ten grand in this bracket.

god, if youre dead set on one of these things id say flip a coin. ones cramped and racey, ones impractical and sporty, they both look great..... the lotus disappears from your list if youre 6 foot+ ...... the nissan pwns in aftermarket goodies in aus.

but they both cost money which would build two to three versions of the absolute best hachi in australia....

which makes this a baffling thread, on a forum such as this.

[malohi]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (slydar @ Sep 15 2008, 09:13 PM) </div>
My thoughts exactly. Reasonably priced petrol cant last much longer (its not even reasonable now). Enjoy the 86 and get a small cheapish car for a daily. Common sense FTW

[fergo308]

you're going to have it for a year,and want to sell it easily then,as well as put up with it in the meantime as a daily. I say neither.

if you're going nissan get an S15. you can sell one in five minutes,and it's both faster and more practical than a 350Z,as well as half the price. the 350z is a big,dumb american car in comparison.

stageas are good value if you want practicality over all else,but aren't that much fun in std form. I know,I drive one as a daily.



if you want small and nimble,and don't care much about what's practical (which a lotus is most certainly NOT),go an mx5. again,easy to get rid of when the time comes,reliable,and fun to drive in std form. not as quick as the lotus of course,but good enough for a daily.


Justin...

[SpotterOne]

Someone alluded to it earlier, but the best way to go is to get something made for EACH job.

Daily driving and track driving are 2 totally different things, and the only way to get the best out of either is get a tool designed for each job. If you try to roll both into 1, you'll be compromising one way or the other. Its like playing golf with only a putter. Yes, its possible, but not ideal, unless you like putt-putt.

[DavisJD]

I've decided against the Lotus, decided its streching the budget too far, as well as been a little too impractical for a daily. (Not that my AE86 is any better!) So I'm looking at the 350z as well as considering other models.

A GT-R would be great, but to thirsty for me. Same goes for an FD RX7.

I've thought about going dedicated track car with my AE86, and a cruisy BMW 323 as my daily. But I want to experience something different on the track, and more reliable, hence why I'm looking for something else.

No matter how much money you throw at a 20 year old car, things go wrong, often.

It doesn't bother me if I have to compromise and be a few seconds a lap slower because I dont have a dedicated track car. Im out there to have fun and improve my driving.

Thanks for all the opinions everyone, it's interesting to hear other peoples points of view. Keep them coming.

[MOZAS15]

Buy the lotus, you wrote earlier about living for the now and only being young once and accepting compromises etc.

do it

do it now

i can come pick it up with you if that helps?!!!




But really its about the worst choice for a daily driver, the fd rates highly for me with that budget.

The coin you save on purchase will easily counteract the bit of juice they drink.

One day ill have an exige in grey/carbon :greenbounce:

[Gunner]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DavisJD @ Sep 16 2008, 12:49 PM) </div>Wrong, very very wrong, a 20 year old car built to inferior quality will have things go wrong, often. A 20yr old car that has the time, the thought, and most of all the patients, put into it, will go better and last longer, than any fancy plastic lotus or oversize nissan.

Any car you intend to drive hard will have failures, no matter how much it costs, or who it's made by.

The only way to avoid failures in a track/performance orientated car, is either not to drive it, or drive it like a pussy, and if thats how its gonna be, buy a charade.

[stinger_007]

jack,

if you want an evo (9-10) cathy works at mitsubishi now......they still had access to demoand near new 9's.

[frootloop86]

HAve u considered a second hand VW r32??

[Delazy]

thats kind of price range id definately be looking at evo's.....farking tuff cars.....certainly different to the ae86 being AWD.....quick,streetable and comfortable