KaiserSea1

Runners UP

1. XLR Passed for no back seat, cost more, and GM fears, What I liked better was the Vette motor, and edges.

2. 350Z Passed for no back seat, very cramped, cheap feeling, liked the looks and the price.

3. Porsche 911 Passed for cost of ownership, mostly repairs, love the classic look and the way it drives.

4. Mercedes S See Porsche 911

5. BMW Z4 Drove like a go cart, cheap interior, but beautiful. No storage, no back seat, no way.

martini3

very good question because now I can share my story back in '03 when.....

1. the 350Z just came out and the GM was driving the demo car. I said "What? I wanna see it". The sales guy said I'm sorry but you'll have to wait until the GM gets back. I gave him a lecture on customer service, they lost a potential buyer and walked away using every profane word I could think of.

2. Honda S2000. It was hell of small and cramp so I walked away not using any profanity.

3. C5 Corvette. I test drove it and liked the power but when I noticed the inferior interior of "plasticity materials", I walked away not using any profanity.

4. BMW 3-series. It's a driving machine but the seats were very stiff and hard so I walked away not using any profanity.

5. The final stop: Lexus S430 (showroom floor). I looked at the interior and fell in love. I test drove it and fell in love. Customer service was top notch and after 3 hours of wheel and deal, I took her home using some profanity that the other dealships f----d up.

Yes

nothing really. i had an slk before i bought mine. i liked the hardtop convertible, but hated the reliability (or the lack thereof). so my search was limited to hardtop convertibles. my budget was $30k or less about 3 years ago. and the sc was the only car in that range. that said, i like it better than pretty much every hardtop convertible at much higher price points. the only thing i'd take over it is an AMG SL. the performance makes up for a lot of what it lacks in other areas. but it's not worth the price.

CAMAracer

iTrader: (1)

Passed up an IS-F. Personally,I felt that the interior of the F wasn't as..."sporty" as the SC (convertible FTW!) or as luxurious (wood is good). Maybe it was the 4 doors versus the 2, the layout of the dash, or that it wasn't available in blue at the time (2 month waiting period!). Really struggled for about 10 minutes before deciding the SC was a better fit for me. Plus I wanted to rub it in my ex's face because the SC was the car I had promised to buy for her :P

Baby ///M3

Another SC.... LOL.

I wanted a comfortable and reliable hardtop convertible as a daily driver. No other manufacturer seems to have produced a car that fits this simple criteria thus far.

Jon

CrazySC300

iTrader: (16)

I passed up a '94 Mazda RX-7...The engine was nearing it's 77,000 mile rebuild landmark,No rear seats and the lady started to want a tad bit too much for it, once I showed her that I was definitely interested in the car...And plus the lady was of middle eastern descent, so she looked a bit shady to me.

Yes

the little wink makes your racism almost seem cute

omair

right now i am passing up a 330i ZHP package stick to get this car cause i want a nice car for my brothers wedding

but once i get the one i want i will NEVER SELL!!!

tromly

Did not consider another brand car, only Lexus in my driveway !! Only if they go out of business , will I look elsewhere !!

norman52

First tried a MB CLK500 Cabriolet. I didn't fit and the car seemed boring and had terrible reliability reviews.

next was a MB SL550. I was too tall (6'6") and couldn't put the top up.

Looked at a 3 series BMW Convertible but was just bored with the looks.

Needed a back seat so the Corvette was out

Tried a Jaguar XK8 and could get the top to clear my head. Loved the interior though.

Finally tried a SC430. Enough head room, and it had an interior like the Jaguar.

Tried to buy one locally and all the salespeople were idiots. If I want a red one don't call me on the phone and tell me about this great silver one.
Anyway. Bought mine off Ebay in Dallas and drove it home. No regrets at all.

Habious

I checked out the 350Z convertible. Tight quarters. Also, I couldn't see the top of the gauges because of the steering wheel placement. Simple solution of course - adjust the steering wheel. Yeah, except that the 350/370Z cars have a "feature" where the gauges move along with the steering wheel so, no matter what position I put the steering wheel in, the top of the wheel blocked the gauges. A car that was clearly designed by 5'3 Asians...for 5'3 Asians.

I seriously considered an NSX...but just couldn't bring myself to drop $40K on an 8 year old car, with no warranty, with no trunk space, with a manual transmission (I live in the Washington DC area...an auto is a MUST in daily stop-n-go traffic)...to be used as my daily driver and "family car" for long trips.

I actually finally got to sit in an NSX for the very first time about 2 months ago. I didn't really fit. If necessary, I could drive it...but there's no way I could own it. Sigh.

jimmer!

great post...

MX5 (Miata)
SLK
Boxster
Z4/Z3
CrossFire
Thunderbird
Audio TT Roadster
Nissan 350Z
Honda S2000
Pontiac Solstice

why the SC430?
best styling
hard drop top
back seat (for my clubs)
best styling...

daryltrinh

iTrader: (1)

Sold my '08 GS350 RWD for it.
Really wanted a drop top.

Had to sacrifice hi-def navigation screen, convenience of 4 doors and 5 passenger seats, MP3 playback, better audio, rear-view cam, 3-hp, rain-sensing wipers, auto-retracting side-view mirrors, convenience of having a new car, etc.

scorpio74

Passed on 07 ls460L. Already had a gs430, no point of owning another sedan. Love the sc.

OBP

Passed on an early 2000s MB SL500. The wife said the MB drove "rough" so we weren't spending the money. Went looking for better reliability and the SC430 was a big winner. Hard top was a nice bonus.