Originally Posted by S4Drifter

Flamesuit is on and I know it sounds like sacrilege but...

I won't wax on about how great the Turbo is. I'd be preaching to the choir, I just thought I'd share some of my reasons for considering a Boss 302.
My Turbo now has 56k on the clock. I just had a new clutch installed, radiators and 60k service done. Car is in tip top shape. However, the aforementioned service items cost me $5k. My Turbo is a weekend toy with maybe one HPDE per year. Otherwise its the fun car in the family. My kids like to ride in the back, and my wife and I like to take it when just the two of us go out.

Here are the problems I have with the Turbo.
1. Its expensive to maintain. I take care of mine, and maybe the big ticket items are now out of the way, but I can't keep putting that kind of money into the car.

2. The nearest dealer is an hour a way and so is my Indy. neither offer loaners, so service visits are a major inconvenience.

3. I live in a small town. If you've been driving for 15 minutes you missed where you were going. Turbo warm up and cool down seriously cut into my enjoyment. Feel like an ***, idling at a gas pump and every other destination on my errand list for two minutes while the turbos cool.

4. Finally, I am at 56k miles. I think it is already considered a high mileage car by this board, but something about a car over 60k I think will hurt resale more.

The Boss 302 is naturally aspirated, cheap to maintain, will be brand new and carry a full warranty. It is track ready in stock form (like our cars) and should not depreciate as bad, given its limited run. There is a local dealer 5 minutes from my house. All the same qualities I liked in my former C5 Z06. In fact I would consider a Z06 again, but I want back seats for the kids. It maximizes how often I can take the car out.

I know, its interior sucks, it has a live rear axle, and does not have the cache and reputation of the Turbo. I don't care about the image thing. In fact, here in Upstate NY driving the Ford will get more smiles than the Turbo.

I also considered a used M3. But I test drove one (it was a convertibly FWIW) and was dissapointed by the lack of lower and mid-range torque. Maybe there is something else I should be considering.

I figure I can get between $45 and $50k for my car and a new Boss is $43k and I could get a used/certified M3 with 20k miles for about $48k.

I Appreciate any thoughts, insights, insults and requisite derogatory comments about my momma