Quote:
Originally Posted by bpang1234
Wait, I'm not even sure I follow the logic trail of OP's statement that if they were gonna spend the money on a 2SS (roughly $46K) they decided to just go full-boat up to an RC-F which base prices at $63K but after clicking a few worthy options you're easily at $70K. That's a $24K swing on a notion of "meh we've gone this far...". 
That being written, on a purely car enthusiast level, RC-F would've been my last choice out of all of those...way too heavy compared to the competition and the motor is weak (as well as too peaky) for that price range. In my eyes, they built it to beat the E92 M3 but didn't consider that the paradigm would shift beyond what they were shooting for before it was too late.
In that loftier ($75K to $85K) price range I have it:
1. New Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe (it is incoming)
2. Cadillac ATS-V
3. BMW M4
4. Audi S5 (until they bring back the RS but even here you'd need to take it to Stage 2 which brings the total to about $70K all-in)
5. Lexus RC-F
It's pretty though, I'm on board there. Also Toyota/Lexus reliability is on-point. But if you have enough money to buy a car at that level you have enough money to afford the extended warranty. Hell, my current car is a level below that car and I was easily able to do extended warranty plus maintenance plan. |
All good points, but here is a bit more context. The best price I could get on a 2SS I wanted was ~$44k. The M2 was right at $58k selling right at MSRP with a 4 month waiting list, the best price I was able to negotiate on $75k M4 was $68k. Price aside we had a 335i before and it was a reliability nightmare. The C63 and Audi SX i'm not a huge fan of at all for various reasons. My area didn't have many ATS-Vs and dealers didn't seem excited to negotiate at all. We got the RC F for ~$57.5k. It was brand new with 50 miles and has a MSRP sticker of $74k.
For the money that is a TON of car both literally and figuratively. I really care about performance so I agonized about the RC F's weight, etc. I read every review and watched every Youtube video on the RC F, the M4, SS. Then I drove all the cars multiple times. All three are very different, but all three a sh*t load of fun to drive. IMO opinion RC F gives up some performance to both the M4 and the SS, but is a better daily driver. Since I'm going to use it 90% as a daily and 10% as a track/autocross car I went with the Lexus. For those of you who wanted a track car first and a daily second the SS is clearly the best choice and value. That's not me and once I was honest with myself the decision was easier to make.
The price difference of less than $15k over the SS was worth it to me. I would have gotten the M4, but I frankly didn't like it enough to pay the premium over the Lexus. The reliability was also a consideration. My service experience with both BMW and GM hasn't been stellar. At this point in my life it's not just about getting the car fixed for free but the level of effort that is required.
Finally, I'm not trying to stir the pot posting my Lexus pictures in a Camaro forum. I'm a car enthusiast and I really like the Camaro and the Corvette. I'm going to end up owning one of them at some point. Just here to share my experience and opine about cars in general...