Haven't bought anything yet. Drove an R36 today and I love it. Found these online tonight which I've sent enquiries about and will go and look at on Wednesday.
Only problem I have with Euros is the maintenance and parts. Plus I don't trust VW anymore after the headaches with my Golf. That was a fairly old car though, mind you.
Does your budget cover Lexus is350 F sports? If so, I think that is your smart money. Nice reliable car with excellent resale. Reasonable servicing costs and if you can get a 2012ish one will still have some warranty on it.
Yea figured that would be the case with the 370GT. A 2011 6 speed manual with all options can already be had for around the 25k-30k mark. As for the R36; the wagon I inspected yesterday was 29k with what I think is plenty of negotiation room due to minor imperfections that need to be fixed.
For my budget I'd be looking at an 2010 IS250 Prestige. Unfortunately I can't stretch to 40k.