Are you mechanically inclined? What model 3000gt are you looking at (SL,VR-4,etc)? Kilometers?

give me a link to the car if you have it.

I do some basic car repair stuff myself but I am no mechanic by any means. I spoke with my mechanic and he did mention that i should expect to pay a premium on parts as they are hard to find in canada.

I am going to try this one out...

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-Mitsubishi-Mitsubishi-3000-GT-SL-or-trade-for-a-SUV-W0QQAdIdZ116907187

Most likely won't get it as I'm looking for the VR4, but this will give me a good idea of how it drives.  This is the only one for sale near me right now so... 

Okay, i just advised against it because the engine bays are super cramped (especially on the vr4), so any engine/trans work would be more expensive because it takes more labour hours. As your mechanic mentioned, parts are expensive. Mistus, especially turbo awd mitsus can be pain... just be careful. If you are seriously considering buying any car, take it to your trustworthy mechanic for a thorough inspection before purchasing.

Good luck

Thanks ameratsu for advice. I will have to consider this...

A freind of mine owned a 3000gts sister car, dodge stealth, and told me that timing belt cost him 300 dollars to change.

I was laughing at him thinking he got ripped off cause 300 is way too much for that. Plus I owned a Monte Carlo at the time which doesn't even have a timing belt but a timing chain good for the life of the car and I thought dodge would be the same.

But more and more people like yourself have told me that engine work on that car is very price so he may have not been ripped off after all :)

I'd go for the Vette. I'm not a Corvette fan by any means but it's hard to beat the price vs. fun factor of those cars. When the C-5 released, it beat the piss out of much more expensive European and Japanese cars in almost every major test (acceleration, slalom, etc) and especially the NSX, which was twice the price and lost to the C-5 in every category.

GM has done some amazing things with pushrod engines. The Corvette, while far from my favorite car, is hard to ignore when you look at its price and performance. In the sports car world, it's one of the best deals out there. Plus, the car has one of the largest following in all of the industry. Should you ever want to change out parts or work on the car yourself, there are a million sources to go to for information and thousands of companies making aftermarket parts for the car.

One of my friends used to work in the parts industry and he always said one thing:

Never, ever buy a Mitsubishi. He quoted me prices on some of the parts and they were outrageous. The 3000GT is probably a kick-ass car but after hearing nightmare stories from someone in the industry, I wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole.

Out of curiosity, why did you list the G35 but not the Z? You mentioned how luxury isn't important to you and since they're built on the same platform, I figured you'd be more interested in the sportier version.

Get the mustang.

Both the Corvette and GTO look seriously outdated.

No offense to any vette or GTO owners here.

Thanks for your advice above...much appreciated. Corvette blew my mind when i test drove it last week but it is the priciest and it will require a winter car, unlike Mustang and G35 per say. However owning a corvette is a must for any car enthusiast...but I'm just not sure if its the right time for me, with my $20K budget. If a good one, with less than 100k/60 miles, in black comes along for that price Ill snap it in a sec... :)

I never liked the 350Z looks for some reason. 350Z and new eclipse both look very unattrctive to me. I did like the last gen Celica tho...too bad they never made a 250 HP version. I heard that it was pretty fast even with only 180HP in the GTS model due to its rediculous low weight.

I don't understand the GTO hate in here... Most of you probably don't realize the car's origins. The GTO has always been a sleeper car. It's not supposed to be flashy.

It's made to go fast, kick ass, take names, and look rather mundane while doing so.