If I had no guns, I'd buy a CZ 75B 9mm in Glossy Blue. Why?
1. It's a really good quality gun that can be upgraded to a great gun, if you ever desired to do this.
2. It's accurate, durable (not necessarily the finish, though) and reliable.
3. It's high capacity. Buy 'em while you can.
4. It's 9mm - my favorite handgun caliber
5. It's really pretty!
6. It all steel and doesn't have an ugly rail on it.
7. It's kind of rare in glossy blue, but affordable.
8. It will be easier to shoot; cheaper to shoot and you will be able to shoot it in a larger number of places than a Garand.
9. If you are going to buy a Garand, you have a lot of studying to do to make sure you are getting exactly what you think you are getting.
While I like the Garand, and wouldn't mind having one as a collector (not as a shooter, or maybe as an occasional shooter - just don't have any need for a big heavy semi-auto 30-06), the more I've read about them, the collectible ones are fairly rare, expensive and you need to know your stuff when buying one.