What type of AV setup do you have?
What type of games besides racing do you like?
Are you interested in BluRay or Netflix streaming?
Are you using a wireless network at home?
How hard core are you into racing games?
For titles you are likely to be interested in, given what you have told us the only thing I could really reccomend would be GT5😛- that is just a souped up demo, but it is one you would likely enjoy quite a bit.
For when you should pick up your PS3, I would reccomend Black Friday if you are willing to deal with the crowds. BestBuy has a deal where you get LittleBigPlanet and the new Ratchet&Clank game for free when you buy a PS3, WalMart has the new Batman Game, Infamous and Dark Knight BluRay for free when you buy a PS3. All of them are good games, if you would enjoy them or not depends on what type of game you like. Even if you don't like the games, you can trade them in for something you would enjoy- Dark Knight is a pretty sweet Blu Ray to show off that end of the system too.
For accessories, the PS3 comes with pretty much everything you need for single player gaming. You may want to pick up a second controller if you are going to need it obviously, a remote may be something you are interested in if you don't have a HDMI CEC TV(or one that won't play nice with the PS3), but other then that it's all in the box- Except a HDMI cable.
If you are interested in Netflix streaming, you'll need to get the PS3 disc from them, you have to have it in while streaming for the time being.
If you are hardcore into GT5 and are looking for a wheel the Logitech G27 is the best way to go, the only real competition it has is the Logitech G25 but the pedal placement on the G27 is much better for heel-toe and it is a smoother operating wheel overall. The G25 is still an excellent wheel, just the G27 is a bit better.
Besides GT5😛 the selection of racing games on the PS3 is quite weak. If you are into Wipeout, the latest version on PSN(Playstation Network, downloadable content, you can buy cards in store and charge your account or use your CC) is getting very solid reviews. Other then that, Need For Speed Shift is about the only other remotely decent racer(that has a lot of issues too, although it is leagues better then any NFS game to hit in many years). Burnout Paradise is fun to play through if you are looking for some arcade action, you can pick that one up pretty cheap too, $20 new I think.
If you have a decent AV setup, the PS3 is a very good Blu Ray player and also an excellent media extender for your PC to network to. You will want to run PS3 Media Server(free ware) to simplify things, and then you will be good to go on that front. Obviously BluRay still has a premium to it, but if you are picking up a new movie anyway, may as well get it in the best possible medium(unless you are the type that doesn't buy movies, at which point that advantage obviously won't matter).
Reliability wise the PS3 has proven to be leagues better then the PS2. Failures so far have been few and far between(although like anything, they still happen).
If you answer the questions I posted I'd be more then willing to get more in depth with anything we could help you out with, just hard to gauge exactly what you are looking for. The new generation of consoles(well, the 360 and PS3) do so much more then the previous generation there is a lot of ground to cover.
