With the recovery of my stolen camera gear looking increasingly less likely I need to start looking at what to buy. I was starting to look for a D700, and think I might buy one over getting a D300s as a replacement. The insurance company is happy to give me a store credit with one of their suppliers so I can order what I want. As I'm not shooting motorsport any more the extra length the crop body gives is no longer an issue.

My big question is, which wide-angle Nikon lens should I be looking at? And what are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

I have been wanting to get into more landscapes, which is why I had purchased a Cokin kit. This remains an aspiration of mine, but I need advice from our experienced landscapers regarding filters. I want to be able to run a full ND and ND Grad.

The two Nikon options I can see are:
The simply brilliant 14-24 f/2.8. I have a keen eye on this lens, but the very high expense of filters is proving difficult to overlook. Should I be letting this concern me? The biggest thing I want is the ability to run a full ND.
The 16-35 f/4. I've not heard much about this lens, does anyone here use it? It would solve all the filter problems because it has a standard 77mm thread.

I need a wide-angle for car interior shots. I used 12-14mm on my Sigma 10-20/D300 combo mostly. 12mm x 1.5 crop = 16mm, so the 16-35 might be adequite?

Any feedback on either option is greatly appreciated.