| Author | Message | ||
     Bob_thompson |
If its strictly a sports car you want this would not due but, out here there are a lot of decent mileage Chev 4th gen Camaros Z28's and many convertibles for $6-12K in really nice shape. Many need nothing to drive away. And either autos or 6 spd's which I would want. I've almost jumped on one several times but two trucks and my bass boat have my garage full. Bike barely has room to work easily on. Last one I had was a 1993 LT1 Z28 6sp. Beautiful for cruising and well enough power to have a lot of fun. In 6th gear cruising at 70mph got 28 mpg honestly. You might also check Auto Trader online. A really nice one would be worth a trip to bring back. Bob | ||
| 86129squids |
I worked for a woman who had a 1st gen Miata, got to drive it a bit. It reminded me of a go-cart. If you <thought> about changing lanes, you just did. Several folks balk at its appearance, or the perception that it's a "girly" car. I've always appreciated them, regardless. The S2000 would be my pick. IIRC there were Honda MC engineers involved in the project, hence the high revving motor and the chassis/suspension design. My fantasy 'vert is a Karmann Ghia- body dropped on a slimmed 911 chassis, with an obscene sleeper motor. No, wait- Yugo DID produce a convertible... I'd work it through with a mazda rotary motor and funnn-nesss. | ||
| Thumper74 |
Don't forget the Audi TT! They can be had pretty reasonably used. If you can do your own work, they can be a riot, but not something I'd own if I couldn't do my own work and the car was out of warranty. Not because parts are bad, but because the dealers think they're fancier than they are. If something that's pretty responsive to mods, that you're looking for, the TT isn't a bad choice. Court, I completely love the new Mustang. The GT350 is about as sexy as they come. | ||
| Midknyte |
http://www.polaris.com/en-us/slingshot Having the same urges. Check this out. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Have you considered a replica or kit car? there's some bargains to be had in that realm. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Just spotted an 03 BMW Z4 on ebay for under 10k buy it now. Also if you want a bit of power how about a ragtop Mercedes SL500. I love car shopping. Can you tell?  | ||
| Xben9r |
Can't believe nobody has mentioned http://monstermiata.webs.com/ ? Now there is something that could be measured in smiles  | ||
| Reepicheep |
FWIW, we got a 90k Mini Cooper S that already had Dinan intake and exhaust and was lowered with Koni shocks. Not a convertible, but a big honking sunroof. Got it for about $9000. I've said it before... the CEO of BMW must have walked into a room full of his best engineers and said "Build me a car to chase a squirrel around inside a phone booth", and the Mini Cooper S was born. Maintenance costs are high, but "German Import" high, not "Exotic Import" high. (Message edited by reepicheep on March 24, 2015) | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
The Monster Miata was the 1 and only reason I bought one. I met a guy on the Tail of the Dragon that had just picked up his new Lotus. He was heading home from the dealer in Atlanta back to PA. The Lotus was a cool car, but not my thing. We got to talking and he said he had a Miata that would make Corvette owners cry (Sorry Vern). I laughed and said "I'm sure you do". He then proceed to tell me about his Miata with a blown 302 stuffed under the hood and it was called a "Monster Miata". As soon as I got home I looked them up and shortly there after. I bought a red 92 with black interior. I had so much fun with it in stock trim that I just ended up doing cosmetic repairs and left the power plant alone. A big go cart about sums it up. | ||
| Chauly |
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| 86129squids |
I'm glad this thread got going... I've decided long ago that when the time comes that I give up motorcycles (NOOO!!!), I'll get a nice 'vert. Last summer, my hon and I were planning a trip down to Tampa Bay to visit her daughter- I had a chance to buy/trade for a Miata. All the conditions were right- I'd schemed to trade her Toyota Solara, dude with Miata was looking for a good go-to-school car for his daughter. Car values were pretty close, with a little boot, seemed like I could make it happen... This car was a 2nd or 3rd gen model, with the nice burgundy paint, good looking factory mags, tan leather seat, deluxe interior, automatic (my honey can't do a stick  ), PLUS the hardtop option. She shot me down. "My Toyota is SO reliable, has more room", blah blah blah. Oh well. Given that she's not too keen on riding with me anymore due to a bad back, I'm still looking to get something we can enjoy together. An S2000 is the dream, but a Miata fits my reality much better. | ||
| Sifo |
So cars to check out on my list right now, in no particular order... Miata of course Honda S2000 Audi TT BMW Z3 BMW Z4 Porsche Boxster I think the Sky has been knocked off the list. Hearing about the more complicated rag top, loosing the trunk when the top is down helped make that decision. Sitting in it and finding it smaller than a Miata in virtually every dimension didn't help either. If we were both under 5' 7" or so it might be a great fit. Unfortunate, because it's a car that I really wanted to fall for. This sort of input is exactly why I started this thread though. I don't know that much about the Boxster at this point, but feel I need to approach it with an open mind. We'll take a good look at it. Maybe even drive it. Who knows, it might light my fire. Any input on that one would be very appreciated. A Corvette is never off our list. Yes, I've often considered kit cars. I would still like to build one someday. Likely a Cobra replicar. I've got a close friend who's neighbor owns one. It's not bad for an affordable version of unobtainium. While I will of course welcome more input on cars on the list, or new suggestions, I hope this thread my take on a life of it's own, as the often do, going off in new directions. Go for it and post some pictures! Squids, that's kind of where we are. I know we can't keep biking for ever. In fact, we picked up a bike trailer because the long rides of touring on bikes, especial naked bikes like we like isn't always 100% awesomeness. Especially when one end of the tour is northern Illinois! So we've decided that it's time for a bit of that delayed gratification that we worked so damn hard for. | ||
| Sifo |
BTW, part of all of this is trying to make some space for the new toy. Something has got to go. My 2006 Sprint ST is falling on the sword. If anyone is interested, feel free to PM me. I've talked them up here in the past. They are terrific bikes. I think about $4,500 is a fair BadWeb price. It's got about 34,000 miles. About 20,000 of those are mine. Here's a shot of it on the PCH...  | ||
| Reepicheep |
Price the standard maintenance stuff before you buy a TT. The 4 wheel drive platform, in such a small car, has some pretty dark implications for how to get to what (and the resulting $$). | ||
| Greatlaker |
Just get a Miata. You have to rev the snot out of an S2000 to really enjoy that car and if you are revving the snot out of it you are travelling at illegal speeds. The S2000 is a fantastic car for the track, its pretty ho hum on the street. The BMW Z3 is the best option after a Miata. The beauty of the Miata (if you can fit in one) is you can cane it on the street at 5/10 or 6/10's of the cars potential and not worry too much about the police taking your licence away. You can autocross a Miata, you can take it to the track if you wanted. Buy a Corvette or Z4 or Boxster and you are constantly operating within 2/10 or 3/10's of the cars ultimate potential on the street. Better to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slow. A Mini is a good compromise but the iron block models have been problematic. What about a Mercedes SLK or an older generation Mercedes SL? The Mercedes SL380 is a lovely balanced car all things considered if you keep it on the street. If you can fit into a Miata, its the best combination of price/performance you can buy from any manufacturer. My dad had Bob Tullius out to the cottage years ago when I was a kid. I remember very clearly a friend of my father's asking Bob what his greatest racing experience was. Bob's response was, "Racing a Mini for British Leyland, racing in the Trans Am series, passing Camaro's and Mustangs on the inside corner." Bob is cool. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Just a FYI Sifo, a one way flight from Chicago Midway to Columbus on Southwest is less than a $100 bucks..... and the flight is only 65 minutes... I'd pick you up at Port Columbus and you could drive it home... $10,500 and its yours... | ||
| 86129squids |
... and Bob's your uncle!" LOVED it when Sir Anthony spoke those lines in "World's Fastest Indian". Every time I come back to this thread, my 'vert jones gets chubbier. | ||
| 86129squids |
And, FWIW, I'm LOVING my '02 Sprint. Still getting used to riding it fast (not Burnt Rice or Barking Mad fast  ), had a ball on it last weekend in Suches. That looks to be a nice $# for that bike, Tom... even though Triumph saw fit to uglify them after my model...  Hope you grab your new toy soon! Spring IS here, after all. Now, back to my garden work! | ||
| Sifo |
Wolf, It's certainly not out of the question. It's hard to make a deal like that worth both parties when the travel is involved though. There needs to be something to sweeten the pot. Perhaps exposing my wife to the 4X4 experience! That's a toy I want when we make the move to Michigan. | ||
| Jaimec |
Given a choice between a Can-Am Spyder, a Polaris Slingshot or a Miata, I'd take the Miata every time. It gets better mileage. You don't have to wear a helmet. You can put up the top to keep off the rain. You can put up the top, close the windows and turn on the heat or air conditioning It gets better gas mileage than either three-wheeler. It takes up the same amount of room in the garage as either three-wheeler. If you can't lean it through turns, it might as well be a car. By the way, I used to own a Rabbit Convertible and it was a hell of a lot of fun... but I needed something more practical and if the weather was nice enough to be driving with the top down I would be on the motorcycle instead. | ||
| Etennuly |
There are two really nice low mile C5 Zo6 Corvettes for sale on the Knoxville Craigs list. Like 80,000 mile red one for $14k and awesome yellow one with 30,000 for $18k. Both one owner from the same guy in Maryville.....ahhhh to have some chump change lying about!  I'd love to jump up to one of those hotrods then finish and liquidate mine. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I can offer very little advice here other than to avoid the boxter. My sister's BF had one and he said the clutch was terrible. He said that there was a very narrow band of "normal use" surrounded with "clutch burns". He's not a tool with a clutch either. He's had his Audi S3 for three times the miles without needing a new clutch. | ||
| Azxb9r |
Have you considered a replica or kit car? If you go that route the Factory 5 is awesome. If money is not a concern the Lucra is also incredible. | ||
| Buellish |
For Factory 5 on a budget,look at the 818S.WRX power with great handling. | ||
| Thumper74 |
If looking at the Boxster, run away from the first gen. Start at the second gen. From the sounds of it, a Miata may be a best option in terms of what you're looking for, upkeep (I just did a timing belt, VVT cam sprocket on a 2001 and it was CAKE), parts availability, aftermarket, and enthusiast support... | ||
| Sifo |
Talked to a Porsche guy at work today. He did mention that normal maintenance parts for a Porsche get pretty damn expensive. Still keeping an open mind about my "list", but I think Miata and Vettes ar at the top spots. We went Vette shopping today at a place that specializes in Vettes. Very nice stuff. They had a couple of C4s that actually fit our initial budget. They had a C5 that was really nice with reasonable mileage that we could swing if we wanted to. They also had an orange C6 that I want bad! It was really more than I want to spend on this cash sink hole. I can see the appeal to a Vette. I could almost certainly do better price wise if I'm willing to put the effort into shopping. I think the Miata may still be just the thing though. Plenty of fun, and will take up less real estate in the garage. That is a real consideration too. I need to find a Z4 to check out though. I love the style too much to simply ignore the possibility. I could be making a trip to OH in the near future too. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Here's something else to consider, simple mechanics, sweet handling, practical & fun. http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-3-Series-CONVERTIBLE-N O-RESERVE-/271811635250?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3 f493c6832&item=271811635250 | ||
| Bartimus |
After selling my RX7 a few years back, I picked up an '01 Miata with 22000 miles on the ODO. Fun car, decent gas mileage, and big time grin factor. Someone else said it earlier, but it does feel like a glorified go cart. Turns on a dime, AND has climate controls. I've done nothing to mine, no mods, and am still having a blast every time I drive it. I've got about 60000 miles on the ODO now, with no issues whatsoever.  | ||
| Aesquire |
I have to agree with Greatlaker on this one. A moderately powered fun car let's you have fun more often with less danger. (Message edited by aesquire on March 25, 2015) | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
That was pretty much my reasoning on buying the M2 to replace the FJ1200. |
