Griff's car conundrum

[mk6medic]

Good to know. Actual advice/experience is pretty poor trolling though

Dammit, you are right. I failed. Ugh.

 

[SwiftGTI]

Hmmm, hadn't thought much about an E36 but I've always liked them. Pretty old at this point for a DD but if I could find a nice well maintained one it could be doable. I've really been loving the RX-8 lately, I may try to drive one this week. Their resale is awful which is good, I could get a pretty new one for like $12k I think.

I got a chance to ride in a slightly modded E36 M3 during my last trackday (coilovers, tires/wheels, wilwood brakes) and it was pretty impressive. It doesn't have the lightweight feel of an FR-S or S2000, but it has more midrange pull. And the sound of the flat 6 is great.

From what I've heard, as long as you stay on top of the maintenance, they're fairly reliable. If you can't stand the lack of torque in the RX-8, you should give the E36 M3 a try. You can find decent examples for under $10k now.

 

[maxtdi]

Sell miata if it's not the car you want it to be, if you spend $$$$ modifying it you won't see it at the end. Just wasted money.

 

[mk6medic]

Exactly, it would only make sense under two conditions.

1) You could lower your payment significantly.
2) Said used car could be certifiably reliable.

You could do it, but you would be hard pressed to find anything fun to drive. Sure you could get a used civic or corolla and have a payment of $120 a month but, what's the fun in that?

Sell the miata, and save the money, I can't stress the important of savings. Or see if you can throw the money at your GTI payment, refinance and get a lower monthly note.

This is good advice.

 

[thedude4bides]

Sell miata if it's not the car you want it to be, if you spend $$$$ modifying it you won't see it at the end. Just wasted money.

Your advice was already built into the pole:laugh:

I second his advice. Maybe use a little money for mods.

 

[D Griff]

Exactly, it would only make sense under two conditions.

1) You could lower your payment significantly.
2) Said used car could be certifiably reliable.

You could do it, but you would be hard pressed to find anything fun to drive. Sure you could get a used civic or corolla and have a payment of $120 a month but, what's the fun in that?

Sell the miata, and save the money, I can't stress the important of savings. Or see if you can throw the money at your GTI payment, refinance and get a lower monthly note.

Yep, I'd much rather just pay the GTI note than drive some turd. My GTI was financed at 1.9% so it's probably best to stick it out with what I've got if I keep it.

I got a chance to ride in a slightly modded E36 M3 during my last trackday (coilovers, tires/wheels, wilwood brakes) and it was pretty impressive. It doesn't have the lightweight feel of an FR-S or S2000, but it has more midrange pull. And the sound of the flat 6 is great.

From what I've heard, as long as you stay on top of the maintenance, they're fairly reliable. If you can't stand the lack of torque in the RX-8, you should give the E36 M3 a try. You can find decent examples for under $10k now.

Nice, hopefully I can find people at auto-x/track stuff to ride with and see how the cars feel there. It's tough to get a good feel for performance on a street test drive.

Sell miata if it's not the car you want it to be, if you spend $$$$ modifying it you won't see it at the end. Just wasted money.

I mean, I think I'd absolutely love a Miata if it was modded well. I really like mone, it's a lot of fun. But at the end of the day it's slow and has no grip stock. It's probably make more sense to buy one someone else modded down the line though, like you said, I'd never see that money again.

I wouldn't recommend a $5k bugeye if it's going to be your only car.

Noted.

Dammit, you are right. I failed. Ugh.

:23:

 

[maxtdi]

Right... you'd probably have to spend a solid 2-3k on a car that is worth not much more than that in order to have it up to your specs in handling, and adding power is nearly out of the question for that car because it is old and it takes 3-4k to just add a supercharger while doing your own work.

There are easier/cheaper ways to go faster. If you can't enjoy the miata for what it is, a really slow decent handling roadster, it is time to move on to something else.

 

[Balt21]

I'd sell the Miata and save the money if you aren't happy with it. If I had a second car as a "toy" and was unhappy with it, I would have a hard time throwing more money into it than what it is worth.

Personally, I would save the money from the Miata for the future. If buying something small for the GTI, such as window tint, will make you more happy, I'd say go for it. The next couple years have a bunch of nice cars coming out such as the WRX, Mustang, Mazdaspeed 3, etc. I'd keep paying on the GTI for a year or so, get some more equity in it, and buy one of those or get the outgoing model for cheap like you said.

 

[Zillon]

Sell the Miata, keep the GTI, but don't go hog wild on mods.

 

[adolan21]

Also factor in cost of ownership on these cars. RX8 gets absolute shit for gas mileage and burns oil by nature. Insurance might be expensive and their resale value sucks. Great for buying but bad for selling. E46 330 ZHP is what I would get but BMW upkeep can be pricey. I would go on each cars forums to get a feel for common issues and how much maintenance costs on each before you make your decision.

 

[D Griff]

Also factor in cost of ownership on these cars. RX8 gets absolute shit for gas mileage and burns oil by nature. Insurance might be expensive and their resale value sucks. Great for buying but bad for selling. E46 330 ZHP is what I would get but BMW upkeep can be pricey. I would go on each cars forums to get a feel for common issues and how much maintenance costs on each before you make your decision.

Agreed. I'm a member on e46fanatics or some other BMW forum and have spent some time researching those as well as RX-8s already but more would definitely be needed.I've already jumped into to many cars without the proper research, not anymore.

For the record when I talk about modding the GTI it's nothing crazy:
Tires (will need soon anyway)
Maybe wheels
Sway bars
Torque mount insert
tints

That's probably about it. I will never go past stage 1 power wise on the GTI I don't think. I don't want coils, the stock setup is too good. I have a filter waiting at home that arrived today to make an intake.

 

[D Griff]

There are easier/cheaper ways to go faster. If you can't enjoy the miata for what it is, a really slow decent handling roadster, it is time to move on to something else.

I dunno... a nice NA/NB with great suspension, wheels and tires would be pretty rad. Mine's very enjoyable to drive. The time just isn't right for me. And it would be smarter to buy a pre modded one. You can get a nice Miata with lower miles, super charger, nice coils, nice wheels/tires for like $6kish.

What would you suggest that's cheaper/easier out of curiosity?

 

[troyguitar]

Do you need 4 seats?

 

[xytbyk]

Either dump the miata and save that money or dump it and keep the GTI mods in check. If you can stand suffering through driving a really fun GTI for a few years, you can re-buy a miata later on and go nuts with it.

Your miata situation sounds like a less financially extreme version what I experienced with the 944T I bought when I graduated undergrad. All told, I ended up dumping almost $25k into perfecting my 944 while I had a mk2 GLI 16V DD that would have been perfectly adequate for my autox skill level and the three or four track days I did per year.

I was never cash-strapped, but I could be better off now if I was a little more restrained then. That money would now cover six months of mortgage payments--nine months with interest, or the cost of my Evo (that will kick the shit out of my old 944 in every measurable way). It was probably the biggest mistake I made in my twenties.

 

[Mister_A]

whatever you do keep a reliable dd and get a fuckn weekend car I think that's the best setup so each car knows its purpose. kinda how u have it already with the Miata and the gti. but if ur not happy with the Miata yea just sell it