Used fairly inexpensive fun car?

[roninsoldier83]

Heck, get a Volvo S60R, V70R. 300hp, awd, available in 6MT. You can find em under 17k all day long.

Duly noted.

[Mikedubs]

I was in this same spot. I ended up getting my 2010 MS3 for 19k OTD which was a bit factor. If you go with the SI make sure you don't pay retail on it because in my opinion it's certainly not worth the money dollar for dollar. On top of that, make sure you take off your "SI" badge because everyone will be eyeballing your car for some strange reason.

I like the minis and they don't really drop in price but the good news is, they really don't drop in price when you decide to sell it.

I like the MS3 for no other reason than the crazy amount of room the hatch gives you, you can haul anything in it and the baby turbo is nice. The only mod you really need on it is a rear motor mount to stop the torque steer a bit.

[roninsoldier83]

I was in this same spot. I ended up getting my 2010 MS3 for 19k OTD which was a bit factor. If you go with the SI make sure you don't pay retail on it because in my opinion it's certainly not worth the money dollar for dollar. On top of that, make sure you take off your "SI" badge because everyone will be eyeballing your car for some strange reason.

I like the minis and they don't really drop in price but the good news is, they really don't drop in price when you decide to sell it.

I like the MS3 for no other reason than the crazy amount of room the hatch gives you, you can haul anything in it and the baby turbo is nice. The only mod you really need on it is a rear motor mount to stop the torque steer a bit.

You picked up your MS3 for $19k OTD? Was that brand new? Just curious, where did you pick it up at?

Honestly, part of the appeal of the Civic is that it will be the cheapest to maintain, best fuel economy, good resale (seems to be about on par with the MCS), and because it's a naturally aspirated motor at elevation, I will likely see modifying it as pointless, so it will be the least likely I would be tempted to mod haha!

I love my BMW, but ultimately, I love my livelihood/money more...

[Mikedubs]

You picked up your MS3 for $19k OTD? Was that brand new? Just curious, where did you pick it up at?

Honestly, part of the appeal of the Civic is that it will be the cheapest to maintain, best fuel economy, good resale (seems to be about on par with the MCS), and because it's a naturally aspirated motor at elevation, I will likely see modifying it as pointless, so it will be the least likely I would be tempted to mod haha!

I love my BMW, but ultimately, I love my livelihood/money more...

I got mine at Gateway Mazda in the middle of winter during the big car recession, but I also walked in with cash and a trade it which was a big deal.

[Number2]

Test drive the Si and let us know what you think. I test drove the '09 a couple of years ago and loved the styling, loved the ergonomics, loved the interior...did not love the engine.

[geo2maz]

... and BTW, the 135i is a wonderful machine, if you get one, you won't want to sell it haha!

They are! I'm pretty sure that will be my next car, maybe by the end of this year... i've seen some as low as $26k,

Older (05-10) 3-series beamz are nice & affordable, and you wouldn't lose comfort downgrading to Mazda or Civic

[tsx_guy]

Heck, get a Volvo S60R, V70R. 300hp, awd, available in 6MT. You can find em under 17k all day long.

ooooh! what about reliability?

[roninsoldier83]

They are! I'm pretty sure that will be my next car, maybe by the end of this year... i've seen some as low as $26k,

Older (05-10) 3-series beamz are nice & affordable, and you wouldn't lose comfort downgrading to Mazda or Civic

Hard to find an AWD 3-series under the mileage I'm looking for in the price range I'm looking for.... even harder to find a manual, which, I'm a die-hard manual guy, owned an auto once, couldn't stand it, and it was a quick shifting 7-speed, just prefer to control my gears myself and I've never cared for laggy paddle-shifters.

I REALLY enjoyed the couple of 135i's I've driven, even though I don't care for the exterior styling. Although I've dealt with RWD as daily driver's before, and for the winter, I would prefer not to.

Test drive the Si and let us know what you think. I test drove the '09 a couple of years ago and loved the styling, loved the ergonomics, loved the interior...did not love the engine.

Interesting.... I liked the K20 in the old RSX-S, maybe it's subjective or the gears are spaced differently in the Si?!? Either way, they're gutless little motors (no mid-range torque to speak of), but in a 2700-2800 lbs car with a close ratio gearbox, I thought it fit the old RSX-S pretty well (same chassis IIRC). I'll let you know how I feel about the Si... expect a long-winded rant haha!

[Number2]

We all know what kind of cars you like! I can almost guarantee you will have a hard time seeing yourself enjoying the car.

[roninsoldier83]

We all know what kind of cars you like! I can almost guarantee you will have a hard time seeing yourself enjoying the car.

Yeah, I really don't like FWD cars.... although I've always really enjoyed the Mini Cooper S & used to dig the old RSX-S. Neither are fast, but enjoyable to drive.

This comes down to money for me though. In years passed I would have dedicated a large portion of my finances to automotive endeavors (i.e. hooligan cars), but these days I have other priorities.

On a positive note, today our management said rumors of layoffs are so far unsubstantiated, so that's good.

At the same time, I have gone pretty far into taking a new, much lower paying civil service job, and recently lost a roommate (i.e. rent went up a bit), so the idea of downgrading one of my vehicles in order to save money is appealing.

In truth, if I get the position I'm hoping for, I will take around a $1000/month pay cut, but after about ~8 months, would get a $560/month bump, making it a little easier to breathe. However, at that point, once I have a new career established, I'm tired of paying rent. I have a decent amount of cash in savings, and I want to buy a house. More disposable income (i.e. lower car payment) will help in this department.

Also, if there is no impending layoff (assuming lower management is correctly informed), there is no need to sell the Miata... and since I don't plan on modding any of my daily drivers, more disposable income would also mean more money that I could use to mod the Miata if I so choose (I've almost pulled the trigger on used turbo kits a couple of times already haha!). So, while a slow FWD daily driver wouldn't be balls-to-the-walls fun, I have another car for that

The potential daily driver would serve it's purpose: lower monthly/overall debt, lower insurance (only about ~$100/6-months, not a big deal, but helps), lower fuel consumption (based on average annual fuel costs, should be around $30/month), lower maintenance costs (Bimmer's aren't cheap haha!), stay reliable, and get me from point A to point B without completely boring me out of my mind, haha!

Just sharing my thoughts.

[erod550]

Hooligan cars, lol.

[roninsoldier83]

Hooligan cars, lol.

Hey, I've owned a WRX, a 2nd Gen DSM, a 350Z, MR2 Turbo and a STI to name a few haha! Let's call a spade, a spade

Logically, there's no reason to own a performance oriented car as a daily driver... most of them go much faster than any posted speed limit in the USA, and can take corners harder than any of us can legally pitch them around without getting a careless/reckless driving type of ticket haha! In truth, for someone like me, cars like that are purchased solely on an emotional response; I actually try to enjoy driving

However, in my Bimmer, I almost never get a chance to really push the car (and wouldn't likely track it anyway in fear of something expensive breaking haha!), as most of the time the car is either cruising on the freeway or stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. On-ramps are my only reprieve, and with my son in the car (I have him 50% of the time), even those are less frequent.

So, while the BMW is the ultimate daily driver IMO, I almost never get a chance to use it to it's full potential, making it easier to justify getting a slow(er), more boring car in order to help me financially. I love the Bimmer, but ultimately I think I would prefer more money in my pocket/in the bank and a house.

We'll see what happens. I might change my mind, as getting into pretty much any car these days does feel like a big downgrade.... we'll see if I can live with it for the sake of logic/money.

[Dange]

i still say if you decide to sell the bimmer. and keep the money. put some sticky non rcomps on the miata with some TRc1 wheels. or go full JDM with it and watanabes
my miata is about 225rwhp and it faster than my old nco's intake/exhaust/chipped 335xi not by much, but i still inched him and it still weights quite a bit more than your miata. i bet if you got yours to 200rwhp (which is pretty easy and cheap in an NA) you would have all the speed you want and breakages are downright cheap compared to your previous cars except for maybe the dsm
with some interior help from redlinegoods and a set of good katskin seatcovers. and a stereo + headrest speakers. its down right nice in the interior I'm actually going through this now since my msm is my daily, im bringing the interior closer to BMW/audi/lexus quality
and get a really vanilla DD like a few people have suggested for a couple grand. something cheap slow and probably automatic will make the miata even more fun

just my opinion, but if i was in your situation, a powerful 2 seat roadster thats so nimble would be a perfect little fun car and escape from the daily boringness.

[Number2]

Yea but the civic is still high-priced. I was checking them out and for the car...it's a lot of dough for what you get. Granted it will hold its value come time to sell it. Tit for Tat.

[erod550]

:D

Hey, I've owned a WRX, a 2nd Gen DSM, a 350Z, MR2 Turbo and a STI to name a few haha! Let's call a spade, a spade

Logically, there's no reason to own a performance oriented car as a daily driver... most of them go much faster than any posted speed limit in the USA, and can take corners harder than any of us can legally pitch them around without getting a careless/reckless driving type of ticket haha! In truth, for someone like me, cars like that are purchased solely on an emotional response; I actually try to enjoy driving

However, in my Bimmer, I almost never get a chance to really push the car (and wouldn't likely track it anyway in fear of something expensive breaking haha!), as most of the time the car is either cruising on the freeway or stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. On-ramps are my only reprieve, and with my son in the car (I have him 50% of the time), even those are less frequent.

So, while the BMW is the ultimate daily driver IMO, I almost never get a chance to use it to it's full potential, making it easier to justify getting a slow(er), more boring car in order to help me financially. I love the Bimmer, but ultimately I think I would prefer more money in my pocket/in the bank and a house.

We'll see what happens. I might change my mind, as getting into pretty much any car these days does feel like a big downgrade.... we'll see if I can live with it for the sake of logic/money.

I don't know. Even if it's just for driving to work, I don't think I could own a boring plain jane car anymore. I have fun driving my Mustang to Walmart 3 miles away. Even if you only have a 2 second opening to punch it to get up to the speed limit quickly, it's still enough to put a smile on your face and make it worth it. It's why when I was looking for a beater I didn't just get a Civic for 2k. Sure it would get great gas mileage and be reliable, but I would hate every minute of driving it because it would be so freakin boring. At least in the Miata it handles great and I can drop the top so even though it is crazy slow it's still fun to drive.