Used fairly inexpensive fun car?

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:14

So, while I’m hoping to take a civil service position that would require me to take a fairly sizable pay cut (about $1000/month), at the same time, it looks as though my current company (Avaya) might be doing yet another round of layoffs *sigh*. This will be the fifth round, and if so, I’m not so sure I’ll survive this one. As such, if I have to, I’m thinking about selling the Miata and trading my 335xi in on something considerably cheaper to help lower my monthly/revolving debt and add some cash back into my savings account.

I’m not too happy with the possible outcome (who would be right?), especially considering the amount of time, work and money I’ve put into the Miata since I bought it, but my livelihood is more important to me than a couple of machines (who would have guessed? Haha!).

Either way, if it has to happen, it has to happen. I’ve considered selling the Miata & 335xi private party and buying a beater cash, which would be a fairly smart move IMO, but with using a beater as a daily driver, there is always extra maintenance issues to contend with, so I’m not against financing a used car.

Although if I decide to finance a used car, I would like to keep the price below $17k if possible, and would like mileage to be under 60k miles. I would also prefer either FWD or AWD (I would eventually buy another RWD sports car down the line) as it’s my daily and would see snow. I prefer something that is at least sporty/fun to play with.

Here are the contenders:

-Mazdaspeed 3

-Mini Cooper S

-Civic Si

Yes, the WRX is off the list… honestly, after giving it more thought over the last few weeks, I just don’t think I want to deal with another EJ-series motor haha. While I enjoy EVO’s, they just don’t drop enough in price for me to look at one seriously. I’ve found a few for that cheap, but they’re usually heavily modded, and I assume beat to hell.

While I’m not a big fan of FWD, all 3 of these cars are inexpensive, handle well and are fairly sporty overall. The MS3 is the fastest of the group, and the best handler, while the Mini is the most fun to drive (subjective), however the Mini’s don’t drop in price very much, and I would really prefer the 2007+ turbo motor over the old S/C motor. The Civic Si won’t keep up with the other 2, but it will get better fuel economy, and IMO, will likely be more reliable, or at least have less maintenance involved. I also enjoy the look of the Si coupe, and Honda’s slick 6MT gearbox.

I have a 2-year old son, so any suggestions must include 4 seats, as this would be my daily driver.

What thinks you CMZC? Give me your thoughts, suggestions and all that jazz.

-Brandon

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:14

If reliability is a top concern, I'd probably go with the Civic Si out of those 3. I loved my MS3, but I was always afraid of that thing blowing up on me with all the horror stories I read on MSF about rods exiting blocks. Plus, with the Civic being the slowest choice of the 3, you'd be less tempted to mod it, and if the goal is to save money, you probably shouldn't mod it.

Or you could just get a beater like an old Protege that runs reliably and then you won't have a car payment at all. Sure things will need to be fixed now and then but overall cost of ownership will still be much less. But you'll have the annoyance factor of having to work on the car and the possibility of it breaking down on you occasionally.

Personally though, I'd deliver pizzas in the evenings if I had to before a major vehicular downgrade. And it may come to that if I have to take a big pay cut to get into my new field of programming.

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:14

erod550 wrote:If reliability is a top concern, I'd probably go with the Civic Si out of those 3. I loved my MS3, but I was always afraid of that thing blowing up on me with all the horror stories I read on MSF about rods exiting blocks. Plus, with the Civic being the slowest choice of the 3, you'd be less tempted to mod it, and if the goal is to save money, you probably shouldn't mod it.

Or you could just get a beater like an old Protege that runs reliably and then you won't have a car payment at all. Sure things will need to be fixed now and then but overall cost of ownership will still be much less. But you'll have the annoyance factor of having to work on the car and the possibility of it breaking down on you occasionally.

Personally though, I'd deliver pizzas in the evenings if I had to before a major vehicular downgrade. And it may come to that if I have to take a big pay cut to get into my new field of programming.

Yeah, this wouldn't be something I would be wanting to mod, which is another one of the reason the Civic is on the list. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm wondering how prices look for the last gen Acura TSX, I always liked the look of those cars and you can get them in a 6MT..

If I get the position I'm hoping to get, I can still keep my BMW, it would just be tight... it's getting laid off/not having an income at all I'm more concerned with. I have a decent sized savings account that can hold me over until I find another job, but I'm sure it won't pay nearly as well as I'm making now, and would be hard pressed to find a job on short notice that would pay as much as the position I'm applying for.

Years ago I would have thought the same thing about getting a second job, but it's a bit tougher these days as I have a kiddo and his daycare is only open from 6:30am-6:30pm, so finding child care nightly could be a bit of a PITA, and I actually enjoy spending time with the little bugger, so I would prefer to not need a 2nd job, as again, my time with my son means more to me than a couple of cars, ya know?

chromal · Postby **chromal** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:14

I think the Mini would be the least reliable and most expensive to fix/maintain. As for the other two, I guess it would really depend upon the prior owners. I may be a bit biased, but you should maybe also consider a Mazda3 S/GT. Unfortunately, with the Japanese tsunami, this is probably the worst possible time to buy a used late model Civic and quite possibly any Japanese vehicle, though Mazda is less affected than Honda/Toyota...

alex_n/a · Postby **alex_n/a** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:14

how long are you planning on keeping the "new" car? I think the mini cooper may not be a good idea for the long run as a DD. Also depending on how much money you want to save there are plenty of optional cars. The 00+ mazda protege is nice looking car and you can find them for 3-5k in good condition. You could even do a few upgrades for 1-2k and still save a ton of money saved, but it is a noticeable downgrade from your bmw. I personally would get my self a 00-04 vw jetta the turbo diseal version. I don't like the stock seats (not very adjustable) but besides the seats I like the car and gets nice gas millage.

geo2maz · Postby **geo2maz** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:14

you had an MS3 before your Bimmer right?
I'll let you take my MS3 off my hands for $17k that way I can get my 135i

Justin · Postby **Justin** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:14

I'd cross off the Mini, mainly because of reliability issues. It'd also be a pain to get a kid in and out of the back seat. The Si is a nice car, but I went with the Mazdaspeed 3 as a compromise between the STi I wanted and the Corolla I probably should have gotten.

Dange · Postby **Dange** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:14

mini's you have a pain in the *** with getting performance out of.
my roomates speed 3 with just an intake is a nice fun car. and a cobb on stage 1 tune is very conservative.
as much as i dislike them, the new cobalt ss turbo is a good car.

you think about a mazdaspeed protege? VERY inexpensive almost half of your 3 contenders price's, fun, boosted, and 4 doors plus gets great gas mileage. and you can still stay in the mazda family

as little money as the miata will resale for and the gas milage it gets, i wouldnt think it would be worth it...
but if you do maybe you would be interested in trading my bilstiens/mazdaspeed springs itll have the same resale value and im in the market for coilovers

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:14

Yea I meant to suggest just keeping the Miata also. You're not likely to get more than 2000-2500 for it and it's already paid off and you already sunk a bunch of cash into it. Might as well keep it as something to drive to work occasionally and still be able to have some fun on weekends.

G-Man · Postby **G-Man** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:14

My two cents worth - I've been unemployed since December.
Ditch the BMW ! ! ! They're expensive to own and run and you can hear them depreciate out loud.
I don't know your Miata, but I'd say keep it. You'll get hammered if you sell it, and it's got good practical functionality. Also, it's a Japanese compact car so cheap to run and maintain and won't break down.
Keeping the Miata also allows you to get something much less fun for a daily driver. With kids, you definitely want a four-door. Keeping the Miata lets you get something painfully practical and vanilla, which will save a ton of money. Like an Accord or even Camry. Shoot, $5K will buy a gorgeous Protege5.
By the way, I look forward to meeting you sometime...

Number2 · Postby **Number2** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:14

XRS Toyota Corolla

Civic Si 4-door with the comptech supercharger.

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Fri May 13, 2011 9:14

alex_n/a wrote:how long are you planning on keeping the "new" car? I think the mini cooper may not be a good idea for the long run as a DD. Also depending on how much money you want to save there are plenty of optional cars. The 00+ mazda protege is nice looking car and you can find them for 3-5k in good condition. You could even do a few upgrades for 1-2k and still save a ton of money saved, but it is a noticeable downgrade from your bmw. I personally would get my self a 00-04 vw jetta the turbo diseal version. I don't like the stock seats (not very adjustable) but besides the seats I like the car and gets nice gas millage.

Honestly, how long I would keep the "new" car would be completely dependent on my situation. Hell, I might even enjoy having a low payment (or pay it off early), and keep it (unlikely given my history of getting new cars).

geo2maz wrote:you had an MS3 before your Bimmer right?
I'll let you take my MS3 off my hands for $17k that way I can get my 135i

No, I had a MS6 a few years ago, but never a MS3. Before I could buy a car private party, I would have to find a buyer for my 335xi... and BTW, the 135i is a wonderful machine, if you get one, you won't want to sell it haha!

Dange wrote:mini's you have a pain in the *** with getting performance out of.
my roomates speed 3 with just an intake is a nice fun car. and a cobb on stage 1 tune is very conservative.
as much as i dislike them, the new cobalt ss turbo is a good car.

you think about a mazdaspeed protege? VERY inexpensive almost half of your 3 contenders price's, fun, boosted, and 4 doors plus gets great gas mileage. and you can still stay in the mazda family

as little money as the miata will resale for and the gas milage it gets, i wouldnt think it would be worth it...
but if you do maybe you would be interested in trading my bilstiens/mazdaspeed springs itll have the same resale value and im in the market for coilovers

Well, since it would be DD, I wouldn't be modding it except maybe an OTS flash or something to that effect. I actually looked for a MSP, but they're rare cars, hard to find in the local area, much less in good condition.

I'll consider keeping the Miata, knowing I would lose cash on it, and will consider your offer to swap suspensions. Although, I wasn't aware suspensions are a direct swap from NA to NB Miata's?!?

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Fri May 13, 2011 9:14

I think the rear top hats are different, but other than that I'm pretty sure they are the same. And even though the top hats are different, they are still interchangeable. Putting NB rear top hats on an NA is common practice to give the rear suspension a little more travel when lowered.

roninsoldier83 · Postby **roninsoldier83** » Fri May 13, 2011 9:14

I didn't realize that.

I guess a person learn's something new everyday.

On another note, I just realize Ralph Schomp Honda has 4 CPO'd Civic Si's on their lot... I might stop by and take a look at them. In truth, I've never driven the new Civic Si so I'm fairly curious, but I used to really enjoy driving the old Acura RSX Type S, even though they were slow haha. As such, I figured I would dig the Si. Either way, I bought my 335xi CPO'd through Schomp BMW, so I'm fairly curious.

Postby **Huzer** » Fri May 13, 2011 9:14

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

Used fairly inexpensive fun car?

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Used fairly inexpensive fun car?

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