I am no fat ass and I do find it hard to get in the car. Once in though, they are fun to drive. Just I don't think they are a good street car.
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What's the best convertible of the past decade?
- Thread starter DoNoHarm
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I am no fat ass and I do find it hard to get in the car. Once in though, they are fun to drive. Just I don't think they are a good street car.
How is an M3 more expensive to maintain than a Vette?
Have you seen the price on a Vette tire recently? My M3 has been very reasonable to maintain.
I vote M3, and throw some Dinan in there as well for yourself
I just bought a new '09 Miata Sport (5 speed) and it is a real blast to drive, and the deals Mazda was offering made it even sweeter! I think I got the last Sport in Texas. To me this is the perfect combination of price, performance, and FUN.
How is an M3 more expensive to maintain than a Vette?
Have you seen the price on a Vette tire recently? My M3 has been very reasonable to maintain.
I vote M3, and throw some Dinan in there as well for yourself
That has more to do with the size of the tire then the 'Vette itself.
The 'Vette is cheaper to maintain because it shares so many parts with other GM vehicles. The engine is the same basic Small Block that is in the trucks and other V8 equipped vehicles in GM's lineup. The transmission is also shared with GM's other RWD vehicles( the automatic at least is). The Z06 and ZR1 will be more expensive considering they have more unique parts content, but the regular 'Vette will be relatively cheap.
The M3 has more unique parts compared to the 3 series and the 3 series is already not that cheap to maintain once you get it out of BMW's free service warranty. My dad( now my brothers) had an E46 330xi. And whenever something broke, it was expensive to fix. Once you get into the high mileage of BMW's, it gets expensive.
I'd consider the Honda S2000. There's little not to like about it.... It's not really a ricer vehicle either. You can get a used one for right around 10-12k
how much did you get it for?
I'm really leaning towards the Miata. From what I'm understanding, the older corvette would be faster if I were to race the two cars on a track, but on mountain roads, I'm not going to be driving the car at it's capacity. Instead the "telepathic" handling of the miata will come into play more often. Also, the ease of operating the top on the miata, the less dated and more refined interior, and the more high tech and rigid chasis on the miata will probably outweigh the benefits of the corvette. Other than raw power, I can't really think of any other benefit.
The next decision is whether to stick to the 2006-2008 miata or go for the 1999-2005 miata.
EDIT: By the way, this is hilarious:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rgr69YYl3w
I paid about $17.5K ($6500 off MSRP) minus my trade, and thought it was a steal (barely more than a Honda Fit Sport). Of course, this was last year's model (2009) but if I keep it several years like I normally do the difference in resale value will be meaningless. Personally I would much rather have the Miata over the Corvette even at the same price, just because I prefer the small/light roadster performance feel. Of course it does not have the brute force of the Corvette, but it more than makes up for that imho in the fun factor! Besides, the Corvette to me is too big to be a "real" sports car; different strokes for different folks I guess (and yes I have owned a Corvette before). The road handling is superb even with the stock suspension, and I have no plans to change it. The cockpit is small, so if you are tall it can take some getting used to, but for me it is perfect (I'm 5'6"); everything is within easy reach and well laid out. And it gets about 23-25 mpg city and 28-30 mpg highway (premium required).
The NC (third generation) came out in 2006 and got a facelift and some interior changes in 2009; I prefer the 2009 and up models myself because of the interior refinements. I have also heard many good things about the NB (1999-2005) that you mentioned, but I've never personally driven one of them; they are lighter but also less horsepower. Be aware that neither the NB nor the NC come with a spare tire; I bought a compact spare from an RX7 that barely fits in the trunk but have never used it.
That video is hilarious and demonstrates how quick and easy it is to drop the soft top on the Miata, a simple one handed operation from the driver's seat. I have had some older roadsters and would always leave the top down when I went into a store because they were so hard to work; now I routinely flip the top up every time because it is so easy.
If you have any specific questions I would be glad to try and answer them.
This is going to sound very strange, but have you looked into the more sedate convertibles? I know you want the "fun to drive," but I went from a 540 sport package BMW to a Chrysler Sebring convertible (I had one or two other cars in there too).
I thought after the 540 I'd always want a rocket ship, but that Chrysler was super laid back, nice to drive, relaxing and very practical (which most convertibles are not). I looked at the S2000, Porche Boxter, and BMW's, but I don't regret that car at all.
I thought after the 540 I'd always want a rocket ship, but that Chrysler was super laid back, nice to drive, relaxing and very practical (which most convertibles are not). I looked at the S2000, Porche Boxter, and BMW's, but I don't regret that car at all.