kurtposer

It looks like Jacques79 and CKit are in my situation. Thanks again to all.

Jacques79, why are you not considering the Miata? A neighbor has a Boxster that she only drives 5K per year. She loves it but isn't a golfer. I am not sure if clubs will fit in this car. She needed to replace the clutch after 15K miles and that cost $1600. She said that they are notoriously tough on clutches. This type of expense is what I would want to avoid. As I said at the top of this posting, I had a manual Civic with 280K miles and its original clutch was still in fine shape. Any comments regarding the Miata?

CKit, it is great to hear that two fit in this car with their bags. I am not large, but am 6' 1" and over 180lbs. Will this be a problem? The S2000 is a performance car and although I like and appreciate great engineering, I will be using it to drive along the beach and run local errands. The only performance objective I would have is that the car works when started and doesn't break down. My needing a fast car days are behind me. Do the higher rpm's and stiffer ride bother you or your wife?

A new Mini-Cooper is too expensive, particularly for the amount of car it seems you would get. Maybe I am wrong with my thinking, but I liken these cars to the convertible Rabits of the 1980's.

Again, thanks for the input. I am comprehending it all and because of it a decision will result. Of course, I need to drive them too.

My wife mentioned the XK8, but its Ford influence is too great, it is larger than I would like, and Jaquar has a costly reputation in my mind.

Keep the ideas and comments coming.

Happy Easter to all.

willinathen

if your only performance objective is reliability and low maintenance then the honda is your only choice.

you'll also get the bonuses; great looks, great performance, great handling and pretty damned good gas mileage for a car this fast.

Willinathen

kurtposer

Sorry to not be complete again. Reliability is very important, while looks seating two with two sets of clubs, gas mileage, and maintenance costs are also very important. Being able to disable the passenger airbag is very important as well, even if done in the after-market world.

So far the winner is the S2000. Will this be too confining? I stopped by to look at one tonight, but it looked very cramped with the top up. I didn't have time for the salesman tonight and wouldn't evaluate a car that will never be driven with a raised top when it is up.

If I choose the S2000, I would want one that hadn't been driven hard, or is that unrealistic and really not important? How long do the clutches last, although that is dependent on the driver. I guess it would be unrealistic to get one from an old lady that took it to the store once a week. The only thing I can control is buying one with the fewest miles, thus limiting the miles it could have been driven hard. Any other guidelines I could use to evaluate an S2000?

Have a great weekend and I look forward to your further comments.

Jacques79

You said something very important: your days of having fast cars are behind you.

Basically you want something that is easy to drive, peppy, reliable and cheap to maintain and fix.

If you are scared of fragile clutches forget the S2000 because clutches go very easily in this car.

I think the *perfect* car for you would be a 2005 MazdaSpeed Miata.

The car only weighs 2550 pounds, (think lighter than an Integra type R) has a limited slip differential, very quick steering and is not as loud, violent and difficult to drive as an S2000.

They only have 178HP but weigh almost 300 pounds less than an S2000.

Gas mileage will be better than the S2000 and it will be just as reliable. Insurance will be cheaper too!

Plus you don't have to rev it to 6000+RPM to get power. Between 3000 and 6000RPM is where this car makes it's power, as opposed to the S2000's 6000-9000RPM which I am sure will not please your wife....hehe


Look at this one:



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda-MX-5-...sspagenameZWDVW

5000 miles and warrantied until Jan. 2009. Basically a brand new car and I bet you can buy it for about 19 000$US or a little more.


You asked why I'm not interested in the Miata? Well I'm only 23 and enjoy violent, stiff rides and taking an engine up to 9000RPMs to get the most power. I also prefer the sound of a normally aspirated engine like the S2000's as opposed to the smoother and calmer sound of a car like the MazdaSpeed Miata.

I'm 100% positive that if you test drive a Mazdaspeed Miata you will be satisfied as it fits everything you're looking for in a beach cruiser-fun car that's easy to drive and maintain.

CKit

I'd pick a car that had one owner. I'd meet the owner. Wouldn't worry about the miles as much as the previous owner.

I'd look for a 50 yo car nut who only put ~7k per year of sunny weekend miles on it in the middle of a rural area without stop and go traffic.

The car is on the loud side for my wife these days.

But if you're mechanically adept, you can do some livability "mods" like sound deadening and heated seats. They're not hard to do.

Comfort wise, the 16 inch wheels aren't bad at all and give a better ride than my wife's S4.

ScottB

You do sound like more of a Miata guy for the selection of cars being discussed. However, I am starting to feel a little skeptical about you and a 2-seat car. I think you think you want something small and sporty, but are really looking for a reasonably priced and moderately sporty convertible with more room than a roadster offers. With that said, let me expand the choices here a little bit and suggest perhaps an Eclipse vert. Looks sporty (trendy even) but has room for the clubs, wife, dog, etc. Sorry, but you talk about a 2-seater but then go on to describe a larger car.

The S2000 is very reliable including the clutch. I had the original and drove it for 5-years. 2 of those years was spent in 90-mile per day 3-4 hour commute. The car was near flawless. Can't exactly say the same for my C6, but it has other charms...

Take the weekend to go sit in the cars with your wife and take along the clubs. You'll probably answer the question for yourself very quickly.

kurtposer

What a coincidence! My wife just mentioned the Eclipse Spyder and I had just looked at them online a bit.

ScottB, you are very perceptive in that I started with the Fiat Spyder that had a small backseat and then found that the closest newer cars were all 2-seaters, and then convinced myself to accept this limitation.

Any comments on the Eclipse Spyder? It has been around for a while and there appear there are many available. I just sold a Montero Sport that was serviced at the dealer for ten years, all managed by the same service manager. I know him well, so can ask him his opinion of this car. He has been very honest with me in the past. Since Mitsubishi is now owned by Chrysler, what influence of American engineering and manufacturing has bled into this car? I hate saying this is a concern, but American cars have had reliability issues for many years now.

Without driving anything yet, I have saved considerable time. Thanks to you all. Although I will still drive the S2000 because it looks great and I have heard wonderful things about it, I will now focus my efforts toward the Eclipse Spyder (was there a Chrysler equivalent?), Mazda Miata and 2004 Nissan 350Z Roadster.

Might I want to consider the Jaguar XK8 also? I think it might be too large and isn't really considered a sport car, but thought to throw it out there.

Have a nice night. I will check comments again tomorrow. All comments have been extremely helpful.

Jacques79

I drove the Eclipse V6 and it is the most unbalanced car ever. Huge torque-steer, understeer, tires have 0 traction, brakes feel horrible, engine too heavy up front.

The engine very torquey and pulls hard everywhere but the rest is...

I'd say that car is the exact opposite of an S2000.

kurtposer

Thanks again Jacques79. It is good to hear the negative too. Would it be wrong for me to associate this car with the Sebring convertible? I am alright renting one of these while in Hawaii, but owning one is quite another thing.

I am 45 and in quite a different place than when 23, however I remember driving cars as they should be driven like Jacques79.

Although I would rather stay away from newer American cars, would the Crossfire possibly qualify?

I will drive the S2000, Miata, Eclipse Spyder, 350Z Roadster, and maybe the Boxster.

Believe it or not, all comments are helping me form a decision. Thanks again.

S2KBDub

Based on your original post and responses kurtposer, it seems as though you value top down driving, are looking for something performance-oriented yet refined, and must be able to carry your family and son safely, while at the same time having something which accomidates 2 sets of clubs..

I'd reccomend a 330ci. You're not too keen on Euro cars, I get that, but one can be picked up certified and might just be the perfect combo to meet the aforementioned requirements. With the new model on the ground as we speak, the value of these cars is becoming more reasonable.

Good luck!