A few years back, I was thinking what I would replace my SC'd S2000 with.

Had a deposit on a Cayman S, but felt there was too much overlap with an SC'd S2000 to justify the price difference. So we bought an RS4 instead and kept the S2000.

Now that the recession is here in full force and luxury cars are piling up in port and in dealerships... I'm rethinking a few things.

In the current economic clime, spending money is gauche and flaunting money is tacky. 30-somethings are less likely to sneer at drivers of economy cars while commuting in their 3-class BMWs, knowing their investment firm may hand them a pink slip anyday. Gone is the some of the bulletproof bravado and cockiness of the young professional.

So that begs the question... what would I replace the S2000 with?

I'm thinking it's the perfect 2009 recession "fun car." It's a 4-cylinder "Honda" (read economical and reliable) and can be had for <$15k in stock form. It's conservative looking enough to prevent raising any hackles and alienating yourself at work.

I'm thinking that my S2000 might see more street use this year and instead of upgrading, I'll add something like a Mini Cooper to the stable....

Have I mentioned how much I love the S2000?

 

s2k ftmfw

 

get a 30-50k mile R53. My family has a mint 03 which is just as much fun as the s2k on the backroads and you can throw stuff in the back. Such a great little car!

 

I had a few people ask me, including extended family, why I was purchasing a third car when the economy was on a downhill slide. I work as a firefighter for the state, I have put in over 3900 hours of overtime in the last three years. I had saved my money specifically for the fact that I was going to purchase a S2k. When the money was there, I bought the car I wanted. I wanted to reward myself. My family has a modest house over their head, they are fed, clothed, and are healthy. Yet I still get the snide remarks as to why I need three cars. I feel I don't flaunt, or parade my cars around. My other two vehicles are a Nissan Frontier, and a Nissan Xterra. Nothing luxurious about them. I am one of the fortunate to have a career that will always be needed. Even in the fact of a lost job, the savings should help carry me for a little while.

I do not think spending money during this time is insensitive to others. If you are in a position to do so, do it. To me that is the same though process of keeping up with the Jones family down the street. Reserving yourself because others might view it as tacky is a fault on themselves.

 

I just recently bought my car by saving up for the past couple years. I dont even drive my other car being that it wont pass safety because of aftermarket mods/removals.
I get about the same gas milealge and it was starting to get costly swapping alot of parts breaking. So all im putting up with is a monthly car payment that about half would have gone into workin on the old car.
Quite happy to have this car even if our current economy isnt in the state we feel comfortalbe in.

 

s2k babyyy 4 life

 

I'm talking about driving a shiny $100k Porsche 911 as excessive, not a Honda S2000 that costs less than a minivan...

You totally missed the point of the thread and turned it into your own personal rant and justification on why you feel irritated (and a little guilty) about getting an S2000.

Now imagine what kind of crap you'd get for spending 4x as much....

 

Sorry, I didn't know this was your personal forum.

I do not feel guilty. I, unlike you, don't give a shit what my neighbors or society thinks about my purchases. So carry on with your dilemma. I'm sure we all care about your contemplating a Caymen, which in my opinion is much like the boxster. A car for those that want the status, without the price tag. But then again, it fits your persona from the above post.

Maybe I should have just put s2k ftmfw.

 

 

had a modified wrx in 06 and 07 and since the engine went kaput due to 2 bar overboosting needed a new car...

at that time, i was considering a couple of cars including an evo, 350z, 200sx and a 3.8 done up 993 carrera

my industry was hit by the crisis and of course things got a bit rough. luckily i chose the S. fuel economy is ok (and now even cheaper with crude at these levels, petrol bill has come down by about 30%), spares are reasonably priced and available, ultra reliable, servicing is reasonably priced and half as frequent as a turbo car. Now i can devote my resources fully to tracking without compromising a single bit due to the recession. i doubt i would be able to do that with the cars above.

in a sense, this car is extremely relevant to me in these kind of times. i believe there will be a shift in attitudes to these cars for people to still indulge in their motoring fun...albeit without so much outlay... though i do not like some of the cars below, i think these will also be welcomed with a warmer reception than before:

mazda mx-5
toyota mr-s
honda civic type r
honda accord euro r