Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

[NomisR]

I would never consider the Exige unless I simply couldn't find an Elise in a reasonable amount of time. I don't get the Exige at all. I can't see what it offers over the Elise: more expensive, slightly worse performance, and a detachable hardtop (that also comes with the Elise ).

Well, with the Exige S has a supercharger so it's better performing and the body is shaped so there's more downforce.  The current Elise SC is supercharged too but less power and a more difficult to add IC compared to Exige S which comes with an IC (although some don't and there's really 0 purpose of getting those models).  And simple ECU flash can yield 20-30hp more at the wheel which is a big plus.

Suspension wise, the track pack suspension is an upgrade over the best suspension in the Elise.

I went with my Elise because my car comes with a better suspension option than the Exige S which saves me the time from replacing all the part and I can claim it's stock.. 

The Exige looks meaner IMO.

[Raza]

this seems like a thread i should be posting in 

Got & shouldn't have...:



Could've:


Should've:

So instead of an SVT Contour, you should have gotten an SVT Contour? 

By the way, I love your car.  Are you getting it running again soon?

[TBR]

IIRC correctly, the hardtop on the Exige isn't built to be removed like it is on the Elise. Does the Exige really perform worse though? I always assumed that it was a tiny bit faster because of the price.

I agree though. I would never buy an Exige when I could get an Elise.

It has far greater high speed stability that makes it significantly faster around the track.

The Exige might be slightly slower, but the Exige S isn't.

[Raza]

IIRC correctly, the hardtop on the Exige isn't built to be removed like it is on the Elise. Does the Exige really perform worse though? I always assumed that it was a tiny bit faster because of the price.

I agree though. I would never buy an Exige when I could get an Elise.

It's probably faster around a track due to downforce the like, but it is heavier, and lower models have the same engine. 

[MrH]

IIRC correctly, the hardtop on the Exige isn't built to be removed like it is on the Elise. Does the Exige really perform worse though? I always assumed that it was a tiny bit faster because of the price.

I agree though. I would never buy an Exige when I could get an Elise.

I believe it's slightly slower than the Elise, because it has quite a bit more drag.  But it also has a lot more down force, making it a little stickier in the corners.

Now, the exige is only available with 240 and 257 horsepower in the Exige S 240 and S 260.  I think the Elise still comes with the 190 horsepower, non super charged, and you can get it with 218 horsepower with a supercharger too.

So now the exige is quite a bit faster, and sticks better too.  Used to be the same as the Elise though in terms of power.  I'd imagine there'd be slightly more head room in the Exige too.  I like the looks better too.

[MrH]

Well, with the Exige S has a supercharger so it's better performing and the body is shaped so there's more downforce.  The current Elise SC is supercharged too but less power and a more difficult to add IC compared to Exige S which comes with an IC (although some don't and there's really 0 purpose of getting those models).  And simple ECU flash can yield 20-30hp more at the wheel which is a big plus.

Suspension wise, the track pack suspension is an upgrade over the best suspension in the Elise.

I went with my Elise because my car comes with a better suspension option than the Exige S which saves me the time from replacing all the part and I can claim it's stock.. 

The Exige looks meaner IMO.

What's different about your suspension?  I thought both the Exige S and your car had adjustable coil overs basically.

[NomisR]

What's different about your suspension?  I thought both the Exige S and your car had adjustable coil overs basically.

My car comes with a two way adjustable Ohlin coilovers with the adjustable front anti sway bar.  Track pack just is just a single adjustable bilsteins and I believe less stiff shocks.  My car is basically a street legal "cup car" without the SC, and the fire extinguisher button and power cut off. 

And both Elise and Exige has the same amount of headroom which is actually more than the Rx8 and RSX.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

What i bought



What i would have bought

[MidnightDave]

Late '70s, opportunity to buy a '65 'vette roadster, insurance was too high so I bought a gulp, '77 Monza! Been making the same great car choices ever since. ;-) Although I'm about to dump the MINI and get a 370Z. Of course then I'll wish I'd bought a Z06 instead...strike that...Genesis.

[TBR]

Late '70s, opportunity to buy a '65 'vette roadster, insurance was too high so I bought a gulp, '77 Monza! Been making the same great car choices ever since. ;-) Although I'm about to dump the MINI and get a 370Z. Of course then I'll wish I'd bought a Z06 instead...strike that...Genesis.

It's a damn good time to be an enthusiast on a budget.

[BimmerM3]

I have no regrets about the cars I've bought, or not bought. At one point, I considered getting a second car as a weekend driver, but I'm glad I didn't.

On my current car, my onlt regret is the color.  Not a big deal, but I wish I had gone with something darker.

Do you have the same color as the car in your sig?

[BimmerM3]

And both Elise and Exige has the same amount of headroom which is actually more than the Rx8 and RSX.

See that depends. If the Elise is my second car, I might as well consider it to have infinite head room, although, you probably have to put the roof on for track events.

Turns out another student on my study abroad trip has an Elise that he Turbo'd. He said he's putting down 248hp at the wheels. 

[Tave]

Well, with the Exige S has a supercharger so it's better performing and the body is shaped so there's more downforce.  The current Elise SC is supercharged too but less power and a more difficult to add IC compared to Exige S which comes with an IC (although some don't and there's really 0 purpose of getting those models).  And simple ECU flash can yield 20-30hp more at the wheel which is a big plus.

Suspension wise, the track pack suspension is an upgrade over the best suspension in the Elise.

I went with my Elise because my car comes with a better suspension option than the Exige S which saves me the time from replacing all the part and I can claim it's stock.. 

The Exige looks meaner IMO.

I believe it's slightly slower than the Elise, because it has quite a bit more drag.  But it also has a lot more down force, making it a little stickier in the corners.

Now, the exige is only available with 240 and 257 horsepower in the Exige S 240 and S 260.  I think the Elise still comes with the 190 horsepower, non super charged, and you can get it with 218 horsepower with a supercharger too.

So now the exige is quite a bit faster, and sticks better too.  Used to be the same as the Elise though in terms of power.  I'd imagine there'd be slightly more head room in the Exige too.  I like the looks better too.

I wasn't sure when Nomis got his Elise, so I was talking about the 190 engine.

[Vinsanity]

another thing I could've done was to keep the S2000 and replace the Q45 with another old tank, like Madman's latest shed:



But the Q was getting costly to repair, so I decided to take a break from old Clinton-era cars for the time being

[dazzleman]

Charlie, yes, my car is the same color as the car in my signature.  Greg saw my car and picked the same color for my sig picture.

[Soup DeVille]

Don't even ask, I don't want to go there...

Hint: it started with a "B" and ended with an "i," and was sitting outside a barn.

[Rupert]

Bugatti.

[Soup DeVille]

Bugatti.

A type-35 I think. It was gone when I returned.

[MrH]

Oh, I almost went for that Saab 9-3 Viggen.  That was in terrible condition though.  I'm glad I didn't.

[The Pirate]

A type-35 I think. It was gone when I returned.

If there's a lesson to carry a decent sum of cash on one's person at all times, this is it.

[SVT666]

So instead of an SVT Contour, you should have gotten an SVT Contour? 

I think he just means a different one where the engine wouldn't die.

[Soup DeVille]

If there's a lesson to carry a decent sum of cash on one's person at all times, this is it.

Shamefully, I didn't really know what it was when i saw it, and had even less of an idea what it might be worth. I talked to the guy who was selling it and he didn't really know either, except that he thought it might be a hot rodded model T.

I went home, looked up what it was, crapped myself, and drove back up the next day. It was gone.

[Rupert]

Then it's also a lesson to know everything there is to know about cars.

[the Teuton]

A type-35 I think. It was gone when I returned.

Don't worry, cheaper ones are only fetching about $300,000 right now.

[The Pirate]

Shamefully, I didn't really know what it was when i saw it, and had even less of an idea what it might be worth. I talked to the guy who was selling it and he didn't really know either, except that he thought it might be a hot rodded model T.

I went home, looked up what it was, crapped myself, and drove back up the next day. It was gone.

If you had bought it, would you still have it, or would you have sold it?  I know that's tough to answer on a hypothetical.  Teuton's post made me think of this.

I think I would have sold it.  Three hundred thousand (at least) is a lot of money.  I could pay off my student loans, pay cash for the rest of my schooling, get a hell of a jump on retirement, and have some money for a cool car(s).

[Rupert]

Agreed. I would probably pay off student loans, buy a house, and buy $40k worth of cars and bikes.

[sportyaccordy]

I would daily drive it.

[S204STi]

Uh, yeah it did.

Not in 2007.  I could have bought used, however at the time I was hellbent on a new car.

[S204STi]

You could've gotten a 2.5GT wagon, or an A4 2.0T avant.

A4 would have been nice, yeah.  But at the time I was aiming to buy new to avoid any issues from previous owners.

[TBR]

Not in 2007.  I could have bought used, however at the time I was hellbent on a new car.

I see, I guess it was 2006 when they stopped making the GT wagon.