MrH's Great Car Shuffle of 2010

[Submariner]

Out of all the cars you listed, I would be most interested in the MS6 and the Cooper S - just my .02 cents. 

[MrH]

Those rates are pretty low, man.  What level of coverage are we talking about?

I pay about $1,100 per year for insurance, but I had to really shop around to get that.  $370 every six months, or $740 per year, is really cheap if it's for full coverage.

Is the Mini you're considering a convertible?

Yep, full coverage with low deductibles (I think it's $250/$500).  And that's for a 22 year old with relatively sporty cars.  I had two speeding tickets on my record before I was 18 too .

USAA is the shit   My parents have been with them for probably 30 years.

And no, I'm not considering a Mini convertible.  I think they're horribly proportioned and awkward.  Only convertibles I'm considering are 2 seaters that are specifically designed as convertibles.

[Rupert]

What, no Sebring?

[dazzleman]

Yep, full coverage with low deductibles (I think it's $250/$500).  And that's for a 22 year old with relatively sporty cars.  I had two speeding tickets on my record before I was 18 too .

USAA is the shit   My parents have been with them for probably 30 years.

And no, I'm not considering a Mini convertible.  I think they're horribly proportioned and awkward.  Only convertibles I'm considering are 2 seaters that are specifically designed as convertibles.

Those old tickets are probably off your record by now, and not affecting your rates.  Are those rates for you on your own policy, or as a driver on your parents' policy?  That would make a huge difference.  You were quoted great rates, IMO.

[MrH]

What, no Sebring?

Probably my least favorite car in existence.

Those old tickets are probably off your record by now, and not affecting your rates.  Are those rates for you on your own policy, or as a driver on your parents' policy?  That would make a huge difference.  You were quoted great rates, IMO.

Driver on my parent's policy.  It makes no sense for me to get off my parent's policy.  I'll ride these cheap rates as long as I can .

Test drove a purple (yes, purple ) 2005 Mini Cooper S today.  I'll post a review of it, and the Miata sometime this week.  I'm hunting for a used RX-8 to test drive (might just go drive a new one instead), and then the search for the exact car begins.  I've been driving the tacoma all week, and finally experience the problem my dad was talking about.  Feels kind of like the power steering is gone, but I think that'll all go away with a new wheel bearing, which will be going in this week.  Protege is getting a fender bender from a little while ago repaired this week.  I'll be parting some things out of the protege this week to sell/give to Adam, and getting the whole car pretty close to stock.

Reviews coming soon!

[Cookie Monster]

Sounds busy, but fun!

Good luck with your search!

[68_427]

Purple cars are awesome.

[SVT_Power]

Purple cars are awesome.

Meh...

I found a deal of the century on a NB Miata around here a while ago. $5k for 40,000 miles. Miata prices are super jacked up in canada too. It should've been going for about double that amount. But I just couldn't do it because it was purple. I didn't have the money at that moment but my buddy was willing to lend me the money since he knew I've wanted to move to a Miata for a while (and he hates my car  )

[68_427]

Why does he hate your car?  I've been looking for SVT Contours...

[hotrodalex]

Just don't buy his.

[68_427]

  

[SVT_Power]

Why does he hate your car?  I've been looking for SVT Contours...

Well more than anything he loves bustin' my balls. He's a hardcore car guy - pretty much only cares for driving feel and involvement. I could never live with his S14's ride harshness, although I admit the handling on that car is very impressive for pretty much a dead stock car. He's running stock springs with aftermarket gas struts. His main problem with my car (which I agree with) is that it's FWD.

Then I just shoot right back at him with "you realize your car is a slushbox right?"  

[68_427]

I don't mean to hyjack but are there chips/tunes out there to raise the rev limiter to 7K or a little higher?

[SVT_Power]

I don't mean to hyjack but are there chips/tunes out there to raise the rev limiter to 7K or a little higher?

I know there are a few tunes out there for SVTC's but I dunno if it raises the limiter at all.

I once made a thread on the contour boards about why our cars redline rather low (I mean it's a 2.5L V6), and everyone started going "Are you dumb? Our cars actually revved higher than most cars back when it was released". That site is the most hostile place that i know of. It's stupid.

[68_427]

I don't think it would be a huge issue raising it up to 7K unless you're a douche and lets the rpm hang at 7K for extended periods.  Saying your car redlines at 7K sounds better than saying 6750.  lol

Does your car have the purple/midnight blue interior?   

[hotrodalex]

Raising the rev limit probably wouldn't matter for 250 RPM unless the engine is already maxed out as far as it possibly can while still being safe. I wouldn't rev a pushrod V8 that much unless it was built specifically for that, but a Contour engine should do it easy.

[SVT_Power]

I don't think it would be a huge issue raising it up to 7K unless you're a douche and lets the rpm hang at 7K for extended periods.  Saying your car redlines at 7K sounds better than saying 6750.  lol

Does your car have the purple/midnight blue interior?   

Meh I just say 7k 

Silver SVTC's only came with midnight blue interior. It's pretty much a black except in bright direct sunlight.

[2o6]

Doesn't it not matter? Doesn't power really level off at XXX RPM's, so extra revs wouldn't matter?

[68_427]

It would help performance if it makes more hp at 7K than ~5-5.5K.  (RPMs drop to about 5-5.5K after each shift.

[SVT_Power]

Doesn't it not matter? Doesn't power really level off at XXX RPM's, so extra revs wouldn't matter?

With regular cams, the 2.5L duractec starts running out of steam around 5k, with SVT cams, it pulls pretty hard until redline.

[MrH]

Well, the GTI is back on the to test drive list.  I found a nice 2007 with 32k miles and is CPO for only $14,400.  That's cheap enough that the slightly higher insurance doesn't matter much.

The Mini Cooper-S interior was pretty awful.  It's mostly down to Miata, RX-8, GTI, and Civic Si.  I think the Civic Si is going to be out based on what I heard about the steering feel.

[MrH]

2 crazy test drives today. 2nd gen cooper s with an awesome salesman begging for me to really push it, and thanked me when i went all out. The other was a GTI by myself.  Well, after the GTI drive, both generation Mini Cooper-s's are out of the running for sure. More in depth reviews later.  Down to a nc miata, mkV gti, or rx-8 now.

[the Teuton]

When you get the boost going on a JCW and discover what torque steer feels like, you know you're finally starting to push the thing enough. Fun cars.

[MrH]

When you get the boost going on a JCW and discover what torque steer feels like, you know you're finally starting to push the thing enough. Fun cars.

I felt torque steer in the 2007 Cooper S.  It wasn't pleasant.  Uphill S-bend, nearly pulled me into upcoming traffic.

[the Teuton]

I felt torque steer in the 2007 Cooper S.  It wasn't pleasant.  Uphill S-bend, nearly pulled me into upcoming traffic.

Yeah, I did it in a straight line. Catastrophic understeer into traffic wouldn't have been as fun. Sorry your experience with the car sucked.

[Raza]

I really can't wait to drive a new Mini. 

[MrH]

Ok, I'm going to do my best to give short reviews on the cars I've driven so far.  I'm quickly learning what I value in a car more than anything else.


NC Miata

I test drove a 2006 Miata Sport.  It was a bright red 5-speed without any options really.  It felt pretty quick, great turn in, steering feel, and quality.  That was the best way to describe the Miata.  Fun to drive and pretty high quality.  Interior was nice, the roof mechanism was hands down the best and easiest to operate of any convertible I've seen.  Decent sized trunk for how small of a car it is.  I love the idea of a convertible.  Merging onto the freeway was so simple.  Looked over my shoulder...oh wait, there isn't any pillars blocking my view.  Down shift into third, pick a spot, and blast into it.  

Just a great sense of fun and speed when I really wasn't going fast at all.  Head room is a little tight though.  If I leaned forward about an inch with the roof up, my head hit one of the supports for the roof.  I later found out in another miata, I can get much more comfortable by moving the seat up a click or two, and reclining it more.  That frees up a little more room.  The big benefits of an NC Miata:  Crazy fun to drive, an amazing deal on the used market (looking at '06's with under 30k miles for $16,000 completely loaded), tons of cool gadgets in the loaded up models (Xenon headlights, keyless ignition, etc), should be pretty reliable along with pretty good gas mileage.  Surprisingly the lowest insurance out of everything too (even lower than my Protege5).  The downsides are obvious:  size.  Can I live with something this small daily?  That's the big question.

[Rich]

As long as you don't take any long trips that you need to make good time.  700 miles a day in Miata is pretty uncomfortable.  If you bought something big, and it's raining, just ask a friend to help bring your stuff home.

And yes, I love not having any pillars.  Wait til you drive through a tunnel with the top down at night.  It's pretty amazing too

IIRC the 2006s don't have seat height adjustment, it's on the 07 and up

[TBR]

As long as you don't take any long trips that you need to make good time.  700 miles a day in Miata is pretty uncomfortable.  If you bought something big, and it's raining, just ask a friend to help bring your stuff home.

And yes, I love not having any pillars.  Wait til you drive through a tunnel with the top down at night.  It's pretty amazing too

IIRC the 2006s don't have seat height adjustment, it's on the 07 and up

Would you mind going into more depth regarding long distance comfort? During my test drive of a NB I was pleasantly surprised with the ride and the noise level,at least below 55 it seemed to match or exceed the Prelude in both departments.

[BimmerM3]

Miatas have always been known for their easy to operate tops. You should be able to lower any generation Miata top from the drivers seat as long as the top mechanics are in good condition. Of course, they just made it better in the NC since, IIRC, there's now just a single latch.