8k cash. Fix up and mod miata, buy newer car, or even newer car with payment?

I've been a reader of GRM for a couple years. I've gone to some track days. I've gone to some driving schooles . This is a pretty classic question, with a twist. I've got 7-8K to put in a car that is both my daily in sunny NorCal, sees track time and fun backroads. I have 3 options.

1) Miata. I've got a 93 Miata with a 1.8 ready to drop in. The car already has 1.8 brakes, torsen diff, rollbar, hardtop, and full FM butterfly for stiffness. I would do all major maintenance , new seals everywhere, clutch, timing belt, water pump, hoses everywhere, cluch, trans seals. Then I'd get MP62 coldside or hotside supercharger for some nice CARB legal power. Suspension: New bushings and some Fat Cat bilsteins, AFCOs or Tein Coilovers. Minor interior work, new seats.

Pros - Maintenance Done, no oil leaks, clean engine bay. Solid Preformer. Paid Cash for everything. New parts. I have lots of Miata stuff on hand, if I need a coilpack I have two in the garage. Cons - It's still a 93 Miata. Worth 1500 to an insurance company. Harder to sell with the mods.

2) Buy a used newer car. Say a Boxter or MR2 or E36 M3, Z3, c4-c5 vette. I would have a newer car that is worh more that 1500 dollars to an insurance company and easier to sell, BUT I would have spent my money and would probably still have some major maintence to do in the next year or so. Whose to say how my Miata would preform vs the newer car. I dont know.

Pros - Newer than the Miata. Newer technology. Newer build quality. Worth more to insurance company. Easier to sell. Paid Cash. Better performance? Better looks/reputation/badge? Cons - Used car, no new parts. Still could have major maintence left to do. Worse Performance?

3) Down payment on a newer car. I could get a Saturn Sky, Z4, RX7, 350z, c5 vette, Boxter. I would have a newer car worth more than 1500 dollars to an insrance company and easier to sell, BUT would have a payment for the next couple years and it would still have some major maintence to do in the next year or so. I do like the Sky, except for the trunk.

Pros - Newer than the Miata. Even newer technology. Even newer build quality. Worth more to insurance company. Easier to Sell. Better performance. Better looks/reputation/badge? Cons. Used car, no new parts. Still could have major maintenance left to do. Car Loan.

Is there an option for 2 cars, a track rat and a DD? You will hear "Never track you daily, ect" ALOT here.

With option 1, can you get special insurance like hagarty(spelling?) to cover mods?

Step 1: Car payments suck.

Step 2: Agreed Value insurance policy

Step 3: Mod the Miata AND buy another used car so when you wad the Miata up at a track day you still have a hooptie to drive to work.

miata + subaru wagon

Not really the budget for two cars. I have a Saab 9000 and an F150 I could daily then track the miata. I never find myself grabbing the keys to those cars. I've actually thought about selling the Saab. I'm 28, work, and single so I'm fine with a two seater for a DD.

I'm not a big time track guy. I've been to 5 events last year and two driving schools. I'm not there every week or even once a month. I could see myself going about once a month though.

If I had two cars I could get special insurance. I like that. How would they know I'm keeping in my mileage requirements for my car?

If my car has been around for 20 years, I'm not too concerned about it being wrecked tomorrow, but you never know.

Dave Ramsey says

Buy a $6000 car,

Use $1500 for maintenance or fixing.

Hold $500 for future unexpected breakdowns.

In reply to Mysticle31:

Since you have a backup if you smashed up the other car, I say do either do option one or two.

Stay with the Miata, its a proven performer, with a lot of potential for upgrades and you won't be heartbroken if you ball it up at the track (if you wreck it at the track insurance won't be paying you anything for it anyways).

Are you also in the Bay area?

I'm in Sacramento. I'm thinking staying with the miata is probibly the best idea.

I was just about ready to get to work ordering parts and fixing up my 1.8 when I just couldnt do it without considering all my options for that money.

What car would I get for 6000 that is not a miata?

At $8k you could be awefully close to a Boxster and with low interest rates you could get really nice car for little money.

If you don't mind the payments for 1 year I would

1. Find Nice Boxster around $10K

2. Put down 25% to get low interest rate on a 5 year term (or 3 year if you can swing it and it gets you a lower rate, point is get the lowest rate.)

3. Make first payment

4. 1 week after first payment give them the rest of the money you have left (sans any work you needed to do to get the car right)

5. Pay off remainder of car in the next 12 months (because you paid the principle down you have negated the first months of the loan and the majority of the interest that goes with it.).

6. Smile real big.

Found this in Reno, should be close to the plan I described above. Let me know if you need help negotiating.

98 Boxster

FSBO Boxster S in Sacramento

Get real close here

Not a bad idea FlightService. I'm going to go find some boxters to drive.

I have found a couple E36 M3s around too. I like this one. http://www.dealerrater.com/classifieds/1997-BMW-M3-ad-WBSBG9324VEY74506/

The whole maintenance done vs maintenance could be needed is killing me.

Also hows the rollover protection in a boxter? I've got a rollbar and door bars in my miata.

Power to weight is about the same in my Miata vs that Boxter. The Boxter carries a bit more prestige.

I keep typing boxter when I mean boxster.

I love all the "when you wad the car up..." posts. I'm not sure I want to go to your trackdays if there's that much carnage

Picking up a cheap Boxster for the limit of your budget has some potential downsides. Like the reliability of Boxster engines, for example. You've got absolutely nothing in hand if/when something happens. You know, when you wad it up Or more seriously, when something on the cheap Boxster needs repair.

How important is resale value? You've mentioned it a few times - do you change cars often? Or is that simply what other people are telling you. To me, it's more important what's actually in the garage.

With $8k (or less), you can build one hell of a Miata. Instead of being the cheapest example, it'll be pretty near the top of the heap. Igor is one of the FM shop cars and it was converted from a bone stock 1999 to a fast staff favorite with 240 rwhp and excellent track manners for $10k in parts. You'd have a car that was fully up on maintenance, very reliable and with a spare set of wheels and tires to use on track days while still keeping some money in the bank. I know they're a bit of a cliche, but there really is a reason you see so many of them at track events.

An E36 M3 would be an interesting alternative, though. I'd take that over the Boxster myself, as I think you'd be paying less for the badge and more for the car. And they really are good. Plus Boxsters look funny.

E36 M3! You can probably find them for less then your budget, you can at least around here, may be the best example but... you might have $ left over to make it better.

An S2000 is in that category as well

I've just discovered the BMW 318ti. Good Gas Milage. Availble with M-tech suspension (M3 Parts) Just needs a bit of booost.

I have a 318ti - good commuter. I like the m3 or miata better for track/autocross duty - even with boost/supercharger or engine swap.- I think the others are a little better balanced in the rear suspension dept.

"How important is resale value? You've mentioned it a few times - do you change cars often?" Not so much. I'd keep this car for awhile.

Resale value isn't that important to me. It is more important what the car is, how it drives, performs. Resale value is something to consider, kind of like gas milage. And more about how easy it is to sell. It is easier to sell stock cars than modified ones. Resale value is also partially value to an insurance company if I get rear ended, or crash it myself on the street.

Mysticle31 wrote: It is easier to sell stock cars than modified ones. Resale value is also partially value to an insurance company if I get rear ended, or crash it myself on the street.

You are a wise grasshopper. I wish more people had the sense you have. I lost my ass modifying a car I liked a lot because I wanted to 'build' one myself. Wound up feeling lucky to sell it for just what I had in the engine. If I hadn't spent the money and just bought a faster car, I'd been so much further ahead. Additionally, since I'm an insurance adjuster, the 2nd part seems obvious to me but is overlooked by far too many I come across.

So, I wouldn't build up a Miata to the level of your budget. I wouldn't buy a Porsche without having a lot of cash reserves, either. It's just too risky. I think I'd push you towards a 3 series BMW of some sort; parts are cheap, they hold their value reasonably well, and they are almost always a blast to drive. Insurance won't be insane, either.

Find someone else's BMW that they modified for track use. You will save a fortune. ddavidv is SO correct. Always buy someone elses project and let them take the financial loss. In the meantime use the money for as many track days that you can fit in your schedule and use the miatas as is. Make sure you want to do that many track days before making the financial jump.

Keith wrote: I love all the "when you wad the car up..." posts. I'm not sure I want to go to your trackdays if there's that much carnage

It's very, very simple Keith. You don't race something you can't live without. If you are track day-ing your ONLY car and you wad it up (or blow the motor, or frag the clutch, or whatever) and you can't make it to work tomorrow, you shouldn't have been tracking it. All we are (correctly) saying is, if you depend on it, think about a back up. I don't know why that's so hard for you to understand?

$8000? Buy an S2000. You can't quite get a C5 Corvette for that much, and a C4 has less room to work on and more need to work on it.

You could also get a good NB Miata and a Flyin' Miata turbo kit for it.

If I'm taking my hi-buck street car out on the track, I'll buy the trackday rider on my insurance or get HPDE insurance for it.

Mysticle31 wrote: "How important is resale value? You've mentioned it a few times - do you change cars often?" Not so much. I'd keep this car for awhile. Resale value isn't that important to me. It is more important what the car is, how it drives, performs. Resale value is something to consider, kind of like gas milage. And more about how easy it is to sell. It is easier to sell stock cars than modified ones. Resale value is also partially value to an insurance company if I get rear ended, or crash it myself on the street.

If you're very happy with the Miata, and aren't so concerned with the car not being new, keep it. Miatas have a good resale value anyway. Plus, since you have 2 other cars, you could easily get classic car insurance, which can cover the value of a modded Miata, instead of a stock one (obviously, you don't have coverage while on track). Sure, if you dump a ton of mods into it, you won't get it back out, but who says you have to spend the whole $8k? If you're handy and can do most of the work yourself, you could build a seriously fun car for waaay under your budget. Sounds like your Miata already has some good stuff, so you don't need to start from scratch. And since you're not racing a ton, are you that worried if you don't have a car that turns FTD? I'd think it's more about just having fun, which your Miata could do all day long.

So for my $.02, if you like your Miata a lot, keep it. Spend a few bucks to get it where you want, and pocket the rest of that cash.