I sold my soul....for an appliance...

Greetings everyone. This is my first post to GRM. I enjoy reading the forum and have considered myself a wannabee enthusiast for some time now. In the past three years I have moved from having a dealer serviced 2008 Cobalt SS (mashing the gas makes me fast amirite?) to purchasing a red (though it appears emerald green in person) 1999 Miata for track/autocross and doing all of the work myself. On the daily driver side I use a first generation Honda Insight with a 5 speed due to driving 20,000-30,000 miles a year for work.

Enough about that, now I must to explain to you all how I sold my soul for an appliance. Naturally, getting into cars after being married has caused its own level of stress in my relationship. My wife absolutely hates cars (except the ones that get good gas mileage) and would live without one if it were possible. This all came to head when her transmission blew up about a month ago. She had to get a crash course in driving stick in order to get to work until we found her a replacement. After many near death experiences (not from her lack of skill, but primal rage whenever the car stalled or did something she thought it shouldn't) she became competent enough to make it to work on her own. She even got to the point of saying that she would like her new car to be a stick, but it would need to have more power in order to make it "fun".

At this point I thought that my dreams had come true. My wife now wants to drive stick AND she wants it to be fun! Immediately I start looking at WRX wagons, Mazda3/speed3, GTI's, etc. I was literally in shock that she would be interested in any of these cars. After a few weeks of searching I hadn't found anything that quite fit until yesterday. She really like a Mazda3 Hatchback with the 2.5, but we wanted to check out a few more cars at a friend of mine's dealership before making our final purchase decision. We get there and she focuses in on a 06 A3 3.2 and a 02 Lexus IS300 Sportcross. Both sweet rides in their own right (though not manual). She decided on the Lexus and we went home with the intent of coming back later in the day to pick it up. This next part is where I may have lost my soul forever. As much as I loved the Lexus purchasing it would make our newest vehicle at least 11 years old and the gas mileage was abysmal (apparently around 20 requiring premium fuel). Yes it would be her car, but she sent me back to the dealership later in the day with the requirement of coming home with a vehicle for her and that she would trust whatever I chose. It was at the time that I noticed a red 2007 Toyota Matrix for the first time. $3000 cheaper up front, five years newer, hatchback practicality, 50% better fuel economy, 0-60 in 15 minutes and absolutely no soul. A wagoned out Corolla that marks the epitome of an automotive appliance.

As shameful as it is to admit I purchased the Matrix. I had a golden ticket to get her just about anything south of 15k, but economy (MY sense of economy, NOT hers) won out. At this point on the day after, I find myself in somewhat of a state of shock and thought I should post this story up as some sort of attempt at penance or "maybe I should be burned at the stake this very moment because I can't stomach what I have done"....

Thank you for your time, I will post any relevant updates if they happen (not likely with a Matrix)...

You have sinned, but your first post is a winner.

In penance build a $2013 challenge car and bring it to Gainesville in November.

Post some pics even if all you do is routine maintenance. I'd like to see the mechanical bits on one of those when the oil is changed, brake pads replaced, etc...

My mother in law had a Vibe (same car) and the few times I drove it I was surprised at how "sporty" it felt and the throttle response.

Don't feel bad, it not your car that's a soulless appliance. At least is it a stick? Baby steps. It's great she has shown an interest, but seeing where she came from, it's not like you could have gotten her a 1987 Alfa Milano either.

Now that she has tasted the joys of the stick shift, wait until she gets bored with the Matrix, and don't miss your next chance.

Some H&R springs paired with GR-2s will add some personality. Oh, and a set of Hawk HPS front pads.

I dont REALLY like the Vibe/matrix but i will admit i actually like the old Scion xA and would love to have a good opportunity/excuse to get my fiancee into one.

Honestly, i think you did the right thing. There is some value to owning something newish and reliable that you arent tempted to mess with.

I also give you major props for your Insight + Miata pairing. One of the best possible combinations of super-efficient but still fun-ish and tossable DD, saving you money you can spend on one of the most cost-efficient track toys. I think you are maximizing your fun-per-dollars on that front so bravo.

Since we're confessing here, our family's vehicular situation last fall was 1. Honda Odyssey as family truckster. 2. Miata for "fun" 3. 2002 Nissan SE-R for "third car/rainy day car/winter car" The Nissan was paid off, it was reasonably fast, had some pretty good mods done to it. On the down side, it wasn't especially good on gas (about the same as the Lexus Sport wagon, including premium fuel required), was expensive to insure (about Mustang GT territory) and just seemed like more car than we needed for a third vehicle. I kept it around for over a year before I finally pulled the plug this fall and sold it. In exchange, I put a couple grand into savings, fixed a few issues on the Miata and Odyssey and bought 1997 Saturn SL1 (the really slow, ugly model). The Saturn gets 50% better mileage (on regular gas), insures for pennies on the dollar compared to the SE-R and has absolutely no soul whatsoever.

The truth of the matter is, though, a Miata ticks all the "fun" boxes, except for straight-line acceleration which (avert your eyes, GRM faithful), in my experience, is not worth the cost in fuel, insurance and hassle. You made a sound financial and personal decision. I do understand wanting to add something fun to the "stable" while SWMBO is in agreement, but my experience tells me a second "fun" car would have added little and isn't worth what it would cost. Besides, you retained the GRM golden ticket (Miata). Had you traded that in on a Matrix, you'd have something to confess. Nothing to see here.

Oh boy... here it goes:

In another year or two, after I have a house, I plan on buying a 1-3 year old Hyundai Accent hatch with a stick.

What can I say? They're awesome cheap little cars, they get 40 mpg, they have a ton of space, and they won't require work every weekend.

I'm planning on rationalizing it like this: "Now I have more time to work on my fun cars because I'm not working on my daily." Will that cut it?

nothing wrong with any of these choices.. and somebody here mentioned that the Accent is a lot like the original VW rabbit

I wrecked my only car a 2003 focus zx3 and was already to get something fun and sporty like a Miata or Mini Cooper but in the end it was going to be my only car so I just got a new focus hatch, I wanted the st so bad but i couldn't swing all of the added costs plus gas insurance tires....... Some day

Tom Suddard wrote: Oh boy... here it goes: In another year or two, after I have a house, I plan on buying a 1-3 year old Hyundai Accent hatch with a stick. What can I say? They're awesome cheap little cars, they get 40 mpg, they have a ton of space, and they won't require work every weekend. I'm planning on rationalizing it like this: "Now I have more time to work on my fun cars because I'm not working on my daily." Will that cut it?

Substitute an Elantra and you just described my situation

Steve has me considering an Elantra ( original considerations were going to be a Fit and a Mazda CX 5 ) now with what our TT director has told me about his and his wife's MPG car I've got one more to add to the list ( some time summer of '14 ) Cruze ( he claims 40+ all the time and 50 on the highway )

It's unfortunate when you cannot get exactly what you want, but it's probably best in this situation that you compromised, rather than bought another project. If it stays together without too much of your input, that should make it a worthy purchase.

I just changed the timing belt on the Focus, and I feel like I renewed my vows with the car. Despite its poor mileage, and (as it seems to be a theme here) its premium fuel requirement, I plant to keep her around for a bit longer.

Tom Suddard wrote: Oh boy... here it goes: In another year or two, after I have a house, I plan on buying a 1-3 year old Hyundai Accent hatch with a stick. What can I say? They're awesome cheap little cars, they get 40 mpg, they have a ton of space, and they won't require work every weekend. I'm planning on rationalizing it like this: "Now I have more time to work on my fun cars because I'm not working on my daily." Will that cut it?

Yes.

Something like that is definitely in my plans. I can't believe I used a 20yr old "collectable" as daily transportation for so long, especially considering a 35mi (one way) commute in Atlanta traffic. I think I've finally decided that what I need for a DD is something I don't have to do anything other than maintenance, and boring enough that I won't be upset if some hydroplaning idiot puts me into the rail during a thunderstorm.

Hey, I bet my blood pressure would even go down 20pts just from not riding around thinking "pleasedonthitme-pleasedonthitme-pleasedonthitme!" every minute and a half.

Aside to BlueFalcon: Welcome! Don't forget that if she can drive a manual, she can drive the fun cars. Not having to do it in everyday traffic makes it recreation instead of an occupation. Sure, folks like us don't mind it, but folks who aren't like us sure as hell do..

Realistically, you made the smart choice. As much as some of us would like to pretend we don't care about gas ( ms3 is currently getting TERRIBLE mileage due to winter and the fact that I 0-60 it FTF every time I drive it) truth of the matter is, we all like the idea of a more or less disposable appliance that gets killer mileage, costs 3 pennies and a ball of lint to maintain, and is one of those cars you just don't want to mess with. I have a 99 chevy prizm as that car- and while it is the most gutless thing on the planet, I love the thing, because it's DAMN cheap to run.

Don't feel bad. There are man of us that drive "appliances" as daily drivers. I traded in my 2009 WRX back in fall of 2011 for a new 2012 Mazda 3. The WRX was finicky, a pain to maintain when driving 30,000 miles a year, and was a pig on gas. The Mazda is cheaper to insure, cheaper on the monthly payment, and A LOT cheaper to run per year.

To stave off insanity, just get a cheap project to mess with. This way you can focus all your wrenching efforts to the project, and your soul will not be sucked out by the mind-numbing appliance.

I think you're searching for "fun" in specific areas where you could make petty much anything fun.

well my wife and I have had lots of different cars most of them pretty cool by GRM standards. Lot's of Saabs ,Volvo's, 1960's Fords, VW's even Festiva thrown in for good measure. Even the family haulers would have been GRM approved. 5 speed VW Eurovan and a Ford E150 Fullsize van. We finally decided to buy a brand new vehicle with a budget around 30k. So what did we choose.................... A Chevy Traverse .

I have a minivan as a "fun" car, what does that mean? :D

In reply to moparman76_69:

The GRM crew proved that an Odyssey could out-everything an E-Type. Something only the GRM crew would do, too.

moparman76_69 wrote: I have a minivan as a "fun" car, what does that mean? :D

It means you know how to have fun.

To the OP

They make (or made) a really fun Matrix with a stick. You shoulda looked a little harder.

So what did the wife say?

As someone who really honestly enjoyed his 5 speed 95 Corolla, and I mean A LOT, I think no penance is necessary...

the way I see it:
Any car w/ 3 pedals > 95% of cars with only 2

BlueFalcon, Your soul is intact, you bought your wife a manual. If its at all possible, you've upgrade HER soul! Surely the car gods will reward you. After all, its not how much fun the car is, its how much fun you have with the car. Next thing you know, your wife will want to AX your miata --