my other post was too long. help me decide to purchase this car or go to another make/model. Thank you.
my other post was too long. help me decide to purchase this car or go to another make/model. Thank you.
owners or mechanics reply only to this post. "personal opinions" of "what I read somewhere" don't say much different from what I have read online. Unless you know a person that has one or own one yourself, please don't reply. Thank you again for all your help, Ray.
My Mom has one. I have autox'd and street driven it.
Overall, a fun car. To be honest, I think that it drives "bigger" than some cars that are actually larger due to poorer sight-lines and the fact that dash feels like its too long.
The cars with the sport suspension ride pretty stiff for a stock car. It initially has some lag and then the turbo puts out some good torque.
It went into limp once at about 24K miles due to a VVT issue.
I have an '07 bought new, now with with 70K on it. It's a great car. On the plus side - quick & snappy, really good handling and lots of grip. I think the ergonomics and steering/shifter/clutch feel is right on. It's the most rigid chassis I've ever owned too. Downside - It has the intermittant cold start timing chain slap. That's annoying, but not the big deal whiny owners make it out to be. I had the VANOS solenoid (VVT issue mentioned above) replaced under warranty, as well as a thermostat housing. Only one repair out of warranty - another thermostat housing. Again, I think it's a neat car.
is that all you got people? I thought this was supposed to be one of the greatest small sports cars of all time. I know there are more owners out there to chime in on this issue.
you only asked for mechanics and owners..
and no, one of the greatest sports cars of all time is the Miata.. it is always the answer
I was shopping these recently, and I can second the "buy a new one" comment. The 2 decent 07 S models I drove were $16k with 51k miles loaded up with everything including LSD and 2 sets of tires, and $17k with 20k miles. Not great prices for a car that was $23k 4 or 5 years ago.
I have driven both extensively, minis are one of the greatest small sports cars of all time. MINIS are ok.
I have an 09 S. 29k miles. Only option i have on it is blue tooth.
I like the car, its fun, and when i look at it i go "yep, thats pretty sweet"
Ive had 2 warranty issues so far
The water pump had to be replaced as it had a slow leak
The timing chain tensioner had a catostrophic failure leading to all of the engines oil exiting the vehicle through the passenger side wheel well. My first indication anything was wrong was the "no oil pressure you idiot" light coming on.
The engine survived as i killed it as soon as the light came on. The chain and the tensioner had to be replaced.
Im kinda scared to own the car out of warranty at this point which is a shame cause i really really like it.
sorry I haven't thank you guys yet. I work in Surgery and business has been very good. I am going to hold out this year to purchase a tow vehicle and travel trailer. The S model is the only one I am interested in, and more are comming on the used market now. If you have any more stories or insight, I would love to read them.
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