Miata vs. Winter beater/hauler

So last year I drove my Miata in the winter. It was a blast. It had a worn out stock suspension on it with snow tires and hardtop. This year I upgraded the suspension to FM2.5 with the ground control springs (stiffer) w/ adj. ride height. It will be drivable in the winter, but probably way to stiff for the road conditions. I also don't really want to have it on the salted roads again, either. So I have a couple of options:

1. Drive as is w/ winter tires. Deal with the salt and suspension.

2. Stock springs w/ KYB GR2 shocks, upgraded bump stops, and disconnect anti-roll bars (1/2 day of work + alignment). This will soften it up and improve ride on MI winter roads.

3. <$2k winter beater/ZAV. This would be a multi-purpose vehicle, so probably something like a Cherokee or 4Runner. I wouldn't care if it rusted or a bit dirty inside as long as it got me to work everyday and was safe (i.e. working brakes and no fuel leaks).

4. Final, and last option, is to get a more "grown up" daily driver (loan would be needed) that is an all season daily driver bust still somewhat fun (manual, RWD/AWD, Mazdaspeed6, 325/8is, ???). Selling the Miata is not really an option since I do track driving instruction and if it happens to get written off, I wouldn't owe money on a vehicle I don't have.

I've been browsing ads now before prices skyrocket and I would have a chance to fix any major issues with it before needing it. So what say the GRM brain trust? Thanks!

Option 3: cheap rusty Subaru, something 2.2 powered. Either with snow tires, or all seasons with the ABS defeated. Enough traction for safety, not so much that hooning is impossible.

I'd go with a winter beater. If you look hard enough, and are quick on the draw, you can find a cheap beater on CL to just get you through the winter. Come spring, you can sell it for what you paid, or close enough that you didn't really lose much money.

Last fall, I bought a '94 Geo Prizm. Paid $400 for it. It was running/driving/inspected. Only needed a set of axles. Cost me $100 for those, so total investment was $500. Ugly as hell, had some rust, but ran like a champ. Drove it all winter. Sold it in April for $500. Even if nobody bought it, salvage yard would have given me $400 for it.

Another vote for the cheap beater. Hard to go wrong with a good cheap winter beater.

I went with the winter beater path. It also allows me to turn the Miata into a fun toy instead of a dd.

There's no rule stating that your winter car has to be soulless. My winter beater is an M3

^+1.

My winter beater is a horribly over-boosted MX6 GT Turbo.

On second thought, this might not be a great idea.

In reply to nderwater:

They have winter in GA?

OK, so i guess I'm on the lookout for a winter beater. Cherokee, 4runner, P71 (something that can haul stuff would be nice) etc. Thanks for the suggestions! Keep 'em coming!

Buy a <$2K Miata as a winter beater ! Best of both worlds.

you could buy my parents vw passat as a winter beater.

2001 vw passat for sale

also in 2011 classifieds

I read that as winter beer hauler. Think about that.

For MI (and a lot of other places) a simple FWD Winter beater with even a cheap set of snow tires will get done what you want.

13" or 14" snows are cheap compared to other sizes. I know a guy that was building his DD into a rallycar who drove the E36 M3 out of a cheap Hyundai for several years.