Keep a 94 Miata and turbo it, or buy something else?

[Arkaign]

I get that, but if you want something light with two seats fun to drive why not just get a Lotus Elise?

They are tremendously expensive in the states compared to the UK. Here a nice Miata is $5k (~£3200), while the cheapest Elise might be $25k+, as far as what's available. The earlier-gen Elises were never available here anyway, didn't show up until 2005.

It's similar in reverse to how in the states we can get a brand-new 300hp RWD Mustang that will do 0-60 in about 5 seconds flat for about £14,200. I'd shudder to think what that would cost over there.

 

[HAL9000]

They are tremendously expensive in the states compared to the UK. Here a nice Miata is $5k (~£3200), while the cheapest Elise might be $25k+, as far as what's available. The earlier-gen Elises were never available here anyway, didn't show up until 2005.

It's similar in reverse to how in the states we can get a brand-new 300hp RWD Mustang that will do 0-60 in about 5 seconds flat for about £14,200. I'd shudder to think what that would cost over there.

A new mustang over here is about £18,000 If memory serves.

It's basically £2,000 to get it here, then you have to change the lights and if you want to you can convert it to RHD for an additional £4-6,000 or so.

It didn't occur to me that you guys only got Elises in 2005, you can pick up an old one here for £3,000. Fair enough.

 

[JCH13]

It seems like you guys in America seem to really like MX-5's, personally I hate them, I don't know anyone in the UK that likes them, over here people think of them as girls cars, just a two door convertible, nothing special, that being said the Top Gear guys seem to like them, so I must be missing something!

I say if you like it keep it. The V8 thing looks entertaining too

The car is communicative, lively, tossable, forgiving, predictable, sharp transmission, great throttle response, it's simply a brilliant driving experience.

It's a very visceral experience. You can "feel" everything that the car does, very connected between driver and car. Nothing electronic between yourself and the road. They are a real smile to drive

This is the exact word I was looking for. Visceral and engaging.

Second hand they are about the same price...?

Second hand Lotus Elise for the same price as a brand new MX-5 maybe.

I got my 1991 Turbo Miata for $2300 (I have put a bit of $$ into it). You cannot have more fun for less money.

V8s are most definitely fun, but try a turbo build first before shoving a V8 in there. See what the car is like with over 2x stock power before going for 3x or 4x as much power with a V8.

 

[HAL9000]

Second hand Lotus Elise for the same price as a brand new MX-5 maybe.

I got my 1991 Turbo Miata for $2300 (I have put a bit of $$ into it). You cannot have more fun for less money. In the US.

I've added "In the US" to that statement, as in the UK I'd have to disagree.

 

[Zargon]

Yeah they are, but only amongst women (In my experience)

The men would rather have a Boxster or a Z4 etc.

in the US the boxter is a bit of a womans car

I've added "In the US" to that statement, as in the UK I'd have to disagree.

OP is from the US, so it doesnt need a qualifier

we've told you before that the elise is very expensive here :awe:

 

[JCH13]

I've added "In the US" to that statement, as in the UK I'd have to disagree.

Have you ever driven or ridden in a Miata?

 

[HAL9000]

in the US the boxter is a bit of a womans car

Yeah it's a bit like that here too, if it's a Boxster S then not so much.

OP is from the US, so it doesnt need a qualifier

Sure it does, you stated it as absolute, when it is infact relative to the US.

we've told you before that the elise is very expensive here :awe:

I don't remember that sorry.

Have you ever driven or ridden in a Miata?

I have driven an MX-5

 

[JCH13]

I have driven an MX-5

Was it the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation?

 

[HAL9000]

Was it the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation?

It was about a 2004 / 2005?

 

[Arkaign]

A lot of the love for the Miatas is due to the fact that they're so durable, easy to fix, and cheap to upgrade. There's a racing series over here that's pretty much factory MX-5s, and they hold up really well.

 

[Arkaign]

It was about a 2004 / 2005?

That was sadly a fat pig compared to the early ones

 

[HAL9000]

That was sadly a fat pig compared to the early ones

Shame. It was fun, but I drove an RX-8 immediately afterwards, much preferred it, bought it.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

It was about a 2004 / 2005?

1st gen. 1st ran from 89-97, 2nd gen 99-05, and 06+ are 3rd.

As is often said, the 2nd gen model was a better car, but the first gen was the better Miata.

 

[HAL9000]

1st gen. 1st ran from 89-97, 2nd gen 99-05, and 06+ are 3rd.

As is often said, the 2nd gen model was a better car, but the first gen was the better Miata.

Ahh OK thanks.

 

[JCH13]

Shame. It was fun, but I drove an RX-8 immediately afterwards, much preferred it, bought it.

Funny, they have the same chassis and same suspension. You must have driven the 3rd gen (06+) if it was on the lot with an RX8.

1st gen. 1st ran from 89-97, 2nd gen 99-05, and 06+ are 3rd.

As is often said, the 2nd gen model was a better car, but the first gen was the better Miata.

This.

Like I said, mine was $2300, previous owner rocked a 13.9s 1/4 mile, came with a hard-top, spare engine core, coil-over suspension, LSD, and MS1 ECU... can you really have more fun than that for less money?

 

[Arkaign]

To play devil's advocate, the early Elises were incredibly light, I can imagine they were pretty entertaining drives. I see variants listed between 1200-1600lbs, with power anywhere from 110 to 300+hp. Stupid safety regulations and all that horseshit got them too though, the Elise gained heaps of weight over the years.

 

[HAL9000]

Funny, they have the same chassis and same suspension. You must have driven the 3rd gen (06+) if it was on the lot with an RX8.

I think it was the engine that did it for me with the RX-8, love that rotary wine and the high revving, also it's nice to have back seats.

 

[Aikouka]

Hmm wouldn't the Honda S2000 be one of the few non-girly coupes that we have? Not sure if the RX-8 would classify under that as well. Seems girls gravitate toward the small, cute cars or the low-powered versions. Kind of like how I see women driving Altimas, but never the V6 model.

 

[HAL9000]

Hmm wouldn't the Honda S2000 be one of the few non-girly coupes that we have? Not sure if the RX-8 would classify under that as well. Seems girls gravitate toward the small, cute cars or the low-powered versions. Kind of like how I see women driving Altimas, but never the V6 model.

Do they make a Honda S2000 Coupé? I thought they just made convertibles...?

 

[Arkaign]

Yeah roadster only, although there are some really damned good hardtops out there for them.

 

[JCH13]

Hmm wouldn't the Honda S2000 be one of the few non-girly coupes that we have? Not sure if the RX-8 would classify under that as well. Seems girls gravitate toward the small, cute cars or the low-powered versions. Kind of like how I see women driving Altimas, but never the V6 model.

Funny story, at the last auto-x school there were 3 men, myself included, driving Miatas, and 1 woman in an S2000 :hmm:

Granted mine was a turbo Miata and another was a V8 Miata...

 

[HAL9000]

Yeah roadster only, although there are some really damned good hardtops out there for them.

Yeah my friends Dad's got one with a hard top on it, it is a good looking car.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Miatas seem to be getting a lot more respect lately. May just be in my head though since I spend a lot of time on miata and autox sites .

 

[HAL9000]

Not here they aren't. My miata was $2k. The cheapest Elise I found in a quick search is $23k and the next cheapest is $27k. If I was buying a new miata a used Elise would certainly be on my list.


Miatas seem to be getting a lot more respect lately. May just be in my head though since I spend a lot of time on miata sites .

Yeah we went through this earlier in the thread, it seems that Elises are v expensive in the US compared to the UK as they only released them in 2005 over there.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Yeah we went through this earlier in the thread, it seems that Elises are v expensive in the US compared to the UK as they only released them in 2005 over there.

If it tells you anything about how expensive they are, my mom's husband was looking at an Elise and ended up getting a Maserati.

Like I said, mine was $2300, previous owner rocked a 13.9s 1/4 mile, came with a hard-top, spare engine core, coil-over suspension, LSD, and MS1 ECU... can you really have more fun than that for less money?

Yeah I figure there's nothing under $10k that could touch a tricked out Miata. Sure something could out drag it, but not be as well rounded. Kinda was what I was wanting to make sure of.

I have a hardtop and never take the top off, so may just pull out the soft top assembly for a little more storage room. Maybe put a sub back there, dunno. All that's a long way off. I'll continue with the weekend drive and what not. Thanks for helping me make the right decision