Car Enthusiast Thread

GohanX

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It is pretty rad. The car is a blast to drive especially after some quality of life improvements over the past year. I barely drive the much nicer and faster Mazdaspeed.
 

madmanjock

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My Miata is in good mechanical shape, but it looks like shit from failing clearcoat and needs a full, costly sand/repaint job. I've got some money set aside for this, but I've also been keeping my eye out for possibly getting a slightly newer NB or NC Miata and selling the NA. Miata values across the board are inflated of course, and someone local put up a 2000 Porsche Boxster for sale for less than what a similar vintage Miata would sell for.

I'm trying really hard not to just go buy the Porsche. Boxsters tend to be cheap since the actual Porsche crowds don't consider them to be a "real Porsche" but they are still ridiculously fun cars. My main hesistation is being hard to work on due to the mid engine design, if it needs a clutch it's going to be a bitch.

I've got a 2000 911 C2 - same engine as the Boxster's apart from the cylinder size.

That generation is hated because of the IMS problems in the engine - they can be fine one day and go BANG the next. So you should see if it's been replaced, or budget in a replacement cost.

... or do as I do. It's been fine for 20 years... it will probably be fine a while longer.

Edit - see if you can find out if it has a dual IMS like mine - those are supposed to be less likely to blow up. They went from dual to single IMS at somepoint in the early 2000s.
 

NeoSneth

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~2006 and later should have sturdier IMS in Boxters.
edit - they used stronger IMS not dual.
 
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madmanjock

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On the 986 Generation Boxsters and 996 Generation 911s it was actually the early ones which had dual IMS, they stopped doing it in 2000 but even some cars in 2001 have dual IMS (NOS engines? I don't know).

Even a single IMS isn't a guarenteed death sentence - just make sure it's been done or get it done at somepoint, but it is the main reason this generation of Porsches are 'relatively' affordable. Alongside the 'fried egg' head lights which I actually like.
 

GohanX

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From what I've seen the IMS problem is kinda overblown and at this point if it was going to fail, it probably already has. If I got one I'd probably plan to go ahead and get a clutch/IMS/rear main seal job done on it or pay a few grand extra for one that has documentation that it's already done.

It does make me hesitant though, if it were to fail I absolutely do NOT want to pay to get an engine put in it. With the mid engine design I couldn't do it myself.
 

NeoSneth

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Real talk....
when do people think car prices going to get back to normal?
No one wants to work, yet the new and used car market is on fire. so many people are working from home, yet everyone is buying cars.

I sold off my extra vehicles, and my Porsche has been my daily driver since 2020. It's saved me a lot in insurance and upkeep, and I'm very glad I downsized at the beginning of the pandemic.

My problem now is I want a boring car for commuting and roadtrips, and I'm not paying $30k for a used 2017 Subaru wagon.... A new 2022 ford maverick is the same price, but getting one at MSRP is impossible.
 

Lastblade

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I don't think we will get back to normal pricing any time soon. We are still experiencing global supply chain issues (not limited to car but pretty much everything), and inflation continues to be sky high. Until supplies start to increase, prices will continue to be elevated. I am hoping 2nd half of 2022 is when production starts to normalize and then eventually catches up with demand in 2023.
 

NeoSneth

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It's hard to get something to hold over a few more years before EV is full on mainstream. Not buying a hybrid.
Gonna just have to hold out another year because Im a curmudgeon
 

sr20det510

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It's hard to get something to hold over a few more years before EV is full on mainstream. Not buying a hybrid.
Gonna just have to hold out another year because Im a curmudgeon
My wife's vw CC has 71k miles and has been nickel and diming me for a while. She wants a new car, but I can't imagine paying full sticker price for a car. I never have and never will do that.

I will hold out until the prices begin to fall.
 

GohanX

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After years of ownership we finally got a decent snow here and I got to go play with the AWD system on my car. It was a blast, I'm so used to RWD vehicles feeling how the AWD system works when there is no traction is pretty cool. I was a little annoyed when they were plowing some of the roads, it's a lot more fun unplowed.
 
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Man, give me some car updates guys. It snowed 5 times last month and though the snow is gone there is so much salt the roads look like they are made of cocaine and I am having driving withdrawals.

All I want to do is drive that elky. Man I really enjoy that G body experience, now im very jelly of max 330’s monte. Man the market for those is very tough, been watching g body sales lately.

Other than that I found a bit of corrosion on the elkys fuse box, cleaned it and now I have: power locks, entry lights, dome light and cigarette lighter again. Also found out my windshield squirters werent working because when the former owner put in a new pump he got the lines backwards. Bought a new ac compressor and accumulator and purge valve and got the ac working like its 1984 again. Oh and installed a trash grant steering wheel, because I put one on all my chevy trash.
 

Syn

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I feel you man. The roads are covered in salt here too. I'm so ready for March and rain showers. I keep insurance year round just in case an unexpected opportunity to cruise happens. I'm still relearning my car with the new turbo installed. I have to tweak a bunch of minor things.
 
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Yeah I am super excited for the rest of this year, i want to take more long trips. Talking about heading with a friend and his car and me in the sc430 and doing tail of the dragon this year or baby tail. I read the stock brakes on the sc430 are terrible once you push them so that sounds perfect. Also going to start going to car shows, want to check out some cars and coffee type events this year.

Are you going to track that car syn? Or is it for backroads? I imagine you might have some cool roads and scenery down your way.
 

Syn

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Backroads, I'd like to hit the TotD someday. Every year there's MATG (Miatas at the Gap) so it's a goal.

And a lot of cruising Woodward. A lot of people have project cars around here so every day, mainly weekends, there's some sweet rides on the legendary road.
 
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Walking in the house from that drive, to get a call from the shop that was inspecting for vibration in my E36. Its the drive shaft u-joint, which on an E36 is a ~non serviceable~ part, which means…

New driveshaft $1200 for a cheapo aftermarket?!?!?!

Welp after the 5k in service ive spent on that car in the last two years, Im not paying that. Have to stop the bleeding at some point, bye bye E36.
 

madmanjock

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First day of the year its warm enough for convertibling today! Got my lake joint ready, heading out in the sc430 to enjoy it.

I really like the SC430. Never driven one but the folding hard top with back seats and near 300 hp is class. UK Top Gear hated them, never fully understood why (Porsche / Jaguar bias was rife in the early seasons of Top Gear.)

My 1991 Proton GLS 1.5 will be going into storage soon, just in time for the 911 996 C2 to come out to play. I’ve decided to use the funny old shit Proton in the winter months and use the Porsche in April till September when the Scottish weather is at its (relative) peak.

MOT and service for the 911 is due soon as well and I know the hand brake and engine mounts need looked at. I’ll be eating breakfast cereal 3 times a day in April no doubt to cover the bill. Worth it.
 
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I really like the SC430. Never driven one but the folding hard top with back seats and near 300 hp is class. UK Top Gear hated them, never fully understood why (Porsche / Jaguar bias was rife in the early seasons of Top Gear.)
Jeremy clarkson actually called it the worst car of all time. Which is a badge of honor of sorts. It feels like Im always trying to figure out how I feel about that car but I can definitely say I see why its so divisive. Its a car with a personality crisis.



MOT and service for the 911 is due soon as well and I know the hand brake and engine mounts need looked at. I’ll be eating breakfast cereal 3 times a day in April no doubt to cover the bill. Worth it.
Agreed, worth it. Thats really the thing with the e36, I dont think its worth it anymore, were not talking about a lot of money here, just dont think its worth the hassle anymore. I like the proton by the way, had to look them up.
 

NeoSneth

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you can change the engine mounts pretty easily on a 911. I'm getting ready to replace mine as well. at about 60k miles
 

lithy

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Bumping this thread inspired me to blow off the last couple hours of work because it was 60°. So I dug the Miata out from under the pool noodles in the garage. Unfortunately, the garage is still nowhere near sorted out since our move in August. Whatever didn't find a place inside just got dumped out in the garage.

The inspection was due last September. It needs tires and rear brakes. The battery was dead because I never did put the tender on it. But it started fine after a jump. So guess I got a month or so before the weather is permanently nice to address all that.
 

madmanjock

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you can change the engine mounts pretty easily on a 911. I'm getting ready to replace mine as well. at about 60k miles

Thanks, I saw a youtube video - looks like I could do it in maybe a couple slow steady work as its bolt off / bolt in. But I live on a busy street with no where I can do it, you need a ramp to support it while changing the mounts… I’ll have to pass this time and let the professional do it. Next home I move to needs to have a garage or at the very least a private driveway.

Jeremy clarkson actually called it the worst car of all time. Which is a badge of honor of sorts. It feels like Im always trying to figure out how I feel about that car but I can definitely say I see why its so divisive. Its a car with a personality crisis.

Yeah that is a badge of honour to be sure. I think Richard Hammond was a little kinder as he liked the engine, but the opinion seemed to be it looked like a sports car but handled like a road cruiser. I’ve no dog in that fight as I’ve never driven one, but their relative image problems have kept them very affordable over here, so I might pick one up someday.

A cleaner/rarer example of my Proton won the ‘festival of the unexceptional’ car show in the UK, which is like a anti-Goodwood for only really boring shit cars which are nearly extinct. I love it for that reason too.
 

NeoSneth

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Yeah that is a badge of honour to be sure. I think Richard Hammond was a little kinder as he liked the engine, but the opinion seemed to be it looked like a sports car but handled like a road cruiser.

That's the perfect combo because 99% of driving is road cruising. It's why I enjoyed my MarkVIII many years ago. It was the ultimate highway luxury sports Coupe. I guess my CLS was a fairly close evolution to that, but further away from sports car.

People like the looks of sports cars, but the everyday driving of one is awful. The Lexus sounds like a good balance.
 
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Since you guys are talking about it more, i’ll add thats its not a Sports Coupe as its name would imply, this is 100% a grand tourer. Its big and its heavy. Its also a grand tourer with zero trunk and back seats so small no human could fit back there, there is one by inch of leg room, less room and smaller back seat than my E36 cabrio. The trunk is full of a million modules and storage space for the roof. If you carry the tiny temp spare then there is room for about a half gallon of milk on either side of it and not much else. You cant go grocery shopping with this car nevermind like bring luggage on your cross country grand tour drive.

The brakes are undersized if you are going to really use them, this is a common complaint and just fucking weird considering the monster brakes on LS’s ten year before this car came along.

The 430 has a 3UZ, Ive owned cars with the 1uz and the 2uz. The 1UZ feels like a tuned american engine, grunty down low, killer exhaust note, pairs really well with the stiffer shifting 4 speed of the time. The 2uz is a rev monster, just one of the happiest revving quick to redline v8’s ive ever driven. This 3UZ feels really linear and lame compared to the previous gens, less personality, less rev happy. Feels sluggish compared to the 2uz, especially if you have the super invasive traction control on. My car only has 30k on it and Ive had a complete timing service and ignition refresh done so its in tip top shape to judge with.

Ride wise I cant give an honest opinion because mine came with a new set of coilovers, feels good to me, its the only one ive been in.

Go drive one if you are interested in them, it feels like a pretty special car to drive once you are in one. This is from toyotas best era of manufacturing if you ask me and deals are to be had out there on these. I feel they are overlooked and underpriced. Especially if the powered drop top is important to you, I dare you to find any model with a more reliable top or engine.
 
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