Starting to narrow down what kind of toy I want. Right now I'm comparing Apples, Oranges, Pears, and Bananas. Seriously though, narrowed it down to 4 I'm really looking at.... Elise, Viper, C6 Vette, Cayman... all pre-owned of course. Need to really get behind the wheel to see which one I like best and which will fit the bill. The Porsche and Vette will be easy to drive... but the Viper and Elise will be tougher.

For those of you who have fun/weekend/semi-exotic type cars... how did you do it? At one of the local Cars & Coffee's one of the Lotus guys took myself and my wife for a spin in his Elise... but I need to drive each one to see which I am most comfortable in. The other problem is that I was never taught to drive manual. I taught myself... but that just means I can do it... not necessarily well all of the time. Of course I'd take it easy on the test drive as I'll know almost immediately if I like a car or not, but still.

So, tips on how to get behind the wheel of a car like the Viper or Elise? TIA

 

I actually got a test drive in an Elise by just hanging around the Lotus dealer in Austin.
Guy knew I couldn't buy, but offered to give me a ride. Halfway through, asked if I wanted to drive it. Definitely wasn't going to say no.

Vette would be easy if they know you're serious, Cayman I'd imagine the same.
New Viper might be tough, but again, I'd imagine that if they know you're serious & not just a tire kicker/joy rider, I don't know why it'd be a problem.

My biggest hurdle is that I look a lot younger than I am. I'm only 27, but get the "You're what 18?" thing a lot.

 

Can you practice driving stick on a friend's car? I practiced for about an hour in my friends Subaru, went straight to the dealership, test drove an Evo with no issues, and ended up driving the Evo home a week later.


Edit: It also took me a little bit of time to convince the salesman that I was serious because I look really young. Well...I am pretty young haha but I had the means.

 

Thanks for the replies!

Should have been more clear. Not looking new... looking pre-owned. I don't buy new... that is for suckers . Edited OP to add that.

Even so, I have connections at the Porsche and Chevy dealerships, so driving a pre-owned Cayman or Vette will be pretty easy.

And yes, I have a few friends with manual cars, so that's not an issue if I need to brush up a bit. I just feel bad reaching out to someone on CL or eBay about their car if I don't even know if I want it yet. I may get behind the wheel of a Viper or Elise and hate it in which case I would have just wasted their time... especially if it's an individual. Honestly the only one I've never been in is a Viper (looking 2003-2006), so it's really the biggest wildcard at this point...

 

I am sure people selling those types of cars understand you may not have been in one before and as long as you can make a point of it that you are seriously considering it and not just looking for a joy ride I can't imagine it would be considered a waste of time.

 

Agreed. People that own those types of cars can usually tell a tire-kicker from serious consideration, or so I would think.

 

If it's private party, I'm sure if you let them ride with you that'll make it easier too.

Pulling up in an Audi/Mercedes won't hurt

 

^ haha, yeah... we would likely take the E350 to those appointments . I do have a connection (friend of a friend) who owns a dealership... so I could likely stalk his inventory as well. Now that I think about it, I may have a connection with a Viper as well. The Lotus (which right now is leading) is going to be the tough one...

 

Out of the 4, the Elise would be my #1 pick.

 

Make sure you practice driving a sports car with stick. I knew well enough how to drive most sticks just fine before trying my mom's 350Z and stalling out over and over again. I can only imagine that a real sports car would be that much harder.

 

I can provide nothing. I'm just here for the the pictures

 

 

The difference between driving my car and my friend's Mustang GT is shocking.

 

^ That's kind of my concern. I've been in a Vette, and the tranny is actually pretty good. The Viper is the one that concerns me the most. I know the Lotus is known for not having the best shifting (not bad, just not great), but it's different being in a 4-cyl Lotus and a V10 monster Viper.

Some of the people I race with have sports cars, so they'd likely let me drive. Off-hand I can think of a 330 Sport, Porsche 944, and 350z. So a bunch of different years and makes/models. May need to cozy up to them to brush up

Oh, and did a quick cars.com search and found a couple of Vipers at dealers nearby... so that may be easier then a private individual. The Lotus will still be the tough one.

Thanks for the replies all!


Well now the wife is talking a kid, so I have to accelerate my purchase plans

 

im with neil

 

I can't speak to the Viper, but I've driven a Z06, Elise, 350Z Roush Mustang, Porsche 944 & some others.

Personally, I love the super short, notchy Elise shifter.
The Vette & Z are really easy to drive.
My friend's dad's '07 427R Roush isn't bad either, more similar to the Elise as far as shifting, very tight & precise.

Never had a problem with the clutch being too heavy or anything. I thin I had more trouble out of my '97 Civic when I had to replace the trans & the parts guy ordered me a racing clutch. Very heavy with a quick engagement. Pretty much had to re-learn how to drive a stick.

 

Congrats. Yeah get it while you can. I had to wait 9+ years after my first kid was born and all I got was a lousy sedan.....(with 429 hp).

 

^haha. Wouldn't quite call that sedan lousy

 

Hurry hurry hurry start looking well yesterday

 

^ Well, when I say talking kid... still have a couple of years. Figure I can research this spring/summer, then buy something fall/winter when prices are lower. That's my plan anyway. We'll see how it goes

 

That's what my wife told me way back when.
Sleep on your stomach.

 

^

 

 

Looking forward to the outcome of this.

 

If you want to brush up on driving manual, go to a dealer that has a manual that you can drive and hopefully you could drive it alone.


I test drove a boxster s last year with just my wife. There are only two seats so they didn't make one of us stay behind.

as you know show up in the MB.

 

They'll find a way, sleeping or not.

 

I have not driven it yet, but from what Trance has explained to me, the Elise is very easy to drive. I described to him how easy it was to drive a S2000 I wanted & he summed up that the Elise should be even easier. And if that's the case, you should have no problem with it if you can drive a Cayman or Corvette manual.

I've had some time in both of those & the Porsche was the only one that I had some issue with because of the engagement point.

As for the Viper, never had time in one, but from what I've read, it drives like a Corvette, just harsher & without driver aids. I have also read that the shifting will be a bit rough until the tranny warms up, so it's advised to be cautious with any acceleration & shifts beforehand.

 

I'll share my advice on test driving nice cars and looking young....

1.) 1st impression is key. Definitely take the Benz and dress nice (button down/tie preferable).

2.) Tell the salesman that you are looking at cars X, Y and a dealer offered you XXXXXX on XXXXXXX car which you were ready to put a down payment on (BS at various points here if you have to )

3.) Tell him that this car is what is holding you back from putting a down payment

4.) Ask for a test drive and see how it goes....

5.) When you get in, don't stall right in front of him.... Also, drive nice and slow out of the dealer lot; open her up when you have some distance.

Park Ave Lotus near you is awesome. The salesman let me take a brand new Exige S out (Red on black wheels) ON MY OWN for 45 minutes. When he pulled the Lotus up, I thought he was going to get in the passenger seat, but to my surprise, he got out and told me "let me know what you think." I took it around the Garden State mall next door and opened her up on Rt 17. It was great.....

The thing I could not stand about the Exige S that was a deal breaker was the ZERO visibility out the rear; I could not get comfortable driving like that. Also, the thing is a turd in the triple digits. Your reminded you're driving a supercharged Toyota 4 cylinder. On the plus side, it's like an S2000 on steroids with AWD (plus the stock tires are perfect and have a lot of grip). It truly is a "leisure car" of the bunch you're looking at. Followed by the Viper.

Regardless, I would wait until the winter to pick on of these up as well. You'll save a few thousand for sure....Good luck.

 

Anyone looking at a Lotus should know that to begin with....It's like knocking a Silverado for having shitty handling in the corners.

 

Key word: "reminded". In my opinion, a "sports car" by definition better scoot after 100 mph. I don't really get your analogy. I expected the thing to move a little better. Its entertaining to 90 mph with a good launch, after that, it's a bit boring IMO.

 

Your definition is really backwards, then.
The best sports cars in the world aren't meant to be driven over 100Mph to begin with.

And my analogy is making fun of your comment that the Lotus "is a turd in the triple digits". No shit, Sherlock. It's like saying a pick up truck sucks ass in corners.

 

What do you drive again man? I missed that part, sorry.

Spending money on this class of cars, I better have some top end power. That's my opinion and my advice to JB. You're entitled to your opinion on your "vast experience" behind the wheel of any of the above mentioned cars.

 

The first clue someone has lost their ground is attacking a subject outside of it. What I drive doesn't matter.

I don't need vast experience behind the wheel of these cars either (not that you have any idea what I've been fortunate enough to drive; props for the attempt at that), to know you're an idiot that got behind the wheel of a Lotus & was "reminded" it felt slow over 100mph. Or that it doesn't have the "top end power" for the money. You looked at the completely wrong type of car, then.

To humor you though, he's buying his car to have a weekend toy, not to pick up cougars & act like he cares about power when he bought a convertible Corvette.

 

Easy now you guys

Thanks for the replies. Definitely food for thought. The problem with the Lotus is that there is not a dealership near me (I'm in NC, so Park Ave Lotus is a bit of a hike :P ). Closest dealer is about 3 hours away. There is a big Lotus contingency in the area though... and next weekend is a big C&C plus a huge auto fair at the track, so that should be good for info. I was doing some searches and found a local dealer with a Viper, and one with a Lotus... so may see if I can get behind the wheel of one of those. I'll know pretty much immediately if I like the car or not.

Thanks again

 

Friends of ours had a Boxster, so I got to drive that. Nice driving car!

The good thing is that most of what we're looking at are two-seaters, so just enough room for the wife and myself . May be a tougher sell with an individual seller, but I'll just leave our MB keys with them as an offering

 

You actually going to make it to C&C

Auto fair at what track? Track event or more swap meet type event?

 

That would put me at ease if I were private party selling & someone showed up to check it out.
Not really any different that the sellers that say something to the effect of "no test drives without cash in my hand" type of thing.

 

Food Lion Auto Fair <--- Click

Going to try to do C&C in the AM, then the Auto Fair in the afternoon... but not 100% sure yet. My parents are heading out of town for an anniversary and my grandma is coming to stay with us (she lives with them) for a few days, so not sure what that Saturday will bring just yet.


Yeah, I'm sure. Plus, it's not like I'm going to test drive an $800 rusty Civic... so I should be dealing with good sellers (and they would expect to deal with good potential buyers). We'll see...

 

Take heed doing this. Some people may use your keys as an excuse to keep you longer if you're not ready to buy.

Just bad experience with that.

 

^ Yeah, I've had issues with that too... especially at dealers. When going to dealers, we try to hold the keys. Then again, if we're not trading anything, there's no reason for them to even have the keys... which is usually the case and makes it nice