Msnowdon

I really have the itch for a second car, but can't decide.

Honda S2000 - Love those Honda's, a little tight for my big bones. Great Price.


Lotus Elise - Once I am in, I am fine, little go cart.

911- Would end up getting a 10 year old model, and I am really anal.

What are your thoughts?

My daily driver.

MeldyS26

Elise, you never see those things

subinf

unless you live in miami, i see those fuckers all over. everywhere else in the US dont see them though

i like the lotus also...seem like second car material. i'd love to get behind the wheel of one of those

zeroday

more common than an s200

but yeah i'd go with the elise. it's such a cool go cart.

cusdaddy

Out of the 3 you listed, I'd go with an Elise. I got taken for a ride in one at AutoX one day and it was one of the best experiences I ever had. The thing truly is a little go-kart.

srika

Elise!

TL CHROMETIDE

With the Elise, you'll get lots of looks and attention.

iTimmy

I was in the same positions last year, but ultimately decided the money would be much better spent on a new house - besides where I live there are only a handful of months to enjoy such a car

In any case, I was serious about the elise, I drove a few local guys Elises, a few S2000's and a handful of BoxsterS's, the 911's didn't interest me due to the maintance cost of owning an older 911. The S2k seems like a Cadillac after driving an Elise, the Elise, like you said when you are in there is great, the problem is getting in and out. There are great forums for both www.elisetalk.com/forums there is a for sale section there as well, you can find Elises in amazing condition with low miles for $15k+ off MSRP. I have one Elise that comes in my shop fairly often and the guy beats the shit out of the car and it seems to be taking it, I don't mean he drives really aggressive, he just doesn't take care of it. He put 12k miles on it last summer alone, it looks like he goes off roading with it fairly frequently and does oil changes every 10k miles if he's lucky. S2000's are nice, and if they had factory heated seats and the factory hard top was still available I would probably be driving one right now as my daily driver, it had more in common with my TSX then I would have imagined, its a great car that's fun to drive. The S2000 is not as fast 0-60 but much like the TSX when rolling its MUCH faster then most realize and anyone who would say its not fun to run it up to the 8k RPM readline would be a fool. If you have a GF/wife the S2000 may be the wiser choice, easier for her to get in and out of, and its going to attract less attention from other woman. Maintaining either the S2000 or the Elise is a piece of cake, there are a few simple things you should do to keep the lotus engine managment happy that's a little weird but when your used to it, it becomes second nature. The Porshe's just didn't do it for me the way the S2000 or the Elise did, much like the S2000 seems like a cadillac compared to the elise, the porsche takes it to another level of cadillacdom, its heavier and even more luxurious. The engine is amazing and its a blast to drive, but with the boxsterS's case your driving the "poor man's porsche" aka "a porsche in panties" I would rather not have a porsche then deal with that criticism if it was my good car. The 911 is a different but a 10 year old 911 even when properly taken care of will need maintance that is expensive and its performance/handling will reflect that its a 10 year old car, of course the aftermarket is REALLY strong for 993's but its also REALLY expensive. 911's are unusual cars to drive, but when you get used to them they are amazing vehicles, its just a VERY different driving experience going from a mid-engined car to a rear-engined car.

I came real close to pulling the trigger on this, and my money was on a used Elise, which now goes for roughly what a brand new S2000 does.

GreenMonster

I'm biased, as I've always loved the 911 (nice ducktail btw), so I'd go with a 993...

You can get some low mileage 993's for in the upper 30's if you're anal about the condition... higher mileage ones are starting to break into the upper 20's...

The OBDI on the 1995's are nice if your worried about the CEL and SAI issues of the 96-98 obdii 993's...

Msnowdon

Green, like the 95 as it doesn't have the CEL issue also, but they are a few bucks cheaper.

Michael

Msnowdon

The one other option, would be to dump the TL and get an 05 or 06 M3 Coupe, with SMG?

GreenMonster

That would be another option... It's a bitch, ain't it...

I've had this debate in my mind too... Trade in the CL on a decent daily driver like a M3, or just go the weekend toy route, and keep the CL...

Yeah, I actually looked at the 95's before I bought my CLS. Figured I buy a more "practical" car and bought the acura instead... There are days where I reget that, but, hey, live and learn... One of the things that pushed me towards the acura was the lower maintenance costs, but I got killed on depreciation... the 993's are pretty stable price wise, and only seem to depreciate based on mileage... A 993 w/ 55k miles is mid $30's while a 100K 993 is in the upper 20's... Higher maintence costs would be offset by lower depreciation costs...

Some of the late model 95's came w/o the baskethandle, so I'd be looking for one of thoses in either black, guards red, or blue (not sure if ocean blue was a 95 color... maybe it was iris blue ??)...

Tireguy, you suck... I hadn't realized the Elises were selling used for 35K or so..

The S2000 is probably the "smartest" choice, but sportcars usually aren't bought based on wisdom, they need to be bought based on passion

edit: Mike, I'd tell you to buy a $14K SC, but since you already have a 84 Carrera, that would be like downgrading

Msnowdon

The 84 is gone, need to update that.

Find me a nice SC for 14K and I will jump on it. I spend alot of time over on Pelican and Rennlist and can't find a mint one.

Michael

Water-S

go with the Elise

iTimmy

If I got a nickel everytime someone said that I could pay for an Elise with nickels

iTimmy

That's another great idea, what about a late 996 C4? My only concern with the E46 M3's is that the new V8 M3's are just around the corner, and it may seem dated quickly, if that sort of thing concerns you. A lot of people don't agree with me but I like the styling of the 996 interior better then the 997, it just seems sportier and flows better(same with the old vs. new boxster), but the rest of the 997 makes up for it. You'd probably be pretty close to a stripped 997 C4, if you sold your TL.

einsatz

I vote for the Elise
Seen a few around here and really like them. The sound soooo good!
How about a used Boxster S?

Msnowdon

The Boxster S is seen as a womens or metrosexual car in the area that I live.

Michael

GreenMonster

Yeah, I'm over on Pelican and rennlist alot doing "research"... I put a bunch of links here to do price checking: http://john-perry.com/porsche/

Ok, The nice SC for $14K might be pushing it... This one with 56K miles went for $18K near me...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=4615949284

Michael, you're in SoCal right ?? (I checked your IP )... You should have an easier time finding a nice 911 there, then I would up here in MA...

You get into that "for a few more bucks" thing with the 911's... A g50 Carrera will go for in the 20's... and for a few more bucks... we're in the 30's again looking at 993's

What has really suprised me is the prices on the early 911's... Back in 2001 when I started lurking on pelican, a decent 72 or 73 T could be bought in the high teens, now there in the 20's and creaping into the 30's... (yeah, I've seen the $40K T's)...

Msnowdon

Early 911s, I sold my 1973 911s for 26k back in 2002, after 9/11 I figured the cash was safer in the bank.

The guy who bought it has had offers in the 60K range, it was that nice.

Michael

GreenMonster

Yeah, the S's are really pricey now... I've given up hope of owning an early 911 (even a lowly T)... That's why I've been looking at the SC's, G50 Carrera, and 993's...

I thought that Gemini Blue 73E that techweenie (on pelican) sold for 24K was nice...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showt...hreadid=248725

EDIT: The Elise might be a good car to compliment the TL...

Shoofin

I love the elise....Just don't know if I could possibly drive it on the streets often. It's a raw car, definately not a car I'd want to drive often on the streets.

ilitig8

If you can fold in and out of the Elise and get a good driving position (including feet small enough to heel-toe effectively, get the Elise. There is no more fun for 40k out there save a Cobra Replica... Hmmm maybe a FFR from Levy racing with a 351W...

Although I love the 911 and owned 2 993s the Elise is a far better 2nd car.

Chemmech

The Lotus is a hot car, saw one in the parking garage yesterday. The thing looks like it can handle and accelerate like a motorcycle.

MeldyS26

Ehh i wouldnt wanna do that, i'd be to anal and not drive the car and put miles on it.....so I would keep the tl and go with another car for a weekend car or something....IMO

BstonBruin

If I were you I'd go with the M3...you get the fun of a sports car with the comfort of your TL.

GreenMonster

The Exige in Chrome Orange look really nice... But I can't think of an Elise or Exige being anything other then a weekend toy... Some people might be able to pull it off as a fulltime good weather daily driver, but I don't think I could....

The elisetalk forums are pretty cool

Msnowdon

So the wife at dinner said she wanted to make sure the Lotus had a back seat. I said nope, she said we must have something with a back seat, so we can take the kids around.

I told her that is why we had the TL and X5.

She is staying strong on this one, need to get the guns out for this battle.

Michael

BstonBruin

another reason as to why you should get the M3




my dream carrr

Msnowdon

Is a M3 convertable a chick car?

ilitig8

That would make your decision if you are stuck on the 3 listed! I would point out the the way an Elise needs to be driven kids should NEVER be in one... this would work well in my house but maybe not yours.

Though I am biased I agree about the E46 M3 but particularly an older 911 is a more raw feeling.

GreenMonster

I don't think so... COO at work has a 05 M3 Vert w/ the hardtop (his 02 was the same way) and I think it's a guys car...

Even tho the s2000 and M3 vert are convertibles, they seem to escape the chicks car image...

ilitig8

You are getting me concerned...

The Boxster S is a incredible car as is the M3 CAB (don't call it a Vert... ) why are you so concerened about the chick car image, I mean hell your wife just told you that you can't have an Elise because it doesn't have a back seat... kiddin!

The S2K is probably far more of a chick car then a M3 cab (ever seen one of the latter dressed in pink on the silver screen?). Get what you want (with due difference to your wife) or do like I mentioned before and get a Cobra, with side exhaust and 400+ hp under the hood in a 2300 pound car no one will be casting you for Broke Back Mountain II any time soon.

iTimmy

I hang out at elisetalk a fair amount, though use a different moniker

HQuakers

I got passed by an elise on the highway going >100 through cars and I was in awe at how that thing could handle between all the traffic. I don't condone shitty/dangerous driving, but that was just sick.

Plus, you are right..you already have the family hauler car and SUV. You need a 2-seater.

MeldyS26

Lotus!Lotus!Lotus!Lotus!Lotus!Lotus!Lotus!Lotus!Lo tus!Lotus!Lotus!Lotus!Lotus!Lotus!

Msnowdon

Spoke to the wife and got her to buy off on a two seater, the question is which one is going to fit me best.

Infamous425

dont take your wife on the test drives. shouldve just bought one and not tell her

Msnowdon

I would think you aren't married, that isn't how a good marriage works.

Michael

Tennisjon2002

ELISE! Hurry up and go test drive it