BG: What do you drive? (PICS)

[sekaran]

Yeah it's either 12 or 14k miles a year on collector car insurance. If you own an Elise it's definately going to be your second car. The $450/month quote was the average quote I got with the big companies (Geico, Progressive, Allstate, etc.). Even if I drove a fuckin' new Hyundai it was going to be at least $300 a month... and I have a clean record.

That's insane. I thought I had it bad at $800ish for 6 months with a 2005 G35 (accident 4+ years ago, clean otherwise).

[Fr34k]

What the fuck are you serious? I'm glad I'm still under my parent's insurance (kind of), both of my cars are insured in me and 1 parent's name, but shit my Saturn is ~250 every 6 months, and my Denali is ~450 every 6 months. Both plans are either the highest or second highest numbers in every category.

[*Shinzon*]

Was this a used lotus from a lotus dealership if you were offered financing? Because honestly, if I can finance one I can probably land one realistically in 2-3 years but buying outright would be near impossible.

Also how did you qualify for "collector car" insurance?

I drive under 10,000 miles a year these days. Probably closer to 7,000 and under honestly, which is really helpful. Thing is that when I do drive anywhere besides the a to b daily grind I like to have as much fun as possible. I wouldn't be too concerned with a 30,000-40,000 mile lotus assuming it wasn't a primarily track-beater.

The only reason I didn't Mention an MX-5 is because compared to an Elise they are actually really practical. That said, I don't believe an Elise would qualify as a Collector's car alone, so I'd be interested to know the answer to that too. Collector car rules are weird. For instance the Lamborghini Countach has those huge wheel flares that could not be removed by law in many states/countries. Now that it is considered a collector car though those flares can be removed and made flush with the rest of the car.

[BerenTebogo]

Yeah I definitely can't own a Lotus as my solo car ESPECIALLY in Massachusetts. I'd be able to drive it 4 months out of the year.

That's probably the biggest delay in being able to get one even with financing

[Arc07]

both of my cars are insured in me and 1 parent's name

Yeah I took my mom with me when I bought my S2000 and put both of our names on the registration so that she could insure it. Ended up adding only like $70/month to her overall bill.

[StevenW]

That's insane. I thought I had it bad at $800ish for 6 months with a 2005 G35 (accident 4+ years ago, clean otherwise).

My Eclipse was $270 a month, age 18 with a perfect record, clean title, in New York. It went to $240 when I moved to Texas.

Geico is quoting me $107 a month after a $131 down payment on the first month for my truck.

[Arc07]

Oh btw. Elise does qualify.

http://www.hagerty.com/us/auto.aspx?id=57714

[BerenTebogo]

Do MX5s come in hard top at all? I really hate soft tops.

[Arc07]

Older models had an optional hardtop. A ton of aftermarket hardtops are out there though. The current gen models have a retractable hardtop.

[*Shinzon*]

"Some cars are immediate classics, attracting a loyal following. Rare or "limited production" vehicles, model years 1990 or newer, such as Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Dodge Vipers and Plymouth Prowlers, etc. are just a few examples. Depending on their use, these contemporary collectibles could qualify for our program. "

The Elise is not a limited run car nor rare car by itself. The car listed there is an Elise SC which was a limited run of factory supercharged engines I believe. Might require some extra research to find out specifics.

[BerenTebogo]

One car I do really like is the Mazda RX7 but I've never known someone who owns one. I hear the RX8 is great but it's ugly as fuck.

I have serious reservations about the MX5 since I've always done sports sedan cars up til now where I have a sports coupe. I have a feeling it'd take me a long time to get used to an ultra tiny roadster convertible.

[*Shinzon*]

One car I do really like is the Mazda RX7 but I've never known someone who owns one. I hear the RX8 is great but it's ugly as fuck.

I have serious reservations about the MX5 since I've always done sports sedan cars up til now where I have a sports coupe. I have a feeling it'd take me a long time to get used to an ultra tiny roadster convertible.

Well to be honest, you might really really hate a Lotus then. A Lotus is a much more extreme version of an MX5. You might want to test drive, or rent one from a luxury car club or exotic rental place before making a decision.

[BerenTebogo]

Well to be honest, you might really really hate a Lotus then. A Lotus is a much more extreme version of an MX5. You might want to test drive, or rent one from a luxury car club or exotic rental place before making a decision.

I just hate the soft top more than anything else and I don't know much about the mx5, I know enough about lotus to know that it's worth the sacrifice.

I keep hearing the MX5 is great though so it's probably just going to take me driving one for a few minutes to come around.

Edit: My favorite car is still my old Lexus IS300 so thinking about a tiny Mazda takes my head a few minutes to get around.

[Quixon]

Do MX5s come in hard top at all? I really hate soft tops.

06+ I'm talking here just to preface.


You have a couple options:


#1 -> The car comes in with a power retractable hard top. The roof line, imo, is atrocious. It is also a bit heavier than the soft top model.

#2-> This is the option I went with. Grab the soft top model, and get a removable hard top. The rear window on the Factory version is nice and big, but it weighs in at 55 lbs. The only company offering a different version is Goodwin Racing. They offer a Carbon Fiber Hardtop, but it is more oriented to the track crowd. The rear window is lexan, not glass. This is mainly to reduce weight.

The goodwin racing hardtop is only 15 lbs!!

The NC (06+) Chassis is a relatively new car still. Aftermarket support is growing very quickly, but hard tops are usually some of the last things that come to market.




The "easier" option is to just buy the power retractable hard top version, I just hated the fucking roof line on that car.

[Quixon]

I just hate the soft top more than anything else and I don't know much about the mx5, I know enough about lotus to know that it's worth the sacrifice.

I keep hearing the MX5 is great though so it's probably just going to take me driving one for a few minutes to come around.

Edit: My favorite car is still my old Lexus IS300 so thinking about a tiny Mazda takes my head a few minutes to get around.

Lol... IS300's were awesome, but fuck they were a heavy ass car.

Test drive the MX-5, it's like driving a fucking go cart compared to pretty much every other car on the road (not including exotics).

I test drove A LOT of cars before I ended up with mine. They all felt like boats compared to the miata.

(S2000, STi, Evo, RX-8, Solstice, Mazdaspeed3, G35..... the list goes on)

[BerenTebogo]

Lol... IS300's were awesome, but fuck they were a heavy ass car.

Test drive the MX-5, it's like driving a fucking go cart compared to pretty much every other car on the road (not including exotics).

I test drove A LOT of cars before I ended up with mine. They all felt like boats compared to the miata.

(S2000, STi, Evo, RX-8, Solstice, Mazdaspeed3, G35..... the list goes on)

Honestly the more we talk about Mazda the more I re-kindle my love of RX-7s. I think this discussion may be accidentally pushing me towards a 93-95 RX-7 which means I need to fucking learn how to work on a rotary engine.

Fuck.

Edit: One of my first loves was the final gen supra and RX7 look exactly fucking like them basically.

[Quixon]

Mazda is discontinuing the RX-8, if they haven't already.


The new Model is a toss up between a "new" RX-7, or an RX-9. Either one of those may just be the ticket for you.


Older RX-7's cost a fucking fortune comparatively. There aren't too many of them left on the road. It's the same deal with Supras. They are both 100% fucking beast-mode though lol.

[BerenTebogo]

Hate everything about the rx8 really. I looked around and saw some good 7s for 10 to 13k which isn't bad if I did most of my own maint.

I don't bother currently but if I invested in an older higher mileage car I'd make the effort.

[Arc07]

I've had five RX-7s (FC3S). I regret selling every one of them.

[Quixon]

With the RX-7 and Supra.... Just bank on the car being beat to shit prior to you owning it lol.

You can find some low mileage supras and rx-7's, but those supra's are around 30 grand lol. RX-7's would be in the mid-high 20's I would say. These would be cars with less than 30,000 miles though.