Which car, Dirtybird222 2017 edition

It's that time of year where I pose you GRMers to help me select a new vehicle. Spare me the grief as my wife gives me enough of it when I do this :)

Current Rides: 2016 Crosstrek Limited 5MT, 2005 Honda S2000 Scenario: Wife is asking to consolidate down to one car. Reason: 1) We are both back in school and I'm paying for both educations=$$ 2) "Chumpcar + school + kids + work + Reserves = Not enough time to worry about a second car Dirtybird222." 3) Here's where she shows her smarts "Why can't you find a car that has both the ability to be tracked and space to haul gear, dog, or random home improvement project nonsense?" Budget:Under $35k (way under actually preferred, this is just actually the number we realized is the max we could spend without breaking the bank) Required specs: New or Used. Ability to haul cargo like the crosstrek while also being able to take to an occasional track day, autox, or parking lot bench racing. Absolutely not gonna happens:I've been told no 08-13 WRX/STI Hatches because I had one before and she tells me I hated it. Any VAG product that doesn't come with a warranty.

I honestly like the new Fit Sport package. The Civic Hatch Sport is also nice but the dashboard and center console lay out drive me insane. There's also a Miata. Focus or Fiesta ST are in that range.

Or I could stuff an STI powerplant in the crosstrek and call it a day?

Haul stuff plus track day pretty much means hot hatch in my book. Choice of those isn't that great in the US - I'd definitely take another look at the current Si and the Sts. I think the other typical choices are out, like Golf GTIs/R32s, Cooper S etc due to the "no Euro without a warranty".

Alternatively buy a trailer hitch for the S2k .

Seems like you could get a low milage focus st and a whole host of upgrades for 20k. A k series swapped fit sounds delicious too.

You already have two of the best vehicles out there. Just be happy where you are. If that positively won't work then Civic Si. Seriously, you are good already.

Mazda3 wagon with 2.5L/6spd.

simplecat wrote: Seems like you could get a low milage focus st and a whole host of upgrades for 20k. A k series swapped fit sounds delicious too.

Or you could get a new focus ST for well under $20k if you go to the right dealer. Meaning you could probably get a fully optioned in the low $20's

In reply to Feedyurhed:

This is true. It seems like a cross trek + s2000 does not equal $35k so why bother consolidating? That way you're not scrambling for transportation if you mess something up on track.

Your logic is flawed Capitan. Doesn't the Crosstrek fit your requirement currently? Why would you say it's a move to save money, then in the same breath mention "I'm willing to spend 35k"? That makes no sense.

Keep the cross trek, sell the S2000 to free up cash and pay down debt. Make no other move unless selling the Subaru and going to a cheap (>10k$) car to get around. Use the remainder of the subaru sale to further pay off debt. Once done with school, buy toy again.

1: Sell Crosstrek

2: Put trailer hitch on S2000

3: ...

4: Profit

So tell us more about the Chump car that doesn't fit the track day role. Would the right answer here not be to sell the S2k and make the Chump car what you want?

I've currently been preparing for the inevitable replacement of my Mazda 3, and have been looking at the same cars. I'm stuck between the Focus ST and the new Civic Si.

A friend recently picked up a loaded 2013 ST with the ST3 package (basically every option). He tossed me the keys recently for a quick test drive. My thoughts:

-His has a Ford Performance tune and exhaust, and HOLY CRAP does it go!!! It's unlike any FWD performance car I've ever driven. The torque is absurd and comes on way lower than you would think! It feels faster than the tuned Mazdaspeed 3 my other buddy used to have, and faster than either one of my old WRX's.

-Torque steer is interesting. It wants to pull, but the suspension keeps the thing going straight.

-Interior is supposedly bigger on paper than my 2012 Mazda 3, but it doesn't feel that way.

-The Recaros are a mixed bag. I'm a big guy, so I feel like I'm sitting ON the bottom bolsters, not IN them. They are ok.

-I didn't like the shifter as much as the one in my Mazda. That was shocking. It feels like everything is there, but shift feel is vague compared to the Mazda. Still better than many other "performance" cars I've driven, and better than both the stock shifters in my old WRX's.

-He's reporting about 23mpg with mostly city driving. It has a small tank (12 gallons I think) and it takes premium, so fuel stops are frequent. FWIW, we saw about 23.4mpg with me flogging the ever-loving crap out of it.

His car is lowered on coilovers, so I can't give a definite impression of the handling or ride quality.

I'd go test drive one. Try and find a 2015+ with the ST2 or ST3 package, as those got the Recaros, HID's, and the good stereo. ST3's get full leather while the ST2's don't.

+1 on the hitch for the s2000 and sell subaru.

Ahh, a thread where saving money and spending $35,000 are mentioned in the same breath. #firstworldproblems.

I get the whole 'preferably way less' thing but i'll counter that there are a lot of unintended consequences from having only one car and then having something happen where you cant use it or one car isn't enough. Since selling both your current cars would barely get you to that 35k (or maybe wouldnt at all), i feel like you'd essentially be trading down in usefulness for not much money saved. You might do better to mothball the Honda and stop paying insurance or something like that. It'll still be there when you need it.

Or trade the nearly-brand-new Subaru for an older version that does the exact same thing without a car payment. I know people say education is always a good investment but that's not exactly guaranteed and the way the degree vs no degree pay scale works in most industries you put yourself in the hole for like 10 years before you break even. Compare that to the clockwork necessity of losing money on a car payment every month and being required to carry full coverage and I'd say in terms of likelihood (not amount) of financial benefit, it's actually smarter to ditch a car payment than it is to go to school. So uh.. cover your bases and do both!

Well it is def not $35k its a $25k budget a big old Canadian sorry for the typo.

1) Chumpcar is a shared care among family and friends that drive it, have ownership in it, work on it, etc. The problem with taking it to track days is that when I say "hey I'm taking it to this PDX" everyone else wants to join in but wants to drive it. They need the practice in that car too.

2) I like being able to get in a car for a PDX or HPDE and drive it there, push it, and drive it home, get out shower, relax. No loading-unloading-loading-unloading.

3) BOTH CARS I OWN ARE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. The crosstrek I've fell in love with and it's both the slowest and ugliest car I've ever owned. But it does everything well that I need it to do for a DD. It's also comfy and relaxing, the manual keeps it entertaining. The S2000 is an absolute blast to drive and it's all stock and in great condition and super easy to work on.

4) It's a matter of we have to sacrifice now for a pay off down the road. The career she's getting herself into will payoff huge as the average starting salary is as much as I make now as a SME. I'm pursuing a new career path to get me out of cube life.

5) Save me the grief you nagging nancies. GIVE ME RECOMMENDATIONS.

Vigo wrote: Ahh, a thread where saving money and spending $35,000 are mentioned in the same breath. #firstworldproblems. I get the whole 'preferably way less' thing but i'll counter that there are a lot of unintended consequences from having only one car and then having something happen where you cant use it or one car isn't enough. Since selling both your current cars would barely get you to that 35k (or maybe wouldnt at all), i feel like you'd essentially be trading down in usefulness for not much money saved. You might do better to mothball the Honda and stop paying insurance or something like that. It'll still be there when you need it. Or trade the nearly-brand-new Subaru for an older version that does the exact same thing without a car payment. I know people say education is always a good investment but that's not exactly guaranteed and the way the degree vs no degree pay scale works in most industries you put yourself in the hole for like 10 years before you break even. Compare that to the clockwork necessity of losing money on a car payment every month and being required to carry full coverage and I'd say in terms of likelihood (not amount) of financial benefit, it's actually smarter to ditch a car payment than it is to go to school. So uh.. cover your bases and do both!

Even if my max budget was $35k doesn't mean I want to spend that much. It's what we've figured could work with how much disposable income we have and if a monthly payment was made. It's like getting pre-approved for a $300k home but in reality you want something at $150k.

You also failed to read the part that said I don't want your lectures :)

Focus ST or similar sounds like the droid. Although given the target is to save money, I'd lean toward a vanilla Mazda 3 w/ some suspension upgrades. Should still be plenty of fun on the track, and less painful on the wallet in initial purchase, maintenance, and when you inevitably ball it up on track (cheaper track day insurance if you go that route).

I have only thought about this for like 12 seconds and don't know of any hidden details or how good or terrible of a car it actually is but... What's an E90 3 series go for these days? My other probably terrible idea was an S197 Mustang with the newer V6.

FWIW, I'm with the keep the Crosstrek and sell the S2000 camp. You got the chump car to get your speed fix every now and then. If the plan is to downsize to one car, you want the most reliable thing you can get (which may or may not be the Crosstrek, but it's the devil you know) which unfortunately is usually a soulless appliance. (Camry or Corolla if you must. At least one of them is grounded to the ground..) Take the money from the S2000 and do what you want. Sometimes sacrifices must be made..