"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
01/20/2018 at 15:13 • Filed to: None
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"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
01/20/2018 at 15:13 • Filed to: None | 1
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I bought this car new 6 years ago and for all intents and purposes, it’s the car that got me into cars. I’ve been driving my NA Miata every day to work instead of the Ralliart since my roommate and I work at the same place and we can take the carpool lane in the NA. That said, I’m still on the fence about it since I need a comfortable 4 door a couple times per month and nothing out there is tickling me very much to replace it.
For now, I’m just going to finish up the maintenance and make a decision later. I just did the transmission fluid and transfer case fluid, bought 4 new struts/springs to install, bought new floor mats, and picked up a new front cross-bar (original one was looking weak).
The prices on these things are all over the place. I suspect that’s a mix of low volume with some cars being more exposed to salt than others. I’ve only ever SEEN 1 other car since I moved to CA 5 years ago.
Tareim - V8 powered
> Nick Has an Exocet
01/20/2018 at 15:53 |
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Can you not take the carpool lane in the Mitsubishi?
Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
> Nick Has an Exocet
01/20/2018 at 15:59 |
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ive Always wanted to drive one of these. They are good looking cars. I’ve heard that the drivetrain is a bit much for the suspension/chassis. The sport backs are cool too.
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Nick Has an Exocet
> Tareim - V8 powered
01/20/2018 at 16:01 |
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It requires 3 people. There’s a way to do it but it involves driving to a spot to pick up a stranger to drop off in the city. We used to do it every day but the Miata is 15 minutes faster since we don’t have to stop on either end.
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Tareim - V8 powered
> Nick Has an Exocet
01/20/2018 at 16:18 |
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that’s silly to force it to be min of 3
Steve in Manhattan
> Nick Has an Exocet
01/20/2018 at 16:21 |
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Guessing the cost of the insurance is a factor ... you could put it on as a hobby/weekend car, or whatever they call it now.
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Nick Has an Exocet
> Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
01/20/2018 at 16:27 |
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From the factory, they’re fairly well balanced, to be honest. The issue is that people mod them and ruin it because it’s fairly easy to bolt on a lot of power (every Evo X power mod is fully bolt on). You can easily triple the horsepower on these with about $10k in parts.
There are some differences in how the Evo X control arms mount to the chassis. People have done the conversion but it’s not really economical and the benefit is only felt on extreme limits on the track. You’re better off buying an Evo if you’re going to track it. The Evo X MR has an additional cooler for the dual clutch where the Ralliart doesn’t.
Having said all that, the point of the car was to have a fun daily that doesn’t beat you up like an Evo. It wins in every way there. When I come back from a long trip and driving a rental, I’m always surprised by how quick & grippy it is. If I were driving to Tahoe every winter, it’s the perfect car for that. In the snow (and assuming you’re not a pro rally drive), it’s essentially an Evo in terms of performance. It’s full on Hero-Mode.
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Nick Has an Exocet
> Tareim - V8 powered
01/20/2018 at 16:31 |
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Yeah, and it’s still packed with cars every morning. That said, more than a quarter of them don’t have even 2 people (it’s California so rules don’t matter).
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Nick Has an Exocet
> Steve in Manhattan
01/20/2018 at 16:32 |
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Insurance isn’t too bad. It’s about 120/mo. Went down by $1/mo when I added my Miata to the policy.
Mini Guy- Now has a 4Runner
> Nick Has an Exocet
01/20/2018 at 16:40 |
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Sell it for an Exocet. I kid I kid ( maybe )
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Nick Has an Exocet
> Mini Guy- Now has a 4Runner
01/20/2018 at 16:44 |
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Haha. The Exocet is happening regardless! My life right now really calls for 3 cars: ND Miata, Exocet (out of my NA Miata), and an airport runner 4 door. The trouble is getting there without breaking the bank.
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Steve in Manhattan
> Nick Has an Exocet
01/20/2018 at 16:46 |
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Still, that’s nearly $1500 bucks a year you could put into the NA. Or something else ...
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Nick Has an Exocet
> Steve in Manhattan
01/20/2018 at 16:56 |
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Yeah, that’s true. It would need to go into something else since I still need a car with 4 passenger doors.
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Steve in Manhattan
> Nick Has an Exocet
01/20/2018 at 17:05 |
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Well that’s that - if the car is in good shape, if everything is taken care of and, if you still like driving it, keep it. Probably costs less than swapping it for something. Reliability good?
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Nick Has an Exocet
> Steve in Manhattan
01/20/2018 at 17:15 |
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I wouldn’t say that I love driving it anymore. I currently drive it a couple times per week to keep it fresh.
Reliability is fine as long as you maintain a car like I do. The power train is somewhat fickle. That maintenance is a PITA. Transmission fluid changes require $300 in fluid + $100 filter every 15k-30k miles (depending on how hard you drive), plus rear diff and transfer case fluid changes on the same interval.
Edit: Also worth mentioning that the reason you don’t skip anything on the transmission is that a rebuilt one is $6k and they have a habit of imploding if you don’t do the fluid changes.
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Steve in Manhattan
> Nick Has an Exocet
01/20/2018 at 17:32 |
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Wow - and so many manufacturers have gearboxes that don’t require cracking them until 100K or more.
Perhaps if there’s an enthusiast who wants it, sell it. And if someone handed you 10K tomorrow for it (or whatever it’s worth), what would you replace it with?
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Nick Has an Exocet
> Steve in Manhattan
01/20/2018 at 17:41 |
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Great question - that’s what I’m really struggling with. They tend to sit in the $12-15k range.
If there was a Chevy SS within 150 miles with a manual, I would give it a test drive. Never owned a V8 car and I do love a unicorn. I also wish e39 M5 prices weren’t so crazy - feel like I missed the boat on those.
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Steve in Manhattan
> Nick Has an Exocet
01/20/2018 at 19:27 |
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Wonder what used SSs go for? Cousin is big shot GM, asked him to get an SS (they replace his company car every 6 months) and he just keeps getting LaCrosses and Caddys. Oh well ... sigh.
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Nick Has an Exocet
> Steve in Manhattan
01/20/2018 at 20:30 |
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Around $33k but tough to find an enthusiast model (manual with or without mag ride).