My dad keeps trying to convince me that I need to buy something cheaper and more practical than a BRZ

"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel) 03/15/2019 at 11:52 • Filed to: None

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This is the most appealing thing fitting that description on my local Craigslist right now. 2009 Clubman JCW. It wouldn’t be as fun as a BRZ at an autocross (and would probably require the mother of all rear sway bars to get it to handle like my Cooper at autocrosses) but it would be more comfortable on the street. With 210hp and the JCW brakes it would probably be pretty fun on a track (I believe those brakes are ducted too which would address the overheating issues I have with my Cooper).

Of course I still want the BRZ more but if my dad buys some kind of RWD drift car or rally car that I get access to I could see myself considering something like this as a daily. He does have a point about a BRZ being stupid expensive for a 22 year old male to insure, even with no accidents on my record. This does tick a lot of the boxes a BRZ would but with more power (yay!) and less RWD (boo!). Having a RWD hoon-mobile in the family would probably scratch that RWD itch for me.

With the Cooper’s transmission rapidly deteriorating (we can add a completely knackered input shaft bearing to the list of things wrong with that transmission) the need for a newer car is becoming more urgent and I would very much like to avoid having to drive some automatic torture box for a year.

My Dad’s input into this whole situation has been strange. He’s trying to talk me out of a BRZ due to their cost and RWD not being good in VT winters but yet his suggestion last night was a $3,500 Infinity G35 drift car with your typical drift car damage listed on the North East Drift Co. Facebook page. I had to remind him that daily drivers have social obligations and that while women often aren’t interested in cars, they do notice if you show up at their house in a complete pile.

Anyway, that’s enough of a ramble, here’s the Craigslist link if you guys want to check it out:

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CB > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 11:58

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What about a FoST? 

Goggles Pizzano > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 12:03

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A friend just traded his JCW in on a Juke Nismo.

He’s still a friend.

Milky > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 12:04

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Something tells me that used British/German car won’t be cheaper than a Japanese one.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 12:05

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No. Avoid that! It has the Renault 1.6T that will unexpectedly grenade itself without warning.

Find an ~05 Focus hatch with the 2.3L Duratec engine and a 5MT. Swap the SVT Focus suspension and front seats onto it. Find some good wheels and tires. Destroy all cones.

diplodicus forgot his password > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 12:06

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I think you should buy this instead.

https://boston.craigslist.org/nos/cto/d/wakefield-bmw-e30/6839639891.html

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > CB 03/15/2019 at 12:06

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I’m not sure what it is about them but the FoST doesn’t really interest me. I prefer the FiST but they are off the table because they are frankly terrifying to autocross due to being quite prone to falling over.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 12:06

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In case of Kinja, click link: https://boston.craigslist.org/nos/ctd/d/north-salem-2009-mini-cooper-clubman/6831704610.html

CB > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 12:09

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Fair enough.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 12:13

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....Uhhh.....source on that? I autocrossed and rallycrossed mine for years without even once feeling like it would fall over. And everyone I autocrossed with who had one shared those thoughts. The Fiat 500 base model has some issues with falling over but that’s if you put slicks on it.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 03/15/2019 at 12:13

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It’s actually a PSA design, not a Renault design. And while they are prone to a lot of issues in Cooper S form the JCW variant is generally more reliable than the S engine. If I recall correctly the JCW engine is actually more closely related to the engine used in the likes of the DS3 Racing than the BMW spec.

The Focus is a good idea however they are quite hard to find up here and when you do find them they are almost always automatics.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 03/15/2019 at 12:18

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The fact that the SCCA has banned the base Fiesta from competing in solo events and they do not allow you to run anything stickier than 200tw tires on the ST on stock suspension. Look at how easily this ST gets up on 2 wheels:

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > diplodicus forgot his password 03/15/2019 at 12:19

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I saw that one. I would need more pictures first though, even if the ad is well written.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Milky 03/15/2019 at 12:22

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You are forgetting that I already own a used British/German car with 160k on it. It’s insurance where the BRZ bites. 

diplodicus forgot his password > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 12:22

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Shootem a text

Dogsatemypants > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 12:26

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Get a volvo, stuff the beefiest engine you can find in it. 

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 12:26

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Oh yeah, they banned slicks from all the stock classes for that reason. Fiats, Fiestas, and Minis were among those who could roll. Apparently old honda hatchbacks did it too? But yeah, slicks are dangerous on stock suspension for hatchbacks.

Avoid slicks though and it is a really fun front driver. The one season I was in G-street I held my own against the GTIs and FoSTs decently well. It preferred rallycross though.

412GTI > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 12:30

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How much more is the insurance on the BRZ over say the Cooper.

I’ll also say throw in the Civic Si. They’re fun at autocross and have great reliability. No RWD is sadface, but mine was decent to insure. 

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Goggles Pizzano 03/15/2019 at 12:34

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At least he got the Nismo version?

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > 412GTI 03/15/2019 at 12:57

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Somewhere around 2-3x as much as my Cooper. Going from a $2k car with average accident rates to a $20k car with rather high accident rates really drives up insurance costs. It already costs about the same to insure me on the Mini compared to my dad on his 2017 BRZ, put me on a BRZ and things will get eye watering.

My bird IS the word > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 13:19

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I can’t recommend this generation mini with my personal experiences.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > My bird IS the word 03/15/2019 at 13:38

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I agree for the S model however the general consensus seems to be that the JCW engine is a better engine than the standard N14.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 13:54

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That’s a nice Clubman, I loved mine (2011, base NA). Just make sure you keep up on maintenance. 

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > MiniGTI - now with XJ6 03/15/2019 at 14:00

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I've been part of the Mini world for 3 years now so I understand what it takes to keep them going and somewhat reliable. Honestly the only reason I'm even looking at new cars is because it's not financially worth it to spend $1000 putting a new transmission in my $1500 car.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 03/15/2019 at 16:36

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Nice looking car, I like the wheels especially. My 2013 R56S currently at 80k has actually been almost completely trouble free since purchasing at 9k. And the 2008 justa cooper before that had a few minor problems in warranty but was still  pretty trouble free when we traded it at 95k.  I mean it was really more reliable than the Honda we had before that ha!

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > MiniGTI - now with XJ6 03/15/2019 at 16:41

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My 06 Corolla is still the least reliable car I have ever owned. And I agree with you that the JCW wheels of this generation are very pretty.