Help me talk my buddy out of buying a Miata.
 

I have this mid-40sh buddy who has been talking about buying a Mazda Miata for a couple years now . He finally went to the dealership and took one for a test drive . He is 6ft tall , 220 pounds and I can only imagine that he looked like Mr. Potato Head while driving this little car . He already gets teased for being a geek ( he runs our tech support at work ) , I can only surmise that he'll get a bashing for driving this girly car .
Help me convince him that this is going to be a 26 , 000 dollar mistake . Maybe he will listen to some alternative car ideas in the same price range .

Personally, i would advise him the other way. Not too many cars out there that will tear it up on the autocross for that price range. Plus, the newer miatas look more like mini vipers than they do the old gay person car they used to. They have and aweful stigma about them, they they are by far one of hte best bang for the buck cars out there at that price range too. At least new...

If he is looking for a little sports car, the s2000 is a way to go, at 10grand more for the invoice price over a miata. Miatas engine is extremely strong, and begging/built for boost too from what i hear.


Now if for some reason its just the image of the miata you dont like, go for a 350z. at 2003, the special edition miata costs basically the same as a base model 350z. the Z is pimpin too. a badass car if ever there was one, though it doesn't tear up the autoX like a miata. weighs a good 800lbs more and has a 5ft wider turning radius. On the other hand, it has almost exactly twice the horsepower. Not quite the legroom, but headroom and overall passenger space is larger than the miata, which is good since you said hes a rather large man. And nobody will tease you for a 350z unless they have no idea what it really is.


http://autos.msn.com/compare/choose....odel2=&pt=dual


Use that, it is a great utility. Go check out some other models to see how they really compare.

I have to agree with Peryn. The Miata isn't as gay as it used to be. I see older men driving them around my area all the time. Considering I normally see a woman in the passenger seat, I don't think they are gay.

It's a quick, fun car to drive. If your friend likes it, there is no reason for him not to buy one. After all, he's buying the car for himself, not to make his co-workers happy. He's your buddy, stop worrying about his image and let him have some fun.

I also could not in good conscience tell your friend not to buy a miata. I think it's a great car. And personally, only a confident man would be able to drive one.

Heh as long he is not all legs. I love the car, but when i test drove one I could not use the clutch right cause I could not get my knee between the door and the steering wheel...

I'm 6'2" and it is impossible for me to drive a Miata because I just don't fit. I doubt anyone over 5'8" could comfortably drive one.

tell him to get a Boxter instead, much cooler car.

Miata's are for chics...... A guy that's over 6' shouldn't even get inside of one of those rides. There are just some cars that I would never get in, and that is one of them. For another 5 grand the dude could be driving an S2000.

It's too bad miata's are chick cars, because they really are pretty cool. Decent power, great handling, and fun as hell to drive. If he doesn't mind the stigma then he should get one - it's a great car.

RX7.



That is all.

almost there. one more..... RX-8 :D :D

My pops is 6' 4" and drives a miata all summer and all winter long in Alaska. Sounds like it should work for your buddy. And if he is a geek anyways who cares? Whats a geek in a camero? A white trash geek?

http://www.erinmalone.com/photolog/photos/7902_-1.jpg

I'd hate to be seeing that all day long in a miata.

See for yourself:

http://cartalk.cars.com/About/Gay-Lesbian/gay-guy2.html

Numero 5 on the list. :D

well i know a guy who bought one as his midlife crisis car... hes a little of 6 foot... and after a while his back started hurting cuz he had to sit so far down to get in and out...

Is he tall? If so, you're not gonna be able to cram his ass in a Miata.

"Miata's are for chics"

Funny. I was under the impression that Miatas were for people that know something about cars and can spot a good one when they see it.

After bringing in a bright red feather boa for my buddy to wear while driving his Miata he finally got the hint . He is now looking at RX-8's in the 30,000 dollar price range .
Phew ! Another crisis avoided !
For those of you who gave me REASONS NOT TO BUY A MIATA . Thanks ! ;)

Right, cause a guy looking at low to mid $20K cars should defiently be able to afford Mid to High $40s

They aren't really a car for tall people....I sat in my friends mom and the only way I could ever drive that thing is with the top down and i'm 6'1. Now if its a 400hp miata....that wouldn't be a chick car :)

RX-8. hes my hero :) lol, thats if he can find a dealership with one though.... Down here, they sold their first allotment of them months before they even arrived...

I'm just over six feet, currently 225 lbs (and dropping) and I fit like a <i>glove</i> into my Miata. And I LOVE it. Best, most fun car I've ever owned.

Gay man's car? Maybe. Talk to me about that when I'm cruising the twisty backroads with a topless car and a topless wife. :D

I'm 185 (6'1") and it was no problem for me the one time I went out for a spin. Nice wee cars.

The MX-5 (Miata to you 8) is comfortable, has enough go to haul arse on twisty roads, has superb balance, and is generally a bloody good throwback to cars like the MG, 356 and the like.

Your friend sounds like he cares more about driving than posing. Good on him. If you care about posing, don't go for rides with him.

Insecure, much?

CamEro? Why does driving a CamEro make him white trash? Oh I know. Because a CamEro isnt included in the current riceboy fad...or the current 'sophisticated car' fad :rolleyes: The CamEro is a real sports car.

Oh ya...us white trash CamAro guys can at least spell it right...whats that make you? :icare:

Funny. You'd be confusing people who know something about cars and can spot a good one.....with people who now something about Go-Karts and can spot a good one when they see it :thumbsup:

To the original poster's friend.....DONT BUY A MIATA FOR 26,000 FRIGGIN DOLLARS!!! YOU WILL REGRET NOT BUYING A REAL CAR! :D

You say that like it's a bad thing! Sure, the Miata handles like a gokart. That's great!

BTW, the Camaro is NOT a sports car by any definition of the word. It's a muscle car (well, except for the V6 versions, which are just aerodynamic-looking slow cars). Nothing wrong with that, but by strict definition the Miata is the sports car, not the Camaro.

Also BTW, the Camaro has been discontinued. The Miata has not. Any guesses why? ;) Finally, the Miata will be running LONG after that Camaro has died and gone to the junkyard.

Riiight. How many cars you worked on in your life? ok. Come talk to me when YOU know something instead of going off of others' anecdotal experiences.

And i love how people discount the F-Body simply because they arent making them anymore. How many sports cars have been killed in the history of the automobile? Does that mean they arent worth mentioning because they dont make them anymore?? Thats is the most asenine logic i have ever heard.

Very off topic, but would consider the newer Camaro SS's as close to sports cars as they came.... though still more muscle car than sports car.

It causes a lot of controversy, but i wouldn't consider the Corvette a sports car either...not even the Z06's now that i think about it. They are definately good handling and have a lot of power, but they belong much more in the Grand Touring class than as a "sportscar" in the truest sense of the word.

Wait. So in order to have any valid opinions about what is and is not a sports car, I have to have worked on a lot of cars? And you talk about asinine logic? Doesn't matter though because I have worked on a lot of cars. American and import. I never said the Camaro wasn't cool, I said it was being discontinued. That means customers aren't buying it. The miata isn't being discontinued, which means customers ARE buying it. Obviously, the miata has something that the public wants that the camaro lacks. Also obviously, more than just women are buying the Miata because if it was only driven by women it would be cancelled since cutting the potential customer base in half would mean there wouldn't be enough people who liked and could afford the miata to keep it going. The camaro is worth mentioning, just as all the other great sports and muscle cars that are no longer being made are worth mentioning, but the fact is that it lacks the sense of refinement and nimbleness which is the essence of a real sports car.

And surely you are not going to sit there and try to tell me that the V6 camaro was worthy of any notice?

By the way, when did I go off other's anecdotal experiences as you accuse me of doing? Come back to me when you've learned how to properly read a post and respond to it without a huge chip on your shoulder.

Ok.

Apologies for my post...I was having a horible day...didnt mean to take it out on anyone.

I was mistaken in my assumption that you discounted the Camaro as invalid just because they arent making them anymore. And yes, the V6 is a joke. There are a million different reasons that GM quit making the Camaro. There are a million different reasons that Mazda is still making the Miata. You cannot generalize and say that Miata > Camaro simply because they still produce the Miata.

I do disagree with you about it not being a sports car. I am interested in your definition of a sports car. (By the way, the Camaro SS is nothing more than a lightly modded Z28 with nearly identical power levels). In my hunble opinion, a sports car is a mid-to-small sized car that compromises luxury, refinement, and even sometimes comfort for the sake of going fast, handling well, and looking good doing it :D

Well, back to the topic of that guy's buddy getting a miata.... have him take a look at Audi TT. My aunt just picked one up. A 2002 with <100 miles on it. basically a brand new car, though not the newest model year. She got with tax, liscence and registration for about 7 grand more than a new miata. Its got more power, turbo :D :D , AWD, convertible top as well, and is way more sophisticated looking and better engineered than Mazda. Twice the car at a minimal price increase. Its not wankel-powered but it will cost as much as the rx8 will after taxed and registration and all, and again, its AWD. I suggest looking into higher end cars that are new, but older model years.

32V
DOHC
Factory Supercharged
Six-speed
Independent rear suspension
390hp

Does that sound like a sports car to you? Hint: it's made by an American manufacturer.

Stereotypes, while usually based on some sort of fact, can change.

Where I autocross in DC, there are three or four turbo miatas. Those cars handle great. A Porsche Boxster, while a nice car, screams midlife crisis. What about a Toyota MR spyder? those are pretty sharp

Yeah, but for some reason the BMW 3-series was in there. That car is pretty fuckin far from gay. I'd actually like to own a miata. I've seen enough videos of them on the track and have heard that they're so fun to drive that I would definitely like to have one. I'd probably put a turbo in it though.

If your friend wants a miata, let him have one, but if he's open to suggestions in the same price range, I'd say 350Z, BMW 3-series, RX-8, or Impreza WRX. They're all very nice midlife crisis cars, and don't carry the stigma that for some reason the miata does.

The Miata, or MX5 is pre-eminent in terms of practical enjoyment. Everything about it is locked-in, switched on. For the money, it's very, very difficult to find a finer driving experience.

Well, if all your are looking at is capability of the car and its longing to be on a track, then it is an awesome experience. When i think of a fine driving experience, i think of a BMW 8-series. i think of an slk500. i think of the Audi tt roadster quattro.

The miata is absolutely an extreme drivers car for those that want to out handle most cars straight from the factory. and do it for <30k. Its great for a midlife crisis, but lacks any real sophistication and what i would consider a "fine driving experience". Its is capable and fun....not quite "fine"...yet.

At least thats how i feel about it...

I've owned a new miata (totally kich-ass SPORTS car) 2 V-8 Camaros (1) a 5.0 HO, Z-28 (double-rompin kick ass SPORTY car), an RX-7 (TRIED to tear it up/couldn't), an L-82 Corvette, a couple of Z cars... I picked up a LOT of tail with that Miata, but it wasn't very practical, wasn't fast enough when I wanted it to be, scared a bunch of people on the cliff road, never had any trouble with it, and sold it with 20,000 miles and only lost 3 gs off sticker. It all depends on where the guy is in life and what HE wants. Right now, I've got the cleanest '95 XJS V-12 you could imagine. There's an idea.!?

Ask joe-blow@rock.com JOE KNOWS...EVERYTHING

Miata's are chick cars... Buy something with some muscle like a used Camaro or T/A (make sure to get the v8, the v6's are pretty doggy), or even a WRX, though I recently test drove one and wasn't impressed at all... whatever.

ignorance is bliss i guess....

A car thats beggin for boost, can make insane amount of power with stock internals once boosted and still be reliable, and is lighter than almost anything else youll ever drive...

Ya i guess is is just for chicks :rolleyes:

Peryn:

'i think of a BMW 8-series. i think of an slk500. i think of the Audi tt roadster quattro.'

The 'fine driving experience' to which I was referring has to do with balance and chuckability. This car is faithful like very few others. The models you cite are big, heavy cars on fat tyres; and with little sensation of speed. When any of those 3 lets go of the road, it's going to be all at once. The fun of the 'miata' comes in the utterly faithful communication you get from every control. It is balanced in a way the Merc could only dream of; chuckable/driftable like you'd never try in the beemer. The Audi looks okay, but is a golf underneath and consequently it is inert, sullen, clumsy.

None of the qualities I mention above are exclusively the realm of racing drivers. The Mazda is fun at 30 mph; for safe kicks at any speed in one of your grunty champions you'll have to be playing with the electric massage seats:)

ps. Do they really sell a 5.0 slk over there?!

you should see what these Miatas can really do on hte track. Spec miatas are pretty nuts. Very light nimble cars, but yes they do sometimes look like they belong to a female driver

Yes, apparently they do make very nice track cars, but how often do you need really good handling on the street? Never that I've seen, maybe I live midwest so that changes things, but we really don't have any twisty roads that would be safe or fun to do any high speed cornering on anyway, so it's all about the straightline for me. Plus, what sounds better than the rumble of a huge v8 and enough power to lift the nose of the car up? THATS impressive, not driving a little chick car around and being like "...but it handles well in the corners" Sounds a lot like the excuses that we hear from ricers all the time... :rolleyes:

If he's gonna put out that much money.. I would suggest a WRX or a VW golf/gti or something. or jetta even if thats your thing.

or like someone else mentioned an rx-7 can get a nice one for mid 20's.. maybe even less. FAST as hell and they are beautiful looking cars.

Yeah, not everyone lives in the midwest. Many people have to deal with bends and curves everday.

Let me get this straight. Enjoying a car because it handles well is stupid but enjoying a car because it sounds impressive when you rev the engine is cool? I'd rather have a car that can corner than one that goes "vroom vroom" really loud.

As a guy who commutes to work every day in a Miata, let me just offer this small correction:

Many people get to deal with bends and curves every day!

A Huge turbo is what sounds better. That whine is better than any engine revving could hope to accomplish.

And maybe your ricers have a point. Dont knock it till ya try it. There is something addicting about cornering. Try slaloming the lines in the middle of the road at 35 in your awesome sounding v8 drag car.

The miata is purpose built for the track and it does it better for its price than any car produced for the strip. Congratz to mazda on a successful car.

Haha, it's all personal preferance, but any of the newer big muscle cars will handle almost as well as a small can if you aren't pushing them to the very limit as you would on a track. Plus, apart from the weight distribution issue, there are many things you can do to a car to make it handle better, and most of it is fairly cheap. New struts, swaybars, rims, and low pro tires will do wonders to a properly set up car no matter what it was like stock, and would probably cost you under 2 grand if you let someone else do the work. So why not get the best of both worlds and something with a little more power to start with... you'll appreciate it unless you are out at the track doing autocross all the time.

And as for the turbo sound being cooler... again personal preference, but very few people know what turbo whine or a blowoff valve sounds like, so they won't have any idea. I own both a 350+ small block chevy powered truck, and a turbo Mercedes and actually prefer the truck over the mercedes, so I guess it's all up to what you like.

So good luck on the choice, and while I'm sure the miata makes a really nice car, I think there are options that unless you need the ultimate cornering will do great for the price. Even take a look at some of the new Audi's... the TT is a cool little car, might not be the fastest, but its still sweet looking, and the S4 if you can find one is wicked fast, plus they are both AWD, making fun in the snow just that... a little more fun ;)

CHICK CAR.

I would say screw the new car, you could get a helluva nice, restored 60's Mustang for 20 grand and have money left over.

But if he wants something new, I would look at the Z-car or the Infiniti version (G35 I think) for only a couple grand more. I believe they do have a convertible version, or they will soon.

I always wonder why people rag on cars they've never even driven. Drive a Miata and you'll appreciate it. Anyone who thinks a camaro is even remotely close to being in the same handling league as a Miata (both stock) either never takes corners or has never driven a Miata. Sure, a muscle car will handle just as well as a Miata in a straight line, but once you hit the switchbacks, the Miata will leave it in the dust. First off, it's not exactly sporting to compare a modified Camaro to a Miata (even though I'll still put money on the miata in the twisties 95% of the time) because if you put enough time and money into a car you can make it do anything you want it to do. If, however, you're judging a car on its merits rather than the merits of the parts you add to it, you have to compare stock vs stock. Second, even if you upgrade the handling of the camaro by a lot, it will still have a larger transitional roll factor than the miata because you will NEVER get the Camaro down to the Miata's weight. The Miata is so light that it's extremely tossable. It'll switch directions very quickly, and the Camaro simply won't be able to match it because it's got so much more weight to put through the transitional roll.

Now, in a drag race, unless the Miata has been heavilly modified (again an unfair comparison) the Camaro will beat it every time... as long as it's not a V6 Camaro ;)

So it really comes down to personal preference. Do you like getting (comparitively) horrible gas mileage so you can win stoplight drags, or do you like going fast through the twisties?


The bottom line is that you should never choose a car because of what others do to it or think of it. If some ignoramuses want to think of the Miata as a chick car, more power to 'em. The lucky ones among us who own Miatas will be laughing while they watch you fall farther and farther back in the tight turns.

Just like you should never choose not to get a Civic just because some dorks make their Civics look stupid -- doesn't mean you have to, and it doesn't mean it's not a great car. If you like a car, buy the damn thing, no matter what other people think.

BTW, a lot of people think the Camaro is a redneck car and won't buy it because of that, even though they love the way it looks and drives. IMHO they're just as stupid as the people who won't buy a Miata because of it's "chick" image.

i know of a person, all stock internals in the miata. Throw on a turbo, pump the boost. 347 wheel HP. normal low 11sec car, highest time was a high 10sec 1/4...on street tires. Not too expensive to toss on a turbo. Will own you on the corners, assuming you can keep traction, and will kick the ass of most cars on the track. Even if you stuck the money into a camaro or whatever that you put into the turbo miata mod, it most likely wont stand a chance of beating you in the twisties, and probably not on the quarter either.

Chick car...maybe. Are there better cars out there?...probably. Better cars in the price range...again maybe. Its all a matter of taste. *I* certainly wouldn't work to hard to talk somebody out of one however

IMHO I would never own a Miata. I've driven my brother-in-law's, and it was WAY too small for me and I'm only 5'10". I don't know about handling or power, cause my judgement was skewed by the size. I like my mid-size vehicles. I'm a proud owner of a '96 T-bird and wouldn't change it for the world, except maybe for a 2002-3.

The rebuild will be expensive...

Do you know what kind of boost levels he was running to hit 347? For your average 4 cyl. turbo to make that kind of power...I would say somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-28# of boost. There isnt a production car made that will handle that kind of boost (for long anyway) without letting go sooner or later. Bet it was fun to drive tho :D

Just for the sake of argument :D I know of a Camaro guy with a 250 shot of nitrous on his internally stock LS1. Stock its about a 300 RWHP car...so with the nitrous, thats, what, around 500+ RWHP? Same deal as the Miata tho...it WILL NOT hold up long.

I'm not trying to turn this into another Camaro vs Miata argument...just pointing out some automotive misnomers :D

Oh, and to those who say a Camaro cant be made to handle well (not stock) because of its weight or whatever.... come drive mine :cool: Bet I can change your mind.

Very looow center of gravity + lots of suspension and handling goodies + big fat grippy rubber = CORNER CARVER hehe

I know I know a Miata can be modded to out handle me. I know. Just saying...the big fat muscle cars can hold their own :D

Actually, the miata has an incredibly strong motor straight from the factory. It can run quite a bit of boost and still maintain a relitively long engine life if taken care of well.

And i understand what your saying. The miata isn't the end-all of good handling cars. In fact there are probably several cars i would chose before i got a miata. And i know that you can definately make a heavier car like a camaro handle well. Hell, my moms mini-van handles better than a lot of the sedans out there. It also depends what kind of cornering machine you want. If you want a high speed, track cornering car, i would want a large vette or something meant for high speeds, and huge grippy tires. If you want an autoX car or something for the very tight corners and slaloms, then even with work, the camaro (or whatever "muscle" car or sports car) will have a large inherent disadvantage over a smaller, lighter, probable lower center of gravity car with a shorter wheelbase. It totally depends on what kind of handling and corner carving you want out of your machine.

Werd :D

I dont doubt that the miata engine can handle boost well from the factory.....thing is, most cars that are factory forced induction run anywhere from 8 to 15# boost....and even those cars have to be internally upgraded to handle almost double the boost. I really dont think a manufacturer like Mazda (not exactly a top Japanese automaker...and by that I mean not on par with say Honda or Toyota) would over-engineer the engines to that extent in just the Miatas...

Stock-ish boost levels i can see.

Maybe I'll just put the 'ole Camaro on a diet :D :D :D hehe

Tell him that everybody will be joking behind his back. Saying:
"Mi-ata get a BMW" or
" Mi-ata get a Porsche"
there are so many beautiful older convertables at the same price that he has no reason to get a girly car!
Tell him to use the money for a Harley Davidson. Chicks dig harley's