syquestrd270

Ok, so I've got a 1993 Del Sol Si that's all paid for and works just fine but it's 11 years old, sports a few door dings, and some jackass scraped up the bumper pulling out from parallel parking. It's not a bad car, it handles well, but damn my stupidity I bought an automatic. And the roof rattles (targa top).

Acting on a wild hair and a longtime lust for a 2000-2004 Miata, I checked some of the prices in my area and found a nice looking 2001 with all the options, body kit, leather, rims, and whatnot. $12000. The dealership said they'd been cutting the price down from 16k or something and they were about to send it to auction.

Given that I have a pefectly serviceable car and I'm not making payments on it, would any of you sell the Del Sol and get into payments on a newer Miata?

I'm trying to justify such a purchase. I've got 120,000 miles on my Del Sol. I'd like a Miata but I'm going to be paying for it for a while... I can probably get 4k for my Del Sol. Is it worth it?

1slOwCD8

Now thats a hard choice to make. If it were me, since im kinda low on money, id keep the del sol, just cuz you said it is serviceable and cosmetic damage wounldnt bother me, but if it has a lot of problems or potential where you could have to spend a lot, id go for the miata. It just makes sense if you were to end up spending the same amount of money to buy a new car. At least the new car is realiable for the aleast 4 or 5 years. I dunno, its a tough choice.

dman2

Not really worth it. I have a 93 Volvo that I bought about 2 years ago and plan on driving it until it costs me more than if I were to have a payment. So far, it has been an excellent car. In fact I had a 93 S10 pickup that I owned for the past 6 years until it was totalled recently when someone pulled out in fron of my wife. I would still have it if it weren't totalled. Oh well, we needed a bigger vehicle anyway. We bought a 01 Tundra. It is nice. Big enough for us two and a two year old. I have always bought my vehicles with cash with the exception of the Tundra. I buy used to get the best deal and keep them for as long as I can.

Keep the car. It is what it is, a car. Transportation that loses value. It is not a house that goes up in value. Keep it unless it just kills you not to have the car you really want. A couple of years down the road, you will likely owe for the Miata still and want something else and then get stuck in the vicious cycle of having a car payment for the rest of your life. Not my idea of fun.

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syquestrd270

Thanks for the responses. The car I wanted to get sold on Friday... got a call Saturday from the dealer saying 4 people came in about it and it left with a quickness.

Dman, you're right. It's just a car, and hell, I should be looking to put a down payment down on a house sometime here too. Renting is just paying someone else's bills.

Thanks again

1slOwCD8

Funny you say that, cuz the exact same thing happened to me when i was car shopping. I was looking at this civic and spent like a week thinking about it, should i get a new car or keep my old one, well by the time i decided it was already gone. This happened twice on 2 different civics.

GetRdone

The newer Miatas are alot of fun. I used to work for a Mazda (among others) dealer. Handles like a go-cart, makes ok power, and has a huge aftermarket which matters to me. Turbo, supercharging and more is all pretty low cost for them. The del sol is the bastard son of honda....heavy, slow, to small interior.oi. Id say if u got the money, go with the miata (if those are ur only 2 options, IMO there are better cars around for 10k). The del sol u can sell for decent money, maybe 2800-4000 depending on conditions color and options. Oh one more thing, Miata's are RWD YAY!!!!. Sooo much more fun to race/drift/drive in general.

syquestrd270

I'm all about selling my Del Sol and getting a newer Miata... just have to save up for a few more months before I can afford to do it. What other cars do you suggest for 10K that would compare to a Miata for fun driving / performance?

GetRdone

that depends, if u want relatively new, miata is one of the most fun, since its light sporty and a convertible. U can get a mid 90's m3 for about 13k, but that is even more used, and even more money. Sometimes u can pick up a 3rd generation Toyota Supra, but really, off the top of my head just go with the miata. Its got most of what u want, its one of the newest u can get iwth 10k, and if u really want u can squeeze out more power.. I dont fit in miatas (6'4" 300lbs) but i think for the money if i could, i wouldnt mind owning one.

syquestrd270

I looked into the M3 and found a couple with close to 100k miles for what I can reasonably spend. The higher mileage turns me off and my insurance would increase quite a bit. The Miata insurance is only a couple hundred more a year than my Del Sol.

shakran

you might be interested to know that you can swap a manual tranny into that del sol.

The honda will last longer than the mazda. . .

GetRdone

Sure, ya could swap the tranny shakran but think of this. First, the del sol is already MUCH older than the miata and thus has far more miles to start, its much slower, kinda ugly, and not a true convertible. Spending money to do the tranny swap would be expensive, and not worth its while, plus mods like that tend to actually decrease the resale value of the car. Selling the del sol is really the best option, and for the money that would be available the miata is a solid starting point, even if u dont feel like modding it or anything

BoCo

Keep the del Sol and spend some cash on suspension upgrades.

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syquestrd270

I've thought about both the suspension upgrades and the tranny swap. The tranny swap would probably happen with an engine swap and cost me around $3-4k. I've already installed a rear sway bar and strut brace and they helped a lot, but the damned targa top rattles and I get water drips behind my seat when it rains hard. It's been a bit of an annoyance since I got the car and I haven't read anything but rave reviews of the Miatas. I've got 120,000 miles on my Del Sol and I can get a Miata with 30-40,000 miles for $12,000 or so.

I do enjoy the Del Sol, but I'd really like a newer car with fresh opportunities for modifications.

GetRdone

even with suspension upgrades it still handles like a pig...im actually surprised by the number of folks suggesting keeping the del-slow. Hell if u really want to keep that thing thenget; 1. all new suspension bushings, shocks, lower springs, strut bars and sway bars 2. upgrade the wheel and tire setup 3. strip out all the interior and useless features 4. Get a built LS-Vtec Turbo motor from DH racing along with the corresponding Stafford Fabrications turbo kit 5. Get corresponding 5speed tranny to match the motor, or get a built up auto tranny 6. Kick peoples ass all day because your car would run like all hell, and still look like a del sol.

flightlessbird

Miatas are quite popular with club racers and autocrossers. If you are looking to do any type of racing (with the possible exception of drag racing) I would go with the miata. They make great autocross and track cars (lightweight RWD).

GetRdone

and you could eventually use it for spec miata if u ever decided to go full on track race.