Easy living (a little bit of philosophy)
 

I was considering what car to buy to keep in a newly acquired little place near Miami. The idea was that the car will be sitting there year around and be driven for 3-4 months a year when we are down there.

Sounds simple enough? Well, yes and no. This is one of those great situations where you can really pick pretty much anything you want and would enjoy. Mind you, my street daily driven car for the last 9.5 years has been a 993 cab. In Boston. Through rain, snow and sleet. No problems.

So, what to chose? I thought about it and thought about it some more. Maybe an early 911. Maybe something exotic and older Italian. Maybe an adult car like an A8. Maybe an SUV... no.

I've thought about an early 911. Fun, but a lot of work. I've thought about a 993. Basically a no-loss proposition. Buy it, drive it, sell it without losing much money. I've thought about a 996. A decent cab can be had for close to $20K and it's quite possible that they've bottomed out. I've thought about a Boxster S. It's an excellent chassis, no matter what anybody thinks.

So, what did I end up with? Wait, I'll tell you. Another Miata, this time a newer NC with 28K miles. How is it related to P-cars? Well, here's the rub. Porsche is work. In every aspect, it's work. Either you wrench on it yourself or you find a good mechanic (good luck doing so near Miami). It's not an easy car to own. Unlike a Miata, which very much is (my autocross NB has been with me for 10 years). It's just a different experience, very Teutonic, very serious and buttoned down even if we are talking about a yellow 993 cab. Every input is weighed heavy. The car feels bigger, heavier, more serious than it really is, especially on city streets. The car requires you to worry about it. A P-car, in no way, is conducive to easy living.

What say you? Agree, disagree, throw tomatoes from the second row center seats?

you should have bought a DFI boxster. Especially a boxster spyder.

I leave my RS in st.petersburg florida and use it 2 months of the year. A basic 997 carrera would do, but the RS adds a little excitment.

plently of P-dealers in FL cities to service porsche and some nice indys too.

I'm curious, Mike, have you tried an S2000? Opinion?

Miata's to me are just too goofy-looking. I can't get past that...

My beater is an '08 GTI. Most of the time I love it. Eying the '12 R now.

Everybody I know that owns a Miata just loves it because you can drive it forever and forget about it - no worries, no headaches, no big maintenance bills! I understand completely.

This can be said about Camry, you forgot to say that Miata is still fun to drive.

Talking all your parameters into consideration, I think you bought well.

I have tried S2000, both first and second generations. First generation s simply not a street car. No torque down low, screaming Singer sewing machine up high. I remember my first test drive. Right hand was dead tired after half an hour of shifting gears. If you don;t keep it well above 4K RPM it's just anemic and boring.

Second generation is a bit better in that respect. But they have their share of mechanical issues and are not cheap to deal with.

Considering I bought an '09 Touring with 28K miles for... $14K, yeah :) This was one of the considerations, a very good deal came up and bit me in the butt so i drove 3.5 hours to meet the seller and hand over cash.

The looks... well, I never much care about how mist cars look. 996s don't bother me one bit. Nor do Miatas. NC2 actually does look better than NC1, which, yes, was a little goofy and small-eyed.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I exclusively drove two of my mom's Camries for the last two winters in Miami :) Blended in well with the local octogenarians. That's another social essay - when I came to States in 1986 it was a complete nonsense to see a person over 35 drive a Japanese car. Now the whole retired set in Miami drives Camries almost exclusively.

TTKan, that's the exact point I'm making. Miata is simple. Porsche is more work and can be more reward in the right situations. But definitely more work in every sense of the word.

You've worked hard all your life, almost certain that you've taken all your responsibilities seriously. Get what you want. Or get something you think you want, and if that doesn't work out, get the next thing on your list. And keep going until you're satisfied.

No wrong answer here. My plan is that I'll never sell, and my son gets to drive home from my funeral in the 993. He loves that car as much as I do, and has spent his share of cold winter days on the garage floor beneath it. I hope he enjoys that drive home, and hits top end somewhere along the way. That would be great to see.

That's my plan, I figure you have your own plan too. Enjoy!!!

Years ago, we were merging two software companies, and I as sitting across the table from one of the senior product managers at a celebration dinner, sitting next to the CEO and a senior VP. The conversation went like this:

Him: So, I heard you like cars. So do I ... so what do you drive?

Me: Ahhhh, well, a 911. (saying it a little sheepishly since I did not know of their reaction)

Him: Really? Ahh, great car.

Me. So, what do YOU drive then?

Him: A Miata

Me: Ahhh, a GIRLS car!

I REALLY opened my mouth on that one - the deal did go through, and for a while afterwards, all the guys in the company referred to his Miata as the "girls car".... luckily he had a great sense of humour when I just blurted that out ...

Still feel the same way though. ;)

Sortof (I actually like them now)

Cheers,

Mike

I own two very clean 73 914's for all the reasons you mentioned...and...they are still Porsche's.

If you don't need AC, how about a 3.2 Carrera Cab?

No A/C in Florida? Yeah, that's the ticket, Kika :)

Mike, I now own two Miatas. One is a dedicated CSP car which, literally, runs circles around my slightly improved 993. And is easier to drive at that. The other - we'll see. But you are right - they are "girl's cars". At least in perception. I've had this devious idea for a while - to buy a set of Ronal "Bear" wheels (center section is a Greatful Dead bear instead of spokes, no kidding), paint them hot pink and show up for an autocross in a region where they don't know me. That would be fun :)

More seriously, there's something fairly magic about a Miata in a way that is very different than what makes a 911 magic. It's not guilded history of a 911, not the beautiful body, not over-engineered under-reliability... it's an odd Jakyl and Hyde transformation from a girl's car to a precise race tool that happens somewhere very near the limit. Something that i can't make any 993 do. What's interesting is that both of them are pretty impractical And I've been daily driving both for 10 years now.

Jeff, I'm not selling my 993. It'll still be a daily driver about 8 months out of the year for me. It's just that it's supplemented by two Miatas now. Interestingly, that's 3 convertibles. Odd combo, no? I'm periodically thinking about something bigger or something newer or something red, loud and Italian. But who am I kidding? If I had garage space it would be filled with old orphans like a 2CV, a Bug, a 356, a Bugeyed Sprite, old rusting Alfas an other weirdness. On the other hand, it isn't easy living, is it now?

I love Miatas, and I think anyone who thinks of them as anything less than the best all-around car you can drive for the money, hasn't driven one or knows little about cars.

Yes it's a little cutesy in the styling, but it's a blast to drive, cheap to own, light as hell and gets great MPG. And the best part, it's rear-wheel drive! Front-wheel drive; now that's girly :icon107: