Home Inmate Central

Inmate Central, where civil and family-friendly discourse about off-audio topics (other than religion and politics) is welcome.

Mazda and Honda




The S2000 I think is a great modern but classic, clean shape- (unlike the fussy crinkle cut French fry BMW Z4) long bonnet, short boot design


Todd A.,

Yes, my Miata fiend friend does love them, but they seem as I mentioned "unsubstantial" and well down the quality scale from Hondas- which seem just unbeatable for worry-free longevity. I have another friend with an old Protege that he liked enough to buy an RX-8, but the Wankel de-wanked itself at 25,000 miles and the entire engine had to be replaced. Mazda would never tell my friend the reason for the failure- but it was undoubtedly the piston seals- the compression was at 10%. Had this not been under warranty, the cost would have been $12,000. The Protege has not had working A/C since 1998- the repair cost is more than the value of the car. By contrast, a painter friend has a 1989 Accord with 280,000 miles and while this acts up occasionally- the gearbox wore out at 250,000 miles and three weeks ago, a ball joint broke- but it was the original! As far as is known the clutch is the second with 140,000 miles. Everything except the radio still works on that Accord. When my mum wanted a new car, I suggested a 2008 Honda Fit and she was so enthusiastic about it, she got a vanity plate "GR8 FIT" and I thought she would start an owner's club. She opted for a Sport with the flappy paddle gear shift- F1 style with a surprisingly huge storage capacity. Her last new car by the way was a 1964 Pontiac.

While I've never owned a Japanese car, if I did it would be a Honda. My brother really dislikes Honda because he had an Accord about 1996 that needed the heater core replaced, but he's a British car snob- a 2004 XJ8 (replacing a 1996 XJ6), a 2006 XK-R supercharged coupe, and a 2003 Mini Cooper S. I'm British oriented too but old ones- 1957 Jaguar XK140MC roadster for 22 years, 1937 Riley 12/4- which had a Wilson pre-selector semi-automatic and automatic jacks, 1952 Bentley MK VI- my very first car!, 5- Morris Minors from 1952 to 1961 and so on. I had a lot of Mercedes too- about 10 from a 1954 190SL (this was number 0046) to a '69 280SL, a 1970 300SEL 6.3 with 300HP and air suspension that I drove everyday for 9 years, and a 1972 280SE 4.5.

If you were interested in a great classic fun car, and didn't need silly things like A/C, I'd put the Mercedes 230-250-280SL on the list- excellent, simple cars and good investments. However, good ones are beginning to be a bit expensive.

Overall, I think the S2000 would be a great choice- fun, safe, and practical. If you respond as most S2000 drivers seem to, you'll be joining the club for tours and be out washing it every Sunday,..


Cheers,

Bambi B


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Sonic Craft  


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.