Small Cars, miatas and safety: Reassure a first time car buyer?

Get a Miata, strip it out, and fit a giant roll hoop, that's what I want for a weekend car/autox machine.
 
LeVeL said:
Err... sorry, no. No matter how much you read about correcting slides and whatnot with RWD, it will NOT keep you out of the ditch when a slide happens unexpectedly. You HAVE to practice it; until you get into a few slides, you won't have a clue as to what you're doing.
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And you have to know what to do in those slides before you actually experience it, otherwise you'll likely crash.

A Miata is perfectly comfortable, imho. And safe, as mentioned in other posts in this thread.
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There are safer cars mentioned as well as more comfortable ones.

I, personally, don't care about how "cool" my car looks. As long as it makes me smile, I'll drive it.
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All righty then. I'm sure most would rather have the smile on their face AND a cool looking car. Imo how a car looks also has a lot do with putting a smile on one's face; you're gonna have to live with the beast after all.

I'm not a Miata driver :p (yet)
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Say what? Why didn't you have the Miata on that list of cars you were looking at then?!

Imo Acura RSX and the Mustang > Miata for daily driving.
 
Imo how a car looks also has a lot do with putting a smile on one's face; you're gonna have to live with the beast after all.
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:thumbsup:

That said, I'd take a Miata over a Mustang any day. Still, it's really down to whatever she likes the best. The cars you have mentioned (RX-8, Miata, Mustang) are all rear-wheel-drive sports cars with reasonable safety.
 
equiraptor said:
Don't dismiss small vehicles as unsafe just because of one collision type that is, frankly, relatively uncommon in fatal collisions.
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Please also keep in mind that, even when just looking at the car itself, generalisations like 'big = more safe' or 'small = less safe' are way too simplified and sometimes simply false.
Much more important than the size and mass of a car is the way it has been structually designed. Just look at racing cars, even in crashes that look horrific to us, a lot of the time drivers often only get minor injuries, and the passenger compartment is often still in pretty good shape. A good part of that is down to the roll cage, since it doesn't only keep the roof from collapsing in a rollover, but also strengthens the frame and makes the car as a whole more rigid.

Short and exaggerated, a small race car will be a lot safer than, say, a 50ies land yacht. Trying to judge the safety of a car by it's size and/or weight is, at the least, bound to be very inaccurate. The only real way to get a sense of how safe a car is are experimental crash tests.
 
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Guys. I'm not saying size has anything to do with it, though bumper compatibility does. Many trucks will not even hit the bumper of a Miata, and until the mid 2000s, many had frame rails that ramped up, meaning in a full on frontal collision the large truck/suv will actually ride UP on smaller cars (like the miata).

The only thing I AM saying, with certainty, is that IF you get into a crash (not talking about how much more manuverable small cars are) with another car, and one car is very lightweight (not size, just mass), the other is very heavy (not size, just mass), the heavier vehicle is safer, because it changes directions more slowly. The lightweight vehicle can basically ricochet off the heavier one, causing neck/spine/brain damage.
 
Let's remember too, the Mustang is more of a girls car. . .
 
As someone who likes Mustangs, and would pick one over a lot of other cars, If I had the choice between an SN95 V6 and a Miata... it would be the Miata for sure. Ive driven one so I know how fun they can be, and come on, V6 in a Mustang = weak sauce. and because I havent cared what people think of me based on what car I drive since about my junior year in high school.

whys everyone arguing over those two cars anyway? there are way more options that fit those requirements. how about some off the wall suggestions...

MR2:
major plus points for "Fun and interesting"
plus points for reliability
major minus points for "Ridiculous sports car"
minus points for practicality
minus points for safety

BMW E30/E36 3 Series Coupe:
plus points for "Fun and interesting"
plus points for reliability
plus points for practicality, even more for the sedan, although that takes away "Fun and interesting" points
plus points for safety
minus points for uniqueness

Jaguar XJS 6 cylinder:
major plus points for "Fun and interesting"
major plus points to girl, for being a Jaaaaaaaag
major plus points for uniqueness
plus points for safety ...ish
plus points for practicality
minus points for reliabilty
major minus points for "Ridiculous sports car" even though an I6 one shouldnt be crazy fast
 
Jakain said:
I assumed she doesn't have any real knowledge about RWD driving mechanics. In that case its flat out dangerous for a newbie to drive a RWD car.

Might surprise ya but one can learn a lot about RWD driving from researching it. However imo most drivers on the road would not be able to handle a sporty RWD car under conditions where RWD isn't optimal; and most people probably don't realize the differences between RWD, FWD, and AWD.
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Not really. I started out driving RWD before I really had a clue what sort of difference it really made. So long as you don't drive stupidly, even driving RWD in the snow isn't all that its made out to be. Its easier to drive my car now in the snow than it was when I started, snow tires have improved significantly.

As for people not noticing the difference between the drive layouts. I'll put it this way...go to Toronto and try to find a BMW 3 series, Lexus IS or Merc C-class that isn't X drive, AWD or 4Matic, the standard RWD vehicles are surprisingly rare especially for the Lexus. Even the Acuras, its starting to get hard to see one that doesn't have the SH-AWD. The mindset here is that AWD is preferred over RWD and even FWD.
 
Girlfriend edit: I don't want a SN95 or SN195, I was looking at a 05 mustang. Thank you all for your input. You've been way more helpful than somethingawful =)
 
Matt here, we just found a MINT 01 miata, 2 owners, dealer maintained with records, florida-only car since it came on the truck from hiroshima, 35,000 miles.

Problem? They want $8900 for it, which according to consumerreports.com is 5 dollars over KBB value for the thing for normal condition, but this is in fucking show car condition! (Even the underside of it is brand new) After tax and title We're looking at a $10,000 car. :(

She's in love with it though. Watch this space. They way i see it if i can talk him down $5 for the thing i'm already a winner, but i HATE spending that kind of dough for an 8 year old car.
 
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$5? Why are you freaking out over $5?

Edit: Show up with 7 thousand in a cashier's check and $1500 in cash for bargaining money. They'll drop it down.
 
Strelok16 said:
Jaguar XJS 6 cylinder:
1) major plus points for "Fun and interesting"
2) major plus points to girl, for being a Jaaaaaaaag
3) major plus points for uniqueness
4) plus points for safety ...ish
5) plus points for practicality
6) minus points for reliabilty
7) major minus points for "Ridiculous sports car" even though an I6 one shouldnt be crazy fast
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1) Not so much to drive, more of a show piece
2) agree
3) agree
4) Slow speed yes, would not want a proper crash in one
5) Huge boot, but tiny cabin and unusable rear seats
6) Really no
7) meh
 
Gruv, you've been pretty negative in this thread, chill man, i am not "Freaking out over five dollars".

We decided against the expensive one and instead met a private seller, it looks like we're gonna pick up a 2003 6 speed Miata LS for $7500. It looks like its in good shape, and has only 43,000 miles.

Money to be transacted at her work lunch break tomarrow, pics to follow. Heres the Ad: http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/cto/1461606504.html
 
Yea but the wheels gotta go, i want some 03 NB stockers, the ones that came with the "LS" if differant trim meant differant wheel.

Im sure i can pick up some dough for the MAD TYTE RIMS. It needs new tires anyway
 
Atlantian said:
http://www.diamondracingwheels.com

You can pick up some really wide and durable wheels really cheap.
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Heh. Wide isn't really what a Miata needs. Lightweight is. The car would have had a 16x6.5 wheel that weighed 15.5 pounds. The car needs a 4x100 bolt pattern. I'm not sure which offsets will work on an NB, but there's a list of workable wheels (including weights) here. I'm sure there are many more options than that - the page doesn't even list my favorite aftermarket wheel (RP-F1 - they come in anything from NA CSP sizes to NC SSM sizes). But it will give an idea of what sizes and offsets work. :)
 
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