Am I insane for wanting a muscle car as my 2nd car?

Am I insane for wanting a muscle car as my 2nd car?


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I agree with everyone here, go for it if you want it, just don't put yourself in a stupid situation financially to get it.

I'd prefer a 1970's muscle car personally but meh. :p
 
Go for it if you can afford it. Being a second vehicle with no commuting should make the insurance less pricey.

It would be my main vehicle as I don't have a commute or a need for a second car. :( Hopefully there's some type of low mileage plan.

Only word of caution is, if this Middle East thing causes another global economic downturn (through say, high fuel prices) you wont be able to give it away if you need to divest yourself of it.

With the number of miles I'd be driving it a year, it'd be well worth paying through the ass in order to drive it. Plus I think it does quite decent on the highway as you can put it in top gear and just idle it basically.

So long as you can afford to buy and maintain it and have a place off the street to keep it, I say go ahead.

My apartment comes with an unheated garage, so it'd be going in there. :)

Insurance will be expensive, especially for a man your age. You might have to get married to save some money.

I'll be 27 by the time I buy it which is past the age where they hike it up crazy for being young and male.

Can I just ask how long do you plan to drive the Chevy Corsica, before you buy the Viper? I gather you'll be fairly eager to learn stick and become a driving God :devil:.

As long as you leave yourself enough time to learn and master stick, there's no reason why you'll have trouble. Just my two cents :).

No idea how long, but long enough that I'm beating up the Corsica's clutch and transmission (and bodywork possibly) and not a nice car. :)
 
If you want some lessons on how to drive a stick I can help you out. I've taught quite a few people, hopeless ones too... haha.

-Robert
 
If you want some lessons on how to drive a stick I can help you out. I've taught quite a few people, hopeless ones too... haha.

-Robert

I know the mechanics of it and all that of course, I just need practice. :(
 
I know the mechanics of it and all that of course, I just need practice. :(

Ah nice, you got something to practice on??

Driving an STi is going to be much different than driving a powerful RWD car, but if you can keep your foot out of it, it should be just like driving a normal car.

-Robert
 
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DO IT

although I'd go for the coupe if it was me.


Ha, and I thought I might be losing it researching XJS V12's lately....

....ok, I still am, but at least now I know I'm in good company :D
 
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/ctd/2185375007.html
Check out this one... haha... only 45 minutes away.

I want a convertible SRT-10 and I can go from that (a first gen) to a 10 year newer third gen for just $5k more. ;)

Ah nice, you got something to practice on??

Driving an STi is going to be much different than driving a powerful RWD car, but if you can keep your foot out of it, it should be just like driving a normal car.

As mentioned in first post, I have a beater Corsica that I'll be learning stick on and then from there I want to go to a Viper. It'll be a big step, but that's the whole point of this thread. :)


PS: Doing "-Robert" at the end of your posts makes it annoying to quote you. Just add it to your signature please.
 
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Jesus, Viper, you don't do things by halves do you? Ever heard of baby steps and all that?

But hell yeah, if you can afford it and feel confident enough before you do not to wrap yourself and it around some scenery then go for it. Do it while you can and before you meet that special someone who starts then squeezing out baby Vipers and forcing you into the minivan.
 
Do it while you can and before you meet that special someone who starts then squeezing out baby Vipers and forcing you into the minivan.

Being able to afford nice cars is one of the main reasons I have no desire to have kids. :)
 
Being able to afford nice cars is one of the main reasons I have no desire to have kids. :)

That's exactly what I said at your age. Had the whole thing mapped out. Impreza WRX > Nissan Skyline > Aston Martin by age 40.

Got as far as the Scooby, then these happened....

8135_153927733151_534358151_2637670_2242230_n.jpg


Still have just as much fun in a 9 year old Miata as I ever did in the Scooby, and wouldn't be without them. Just be warned, it's quite frightening how much one's priorities can change in a decade! ;)
 
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I want a convertible SRT-10 and I can go from that (a first gen) to a 10 year newer third gen for just $5k more. ;)



As mentioned in first post, I have a beater Corsica that I'll be learning stick on and then from there I want to go to a Viper. It'll be a big step, but that's the whole point of this thread. :)


PS: Doing "-Robert" at the end of your posts makes it annoying to quote you. Just add it to your signature please.

Ooops, late night... didn't realize the sweet Corsica was a stick.

There are a couple 3rd gens very close by too, take em for a test drive haha.

But if I don't add my name at the end, it's not authentic!!
 
Ok I will be the voice of reason here:

I can understand you wanting a Viper, hell, I want one and I guess everyone here wants one too.

BUT

Even if you say you are a cautious driver - which I believe you - certain cars just make you do stupid things, and I don't want to exclude anyone from the blame game here, MXM killed his dream car after 11 days, because he kept following someone with better road knowledge and ended in a ditch. His Seven is comparable to a viper, RWD and no electronics. And MXM had more driving experience than you, even on Ice and snow....I almost killed myself in our 1 Series with fucking 120hp, I was going up an onramp corner and a deer jumped out in front of me, I swerved (stupid mistake), ended up sliding on the Autobahn, over 2 lanes and back, tail kicked out in both directions and I barely kept it on the road. That was WITH ABS and DTC. Adunaphel went sideways through Br?nnchen by accident in his 190E, almost killing some less important #gear members....Ice crashed while avoiding a deer on wet roads etc...
As well, the Viper is a sort of car that is uncontrollably as soon as shit goes wrong. I mean, even if it is not your fault, go round a corner at normal speed, someone jumps on road, the Viper WILL snap and you will go sliding. I talked to guys at the Ring who drove the Viper Ringtaxi (Stock Viper with a huge wing and rollcage) and they said "basically, if the rear comes round uncontrolled, take hands off steering wheel, slam brakes, prepare for impact. The rear wheels are just too fucking wide to regain control again".

For me, the Viper is a car which will bring you to the limits of how well you can handle a car and kill you the second you overstep your skill. I know you want one, but for the love of god, please don't get one now. Drive that Corsica for some months, then get a slighly better car, best with RWD and stick, learn to drive that. Don't get an AWD car, it will fuck you sideways once you go to RWD ;) Seriously, you don't imagine the difference in handling between a FWD car and a RWD car - just look at what happens if you downshift without rev-matching in a RWD car, I remembered that suddenly when our 1 Series kicked his tail out sideways while downshifting on snow...and if you do that in a Viper, you are toast.

My best advice however: Do security trainings, where you learn how to handle a car for example on mixed surfaces, skidpads etc.. That saved my ass a couple of times now and is one of the best things I put money into since driving a car. In these videos, a plate moves your rear wheels to the side while going over it and you have to catch the car and avoid obstacles on a snow-like surface. Video is from 2005 btw, car looks different now :)

[video=youtube;Ulown-yS4-o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulown-yS4-o[/video] [video=youtube;9lCT13-A_AE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lCT13-A_AE[/video]

Maybe do some autocross to rack up handling skill, I am sure equiraptor & co. can tell you something about that, and after you racked up some experience, maybe go for a Viper. Otherwise I predict a sudden end of Viper007Bond :(
 
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Must spread more fountains before squirting D-Fence's Ibiza again.
 
That's OK Ice, I was so impressed with his incredibly German sensible and practical post I'd already squirted all over him before I read yours.
 
Viper, I haven't read the entire thread, so I apologize if I'm repeating things. However, please let me share a few of my experiences. :D

I started driving the day I turned 15, and I drove almost everywhere I went. By the time I was 17, I was throwing cars around, hard. I threw some Camrys around, even got oversteer out of one once (yeah... that's not easy). I thought I was pretty damn good. I bought a Miata and started playing with it. It was a lot of fun, but I really wanted better acceleration. I went to my nearby Miata experts and told them I wanted a supercharger. They responded, "Not until you start autocrossing." I was planning to modify the Miata into the Viper-acceleration-range. The service manager at the shop wanted me to get the experience needed to control the car when things go bad before I got behind the wheel of a fast, twitchy car. By this point, I was 22 years old. I'd already been driving for 7 years, but that didn't mean I had the ability to safely handle a high powered RWD sports car. I learned a lot more about driving near, to, and past the limits from autocrossing. After a few months, I brought my car to the shop to get the supercharger. By this point, the service manager was letting me drive his supercharged Miata - a 300hp monster (better power:weight than a first gen Viper). After my car got the supercharger, I continued to autocross, and my skills continued to increase. By the time I switched from the supercharged first gen Miata to the third gen Miata, I was among the top autocrossers in the state. I'm not as good as our National Championship group, but I was winning divisionals, national tours, etc. and I trophy'd at Nationals. How did this happen? Because I started at the beginning - with low power. Now, I hop into whatever is available and lay down quick laps, whether the car is a 48hp A112 or a Ford GT.

Lots of people buy and drive high powered sports cars on the street and they do fine. But that doesn't mean it's safe or wise. If you want a Viper, start doing things to increase your driving skills now (well, as soon as you're past the early stages of driving). Build up your ability to handle a car at and past the limit. If you can, do this in a RWD car that doesn't have as much power as the Viper (not AWD, RWD). From this you'll learn all the little tips and tricks, how to keep the car in your lane and pointed where you want even when all four tires have lost traction. Then, when you move to the higher powered Viper, you'll already have the behaviors trained, in muscle memory, to deal with an emergency situation more effectively.

It's not about being a cautious driver. It's about having the skill to handle a kid running out into the road, or a deer jumping out, or whatever else may happen to turn up. Get the skills first, then get the car. If you do it right, it won't take you long to get the skill. Just get it, to help yourself be safe.

Note: This doesn't necessarily mean you need a car between. You may be able to, say, codrive someone's Miata in autocross for a season, and gain a lot from that.
 
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Viper - I really really do not want you to be horribly mashed in a prang.

You need experience first. Get a FWD car first - 4 banger and become mr. careful. It is not about car control really - you can go and learn that on a course and I would urge you so to do. It is about threat perception, risk analysis in real time and learning how to get out of trouble once you are in it.

Poll is all well and good but I feel that the profile of people on FG would not be risk adverse so it will be inevitable that you will get a go for it answer - it is not the optimal option. If you can get a small safe Volvo.

I would trust what Spectre and Jay say myself - they are more aware of US conditions than I and have alot of knowledge, so they may say its OK, in which case I'd trust them. In Ukania I would definately not get something big and powerful until I had done a year or two driving. You saw our traffic recently.
 
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Or cannibalism squared even? Anyway must spread more pensive dinosaurs yadda yadda
 
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