I'd find a solid well kept NB Miata with hardtop and add Xida suspension. You'll still come out under $10k and have plenty of money left in your pocket.

I'm swapping a K24 in to mine this fall.

 

You can buy a nice MSM for under 10k; damn sure not worth buying a base or SE for similar money...

 

Both were my ladies cars, & her choices, nothing to do with me. The ST was bought half by accident, & no, it's a 2008 Peugeot, & so much nicer to drive than any Fiesta I've sat in, I almost like it. Only almost, but it doesn't have that awful steering, ridiculous throttle delay, or the dreadful ergonomics of the Fiesta.

I can almost understand your ladies preference against the BMW. I have a 300BHP/ton Triumph TR8, a stock S2000, & a kind of stock TR7, plus the work utes. If I go to town I chose the TR7, it is by far the most pleasant thing to putter around in, or roll down the expressway. I 0nly drive my ladies cars under protest, when I have to do an airport run with visitors. In the Fiesta it was 180 Kilometres of uncomfortable annoyance, in the 2008 Peugeot it is at least only boring.

 

I respectfully disagree.

The only thing good on the MSM is the beefed up tranny and diff. The factory stock turbo setup was trash. At minimum he would need the enchilada kit from Flyin Miata.

And then there's the 230 lb weight savings you get with an NB1 over the MSM.

 

My MSM, with proper messaging and work, was putting down 250+ whp on the OEM snail; it is possible with the right parts and tune. Some of the parts, like the SGDP, aren't even available anymore unfortunately. The MSM is the most well put together of them all; I've owned every variation of miata and more of them than likely anyone you've ever met or will ever meet; trust me, the MSM is the best miata made short of the new ND. The sum of the upgrades make it much more car to start with than any other trim level...

 

And the weight savings are nil; driving my 10AE back to back with my MSM showed no appreciable difference in handling whatsoever; with AGXs and 6ULs running 245s on the 10AE, my MSM would still out grip it and had less body roll/noticeable weight transfer.

 

Hey guys, I've got some good news and some bad news.

The bad news is that I won't be joining the S2000 club (yet!).

The good news is that I will still be joining the RWD convertible club!

Last week I picked up a single owner 2005 Nissan 350Z Grand Touring roadster 6MT with 36,000 miles. The car was owned by a retired auto detailer, and is absolutely immaculate. Although I am astutely aware that the Z is not an S, I would have paid at least twice as much or more for a similar condition S2K. Life is all about compromise, and this was one that I was more than happy to make. I'm having a blast so far, and it certainly a better car than I am a driver. I finally know how you guys must feel!

Bottom line is, thank you to you all for your thoughts and advice. They are what pushed me to say what the hell and go for a RWD roadster. You have to enjoy life while you can!

Thanks again everybody, I hope to see you on the road!

 

Not a bad choice! Just keep an eye on oil consumption and transmission noise, both problem areas with a lot of Zs. My Z's transmission sounded like garbage at 30k miles and had to be replaced by the CD009 "fixed" unit... Food for thought.

 

real simple...

(H)old
(O)n
(N)ot
(D)one
(A)ccelerating

or

(F)ix
(O)r
(R)epair
(D)aily

 

Thanks! That's the tranny that I've got. I don't have the Rev-Up version of the VQ35DE that was especially notorious for drinking oil, but I will definitely be keeping an eye on the dipstick.