Need Advice on car choice

Ryan Storzbach · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:42 pm

Cant decide if I want to keep my 318ti or trade it for the SC'ed Miata I checked out last night - some details, the car will have to serve both as an autoxer and a DD since I cant afford a second car rght now.

So whaddya think.....

My car
1998 318ti - totally stock, super clean 83k miles

Miata
1995 67k miles
JR Supercharger
JR header/catback
new falkens
new rotors/hawk pads/stainless lines
LSD
hardtop
hard dog rollbar
Momo wheel (not installed yet)
JR intake kit

The bad:
paint is chipped in front
interior is just ok
soft top is just ok

Ryan Holton · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:03 pm

That Miata is a ~$5,500-$6,000 car and I am probably being generous. The JR supercharger leaves alot to be desired. What kinda Fuel Management does it have?

If your car is worth 9k you are giving up too much.

Sell your car, get the cash because CASH TALKS!

Ryan Storzbach · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:06 pm

The only downside to the value of my car is the rebuilt title. However I am leaning towards keeping it.

Oh and this is my other "option" went and met up with the owner yesterday and he would trade, drove the car as well.....if only I had a garage and a 2nd car. Def not going to do this trade, but it would be fun.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/car/407594117.html

Ryan Holton · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:16 pm

Ryan Storzbach wrote:

rebuilt title

Uggghhhh, yeah its called a salvage title and your car is basically worth ZERO.

Do the trade.

Ohhhh the nice cars I have found in my search for a new ride that have a salvage title.....

Wes Eargle · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:47 am **Posts:** 3683

Damn, that Miata looks like it was hit harder and put away wetter than the tattooed blonde on Rock of Love.

BretLuter · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:32 pm

Ryan Holton wrote:

Ryan Storzbach wrote:

rebuilt title

Uggghhhh, yeah its called a salvage title and your car is basically worth ZERO.
Do the trade.

Ohhhh the nice cars I have found in my search for a new ride that have a salvage title.....

Oh that's BS.

Worth a little less than a pristine car with clear title?- YES, but worth zero is being harsh.

I've seen the 318ti in question, and it IS a nice car- but I would be more concerned about the small rust spot I saw than any salvage title. To me rust is a four letter word and salvage is not..........it's a 7 letter word, right?

If I was considering the purchase of a 10+ year old car, a salvage title would not bother me in the least. In fact, I would hope to use it to my advantage in negotiating a lower price (Holton, want to come along next time and use that "your car is worth ZERO" at the appropriate moment in the negotiation????). I would want to make sure the car was straight with a thorough inspection, including a 4 wheel alignment OR at least the stipulation that the car must be able to be aligned properly or the deal is dead.

Bret.

Ryan Holton · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:38 pm

I said basically Zero

I had always been told to run from a salvage titled car, that it was worth nothing.

It seems a Salvage title on a Nissan 240sx actually makes it worth more. :whoknows:

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

sounds like a good trade, if I were you, I'd go for it. . .

Michael Westerfield · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:44 pm

Ryan Holton wrote:

I said basically Zero

I had always been told to run from a salvage titled car, that it was worth nothing.

It seems a Salvage title on a Nissan 240sx actually makes it worth more. :whoknows:

It's worth street cred. Kind of like 50's bullet wounds.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 3:16 pm

Michael Westerfield wrote:

Ryan Holton wrote:

I said basically Zero

I had always been told to run from a salvage titled car, that it was worth nothing.

It seems a Salvage title on a Nissan 240sx actually makes it worth more. :whoknows:

It's worth street cred. Kind of like 50's bullet wounds.

I was thinking the same thing! :lol:

Ryan Storzbach · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:20 pm

Grrr - I just cant decide

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:38 pm

On the practical side, if you can only have a single car, how reliable is the supercharged Miata going to be? Especially if you really don’t know the history of that particular car. My opinion is to try to get a better handle on how much you could sell the 318 for with the salvage title. It might be more than you think. Then once you know the true value of the 318, then you have a real idea on what a fair swap would be for something else. Even if this entire process means you have to walk away from that specific Miata.

Ryan Storzbach · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:51 pm

I think I am going to pass on the SC'ed miata - for many of the reasons listed above.

However I am just going to keep the 318, I actually really do like the car and with some minor tweaking (suspension goodies) I think it will be a really great little autoxer. I've done a few events with it so far and am pretty impressed with the handling, it could use a touch more power as its pretty outgunned in GS against the Impreza RS, Mini Cooper S etc but oh well...in time I guess.

Looking forward to this weekend down in Sanford

JamesFeinberg · **Posted:** Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:53 pm

I agree with Richard 100%. If a forced induction car is going to be your only means of transportation, you could be in trouble when something goes wrong. Yep, that's *when*, not *if*. Obviously if it came from the factory that way things would be different (unless it's a DSM

) but that certainly isn't the case here.

I would test the market and see how much you can get for the 318. You don't have to sell it if you're not comfortable with the price and you might just find somebody that's willing to pay what you want for a clean car.

Good luck!

Jim
- former owner of a boosted Miata

KendtEklund · **Joined:** Tue Mar 27, 2007 7:29 pm **Posts:** 1204

JamesFeinberg wrote:

... Obviously if it came from the factory that way things would be different (unless it's a DSM

)...

Saw a funny quote on another forum:
"Diamond Star Motors - who needs a dog when you can walk your crank?" :lol:

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