First big decision made as husband and wife... getting a sports car!

SBmini

Pretty excited. We love cars but we haven't had one with a manual transmission in more than two years. It's demoralizing. We were planning on replacing our daily driver with one that had a manual- but then we came across an absolutely incredible deal on another automatic and jumped at it. And I love our daily- it's comfortable, reliable, gets us to and from work, but yaaawwwwnnnn.

So, husband has been scheming as to how we could pull a fun little Miata for the weekend. We almost bought one right after the wedding, but wisely used that money for the honeymoon instead. I also knew what he really wanted was the best car he'd ever owned, a Honda S2000 he was forced to sell in 2007 when the company he worked for tanked. We just can't swing that kind of car when we already have a monthly payment on our SUV.

Oh- yeah, that SUV we never use. That SUV that just sits in our garage and maybe gets taken out once a month for a camping trip or to take the dog to the vet. So I suggested we sell it and get an S2000. Hubby about jumped for joy!

We listed the SUV today. I can't wait to get back into a roadster! She'll be a garage queen, only taken out once or twice a week. But that would be way more than we use our SUV and it is heck of a lot more fun too. I told husband that if he really thinks we still need a large vehicle, we can get a cheap pick up truck in a few months. But I'm not sure how needed it is. Our sedan can carry quiet a bit. I think his biggest concerns are camping and our 70-lb, leather-seat-destroying dog. 

Not looking forward to detailing a full-sized SUV in 100+ degree heat this weekend, though. Ugh, at least we have a swamp cooler now. And I'll have company as husband will be installing our super awesome tablet-like headunit and replacing the speakers in the daily this weekend. (Another thing to squeal about. I'll have bluetooth! And waze!)

lyndausvi

sounds like fun. 

arrippa

That sounds great. I love Miatas. I drove one temporarily awhile ago and it was so much fun. It was a zippy little car. It's funny, I am currently driving a manual but I am currently looking for an automatic. I drive a lot in the city and it's a pain with a manual. The constant shifting and hills kill me.

SBmini

I never really minded manual in cities. I found automatics to be equally annoying with how you need to keep your food on the brake. But that is probably because all of my cars have been manual, except for the past three years. I sold my manual MINI Cooper S to buy the SUV when we got the house and the dog. It was the right thing to do but boy do I miss that car sometimes.  

banana468

Yay! We still have our S2000. I can't drive it but love the days that we use it!

arrippa

SBmini said:

I never really minded manual in cities. I found automatics to be equally annoying with how you need to keep your food on the brake. But that is probably because all of my cars have been manual, except for the past three years. I sold my manual MINI Cooper S to buy the SUV when we got the house and the dog. It was the right thing to do but boy do I miss that car sometimes. 

I am a lazy driver so braking is a lot less work than constantly shifting. I do undertand why some people love stick. The control you have is so much greater than an automatic. I wish I could fully enjoy it instead of constantly cursing it.

emmyg65

We love our manuals. Actually, when I was a single lady, I had a weird thing where I preferred to date dudes who drove stick. As soon as I got in DH's car, I was like, "Oh, yes, this will do."

JCbride2015

Sounds like you'll use the sports car a lot more than the SUV!  Exciting!

And if you need a truck every once in a while, look into Zipcar.  I think they have "Zipvan" now.

SBmini

JCbride2015 said:

Sounds like you'll use the sports car a lot more than the SUV!  Exciting!

And if you need a truck every once in a while, look into Zipcar.  I think they have "Zipvan" now.

Just checked- we have ZipCar in Phoenix but not ZipVan yet. The local Lowes lets you use a truck for $20 for the first 90 minutes, which is perfect for home improvement trips. I can literally count on one hand the number of times we've needed the SUV this year. I think renting is a way better idea than buying. But hubby has always loved pick up trucks. We'll see what happens. 

KytchynWitche

I am insanely jealous. Huge fan of the S2000.

mrsb53

The S2000 and Miata are both great cars! Definitely get a manual; they are so fun to drive, especially with little zippy cars like those!