Looking further into the MS3 swap, and I'm not sure it's worth the cost. The cost would be similar for the 5-speed swap as well, as a lot of the same parts would need to be swapped. I'm at $1700+ in parts so far. Yikes. It would be cool, but not sure if it would be worth all the trouble.
Id do the challenger. Look in the Charlotte NC area and ill pick you up at the airport or do inspection etc.
Honestly, a white v6 auto challenger is my next daily.....
how about a 2017 Genesis for $17k?
In reply to yupididit :
I see what you did there.
Just a thought for if you find a trans, NC miata clutch/flywheel/pressure plate fit the 1st gen MZ3 5 speed. They might fit the speed3 6 speed too. They're single mass and cheap. Might cut down on your parts cost.
I would look for a deal on a Challenger
I was faced with the same decision. My 18 yr old Audi TT was getting fussy, and my sister is borrowing my 18 yr old truck. I decided it was time to let the toys be toys, and get something late model and dependable for my 30 mile commute.
I chose option 3 and pucked up a post-dieselgate Jetta Sportwagen TDI. I figured if it can't be fun it might as well be useful, and a little unique. And 40 mpg doesn't hurt either.
The sub 5k option just sends you from a known quantity used car to an unknown one
In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :
Yeah, that's really rolling the dice there. Unless I can find a real sweetheart deal from someone I know, that's likely not happening. I really wish my $100 Saab 9-5 didn't get clobbered by a tree a few years ago; it would really come in handy right about now.
bgkast (Forum Supporter) said:I would look for a deal on a Challenger
Same. I still love how they look. And if you're in the market.... YOLO.
What's the deal with these things?
Like VW, I had a BAD experience with our last Hyundai. We threw a party when that car left our possession.
This is a Sport with a 6MT, and on paper, it looks nice. But our last Elantra (a 2008 GLS) also looked good on paper, but was horrendous in practice. Keeping costs/payments low while driving something not boring would be fine for a few years, and used examples can be had well south of $20k. Didn't a few of you buy these?
How many Challengers did Hertz have in its rental fleet? Are there deals to be had?
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
I checked the local Hertz sales site, and all they have is V6 AWD Chargers. Those are fine and all, but if I'm buying a big Mopar sedan or coupe, the 16 year old in me wants a Hemi.
In other news, just to be clear, I'm still leaning toward Option 1 (fix my current car). It's still nicer than anything I've seen for under $7k used around here, I know the history and know that it has been maintained, and there's literally nothing else wrong with it. In the past 1.5 years, I've replaced the radiator, A/C condenser, serpentine belt, tune-up, valve cover gasket, all of the motor mounts, struts, rear calipers and pads, exhaust intermediate pipe, lower control arms, and more. The car drives like new and is still fun to toss around. The engine runs like it did on day one, and it burns no oil. I hate to throw it out because of this. If I could get a couple more years out of it, I'll be in a much better position to get whatever I want for a vehicle, Challengers included.
I would lean towards fixing the 3. I don’t see any financial benefit to any of the other options and you end with an unknown quantity rather than a car you know and like.
In reply to CyberEric :
I did reach out to a few local yards and that one in NYC that supposedly has a trans. No responses yet. I'm hoping I can find one.
I did find an OEM part number for the transaxle assembly thanks to LKQ: G62503000. Looks like it's still available from Mazda, at $3667 + shipping (and presumably core). So yeah, that's not happening.
Ooof.
I wonder what would a transmission shop charge to fix it?
In reply to CyberEric :
I don't know of any shops around that service manual transmissions. All of the shops I know of are geared toward older stuff with automatics. The down time to fix it would be an issue as well; swapping in a trans can happen in a weekend at my friend's place, while the wait time for a rebuild would likely take weeks.
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