bill25 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 24, 2020 8:33 pm
Mazdaspeed3 with lower miles would be nice since it is the upgraded version of what I have now, and would make me get better at manual.
GTO is cool as is, I could potentially get a manual, and if the miles were low enough, resale would be better than the MazdaSpeed3 down the road.
V6 Camaro could eventually be a hotrod, but at that point it might be cheaper to sell and buy an SS... Not sure about this one yet.
My thoughts, restated a little, go something like this:
Speed 3: Most practical, and sort of most obvious upgrade. Best daily driver MPG. Hatch is useful even if you hate the style (I think it may grow on you and this is coming from a non-hatch person). Then again I'm easy - a Cobalt SS could grow on me because it apparently drives so damn well. Just imagine the impromptu races and the look on their faces. The MS3 looks like a hot hatch, albeit a 13 year old one.
GTO: Gives you a pre-Camaro Holden platform which is a pretty good all around car. Worst handling and brakes of all of these. Probably the best ride? You can upgrade the level of performance from the Speed 3 on a proper RWD platform. Well, the 04 is probably pretty even with a Speed 3 except it will still be better to drive if you like RWD, but the 3 will feel more dialed-in. In New England, the Speed 3 is probably the better choice over an 04 GTO but the 04 GTO is the most affordable and, imo, more interesting than the Speed 3, FWIW. 05-06 is properly quicker than the MS3. Frankly, it is also a few grand more expensive, too, but you also get more performance.
V1: I'm biased but you get LS2 GTO performance, still a better chassis and brakes, and 4 door practicality. It's not really more expensive than an LS2 GTO. If you get the 06-07 you even get the LS2. I like the LS6 and they'll be cheaper anyway. This is still a great car and probably undervalued by the market (maybe creeping up). That said....maybe I shouldn't be pushing for you to get the same daily as my "special" car. It could hurt my manhood, and then I'll have to go V2 hunting and stuff, and go race Edgardo.
V6 Camaro: I actually don't see the point if you drive this for more than a few years completely stock. It's RWD, but not a V8 and if you leave it stock, if it were me, I'd rather be driving a V8 something, even though it's probably better performing overall than an 04 GTO. The big case, aside from possibly hot-rodding it, is that it's also a platform you know (well, getting to know), and learning on the V6 Camaro manual should most directly translate to your SS. In some ways, sort of the least satisfying to drive stock. Hard to explain but you kind of don't want the low version of a car for a few reasons. Even though the V6 Camaro is reasonably quick, it looks like a Camaro so it's not like you'll catch anyone by surprise, ever. In fact, they'll only be surprised it's not faster most of the time. Cars are routinely bought and sold. Unless you were ready to start a project, I don't see the point in choosing your "I might LS swap this" car now. The V6 Camaro manual could still be the right choice for an upgraded daily but imo not because you'll swap it later.
When you add it all up I guess you could really scratch your head. Some tie breakers include:
- General availability, including anywhere near a reasonable radius to our part of the country. This is not the time of year to find all the good RWD for sale BUT what's there should be priced lower so you really don't ever stop looking. I don't see the rush anyway, so you shouldn't rule something out just because of a couple Auto Trader searches this month. Don't forget CL/Auto Tempest or maybe cars.com. You only need to find one car, not ten.
- Chances of well kept examples of all of these? I'd think you could find battered to mint on all of them. The Speed 3 MIGHT be the most likely to be ridden hard and put away wet but I'm not sure I can back that up with any hard evidence. Just seems like that kind of car?
- V1 is the easiest to shop for. All manuals. Just some colors and sunroof. Did the MS3 come in auto? If not then that should help matters. There will be GTO and Camaro autos to sift through. You particularly don't want the GTO auto. A Camaro auto is a fine driving vehicle (6L50, same as our SRX) but also completely pointless to your goals.
- Reliability? I guess a 2012-2013 Camaro would be the newest. The rest are pre-2010 with maybe the GTO and V1 being the oldest right? I don't know that I would let that drive anything. A well-kept V1 that was garaged in winters is not necessarily a worse car than a V6 Camaro that was daily driven in all the garbage we usually see, getting beat up on bad potholes, salt, etc. Powertrain wise, I'd put the GTO and V1 on equal terms (seems obvious), probably followed by the Camaro. I guess I'd rank the MS3 last but more research required. Obviously it's an early direct injected turbo 4. You should really do some reading. You WILL find horror stories on EVERY single one of these cars, I promise.