rodan Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Anyone got any seat time in the Genesis Coupe since the '13 refresh? Specifically, 3.8 R-spec or Track? We've decided our C6 'Vette (astounding performance, but POS) is going away. It's my wife's DD, and also our road trip car, and the replacement needs to have some performance, but also be a nice place to spend all day. The Genesis Coupe is a strong contender on the short list, but we have yet to drive one. My wife (and I) both like the BRZ/FRS twins, but they really need another 50hp. They are still on the list, though. Others we still need to drive are an NC Miata Club, and 370Z Nismo (Nismo would have to be 1-2yo). We drove an automatic 370Z roadster last year and didn't like it, but I still want to try a manual coupe. I'm willing to put up with the lower performance of the Miata for a convertible hardtop. Mustang has the performance at the right price, but my wife hates the exterior, and I hate the interior. Opinions? Other options? Price range up to ~$33k. New or under 20k miles/2yrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoplightAssassin Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 The GC 3.8 is nice. We test drove one a while back. It's a livable daily. Good power, not great. Worth a test drive. Personally, I'd wait for the 2015 Mustang. They benchmarked the 911 Carrera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSFW Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 That price and age/mileage almost gets you into a BMW 335i coupe. There's 2011 with 25k miles for $36k in my area. I test drove a 330 right before I bought my LGT but it wasn't powerful enough... quite nice otherwise though. The 335 might have swayed me but the AWD 335 didn't exist yet, and AWD was a requirement at the time. What turned you off from the C6? My wife and I are pondering a C5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users seabass07 Posted February 28, 2014 Mega Users Share Posted February 28, 2014 Wife? Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 That price and age/mileage almost gets you into a BMW 335i coupe. The HPFP problems are enough to diminish my interest. Even with a warranty, it's 100miles to the nearest dealer. No question they have a lot of performance potential. I drove a 128 last year and was impressed with the overall driving dynamic, though it obviously wasn't all that fast. What turned you off from the C6? My wife and I are pondering a C5. Cliff's notes: It's a POS. Long version: I've owned a LOT of vehicles (I'm 47), most of them bought used. The C6 has been the least reliable vehicle I think I've ever owned. Car had 54k when we bought it last May, and we've put 6k miles on it. In that time the cam gear bolts came loose (!), the water pump went out (400 miles from home on Christmas Eve), and the cooling fan control module failed (100 miles from home). All of these had the potential for major engine damage if I hadn't caught them in time, and all put the car out of service. If had to pay someone to do the work, I would have been looking at nearly $2500 in these repairs in parts/labor. Even doing my own work, I've spent over $1k in parts, special tools and manuals. Many of the parts for 'Vettes are still dealer only, and our local dealer sucks. Retail+ on parts, and $140/hr labor. So I'm stuck ordering online for some parts, which means shipping time = more down time. In addition to the major issues above, the power seat motors are not working properly, the seat 'memory' feature has Alzheimer's, and it has several other goofy electrical gremlins (trunk pops open randomly when locking with the fob, bad airbag connections under the seat, etc). Also, the interior is some of the cheapest plastic I have ever dealt with. If you have to take something apart, a tab or two is almost guaranteed to break in the process. There's an aluminum subframe that supports the bottom of the radiator that I swear is made of glass. It breaks when you scrape the front over a steep driveway. Actually, I think it breaks when it sees a steep driveway. I've replaced it once ($200 part), and the new one is already broken. I could go on, but you get the idea... When I go on the 'Vette forums, they've very much drunk the Kool-Aide.... 'best car in the world', etc. But, when I research a problem there is no shortage of threads. I haven't had any issue that isn't well documented. It's very disappointing, becuase it's the PERFECT GT car. The performance is ASTOUNDING. It's very comfortable, gets great mileage for what it is, and it looks great and is affordable (to buy). It's great fun to drive. But I'm tired of putting up with it. Even under warranty, I would be annoyed with the down time. That's why it's going away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Personally, I'd wait for the 2015 Mustang. They benchmarked the 911 Carrera. It would be too long a wait. Judging by current Mustang pricing, a new '15 GT the way I would want it equipped will be high $30k's, or more likely low $40k's. And there likely won't be any deals to be had for a while. I just can't bring myself to buy a V6 Mustang. I know it's a great car with the V6, but I have too much Mustang history to buy one without a V8... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoplightAssassin Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I agree. I'd never buy anything but a V8 Mustang. It'll be interesting to see the performance of the 2.3 Ecoboost motor in the new Mustang though. The V6 is probably going to be relegated mostly to rental duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I also could never buy a v6 mustang. It is probably a good car but when you buy the v6 you are buying a DD car. And there are better cars for that purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSFW Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Wife? Congrats! Thanks! We tied the knot last summer. So far so good. Cliff's notes: It's a POS. Long version: [......................] Damn... Maybe we should explore other options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gex Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Cayman? Great ride and decent auto. Also can be had for a song on the used market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm25rs Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 FWIW - I know a guy that sold his NA Miata when he bought a C4 vette. He misses the Miata. My dad has a power hardtop NC Miata, great car, fun, comfortable, and fairly quiet with the top up. My NB Miata is not at all a good road trip car - I drove it 3 hours to the beach once, in scattered showers, and hated it. The drive back wasn't as bad since it was actually sunny and I had the top down, but it was not comfortable. I ended up not driving much while at the beach, so it was pointless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 FWIW - I know a guy that sold his NA Miata when he bought a C4 vette. He misses the Miata. I sold my NA after getting the C6, thinking the C6 would scratch all of the same itches. 7 months later, I bought my NA Miata back... We finally drove the GC 3.8 R-spec over the weekend. We had to drive 100 miles to reach a dealer that had one. My opinion is based on a typical test drive, with the salesman on-board. No edge of the envelope driving (which is true of all of the cars we drove). It's a darn good car, and stands up well in comparison to it's competitors. The interior is as nice as the BRZ/FRS twins, and IMHO much nicer than the current Mustang. Only thing that bugged me were the analog gauges for 'torque', and 'mpg'. It would be nice to have something useful on display. Seats are pretty good. Shifter not great, as noted in most reviews, but it works. Good power. If practicality is a consideration, the GC R-spec would be my choice in the sporty RWD coupe segment right now. It would be a force to be reckoned with if it were 200-300lbs lighter. We also drove the BRZ/FRS twins. I liked the interior slightly better than the GC, and it has a very connected feel on the road. The problem is it just plain needs more power. The power and torque are both at the top end of the rev range, and that really hurts the basic driveability. The WRX engine in this thing would be spectacular. If I were buying a car strictly for AutoX, this would be it. In the real world, it reminds me of the 1st gen S2000s. Great fun on a track, but sucks in real world driving. Another contender was the 370Z. Liked the car, but the seats were incredibly uncomfortable for both of us. I was ready for pain meds after a 20 min drive, which made it a non-starter. I do have a previous back injury, but the 370 seats were terrible. I had no problems with any of the other cars we drove. So, what did we decide? Well, we also drove an NC Miata with the retractible hard top. It looks like were going to be getting one if we can find the right car (2013-2014 Club). The GC, while a darn good car, just didn't quite have the appeal of the Miata for taking weekend road trips. The Miata has 90% of the 'feel' of the BRZ/FRS, with a torque curve that makes it much better for real world driving. While not as fast as the GC, it's worlds quicker than my NA, while being much more refined. And outright practicality is not really an issue for us. This will be my wife's DD, and weekend trip car. We have other vehicles for when we need to be practical. Plus, if it replaces my NA for weekend top down fun, my NA can get become more of a hardcore track rat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Yea, another NC convert! you wont be disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted March 7, 2014 Author Share Posted March 7, 2014 Just got home with a '13 NC Club... long, exhausting day battling with dealers... more later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted March 9, 2014 Author Share Posted March 9, 2014 2013 Miata Club PRHT, has 6500 miles... http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/RodanAZ/Miata/DSC_7928_zps968cb40f.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/RodanAZ/Miata/DSC_7911_zps460780c8.jpg With the NA: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/RodanAZ/Miata/DSC_7941_zps1dca2884.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/RodanAZ/Miata/DSC_7948_zps812eb6e7.jpg We took it in the a** trading the 'Vette so soon, but it was worth it to get rid of the POS. Dealers were a PITA. We started at a Mazda dealer, negotiating on a new 2014 Club PRHT in silver. After an hour of dickering, they never budged off the first set of numbers they came up with, so we walked. I knew this '13 Club was on another dealer's lot (an Autonation Nissan dealer), so we went and started working on a deal. Again, 2hrs of negotiations this time, all the way up to the general sales mgr, and they never budged off their initial numbers. WTF? Is this the 'new normal' with dealers? I've never had them not move a penny off their initial offer before. Regardless, we took the deal, being desperate to rid ourselves of a GM 'quality' product. Took it for a serious drive Friday, with some of my driving buddies ('99 911, '75 911, supercharged Lotus). Handling is very neutral, with some significant body roll... feels like a '76 Buick compared to my NA Miata! But it gets down the road plenty fast, and unlike my NA, it actually accelerates uphill! I think this is going to work out a LOT better than the C6... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo413 Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Nice choice I am considering getting rid of my 06 LGT due to work travel and gas miles as well as just ready for something else! I have not driven the v6 gc but it is a high contender on my list! Would love the brz/fed but I would have to put to much money to make it even feel like it has power so they are out. My other option is g37 coupe or sedan open to thoughts n suggestions as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 Wow... almost a year now. We're still very happy with our MX-5 Club. I added aftermarket springs, swaybars and wheels/tires, but other than that it's still stock. Springs and sways eliminated the excessive body roll, and firmed things up. We took it on a 2000 mile road trip last summer through Utah and Colorado, and my wife did her first track day with it. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/RodanAZ/Miata/FM14Utah_zpse0ace8e8.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/RodanAZ/Miata/FM14Track1_zpsd2286065.jpg Overall, it's been exactly what we were looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo413 Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Thanks I will add the mx5 to the list of cars to check out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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