[quote=joec]I really find it hard to believe any 12 year old Lexus will be worth 18k…no matter what.
I don’t know what they go for new so maybe it’s just me, but that sounds insanely expensive for something that is that old…and maybe just “Lexus”.
I think as for cars, I’m sure flu can attest that it really depends what you are used to…
Someone who drives crazy handling cars getting into any sedan is going to feel like the thing is a boat…
I autocrossed in the past and remember even things like old tires, heavier/taller cars, etc and you’re just waiting there in turns, what not for the car to finally catch before you can steer again.
If I were to win lotto or something crazy, I’d probably rather opt for a light/crazy handling car and just race it regularly rather than the expensive halo car that would get trashed at a track (too much of a pain to baby it),do that whole tape the front thing…Bleh…too lazy for that.[/quote]
Every car has a purpose. And as such, when you purchase your car, you can’t make a “bad” decision as long as you understand what purpose that car is meant to fulfill. Lexii are reliable and I’m sure the IS-F is a pretty good car. But the lack of a dual clutch or proper stick is a deal killer for me. And I would not want to use it on a track.
There’s going to be tradeoffs for every car. What’s good for an autocross would be not so good as a daily commuter or on a real track. And what’s good on a real track wouldn’t be necessarily good for autocrossing either.
I would love to have an M car or Porsche to throw around a track or autocross, because we’ll it’s just different. It takes a lot more skill and a lot more control to get those cars to well. But, that comes at a huge cost that frankly, I don’t want to afford.
The principle I have behind a good autocross or track car is that it should
1) Cheap to fix
2) Cheap to fix
3) Not weigh too much.
4) Enough power for your skill level.
For me, #1 and #2 and #3 screams Miata or FRS for me. As far as #4, what I have now is way more than I can properly handle.
As much as I would like to thrash a late model porsche or BMW around a track or autocross, I’m not ready, and if I were too, that would be an extremely expensive proposition for me to, since I would be eating through tires, brakes, and maintenance without really benefiting much from it. Perhaps if I had deeper pockets, I wouldn’t mind. But the thought of going through $1500-2000 every few months for tires and brakes just makes me cringe. In a conversation with a few M car guys, I remember saying something like “Man, I’m screwed I need to get new tires for my miata.. I’ve only been able to get about 6 months of continuous autocross out of them, and they’re going to eat into my budget of $500/set including balancing and install”…. Dead silence, followed by “fvck you and your cheap miata”…Though, really I wish I had the pockets to be trashing that M car or Porsche.
