I recently had a epiphany. I don't have anything left to do with the STi. I wanted something different. I didn't need a go fast car, I didn't need a year round car, I didn't need something that I could haul things in. I needed something I could just enjoy as a driver. A driver's car. I knew that I had done everything I wanted to get done with the STi, and with rust starting to form, I didn't want to invest in the bodywork, and potentially a new engine a few years down the road. I wanted someone else to buy it, and enjoy it.
I listed the car for sale, and started looking for a new one. I asked a few friends for suggestions. I essentially I was only looking at Miatas and S2000s. They came back, suggested things like the Z3/Z4, C5 Corvette, Genesis, BRZ/FRS, and a few others. I considered them all, and decided that none of those fit my needs. The only other one I would consider would be an NSX, or an e9x M3, both of which were outside my price range.
I did some research, decided I wanted either an NB2 Miata (01-05), or a DBW AP2 (06-08), and started looking. There were a ton of Miatas, but nothing that jumped out at me. There were almost no AP2s anywhere. I found an awesome example from a used car dealer in Winnipeg. It was red, 100k on it, dealer installed lip, bone stock otherwise, for 23k. Then it appeared. The holy grail. 46k, 3m front to back on the entire car, bone stock, dealer installed lip/side strake/spoiler. I wanted it. I needed it. It lasted a single day on kijiji, and disappeared.
Fast forward a few days later, and it reappears, for a higher price. From a dealer, as pre-owned certified. I decide to at least go test drive it, since dealers are more willing to let people do that vs a private seller and their baby.
It was amazing, it was awesome, it was so much better than people told me it would be. I heard a lot of "oh you'll hate it, it's so slow compared to your Subaru". I was in love. I still hadn't sold my Subaru (private buyer had to go deal with a family emergency). I told them I was interested, but I had to wait. They offered to do a trade-in appraisal, and I at least decided to see what they would offer me. After 20 minutes, they told me they didn't want to insult me, and wouldn't make an offer. I walked away, hoping I'd end up with that car.
Fast forward another few days, and I lined up someone to see the car. They fell instantly in love. They reminded me of when I first bought it. Later that night, we decided on a price, and they agreed to buy it. I called the dealer, and put a deposit down, that was only good until Saturday morning.
The buyer picked up the STi on Friday, and I picked up the S2000 on Saturday.
I was originally going to wait until I could get jellynuts to take some shots, but some people already figured out where it came from.
It's obviously the F22c, with the slightly lower redline, but more torque. It's the DBW model, so it's easier to tune (not that I hope I'll go that far), and it's bone stock right now, including the OEM stereo.
It has 46k on it, and according to the car proof, has only been driven 2k in since 2013.
It has a few dings in the 3m, and a small tear in the soft top, which has a TSB that addresses it, but I doubt they'd cover it under warranty on a 9 year old car, and past that, it's good will, decided by the area manager.
IMG_1842.jpg by
LilDrunkenSmurf, on Flickr
IMG_1843.jpg by
LilDrunkenSmurf, on Flickr
IMG_1844.jpg by
LilDrunkenSmurf, on Flickr