A 2nd or winter car
 

It wouldn't be terribly affordable for me at the moment, but I'm thinking about getting a second car to drive in the winter. Once the coilovers are on the Evo I'm doubtful that it's going to be all that useful in the winter (ground clearance).

I'd like some opinions on what you'd consider to be a good car for the winter (probably FWD) but that is still unique/cool.

I could either look for something with higher mileage for $8-9k or something pretty nice for $15-17k. It looks like my best bet in the lower price range may be a Mitsu...used Eclipse GS with decent mileage goes for a pretty reasonable price. On the higher end I've thought about looking for a bone stock Evo 8 or a Mini Cooper S.

The downside with a used Evo is that it is tough to find one that hasn't had a tough life. 100% reliable is what I'd be looking for in my winter car...almost removes a used Evo from the running. I think I'm going to go look at a Mini Cooper this week.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

You can buy my Stratus Coupe. :)

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

my 98 impreza 2.5rs handles like a dream in the winter :) It's not out of the ordinary to see em last close to 200k miles either. You can pick up a 2001 rs for under $7000 easy

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

There's an idea and I was thinking about that. I had a 96 Impreza...was a 2.2 motor. Not a bad car at all but the valves went out at 130k miles. I keep hearing about people getting 200k out of their Subarus but it didn't work for me. Bluebook was $1500 at the time so I basically gave it to the dealer as a trade in.

Here's one with tolerable mileage.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

For a winter car definitely get something AWD. A Legacy or non-turbo Impreza of some sort would probably be a pretty decent choice. I say drive your Evo though! I drove my DSM lowered 3" through Duluth snow and had zero problem with my Evo IX lowered 2". Just get some snow tires and you'll be set.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

I may just do that--just thinking through my options. The X is the most expensive car that I've ever owned so I have some reservations about even driving it in the winter. My last car was a BMW but I had bought it used.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

Dude, snow tires on a lowered evo is more than adequate. Getting a second car for winter is just silly. Get some nice tires and rock it year-round.

I pretty much would not shut up about the set of General's I got last year:

http://mitsustyle.com/forums/showpos...8&postcount=42
http://mitsustyle.com/forums/showpos...2&postcount=69
http://mitsustyle.com/forums/showpos...0&postcount=35

I intend to keep blabbing about them and driving on them this year :)

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

Where'd you buy them and get them installed?

I've thought about having snow tires put on the stock rims and then getting new rims in the Spring for more aggressive tires.

My quandry is that I can lease a parking spot in my building for $80/mo but I can't store a spare set of tires anywhere (it's against association rules to just stack up a set of tires in a parking spot!). lol. I'll have to start looking around for mini storage here downtown, or something.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

You could always rent a tiny storage locker from Public Storage or any other storage facility for spare wheels/tires and other misc. car parts :D

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

My subaru has 278000 miles on it and runs like a champ!
I have a 97 Jimmy if you want to buy it :)

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

Ask around, some shops offer tire storage. Maybe you could even talk to one of our sponsors, some of them have storage space attached to their shop. I got my generals from tirerack.com, but I don't think they offer them in 18" size.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

Looks like a nice one.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

I know the friendly folks over at the Maple Grove Goodyear can store tires. ;)

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

I'm planning on picking up a set of those for my DSM this winter.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

I was always quite happy with my Hankook Icebear W300's which should be available in 18's. In the dry they felt like a performance all season, but in the snow and ice they really hooked up and made winter driving very fun. Plus they've worn pretty well, they have 3 winters on them already and definitely have a 4th left in them.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

^^ I had a set of those on a Nissan 240sx, and those were also really nice tires.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

I would just drive it as it is, save the money for another set of track tires ;)

I drove my 92 AWD in the winter (16g, 50, and 60 trims) with what ever crappy tires I had. I have driven in 7 MN winters so far, never bought snow tires, never got into an accident, and never got stuck.

My winter car is my DD Honda insight which has the smallest tires you will find and has to be one of the lightest cars as it is pretty much an aluminum CRX chassis. I have driven this car for 2 winters. I don't see how the EVO could be any worse.

Driving in the snow/MN winter is typically only different if you are driving while it is snowing as the plows do a pretty good job of keeping the roads clean. I can come and go as I please at work so I can arrange my drive if I want though...

I can't see the EVO being an issue as it sits. I would go with it as is, it is always easy to buy another car or a set of tires if you are unsatisfied.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

Driving a car through the winter on summer tires is pretty much the dumbest advice I've ever heard. That is just asking for trouble and is not only a danger to yourself but also to those around you.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

+1 for buying a set of snow tires. It makes driving in the winter a blast and I have never had a problem getting around in the snow, its actually the best vehicle i've driven in the snow (with snow tires).

Driving in the snow on your summer tires is a really bad idea. I missed changing my tires by one snow store once, its like driving on ice with bald tires. They get almost zero traction.

Re: A 2nd or winter car
 

Original tranny & long block? I'd find that hard to believe. I could have kept my Subaru running if I'd rebuilt the head but I'm not a mechanic...