larchmont

Civic?

nitrustwinturbo

Sorry man but Civics are my biggest pet peave. I hate them beyond belief. Dont get me wrong, their well built cars. But the fact that everyone drives one just makes getting one pointless. I want a car that not everyone has.

jcg878

I hear you there. Ubiquitous cars are not for me... of course there are more than a few Explorers out there.

If it was my money and I was in your situation, I'd consider a cheaper car. Most of my money in college went to beer - uhh, I mean books and study supplies - and I'm glad I didn't have car payments to worry about. But if my parents were to buy me a TSX back then, I wouldn't turn it down.

Also, if you're really going to hold onto the car for 7+ years, I don't think that resale value should be a big factor.

dnb

Aargh, Larch beat me to the "Civic" suggestion.

Well, then, have you considered a Celica or one of the Scions?

nitrustwinturbo

A scion is too cheap for me, and a celica seems too boxy. If I were to get something in relation to a celica, I would most likely get a RSX. Best safety rating, plus it has the best performance, looks, and interior.

nitrustwinturbo

Say I happened to buy a TSX and didnt get any accesories installed now, could I get them later?

MikeMa

Precisely what I was thinking. The Si Sedan is actually a pretty good car. Reliable, very good resale, good power for what you pay for.

So what if everyone else and their fish has one? Stand out from the crowd not by means of your material possessions, but by being a unique individual.

Man, that was just sappy. I can't believe I just typed that.

But seriously. Think of it this way. If you buy a $27K car now, what happens in 3 years when you're still making car payments and this TOTALLY AWESOME Car of your dreams comes along that would be right in your price range, had you not bought a $27K car? Trust me, your tastes *will* change between now and by the time you get out of college.

I'm personally glad I got my EL instead of buying some $30K CAD car right off the bat (I was aiming for a loaded Alero--don't laugh--or a Golf 1.8T). Now, I'm in a position in the next few years to buy a TSX--a lot of which my EL will pay for. In the interim, I've been making contributions to my RRSP and mutual funds, bought myself a new laptop, bought lots of CDs, etc....none of which I could have done if I had bought a more expensive car that drank more gas (or in the case of the TSX, drank more expensive gas), and came with a higher insurance rate.

MikeMa

Yes. But they'll probably charge you labour. If they're part of the "package" deal when you buy the car, then they're more willing to "forget" about labour costs ....or maybe the labour is integrated into parts costs (but then again, if they're still charging you the same price for the parts AND tacking on labour, maybe labour is separate).

Of course, there's the other route of buying third-party stuff and installing yourself. But for me, even though a rear spoiler costs $600+ CAD, I'd rather have pro's install it and warrant the work, than save me whatever amount by getting a third party thing, and maybe screw up the install or whatever.

Oh, and I do applaud the fact that your parents are only *helping* to pay for your car. But, think ahead about all the costs of a car this expensive at your age. If you have lots of money to spare even after you pay for the car, then fine...but if you're blowing all your savings just to get this thing, then you may want to consider thinking a little longer.

Will you have to scrimp and save just to cover your car payments, insurance payments, gas, oil changes, car washes, etc? Will you have enough money to buy stuff for your college classes? Will you have enough money for social activities (if that's your thing....)? Will you have enough reserves to get your car fixed if, god forbid, somebody on campus decides that their car is about a foot shorter than it actually is while they're backing out of their space (and they flee the scene because they've got a beater, and could care less)?

I'm sure you've already thought about quite a bit of this stuff. But lots of things took me by surprise--especially my insurance costs (I pay roughly $250/month CAD because I'm a single male, under 25 [well, I'm 25 now, but I won't see a drop in insurance until April when my policy renews]). Gas wasn't a surprise, thankfully, but that's probably because the EL is pretty darn good with gas, and I don't drive a great deal (about $20 CAD of gas a month).

larchmont

Aha! Now we're gettin' down to it:

Nitrus is a snob!

(A nice one, though.)

OK, how about a C230?

TSXautoXer

Yes.Get them at http://www.hondacuraworld.com/

TSX handles as well as if not better than a Mazda6. It's a very well balanced car. It's not for drag races, it's definitely not fast on long straights, but it kills in twisties.

I assume you aren't that experienced in driving, thus TSX makes it a very good car to improve your technique.

ricecake

To tell you the truth, I don't think you really know what you want. You claim to want a car that does not make you a cop target--and then you denigrate cars that make you blend in from a "pack of cars."

Second, I find it difficult to believe that you want something that's not a "rice rocket" when your username has two concepts associated with speed.

Third, the reason that you give for not wanting a beater that you can do performance mods--i.e., to not want to draw cop attention--is not particularly strong. It's not like we drive around with our hoods up for cops to see the turbo that's in there. We are talking about things that cops won't see--unless you street race.

You are in a very privileged position to be 16 and have your choice of $30k cars--when for a lot of people who are twice your age on this board, this might be one of the first cars that they can afford in this price range. You should not be surprised that people might be perhaps a little bitter...

fdl

Here's my 2 cents ....

This thread is silly and a waste of bandwidth.

Dan Martin

Agreed....IBTL!

larchmont

How can youse guys say that? How can a thread with 90 replies and 2000 views be silly and a waste of bandwidth?

Actually, on the face of it, I would have thought the same thing. But you can't argue with results.

fdl

The fact that it has so many replies makes it even more a waste of bandwidth, although I'll agree there have been the odd useful post. Just my opinion though.

ClutchPerformer

The original question might have been silly, but the replies for the most part have been thoughtful and informative. Why cut that short?

fdl

I'm not cutting anything short, I just have no interest in most of this thread and expressed that as an opinion. Arguing with a 16 year old on why he should or should not buy a TSX is silly to me. Just my opinion.

But I think some of the posts on the general topic of what is a good car for a young person are useful.

I didnt think my opinion would cause a stink.

larchmont

Didn't cause much of a stink, but the reason it caused some was because when a mod says something's silly and a waste of bandwidth, it sounds like it's about to be closed.

dnb

I see your point. This thread has wandered all over the place.

Initial post: I'm not too happy with the TSX.

[ lots of responses ]

Response: Ummm, I like the TSX. I like reliable, safe, high-resale and uncommon cars. BTW, I'm also considering the Explorer.

[ lots of recommendations regarding cheaper cars ]

Response: No, I really like the TSX. And maybe the RSX.

[ IBTL! ]

jcg878

lol - you crack me up dnb.

IBTL

larchmont

Yes. And at the same time, this thread is a great example of the lack of any need to close such a thread. It has run its course, nobody's posting on it any more...

IBT-R.I.P.