Audioserf

I bought my TSX two years ago. I was 24 at the time. I work in Compliance for a large full-service broker/dealer firm.

LukeaTron

Yeah, I work a lot of overtime and I'm not even hourly. I get paid a handsome salary though my title does not reflect my actual responsibilities fully. If I were getting paid for the job I'm actually doing, I'd be making 20% to possibly as much as 50% more than I am. It sort of sucks but on the other hand, I'm doing stuff that I wouldn't be getting into for another 10 years if I followed the "proper" career arc. When I change jobs sometime in the next couple years I'll be able to demand a huge salary increase because of the experience I'm getting here. It's just kind of the way it works in this industry.

dtrujillo63

I got my 08 TSX right after my 19th birthday. Put $15k down and have never looked back

I'm a network/systems administrator. I love my job Smile

TS_eXpeed

It wasn't supposed to mean your stupid. It's just a term/phrase that means that I'm siding with you, or I'm agreeing with you. It doesn't mean your stupid.

wackura

Same here. I work for a small company that is more concerned that someone accomplish the task than that they have a degree in the field. I'm fortunate in that the company's operators have families they must attend to and won't ask the employees to put in more hours than they are willing to work themselves. If that wasn't the case I'd have burned out long ago. I've heard a saying a few times that when people look back on their life they never say "I wish I spent more time at the office" and that sums up my motivation for avoiding overtime.

Of course some people use their free time to do pointless redundant things like play first person shooters, watch sports ad nauseum or drink and party; I'd actualy admit that overtime is a more meaningful use of energy than time wasters of that sort.

LukeaTron

Yeah, my company is relatively small as well. Or at least my department is. We frequently go up against huge monoliths in the health care industry and do what they do better and massively cheaper. These are fortune 500 companies with thousands of employees. In this industry stuff changes all the time and when you have a huge chain of command full of bureaucracy, reacting to those changes takes for damn ever. In my company on the other hand, my boss just leans his head out of his office and says, hey put this change in and it's done.

There's a lot of this happening these days and it doesn't bode well for these giant publicly owned companies. Technology moves quickly and the big companies just aren't agile enough to keep up.

Regarding free time, to each their own. I like tearing apart motorcycles, playing video games and roller hockey. None of these things contribute anything to any one but myself. It's what I like doing with my time. I don't care to be judged by some one else's value system.

wackura

I don't mean that a person's hobbies should always benefit other people, just that they should benefit themselves so that a person isn't getting closer to death while remaining in the exact same place. I used to spend hours playing FPS but stopped when I realized a few years had passed and I had barely become any better at it. Sometimes I wonder if chatting on these boards is a similar waste of time, but I try to keep an open mind so that I'll leave with something I didn't have when I came.

LukeaTron

Is the relief of stress not a benefit? What about pure amusement? Certainly excess in anything is going to be detrimental to something else but to say you should stop playing FPS games (for example) solely because one is not improving their skill feels a little short sided to me. It's your time and your values weight that commitment accordingly but I don't think you have any room at all to say that those who partake in that activity are somehow wasting their lives. That's their call to make.

wackura

Sorry I should have specified "hobbies wherein people generaly spend a whole lot of time" such as FPS, watching sports and partying all night long and sleeping the next day away. A little here and there to take the edge off is no problem.

LukeaTron

At that point it's more of a way of life than a hobby.

kboy1082

The TSX is an entry level luxury vehicle that is very similar to the RSX (or the old Integra). A used one is generally priced the same as a used Accord or Camry. I think the Acura brand tends to make people think it should be an expensive car but in reality it is no BMW. The TSX is actually a Honda Accord in Europe. Also, if you look at the new TSX marketing campaign it is directly targeted to the young professional. As a single person, it is completely realistic to be able to afford a TSX making $40K per year.

wackura

That would be a bad move. This isn't you is it?

LukeaTron

I'd never invest myself in a car that costs more than 50% of my income. Even 50% is pushing it. That puts you one unforeseen expense from delinquency.

If you've got outside support than your income is actually more than just what you're making though.

Mokos23

odannyboi

nope, from a 2nd cousin moving out of the country

odannyboi

Yea... but when you finance, it doesn't feel like 50% of your income is going towards a car.

If that weren't the case, people would technically be investing 400% of their income on a house.

ATsxMan8305

Interesting post. I was able to put 60% down on my '07

wackura

TS_eXpeed

odannyboi

the picture does make sense... Its about a nerd waiting in line to see a star wars movie while getting thirsty in 90 degree weather right along the beach.

EuroR08

wait i could have swore they raised the driving age to 18 in cali ... ....i sure know its not 15 lol... is it still 16??

yaze21

well i was 21 when i first bought my blackpearl and i did it alll by my self it was my present for working hard i guess although all i do is sit n chat lol..anyways i work for the airport and i do NOTHING so then i wanted a car...so the TSX is my first car ever..alot of people tell me thats 2 much of a nice car to start out with..do you guys think is true?

bluexcrush

hello old man

davidspalding

I think it all depends upon your disposable income, your profession (if you're entertaining colleagues or customers, a Yaris or Fit might not do). I deviate from this POV when someone young(er) who's only had this one car gripes about something that is kinda trivial in the broad spectrum of car ownership.

davidspalding

Back in the day, you could get a learner's permit at 16 IIRC, and a license at 18. After 18 (or was it 21) you didn't have to prove you'd completed Driver Education and Driver Training instruction, but did if you were younger.

(Checked a copy of the Calif. driver's handbook, available online, which I downloaded earlier this yr to look up left turn restrictions.) Yep, says you must be 18 to get driver's license. There're about 3 pages of requirements and restrictions on "minor's permits" including having completed DE/DT, etc.

tofumonzter

i won't fake the funk, my mom was proud that i was the first in the family to graduate hs.

so she rewarded me and took a loan out for my 14k tsx.
but now i'm workin 60 hour weeks to pay mama back.

DiaBando

iTrader: (3)

Sold some acreage in Fla in early '05. Bought TSX. Reinvested the rest.

bluexcrush

smart. on both investments

iVTECdailyy

Got mine when i was 16.

TS_eXpeed

^^

rivalry

i turned 20 in march, sold my Sentra Spec-v in early May and buy the End of the month bought my 2004 Tsx. First car out of three that is completely mine too, title and reg along with insurance in completely in my name... no more mommy and daddy haha.

BonzoAPD

I bought my TSX when I was 26. Just worked hard and I was able to afford it.

jaehshim

all interesting story,
drove family car when i got my license, 97 taurus and 99.5 pathfinder, ML 350
I purchased my official first car, 06 PWP tsx in my sophomore year of college.
saved plane ticket money at least (NY->MI) so pretty much drove back home every semester. 12 hr driving. i'm still young, great experience for me.

took care of mine very well so far, car's looking stunning...
finishing up college next year, working my a$$ off to get into a med school, probably i'll let go my tsx, add some of my money, hopefully save some more if i go to instate school, then get into V8 field...
i've been looking at ~59K~61K E92 M3 at several dealers lately...
looks all interesting....
hopefully...1 more year....

Comp-Sci

Bad move? Why so?

I'm doing exactly this. Making $40k/year. Saved up $10k for a down payment. Got into a 4-year lease when I was 19. I'm having no problem covering car payments, rent, insurance, monthly RSP contributions, gas... and still putting aside a set amount each month so I can buy the car out at the end of the lease. And yes... I still have spending money, and even enough to do some modding. If you're smart with your money, it can go a long way! And with the money I'm putting aside to buy the car, that also means that I have emergency cash should something come up.

LukeaTron

The $10k you put down up front makes it doable. Would you be able to pull it off if your payments were roughly double what they are?

wackura

That's so sad. You're blowing a very large portion of both your savings and monthly income for a rapidly depreciating asset. People who can save $10,000 usualy put it towards a house. That you would call this being smart with your money blows my mind. Have you ever asked yourself why they make Honda Civics?

I realize you're young and you assume you'll die before you hit old age anyway but it's realy sad to see anybody work their ass off only put their money in a drum and light it on fire. Did you realy earn that $10G on your own? If you can possibly delay gratification for a few years a TSX will eventualy represent a smaller portion of your savings and monthly income.

manda

Bought my 06 TSX after driving the family 93 Camry for 4 years. Actually, it's been 2 years to the day with my TSX.

Put a down payment on it, financed the rest. Car will be paid off by the end of the year. I make decent money and will probably be purchasing my own place next year. I save and invest a good portion of my income, pay rent to my parents, cover my bills, and have a little fun money left over.

wackura

Several people in the mid to late 20's have responded, I don't consider this to be young because by the time you hit 25 you should have a reasonably decent car payed off that you could use as a trade in or private sale to contribute to a TSX or whatever. A TSX is priced similar to a fully loaded Accord, which isn't priced beyond the general population's reach.

You live with your parents?

?

Your priorities are inverted.

Comp-Sci

Easily. Yes. My savings would not be as great, but certainly doable - no question.


To wackura, you seem to think that you have the ideal situation worked out, and everybody should conform to this. We all have different priorities in life!

I do realize they make Honda Civics. In fact I looked at them when I was shopping for my car. I even looked at Pontiacs. But at some point I'll have a family, a house, and many more expenses at which point I may not be able to afford such a nice car so I decided to splurge and get a nicer car now. That was my decision.

You also talk about depreciation - not really a concern for me. I plan on driving this car until it's dead and don't care what sort of value, if any, it has when I'm done with it. Like I said, we all have different priorities... this is the way I've chosen. I'm not asking you to agree with it, but please respect that everybody does things differently, and we all have different plans.

davidspalding

Wack, back down on the snarky judgment, eh. Diff'rent users have diff'rent living situations and strategies. We don't get to vote on if these are the "right" priorities for strangers.