Hey guys,

Here is my situation:
I am a civil engineer and have been commuting into Philadelphia via the train and only had to drive my car 3.3 miles one each day to and from the train station. Well, due to my decision to want to get some field work experience, i am being switch into the construction management department. I now will most likely have to drive into the city and onto constuction sites. I have Ron Jon Servo's 18" chrome that i use for the spring, summer, and fall and then put the stocks on for winter. I am now thinking though i may not want to drive back and forth on 95 and onto construction sites with the chrome 18" 225/40 tires i have for that setup. The ride is not bad on my aspec suspension, but 95 isn't exactly smooth nor are the construction sites. I am worried about popping a tire and stuff like. It will be around 60 miles round trip.

So my question is, what do you guys suggest? Here are what i have looked at so far:
1- keep the Ron Jon and use them since i already have them
2- sell the Ron Jon's and just use the stocks and buy hondata
3- sell the Ron Jon's and buy a set of 17x7.5/8 lighter weight wheels
4- sell the wheels and put the money toward paying off my car (my current balance is only $3700 on my 06 TSX with 11,780 miles on it)

If i were to sell them, they are in MINT condition and have no dings, no dents, and only a very few scratches that you can't even see. Tires only have about 5k on them too.

What would you guys do?

 

ouch, i'd proabably just drive there but park maddd far away. Your car's probably more suspect to damage on site parking than anything that driving there might cause.

 

I'd say go with Option 2...


keep me posted if you do decide to sell the RJs

 

IMHO option 2 FTW

 

2 sounds like the best bet to me too. At very least leave your stocks on while you're regularly visiting job sites. The 18s will just get banged up.

Also, make sure your spare is in good shape. Job sites eat tires.

 

Thanks for the fast feedback guys, please keep it coming. I'm suppose to start the job in about 6 weeks so i'll have a few weeks there to see how rough it is in and arond the trailer and such. I just figured i would try and figure it out before then incase i wanted to get rid of the wheels i had some time to do it if i was getting new ones.

I have a feeling i will end up selling them, buying hondata, and then putting the rest of the money towards paying off the car. I'd like to buy some other engine goodies but at this point i don't think its worth it.

Please keep the suggestions coming because i'm not exactly sure what to do yet.

 

Good call on the spare too, wouldn't have thought to check that actually

 

OH, and there is one other possible solution which is to get an apartment in the city however, this prevents me from savings as much money as i'd like to. I am very serious with my g/f and need to start ring shopping in the not to distance future, so i need to try and save as much as i can. Although, even if i did move into the city i probably wouldn't want those wheels on my car anyway, they will just scream "TAKE ME!!"

 

True that! Metro Philly is ghetto fabulous. It's honestly the dirtiest city I've ever seen. People there drive like crap too. I'd be really nervous about leaving a nice car parked on the street.

 

I'd go with #2, I know what you mean, i drive down to school at drexel and they're are some pretty bad pot holes and sewer drops on market street, not to metion 95. You'll end up being pissed off when you mess up one of those rims, which is bound to happenn where you will be driving. I just got a set of the acura Silverstars which is another cheap option..

 

#2, b/c i'll never have that option

 

I'd vouch for #2.

A few birds with one stone:
- saves you worrying about potholes and jobsite hazards nearly as much as if you had stock wheels.
- helps neutralize the effect that aftermarket wheels have on attracting car thief scum.
- Hondata is a good performance mod that can't be "stolen" per-se... at least not ripped out at the side of the road should some arsehole decide to try and jack some of your stuff

What #2 doesn't solve is the fact that 2006-2008 TSX stock wheels are fugly. 2004 represent!

 

DUDE.....you go to Drexel?!?1...lol. I graduated from there almost 2 years ago now. First you work at the dealership i go to and now your going to my school. You like it?

Yea, thats what i'm thinking, no potholes are gonna eat my RJ's.

 

Thanks Eric. I think i am leaning more towards that and i may honestly not even get hondata. I know i would like it but i think i'm going to save for either a LS1 F-body (while keeping my TSX) or trade up for a leftover 08 TL-s at some point cause this car is great but its just not satisfying my need for speed....lol. I just want a little more power to play with on weekends

OR, get a G8!!

 

Wait for the new 2009 w/ 2.3L turbo and SH-AWD....

 

#2

 

But it looks like the 09 wheels are REALLY fugly ......

 

Who cares -- swap the wheels and then laugh your way to max spoolage w/ the turbo.

 

Update....

Well i just found out that they want me on a different job which starts in 4 weeks and is about 53 miles from my house. The job site is a mess up there i will be driving on the New Jersey Turnpike everyday. It will KILL my car. I am now thinking about getting a second vehicle either a truck or a crap beater civic or something like that. I need some input on what to do here guys.

If i were to buy another car, i would only be able to put about $2-$3k down and wouldn't want to finance anything more than $5k or so. This puts me looking for vehicles around $7-$8k that will be reliable enough to withstand that kind of mileage. I am leaning towards trucks due to the job site and such and have come up with the following:
Ford Ranger
Ford F150
GMC Sierra
Chevy 1500
Toyota Tacoma
Nissan Frontier

If i go for a car which probably would be better for gas mileage, i was looking at these:
honda accord
honda civic
acura integra
nissan maxima


Anything you guys can help me would be great. I might post this in the regular car chat section to get more opinions....thoughts?

I wish i could lease a car with a higher mileage on it, but i don't think you get a lease above 15k a year, can you? I would need like 30k a year....lol

 

those older tacoma will run forever

 

For the original post, option #4.

As far as your current dilemma, just drive your TSX. It is a nice car, but not particularly rare or special. Drive it all you want, they made enough to go around. It can be replaced.

 

Yea i'm thinking about just keeping it and eventually just turning it into my beater car and get another car for weekends and such. I only owe $3.5k on it and it just hit 12k miles on it so i may as well use it i just don't want to see it get beat to piss and i know it will. If i don't buy another car it will get close to 35k miles for the year between work and weekends which is just crazy! So i'm stuck.....


Edit: If i end up driving it i have a feeling i will take off the aspec suspension too

 

So i just talked to a field guy who came into the office that works up at the new job site i will be working at soon and this is what he had to say....

He bought a Ford Explorer in 2003 with 22k miles on it and he just hit 217,000 miles on it this past week. That is like 43k miles a year. He then said that the job trailer is back underneath the NJ Turnpike and is on dirt and you have to take a dirt/gravel road to get back to it and his truck has mud and dirt on it 24/7. He also said he gets between 18-20 MPG and fills up $35-$40 in gas every other day

He recommended me getting a truck if i could to keep my car nice but i have no idea what to do. My TSX will get destroyed doing this everday. I still need to buy a ring within the year and house shortly after that but i really don't want to ruin my car.

Do you guys have any other suggestions as to what i could do? I'm thinking i should get a truck but gas mileage won't be good....i am lost at this point.

 

Sounds like a perfect situation for a beater truck.


Aren't you glad you didn't downgrade to the TL-S now?

 

I'd say an old beater truck like an old tacoma or ranger with a 4 cylinder engine to get better gas mileage...save the TSX!!!

 

I used to work on a construction site, and had a lowered accord. It wasn't so bad if I went slow enough, but since trucks are on that route alot, the terrain tends to change. I have to always keep my eye ahead and plan out exactly where I want my tires to roll over. One day a part of the road might be fine to drive, and another day it'll have a mound jutting up in the center which could potentially strike the underside of my car. A water truck would drive down the route spraying water all over the road (I guess to flatten it, but perhaps its the trucks that make the road bad again).

I would scout out the area and see how bad it is. If it's bad, you might need to get a beater work truck and make your TSX your weekend car.

 

You make it sound like an endangered species.

 

hahaha.. i just dont want to see it get wrecked

 

Definitely look for a typical beater truck. Any one of the smaller trucks like the Tacoma, Dakota, B2200, Explorer, etc... Something that has 4 wheels, a seat, and runs. It'll save your TSX from a daily beatdown, and, you can wear whatever the hell you want and not look out of place, unlike if you were to step out of a lowered sporty car, only to be wearing steel toed boots and grubby jeans. LOL!

 

I'd go with 2 also!! itmakes a huge dif..
(ot) u only have 11k miles!? I'm at like 47600 now... guess I drive a lot... but def hondata.. u can always get rims later

 

I think i might just do that. Thanks for the tips! I was planning on taking my TSX up there at least for the first week and see what its like and how dirty it gets and stuff like that and then make a judgement call about it.

Otherwise, like Eric, i think i will look for something like a Ranger, Tacoma, or Dakota (all I-4's or V-6's for gas mileage) and see what i can get. Its seems like most of the ones i have found with somewhere between 85k-105k miles are like $2800-$5000 depending on options and such.

The problem is my g/f is like ready to get married tomorrow and i think we need to save up some more before jumping the gun. She never went to school and only makes about half of what i make and if i have to buy a truck, a ring, a honeymoon, and a few things for wedding, my savings would be GONE! And then we're stuck renting an apartment cause i can't afford a down payment. This is one reason i have considered to just use my TSX for the commute however, it would beat the car up and i would end up needing a newer car sooner anyway. So financial, i have a VERY hard time figuring this out.

 

Yea seriously, if i had "upgraded" to the TL-S and had to get a truck it would have been even more money out of my pocket!!

 

my "downgrade" comment was to see if joerockt was still reading threads here.

 

I'd keep you TSX as-is for your "fun & weekend" car. I also recommend a beater Toyota truck. But if you're not so worried about hauling stuff, you may want to consider an older Subaru (Outback or Forrester). Both will be champs in the dirt and bad roads, both will run forever. I've owned both and found them to be very capable in those conditions. They do not, however, get the best gas mileage. Other option is a mid or late 90's Accord wagon (for the space, if that's an issue). My brother's 95 Accord is just south of 300,000 miles and going strong.

 

Congrats on the *potential* wedding! You are considering very important points - good list. Something else that *might* work - get a mountain bike and drive the TSX near the site and bike the rest. PIA I know, but preserves the car. If you elect to drive you TSX, I'd also recommend your original option 2. Don't spend more money on wheels that will just get marked up. I'd put your OEM back on, but keep the RJ's. If your job situation/site changes in a couple years, you can always go back.

 

I'm guessing a company car is out of the question? My roommate from college is also a Civil Engrng that does Construction management. He got a company car for travel to the job site. Will this be a promotion and are you getting a pay raise ,because as you said, you will be taking a pretty big hit financially just due to the extra mileage you have to drive everyday. Although, the additional experience will help you. I'd talk to your boss or company and see if they wouldn't help any, not sure how big of a firm you work for though.

 

I never thought about subaru, but that may be an option too. I am still planning on taking my car up there and seeing if there is another place to park it that is relatively within walking distance of the trailer cause that would be the best alternative. I am not sure what job this one will transition into but it is suppose to last 6 months to a year and then a nother job that would be like 3 years in the same location OR another one that is like 20 mins from my house but still far off. If i did get a truck, it would be something with like 110k miles on it for like $2800 or so just to use for this if i NEED to i suppose. Thanks for the congrats too, but not yet.....lol.


06 Artic - unfortunately i will get no company car, only high up exe's get those! They get toyota camry hybrids! I will be getting a temporary pay increase to compensate for gas and such, so that is a little helpful! I find out hopefully specifics next week.....

 

Sounds like you should sell the TSX for 21-22K. Pay it off, which leaves you with ~ 17K. Buy a work truck/car for ~7K. Use the 10 left over for a ring/honeymoon etc.... they'll be plenty of time for nice cars later in life.

 

Ya know, Joerock suggested the same thing in the other thread i threw up in car talk. The car has some sentimental value though due to my uncle having given me my 04 TSX that got hit and i traded to get this current 06 TSX. So i wanted to keep it, part of the reason i didn't end up trading for the TL-S a few months back.

I just can't understand why she is such a hurry

 

You know I was going to say something but I didn't think it was my place. Then your last statement confirmed what I suspected. Don't be in such a rush to get married. If the relationship is good, it shouldn't be a problem. You seem to be indicating that her expectations of you are you are going to put you into a bad financial situation. Financial instability is a huge strain on a relationship.

Just don't get in too far over your head too fast.