slater01TL

Ok, I've been a long-time lurker on this forum and need some advice now that I can actually afford cars now (recent college grad). I graduated last year and needed a car right after college, so I opted for a '12 Si. While I really like the Si as my every day car, I can't seem to shake the thought of a '13 5.0. Now that I see all the posts about people going to american muscle, it makes me want one even more seeing as how people love their new 5.0's.

My main concern is that this will be my DD and endure 90 miles a day (95% highway). This will not be a garage queen that sits in a garage 90% of the year. I hate to put all these miles on a brand new car, but I'm not paying all that money to have it sit all the time. I'm working with a couple dealers now, and if the numbers fall in my favor I will be looking at an extra $100/month as far a payments are concerned. While it is a lot and I don't want to pay the extra, I'm in a rare point in my life where a RWD 400+HP coupe is doable and fits my lifestyle as my only car (no kids!!).

My main concern, and I'm looking for input from anyone with a new-era muscle car, is how is the reliability? I'm not a foreign car snob by any means, but coming from being around Hondas my whole life, I'm a little reserved.

So what do you think?

TL;DR--would you buy a '13 5.0 if it was your only car and you drove 90 miles a day?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

FUCK YEAH!

DO it!

crazyasiantl

iTrader: (7)

+1

everyone is doing it.

08FLrdxSH-AWD

If it wasnt for military pay and not being able to afford to fill up every three or four days, I would do it. if you are in a Position where you can though, I say go for it

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

i just bought a NSX a few months ago. i DD it, go for it. cars are meant to be driven.

ttribe

I drove my E60 M5 a minimum of 60 miles/day during the workweek. Enjoy your commute.

Hapa DC5

do eeet!

Nice avy T lol.

ttribe

Aman

I would do it, but not if I just graduated college last year.

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

Not every post grads finances are the same.

NBP04TL4ME

Gas is cheap right now and predicted to get cheaper, so it works in your favor. Reverse is true and imagine there is a little difference in MPG between your Si and potential 5.0. So budget or keep in mind the cost of gas delta along with your $100 month car payment delta. Have you looked or asked at the insurance diff.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

wait a GD minute.
What happened to it?

neuronbob

If you can afford the payment and the gas prices, do it as long as you can also afford to put away some money for retirement/401k, and not live in your mom's basement. Hopefully your job is stable enough where you can do this.

I daily my gas-guzzling CTS-V, 40 miles or so every day.

Hapa DC5

Gas aint cheap when I started driving legally it was around $1.20 for premium

Bearcat94

If this were a Ramblings thread, I'd add a poll. The options would be "The OP must be a girl for even asking" and "Fuck YEA!!! DO IT!".

Then I'd pre-populate "FUCK YEA!! DO IT!" with a million votes.

SpiderX1016

Is your commute in traffic? 90 miles in traffic is a lot of wear and tear on a new car.
I commute close to 80 miles a day in heavy traffic and I don't want to think about using my 5.0 as a DD right now. It's not the gas I'm worried about, it's the mileage. If I was worried about gas then I would've gotten another car, I couldn't settle with a V6.

You only live once.

phee

iTrader: (5)

pay off your student loans

NBP04TL4ME

Agreed - I was talking relatively cheap. I filled up on Sat at $3.59 for Sunoco Super. Two fill ups ago, I paid $3.99 for same gas at same station

pttl

umm.....

MR1

To answer your question, reliability should not be a problem. Go for it!

Hapa DC5

Not bad at all. Here in Cali we're still hovering close to $4 for premium.

charliemike

I would. Should get 30mpg on the highway I think.

I would rather have the Mustang V6 than a Civic Si too.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

If you have no student loans and are able to save (401k, CD, etc) plus are not living with your parents... go for it. Otherwise I'd drive the Si into the ground and get some appreciating assets under your name ASAP.

What's cooler....

A) A 23 y/o with a Mustang living with parents or renting with roomates while paying off school/auto debt;
B) A 23 y/o with a 2012 SI who owns his own place;
C) Down the road, a 26 y/o with a 2015/2016 Mustang AND a 2012 Si daily driver, who owns his own place.

If you answered B and/or C, you win the internets...

.

charliemike

Appreciating assets ... Those still exist?

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

^ haha... if you make the right purchases... yeah. We bought a short-sale and we're up about $75k based on the latest appraisal. Not selling or anything right now so it doesn't matter... but yeah, it's possible

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

No way in hell I'd get a new GT as a DD with that kind of commute. I'd wait until you either find a job closer to home or a home closer to your job. At 23 these kind of moves are much easier to make than when you get older, married or have kids.

slater01TL

I appreciate all the comments guys!!

I guess I should've enlightened more on my situation.

-no student loans (I worked all through high school/college)
-have 10% of income going into a 401K starting one year ago (5% me, 5% company match). I'm not "making bank" by any means, I was just fortunate to come out of school with no debt and make a nice starting wage.
-i do not live at home. i live in an apt in the city with my fiance
-insurance I'm sure will be higher, but I turn 24 in July and the insurance company I'm with offers the age 25 insurance break at 24. So I'm hoping that with the "adult" rate that I can actually save some insurance money. My Si isn't cheap to insure anyways.

As far as the commute, I'm against the flow of traffic. So its not stop and go, just basically a straight shot down the interstate. That being said, it could change at any time. I could be moved anywhere in the city with my job. My current location is on the very very south end so its about the longest commute I could have. Six months ago my drive was 7 miles so it could change.

I think that's everything!

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Well reliability wise. The bigger American muscle cars seems to be very good. The LX cars from Chrysler are pretty much the most reliable cars they ever made. The mustang V8's are good & the caddies are up there too. These cars have come a long way.
For commute I DD my car in mostly stop & go traffic. It is a PITA sometimes when I gas it good then have to jam on the brakes. But it's liveable.

slater01TL

Yeah, I know the new mustang motors are top notch. The only thing that scares me is the mt-82 because I would definitely want a manual. That being said I had a 2001 TL all through high school/college and never had a tranny issue. I think a lot of it comes down to how well you take care of your cars and I've never abused mine. So I'll take the scare with a grain of salt I guess...

Aman

In that case, dew it! And sorry for judging.

pttl

That was my biggest hang up too. But the '13 being the 3rd model year of this power train, you have a very good chance of being problem free.

I suggest that you drive multiple examples of the car...believe me, there are differences between them, and choose the one with the smoothest, most quiet tranny, and you should be good to go.

btw....i doubt you will see 30 mpg with the 5.0 ever. On the hwy, 25-26 if you go easy at 65 mph.

EDIT....don't know you're plane with the car, tracking it etc., but you might consider getting the standard rear end gears at 3.31, rather than something like the 3.73 gears. It will save you some revs on the hwy.

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

Exactly what I figured.

slater01TL

That was my next question. Do you have the 3.73's? I know the 3.73 ratio would be a blast, but given I'll be one the highway mostly I think 3.31 might be best. I'm hoping that with the 5.0 being a rev-happy motor that the additional performance from the gears won't be missed much. Have you driven both? What was your impression?

pttl

I do have 3.73. I have driven 3.31 and the 3.55 too. I love how the 3.73 keeps the motor right in the center of the power band not matter what gear you're in. BUT the lower reving cars feel really good. In fact when I'm on the hwy. I always find myself wishing for a taller 6th gear. 80 mph is around 24 -2500 RMP.

slater01TL

Thanks,

I was thinking about the 3.55 as it would be a good blend of the two. However, is that an option on the manual?

I thought the manual was 3.73 or 3.31 and the automatics were 3.55 or 3.15 standard?

pttl

No there are 3 ratios available on the MT. 3.31 = Stock, then there are 3.55 and 3.73.

Auto tranny ONLY comes with 3.15 from the factory. Although there are many owners who change their gears out.

slater01TL

Gotcha.

Well I guess it comes down to options in order to meet my budget. Right now I'm looking at base + brembo package. That puts me at the high end of my budget. So since I know your car has all the bells and whistles, what are your thoughts on the brembo package.

The reason I ask is because a 6MT, brembo, 3.31 is very tough to find. I'll definitely go drive some soon when I have some time but having some first hand opinions is always great...

pttl

The Brembo pkg. is an awesome value IMO. Not only do you get the brakes themselves but you get the beautiful 19" rims and tires. The suspension is supposedly tuned differently as well, but that is a very minor consideration imo.

You are running into the typical. Most dealers who order Brembo cars will automatically put the "upgraded" gears on them too. They assume that someone looking for Brembos is looking for more "performance".

I'm sure the car you are looking for is out there, but locating it might take some doing.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

OK good... whew

Seriously though... I stand by my reply. I'd keep the Si and put money away for real estate. Once you settle into an area, buy a place.

slater01TL

Definitely solid advice. I guess my thought is that I'm already paying on a new vehicle, so if I can get the numbers close to where I'm at per month, and the "payoff date" is not far off of where I currently stand. I figured that if I'm going to be paying on a vehicle for several years I might as well get something that I really enjoy and look at cutting money elsewhere.

I put together a fairly detailed budget recently and cut out all the excess (going to bars and drinking/entertainment). I'm too old for that shit now anyways. I have to get the thought of being a college kid out and move on. So with the new budget and recent small raise at work, I can still put away the same amount of money towards a house as I am now.

I know it sounds like I have my mind made up, but I guess if I can find different ways to save money to compensate for the mustang that it becomes justifiable.