Trading in for a new MS3.. thoughts?

I

I vtec do you?

Member
Hey all..

Currently I drive an 07 Civic SI Sedan. I used to be quite the advocate for it but I've grown tired of it.. Right now I'm paying $270/month for it to my parents who bought it outright so I could avoid the interest charges (I'm 18).

It's only a few months old but it has been having far too many problems. My 2nd gear grinds at high RPM shifts (synchro needs replacing, won't be warrantied since it's 'my fault'). I have two large paint chips on it already and it reallly shows on white. My interior is already scuffed up just from getting in/out, my amplifier makes a buzzing sound that the dealer says is normal.. everytime I bring it in to fix a squeek, another rattle pops up from what they fixed.

And on top of it all, the car isn't even all that 'quick'. I expected more out of an SI but before VTEC kicks in, the car is slower than most cars on the road. Whats even worse is that you only have to top two thousand RPMS to really enjoy it, so I can only wind it out through 2nd gear before I have to stop or else I'm speeding.

I won't be trading it in since I just got it 5 months ago and that would make my parents furious.. probably wait until winter since dealers always struggle with car sales in winter. Right now I have about 7k sitting in the bank.. how much more do you think I'd have to save up to buy the MS3 outright along with the trade?

Also I'm just wondering.. anyone out there think the MS3 is a bit too much for a teen? I'm a pretty responsible driver but I've had a lot of people telling me a turbocharged car is going to be too high in insurance and too dangerous and all that..

And above all.. who has driven both and thinks it's worth the hassle for this trade-in? I took it on a test-drive and I gotta say, the interior alone makes me want to do it. I didn't really kick it up because I wasn't w/ my usual salesman and the lady was pretty uptight, but the torque felt reallly, really good.. something I miss a lot. So yeah anyways.. thoughts on the trade?
 
Well for insurance it depends on how old you are? If the car is going to be in your parents name? Also how much will you owe on your civic when you trade it in. Foe example: if you owe say $15,000, the dealer gives you $12,000, then they take the extra $3,000 and add that on to the MS3. If you owe a lot I would not go for it(shrug) Do I think the car is to much for you. Possibly, they are fast and you get get in trouble very easy. If you are the type to show off, then I say yes it is to much car for you.
 
no such thing as too much car, your age will matter on insurance but as far as if you can handle the car or not be an idiot with it.....im 34 and by now I have had the car for 3 months and I should have gotten 10 tickets at least this month alone. the car will get speed quick but its pretty docile as far as handling so if you can afford it buy it.
 
I vtec said:
Hey all..

Currently I drive an 07 Civic SI Sedan. I used to be quite the advocate for it but I've grown tired of it.. Right now I'm paying $270/month for it to my parents who bought it outright so I could avoid the interest charges (I'm 18).

It's only a few months old but it has been having far too many problems. My 2nd gear grinds at high RPM shifts (synchro needs replacing, won't be warrantied since it's 'my fault'). I have two large paint chips on it already and it reallly shows on white. My interior is already scuffed up just from getting in/out, my amplifier makes a buzzing sound that the dealer says is normal.. everytime I bring it in to fix a squeek, another rattle pops up from what they fixed.

And on top of it all, the car isn't even all that 'quick'. I expected more out of an SI but before VTEC kicks in, the car is slower than most cars on the road. Whats even worse is that you only have to top two thousand RPMS to really enjoy it, so I can only wind it out through 2nd gear before I have to stop or else I'm speeding.

I won't be trading it in since I just got it 5 months ago and that would make my parents furious.. probably wait until winter since dealers always struggle with car sales in winter. Right now I have about 7k sitting in the bank.. how much more do you think I'd have to save up to buy the MS3 outright along with the trade?

Also I'm just wondering.. anyone out there think the MS3 is a bit too much for a teen? I'm a pretty responsible driver but I've had a lot of people telling me a turbocharged car is going to be too high in insurance and too dangerous and all that..

And above all.. who has driven both and thinks it's worth the hassle for this trade-in? I took it on a test-drive and I gotta say, the interior alone makes me want to do it. I didn't really kick it up because I wasn't w/ my usual salesman and the lady was pretty uptight, but the torque felt reallly, really good.. something I miss a lot. So yeah anyways.. thoughts on the trade?
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I would recommend that you keep the current car you have and focus on other things. :) First off, you just got the civic 5 months ago and your already tired of the car?! Give the vehicle a chance and don't look at it as just a toy. (braindead Second, your insurance or your parents insurance will be high if you get the MS3 since the car is a performance vehicle and your under the age of 25. You meantion that your 18 which means either you just recieved your license or you had it for a year, so basically your still new to driving. You do not have any road experience and haven't develop enough control and restraint from speeding yet...It will all lead to future problems. Speeding tickets, doing something careless which could result in an accident, your life or even your license.

263hp performance car + 18 year old driver = Trouble. Don't worry the MS3 will always be around, just be patient grasshopper.
 
Akaveli said:
I would recommend that you keep the current car you have and focus on other things. :) First off, you just got the civic 5 months ago and your already tired of the car?! Give the vehicle a chance and don't look at it as just a toy. (braindead Second, your insurance or your parents insurance will be high if you get the MS3 since the car is a performance vehicle and your under the age of 25. You meantion that your 18 which means either you just recieved your license or you had it for a year, so basically your still new to driving. You do not have any road experience and haven't develop enough control and restraint from speeding yet...It will all lead to future problems. Speeding tickets, doing something careless which could result in an accident, your life or even your license.

263hp performance car + 18 year old driver = Trouble. Don't worry the MS3 will always be around, just be patient grasshopper.
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werd!
 
Actually I've been driving for two years :p

I think I have road experience.. the SI REQUIRES shifts at redline, so I think it's harder not to speed in the SI than in the MS3, which dies off a bit from the redline.

And the way I see it, if I'm going to be making payments on the car, I might as well enjoy it right? The SI was fun for a little bit, but I've grown tired of having to pin it to 8200 RPMs to get any kind of power out of it. Requiring that means I can only wind out 1st gear and then a tiny bit of 2nd before I have to back off.. That's not fun to me.
 
Do you launch off the line every chance you get? Are you saying the SI is gutless so you require redline shifts?

If you were to launch your MS3 like that, you'd be very quickly over the speed limit. =) (burnout)
 
wait your complaining about only being able to go up second gear before your speeding? Even if you get a 105hp yaris i think your gonna have the same problem, that has nothing to do with speed. Maybe im just not understanding
 
Olestra said:
Do you launch off the line every chance you get? Are you saying the SI is gutless so you require redline shifts?

If you were to launch your MS3 like that, you'd be very quickly over the speed limit. =) (burnout)
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The civic Si doesn't make much power until you get in the upper rev range so he's driving it pretty much appropriate for the way the power band is designed in the honda.

be prepared to pay list or very close to list on a ms3...plus you'll take a bath on a trade...heck i just bought my ms3 2 weeks ago and put only 300 miles on it so far...if i were to trade it in right now i'd probably lose 2k probably more...and my car is flawless...

try to be happy with the Si...it's a nice car...it's the cheapest way to go (keeping it).
 
I had a Celica GT-S when they came out in 2000 with the new one, back when I was 20. I also had a 2000 Mustang GT when I was 21. That GT-S got me in a heap of trouble, but the Stang was invisible.

You know the difference? The Celica was Red, and the Stang was Silver.
 
I find that a lot of Honda owners who are enthusiasts find that the SI is lacking personality, and as such it becomes boring on a lot of them. Not ALL of them, but it is a car that is like a fad sometimes. To regular drivers, non-enthusiasts, it isn't really a big deal. Some of us view a car as transportation, and some view a car as quite a bit more then that. For those that view it as something more, a car with personality and character is what they crave.

You can inject personality by personalizing your own car, though. A nice, well designed audio system, perhaps some tasteful interior re-working, and maybe some new wheels, tires, and other small touches can help make the car more likeable. Window tint goes a long way, for instance.

Just stay on the anti-rice side of things, ya know!
 
On the subject of the Si....did a dealer actually refuse to fix the 2nd gear synchro, or are you just making assumptions? How is it 'your fault' and were you actually told that?
 
i used to have a gsr, loved the way i screamed it to 8,000 rpm 20 times a day for 231,000 miles, 5 cluthes, then it got stolen, loved it... but that said the ms3 is faster and better in every way i now love torque!!, but the gsr was its own unique style. i miss ripping to 8,000 rpm with no muffler
 
Sounds like a typical testosterone-driven 18 year old male to me. If I were a parent of an 18 year old, I'd given him a CPOS that's relatively large in size with auto. tranny. I'd let him drive it for 2 years or so (starting at age 16), and then teach him how to operate a manual gearbox. Also, I wouldn't make the kid make the payments; however, I would make him pay for insurance. =p

Everyone goes through 18 when you feel like you're invincible. I'd say you're fortunate to have a nice ride such as the Si. The MS3 is a completely different animal, but Si also holds its own on a different level. If you're shifting at redline in 2nd gear, you definitely like to speed a lot. (I'd know since my last ride was an RSX) Learn to appreciate the car (and your parents) and let off the gas a little unless you wish to pay $4,000 a year on insurance like I used to. *^_^*
 
I got my first Si when I was 19, but it was a far lesser car back then (it was a 1986) and cost $7400. It was all I could do to make the payment and pay for insurance, but it was MINE. I understand where you're at, because I always aspired to have something better than what was in the driveway, but because it was going to be on MY dime, I learned to appreciate what I had. Take my advice...remember why it was you wanted the car so badly to begin with, get your transmission fixed, touch up the rock chips (which ALL cars are subject to, by the way) and keep it a while. 19 years old is not the ideal age to own the fastest car on the block.
 
Hmm I'm not sure where these assumptions are coming from, but I work 30-35 hours a week in addition to college to pay for the SI. My parents didn't just hand me an SI that I became quickly bored with.

As per the 2nd gear synchro, yes, they blamed it on me. I brought it in because it's near impossible to shift into 2nd when redlining first (which is basically an SI requirement if you want any sort of speed). They suggested I rip out the tranny, replace synchros, and that I would pay since I obviously ****** it up. I pointed it out and printed out a few pages from 8thcivic.com showing other people had the same problem and they stated they had never had a person bring theirs in for it yet.

Now for the speeding thing.. I meant it in a different way than I wrote it.. my mistake. What I meant was I'm sick of having to redline every gear just to make power. I've already been pulled over once with a warning over a 'noise violation' because I went by a cop who was hidden at night at like 7500 RPMs (while doing the speed limit) and apparently that was too loud, even with the stock exhaust. I just want a car that I can pin the gas at 3k RPMs and have passing power, whereas with the SI I literally have to drop into 3rd gear on the highway just so my car is at 6k+ RPMs so I can pass someone.

A Mazda dealer offered me 19,200 for the SI which isn't too bad. A loss of $800 for me, but he didn't have a price yet on an 08 Mazdaspeed3..

I would just modify the SI a bit so it was more 'me' with an intake/quiet exhaust/SSR header and a few other things to get it to maybe 200 WHP or so, but my parents keep telling me that I can't put a single mod on the car out of fear for destroying the warranty, and they do hold the title to the car, so it's a no-go sorta thing.
 
I vtec said:
Hmm I'm not sure where these assumptions are coming from, but I work 30-35 hours a week in addition to college to pay for the SI. My parents didn't just hand me an SI that I became quickly bored with.

As per the 2nd gear synchro, yes, they blamed it on me. I brought it in because it's near impossible to shift into 2nd when redlining first (which is basically an SI requirement if you want any sort of speed). They suggested I rip out the tranny, replace synchros, and that I would pay since I obviously ****** it up. I pointed it out and printed out a few pages from 8thcivic.com showing other people had the same problem and they stated they had never had a person bring theirs in for it yet.

Now for the speeding thing.. I meant it in a different way than I wrote it.. my mistake. What I meant was I'm sick of having to redline every gear just to make power. I've already been pulled over once with a warning over a 'noise violation' because I went by a cop who was hidden at night at like 7500 RPMs (while doing the speed limit) and apparently that was too loud, even with the stock exhaust. I just want a car that I can pin the gas at 3k RPMs and have passing power, whereas with the SI I literally have to drop into 3rd gear on the highway just so my car is at 6k+ RPMs so I can pass someone.

A Mazda dealer offered me 19,200 for the SI which isn't too bad. A loss of $800 for me, but he didn't have a price yet on an 08 Mazdaspeed3..

I would just modify the SI a bit so it was more 'me' with an intake/quiet exhaust/SSR header and a few other things to get it to maybe 200 WHP or so, but my parents keep telling me that I can't put a single mod on the car out of fear for destroying the warranty, and they do hold the title to the car, so it's a no-go sorta thing.
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when i was 18 i was at that moderate teenage mentality level. Trust me, you will make the biggest mistake on getting rid of your car. A car is the worst investment to get in. But hey whatever floats your boat.

I'm sure you can find a used 04-05 SRT4 for around 15-16k.
 
i don't want to read this entire thread...but unfortunately the si doesn't have torque...i would definitely definitely not trade it in at all. not even after a year. absolutely not.
i used to work at a car dealership as a salesperson, and even though you don't owe any money on your car, it's still not worth it
 
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