Okay here is my dilemma. I know all you bastards are going to say keep the neon...cuz this is the keep the neon til it dies (or til I die) thread.
I have an 03 SXT with 96K on the odo. Mods actually installed: vibrant dual exhaust, OBX LTH, Magnaflow Highflow cat, AEM CAI, MPX 60mm TB, MPX UDP, Optima Battery, Hurst STS, Boogers, Prothane "street" MM, Prothane Master bushing set, BC coilovers, 15x7 rota slipstreams wrapped in relatively new BFG supersport A/S
Mods sitting in the garage waiting for more parts, money, and or time: Mag intake with butterflies and MSD digital window switch (should be next thing installed), self P&P mag head, comp 400 cam, AEM cam gear, head gasket set, timing belt, ARP head studs, rear disc swap.
I still owe 2500 on the car.
Option 2: There is a 2005 WRX with 47K on the odo. I have yet to see the car but I know it is blue (could care less) and a manual (that is important!). I also know it is a salvage title. Airbags were deployed when it wrecked back in late 05 but carfax said no frame damage. The car has been rebuilt and was on the road for awhile and just got traded in. The dealership is putting a new clutch in and a few other things and it should be ready to look at tomorrow.
They listed it for $13K but said they would go 10K when I talked to them on the phone. I have already pre-approved on the car with my bank for 10K (had to get special clearance due to the salvage title). Insurance company said no problem insuring it, but I wont get the same as a clean title car if it is wrecked. I found somebody who said roughly 60% of clean title value.
So if I trade in the Neon, my monthly payments would go from 150 to about 250 which is no big deal. Insurance would actually drop a few pennies with the WRX over the SXT (go figure). Gas would go up cause WRX drinks premium and more of it than the neon. But I would have a 160 hp (wheel) AWD 3100lb rally car. Or I can keep the neon which is currently sitting at 127 wheel hp and about 2600lbs with a shitty open dif
.
Both cars still would need more modification to be where I want them to be.
Plan for WRX: new up pipe and turbo back exhaust along with Cobb AcessPort tuner ($2000), wheels and tires ($2000), coilovers and sway bars ($2000)...this would be the minimum acceptable level of tuning and it would be done in the order listed.
Plan for Neon: install intake. Install mag head/cam (still need to get the head decked and everything reassembled, also need water pump might need new valves/valve job) then I need to find help installing it. All that should hopefully bumb me to the 145-150hp at the wheels. Then I need sway bars set ($300) and new brakes ($400). Then it gets really expensive...quaife lsd ($1000+ install) and a new clutch ($350-500) and will need to get trans freshened up ($1000+).
Then I have to choose if I want to stay NA (megasquirt and maybe some 10.5 pistons) or if I want to go turbo ($3500 for ASP kit) and then another $1000 or so for miscellaneous gauges and sensors so my shit dont blow up...probably do a full bottom end rebuild at this time as well so add another $2K
another option would be to pay somebody to do a full srt swap. If I remember correctly there was somebody on the easy coast offering to do it over the course of a week or so for $5k. And that would include a trans with the quafie already installed.
So when it is done I could have a 200HP WRX for about $16K (not factoring the money I would get from selling the extra neon bits)
or several stages of neon from a 150hp for about 4K to a 220hp plus turbo set up for 10-12K but only the front wheels pullin it. I could get the NEON to a 1:10 hp/lbs for less than the WRX which would only be a 1:15 hp/lbs....
These are of course multi-year plans and assuming the cars dont die before they are done. I figure it would take me about 2 years for the WRX (mainly to save up the cash as everything should be pretty simple). The neon would probably take longer (especially a turbo build) due to the complexity and the time to save the $$$.
so whattya think? Easy but more expensive route with the WRX or keep chipping away at the neon?
i really don't understand how some people are just paying interest the remainder of their lives this way...
oh well...
I don't expect anyone on 2GN.org to agree with me
