This is probably going to sound really stupid because Im thinking so far ahead, but this is my situation:

Im 16 years old, a sophomore in high school. I have a 1999 Civic EX that my parents bought for me, it has 70k miles on it. Ive already dropped a lot of money into it, see my mods list in my sig. Basically, this car has to get me through college, so atleast another 6 years.

This is my dilemma (sp?).... Do I keep modding this car and dumping cash into it (namely boost), or start saving for a more expensive car for when I get out of college (ie s2k, wrx, evo etc etc)?

When Spike bought that S2000, it really made me want of those and inspired me to save throughout college in order to own a car like that, and it seemed like financially it wasnt that far out of reach...at first. I realized later that it really wasnt a very smart investment for someone in their early 20's. Because of that, it seemed more reasonable financially to just mod my current car, so I started leaning towards just boosting my d, but there are a few things causing me to have doubts about that. First off...my mileage, I know 70k isnt much at all for a honda, but Id guess that by the time I got the turbo on it has around 80k. How would a boosted motor with this kind of mileage hold up if I kept it ~ 7-8 psi? Would it last until 120-130k miles? Secondly, resale value...is it hard to sell a boosted car?

All in all, I just dont want to drop $2-3k in my current car if my motor would just die shortly down the road, when I could have used that money as part of a down payment on a more expensive car. Im really kind of leaning towards just modding my car I have now, because I dont have any other financial responsibilities (mortgage, tuition, etc) at the moment, and wont for quite a while, but I still have a good cash flow coming in, and lastly, I really have no idea what my financial situtation will be like in 6 years.

What is your input on the situation? any suggestions?

Oh, btw, sorry for such a long post, Ill provide cliffnotes if youd like.

 

Heres a shitty pic of my car I just snapped for reference btw.

 

1- Is your car automatic ?
If so. Stop now.

Are you spending your parent's money on it?

Otherwise, slowly build it up to how you like it.

 

No, its a stick.

and btw, all the mods have been paid for by me.

 

Build that sucker up ! Why spend crazy money on another car when you got a good one now ?

 

yeah, i know what you mean. i think it's going to be an never ending rat race. i'm 28 now going to be 29, and i've love civic since i was in high sku. so when i got a full time job right out of college, i bought me a civic. but it seems like no matter how much i mod my car, there will be younger kids with more money to get a evo or a sti. since i'm in the process of settling down with my woman, i've been looking into getting an evo or sti as a family/my joy toy car. but i just can't seem to part with my beloved civic. but then there are always post like the one that was recently on here... the 5th gen civic with a K20 engine putting down 236whp. now that's a beautiful thing to see on a N/A. so i'm at a fork in the road. i mod my friends' rex over the weekends.. and thus far.. my car is always their joke of the day. but one thing is for sure.. when they are turning a corner... all they see is just my windshield, or i'm on their side... and that's when my baby get the respect that is long over due.

but as many would say... save up and mod the car you have now, remove all those ricer parts (i know... to each own) and then plan out what you want to do... either N/A, NOS, or Boost. after you decide what you want... the start saving for that. i'm more in line of N/A so right now i'm saving up for a K20 engine and hopefully by the time i save that up, there will be more than enough info online for me to study and do the swap. maybe by then.. i'll be driving an evo or a sti while my civic is being modded. who knows... like i said.. it's a never ending rat race... one thing is for sure... be happy with your car. i know i am... getting beat on the straight-away doesn't bother me... cuz anyone can do that with a more powerful car... but being able to catch them in the corners on an empty road or passing them on during a mountain pass... now that's fun.. (of course, i only race with people i know and trust not to do something stupid during a turn...) well.. good luck!!

 

yeah im 17, and currently have a 96 altima my parents bought for me, started modding it, decided i didnt want to anymore, so i went out and bought a 00 civic exactly like urs, its cheaper to mod, and there are lots of engine choices for it out there, and its not a bad lookin car. so i now have started dumping money into it, and i knwo im not gonna stop, but im gonna drive my car for atleast 5 more years so why not spend a little and make it how i want it.

 

yeah.. a 00 civic is nice. i love mine.. just wished i had bought a hatch instead. i was too eager to buy a civic at the time. i had a 94 Mazda 626 with a fawked up tranny, so when i got to the dealership, i looked for a hatch, but they didn't have it.. cuz it was all auto.. so i pick a coupe. now i would only think about getting a hatch now.. cuz it's too yummy on a 6th gen! plus all my parts will be interchangable, so that's the beauty of honda! but keep up the good work... and just be proud of your car. it has feelings too you know.. hehehe

 

single cam turbo no questions asked, i was in the same situation as you in HS when i got my 00 ex. Did some boltons, and a 55 shot wasn't happy. Got an APEXi kit and ran mid 8's in the 1/8 mile on low boost.

The envelope for sohc-T is only gonna be pushed higher and higher for mods. You can't go wrong if you want a reliable somewhat quick car and you don't have a ton of cash all at once to do a B series and turbo.

 

The car will survive if you treat it well, even if you boost it. As for resale value, it probably will decrease with more mods unless you find someone who wants to buy a modified car, in which case you might be able to sell it for a little more.

At this point, you might as well work on the car you have now. The reason most people buy new cars when they graduate college is because they suddenly have a five figure income (hopefully), whereas for the previous four years they'd been shelling out money. So really, you should be able to afford a new car once you graduate college, if not immediately then a year or so afterwards.