Didn't you just put the turbo on recently? Everyone I know who has done homemade turbos has about 6 months of little things going wrong after the install. After about 6 months, they don't have any trouble at all. Course a lot of it depends on the amount of boost, and the way you drive.

My advise is to fix it, eventually it will be a reliable install. To those considering homemade turbos, this is one reason to think about getting a qualitly turbo kit. It costs more upfront, but is less trouble in the long run. If your not patient enough to workout the kinks don't do it.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

but you ARE captain obvious!

 

She can ride in mine.


Get the ef. You know you will get the bug again it doesnt just go away. Trucks arent fun like a little fast honda. Just get the ef and slowly mod it with extra money that you have. Make it look nice first and then continue on to the motor if you really want to.

 

 

remember that more then 85% of your friends are prob into cars too.

are you really going to want to tag along with a truck. Just my thought.

I have thought of getting rid of my car(s) for a while. But your gonna be bored out of your mind when the warm weather and car shows and such come around . . . just my .02 again

and insurance isn't going to be cheaper. unless you go liabitly. rates don't usally change until 21... and 4x4 is going to be prob more expensive. i remember being qutoed when looking for a car/truck and wanting 4x4 and it was spensive.

 

well... sorry to say that i wasn't jazzed about the sol idea from the get-go, not because it was a sol (cuz i've always liked them) but because it had all that engine/turbo stuff done to it and you had no way to know if it was done correctly or not. obviously now you do know that it was not done correctly and it cost you a good bit. while this is a risk you take with any used car, its a bigger risk with a swapped AND turbo'd motor. anyway... hindsight being what it is... enough talk about should'ves and could'ves.

given your current situation, and since you asked for my opinion, i think you have 2 basic options. paul may have told you some of this already.

option 1: buy the EF HB. you know it was well maintained. it has relatively low miles. it will get you from A to B, it gets great gas mileage and insurance will be cheap on it, even if you get full coverage. also, its an Si

option 2: get a newer car that is too new to have major problems. (this would require a used car loan, main issue would be getting approved without a co-signer) this would help you build some credit, and would be less likely to "nickel and dime you" with things breaking or wearing out as they tend to do with "older" cars (sorry i know i sound like dad )

combo of option 1 and 2: buy the hatch, and put the money you make from selling the sol in the bank and leave it there. let it collect interest for a while... add to it over the winter when its too damn cold to mod the HB anyway, and see where you are in the spring with the money. you could have yourself a nice down payment on a newer car (CL-S baby!) or whatever you want that's feasible. or, use the saved up money for something else while you continue to rock the HB. its a fun hobby i agree, but it turns into a money pit quick (exhibit A, my CRX). start saving up for a DP on a house, or brand new car, or whatever. i know at your age its hard to think about stuff that far in the future but its not a bad idea to start planning for that next big step in your life. i wish i had made a more conscious effort to save up when i was in college.

and that's all i got... hope it helped some.

 

good advice :thumbup: