Great responses guys. This gives me thought of not purchasing a new car as well.
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There's always the other side of the argument that you are only young once. When you are 40 and you look back at your younger years, you may regret not following your passion. Having said that, don't break the bank but if you can afford it, why not have a little fun.
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i'm in the same situation as the OP except my car overheats if the trip is longer than 10 mins, so then i have to crank up the heat inside the car to dissipate the heat from the engine and that seems to cool it down, and its like an oven inside but its winter so its ok but when summer comes im screwed.

The new 2012 civic is coming out late april i think, just a heads up thats all.

Yes you're right in that you could regret not doing this or not doing that. But on the flip side, if say OP or anyone else who's in the same boat as OP for that matter, decides to go through with upgrading, they could look back after X number of years down the road and think damn, I could have saved so much and not be where I am now, but maybe something a bit more luxurious.

Let's take OP's situation for example.
92 Integra. I don't know much about the market, nor do i feel like searching it up, but I'll just throw a ballpark figure of around $2000 (give or take) as the value of his vehicle if he were to sell it. Although he may not be a car guy, very simple maintenance can make this 19 year old car, last for at least another 10 years. Not only will this car be a kick-ass investment because he doesn't owe any money on it, but in that period of time, he could save up so much and when the integra finally kicks the bucket, he'll have so much more options from that point and not even worry about going from paycheck to paycheck.

My friend for example. Makes pretty decent money from his part time serving job while as a student. But he's constantly going from paycheque to paycheque because he's gotta worry about paying off his tuition, and making the car payments for his TSX, and even insurance. That doesn't even include gas, food, going out to hang out with friends occasionally.

Again, yea you could look back and regret how you could have bought a new car at the time, but you can also see that you could have gotten that much farther in life if you put up with your "really old POS" that gets you from A to B, instead of getting a super fancy car that gets you from... A to B lol.

.02 :)

edit- plus, OP, you said you liked how the car looks, so it's not like you're ashamed of the car, like others have mentioned, simple upgrades to improve the feel of the ride is a really good option instead of a new car :)

either way, good luck

I was once an inexperienced car buyer, I bought a lemon car. It wasn't priced exceptionally cheap, it just happened that I had bad luck in picking up that car.

From day 1, this car gave me all sorts of hassles, from leaking coolant, leaking radiator, smoke from the Air-con module, to complete engine break down etc... I have to admit I didn't know all that much about checking the history before buying a used car. From all the money I have spent fixing and rebuilding the engine, plus depreciation from the 1 and a bit year of ownership, I realized that I could have afforded financing a brand new car. And new cars have factory warranty for the first few years of ownership too.
From this terrible experience, I told myself I am not going to get another used car whenever possible.

I was afraid of that myself. I didn't know what to look for when checking out a used car and what not, so I had my friend come with. He was no expert or anything, but just helped look out for small things like leaks or anything. Also with buying used, get it inspected first! I was dumb enough not to and had a faulty o2 sensor for a long long time before i looked into it and got it fixed. Would have saved me lots of money but hey, I was 16 at the time so I didn't know any better. I just wanted to get it right away.

I'm actually the complete opposite. Once my car dies, when it dies, i'm actually thinking of looking for a used car again. Something I can pay off right away and not owe any money down the road. Everyone's different and there's nothing wrong with that. But to jump back on topic, OP owns this vehicle and i'm assuming it's still running strong

That's too bad that that's what you got out of your experience. In fact, I feel sorry for you. While you buy your car brand new, I buy the exact same car with 15,000K on it, yet it's still mint and for $15 000 less, just a year later. :-)

Anyway, I got my 328i used from BJ with pre-owned certification. Made all the necessary steps to make sure the car was fine. 15000K, $15000 less and 4 years later and here I am with my car running perfectly fine. :fullofwin:

well it only costs $9 for a new thermostat buddy

Yea but the labour is more than I want to spend to get it fix plus it has other problems too like clutch needs a new one soon so may as well get a new car since mine is pretty old and banged up.
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It's good to think ahead and plan. Save up towards your goal you have set, whether it's a Tsx, TL, STI, etc, the list can go on. No point spending money on something you can't afford.

doesn't a mechanic inspection do all of that..or do they just make sure it's in running condition and no safety concerns.

well if ur car is paid off, why look into a new car?? Like others have said, just save up the money u were going to put into a new car, when time comes you could even look into even better quality cars. Or even better, save up a bit of money and you could even move out if you want. Then you would have a car and a place all to yourself (consider if you are living at your parent's house right now). If you don't want to move out, just save up some money and by the time you are more mature, you would have a better idea of what to do with the money.

and paying monthly payment for a car out of your pay cheque is a pain. Think twice before you do anything!!

i was in a similar situation as OP many years back. I held off b/c I wanted to buy a home. fast fwd to the present and I'm glad I didn't buy a new car and kept my POS. had i enjoyed a new car, i wouldnt have had the cash to put a down payment towards a house. i tell my wife i don't know what it's like to own a new car b/c i never had one before, but i'm glad i dont. you might think you can start saving later on for a down payment but man you'd be surprised at how hard it is to save it up or how much you need to buy a place when you're finally good and ready.

well, at the time i just really wanted the car and didn't want to do the inspection. that was my own fault but i've gotten it fixed


OP would actually be really surprised at how much he could save, and how quickly he could afford a place of his own since he's still living with parents.

since i'm assuming your parents would pay for everything and let you just save up (much like how mine were) you would bank all your paycheques. in no time you can save up 10 grand, AND still be mobile with your old car.

a co-worker of mine lives out on his own. has an older car that he owns, and still goes paycheque to paycheque just to pay rent and eat. if you get a car, i can only assuming something similar to those lines.

5 years ago, I traded in my old sporty car for a brand new off the lot econo-box because I was out of school, had a nice stable job, still living at home so had disposable income, and wanted an upgrade. It was exciting for about 3-6 months, but the new car feel wore off quick since the econobox was just an appliance. The 4k I got back for my old car on trade in, I realized after missing it that I could have saved for 2 months and not had to give up a great fun car. Shortly after that I realized that I didn't actually need a new car, I just WANTED one at that precise moment in time. When I thought about selling the new car and getting something older but funner, I realized that the 22k I paid off the lot (incl finance interest) for the car had turned into 15k value in less than a year--I could have saved myself 7k or even thrown half of that into my old car and had a blast. That was the day I learned the lesson in value of leasing, and told myself I'd never buy another brand new car off the lot.

Depreciation on new cars is the biggest hit, and new car costs like freight/pdi can never be recovered.

As for me, still own and daily drive the Yaris. Still want something more exciting, but its fully paid off, is cheap to own, maintain, and drive, and I`m too cheap to actually put down my hard earned money towards my driving enjoyment now that I have real bills and payments to contend with.

If you need a new-to-you car, best value is in cars that are 1-3 years old; let the original owner take the depreciation hit, and you still get the balance of the warranty.

ps: the Fit is a great car and very versatile. We sold my wife`s 01 Civic Si and upgraded to a 07 Fit, which we bought used of course. My Yaris is better on fuel economy, in fact our old Civic was as well. I think newer Civic and Fit real world fuel economy and operational costs are quite similar.

Thanks again for the reply guys. It really has me rethinking the situation. I was so sure that I would've loved a new car after graduating, but now I'm not so sure.

With the replies so far, I think you guys have persuaded me enough to just keep saving money until later down the road. I'll keep driving my Integra until it bites the dust, hopefully it's not soon now :P.

At first, I thought 15-20k wouldn't be so hard to pay off especially since my parents are wanting me to stay at home and not move out so soon. But now that I think of it, I could just use that money put it in a long term investment and hopefully make a bit more with the interest I'd be receiving or something like that. I still don't have plans on putting a down payment on a condo/house by myself nor do I plan on renting an apartment because I don't need to. Only reason I would rent is if I wanted to see how it felt to live on my own, which really isn't necessary at this time since I am still pretty young.

Maybe I will just add a new stereo, wash the car, make it all nice and shiny, and what ever else you guys recommend! Although my radio thing is kind of broken because it always resets every time I turn on/off the car and I don't really know how to fix it.

Thanks again for the replies, it really has opened my eyes a lot more and now I see that driving a new car really isn't that important. It's better to save my money if my Integra is still running.

I really really appreciate it guys! Thanks again

Just as you would rent a place to see what it's like to live on your own, how about renting the car you like and drive it around for a week. Then factor in the costs involved and imagine driving the same car for the next 5-10 years.

Just as UFO wrote, I would never buy a new car (unless I was rich). Let someone else take the initial hit and benefit from the lower cost and remaining warranty.

As for your deck, if it's aftermarket, the person who installed it probably reversed the power and ign. wires or hooked up the power and ignition wires to an ignition source, thus resetting the deck every time you turn off the ignition. Give SoundsGood a call or pm "orgasm_donor" or "installerz"
http://www.soundsgoodauto.com/

I'm sure you wouldn't not love a new car, if you had made that decision. The more important question is how long it will take that novelty to wear off.

The range you are looking at is quite reasonable, if you ever do feel you have to get into a new car. Face it, you can't get a new car off the lot for much less than that nowadays. For me, I was working a $10/hr job and ended up having to finance a total of $11k including interest at 5.9% over 4 yrs after my downpayment and trade-in and that amounted to monthly payments of just under $300. I ended up saving enough and paying off the financing after a year and saved about $700 in interest.

In hindsight, I would have saved up more aggressively into my RRSP instead. You have up to $25k that you can take out of your RRSP tax free when you do end up wanting to buy a place, and you can enjoy the tax credit benefits of buying RRSP's in the mean time, further helping you save more money. I ended up having to buy a place before putting away enough into my RRSP to maximize. It's a nice option to give yourself in the future which pays off in the present through higher tax refunds.

^^ impulse makes a lot of sense. having that money saved up in your bank is not only a good feeling, but is also helpful if an emergency ever arises and you need funds immediately.

we all work hard for our money, and buying a brand new car is just...not economically sound. the new car depreciates 15-20 percent as soon as you drive it off the lot.

if you MUST buy either a new or used car, make sure that the car is affordable. things such as maintenance and insurance must be factored in. it shouldn't make your life uncomfortable to sustain as well, especially since you are not a car enthusiast as you say.

my 2cents is, stick with what you have, and work hard towards a real piece of equity such as property.

Thanks again guys.

I'll look into the radio thing soon, I don't mind it too much since I've gotten used to not listening. Also my dad tells me I'm going to need new brake pads or something like that cause we can hear a screeching noise coming from the right side of the car every time I start to brake. Also when ever I reverse there's a HUGE screeching sound like really really loud it's terrible when I'm in underground parking lol.

Yea I think if I were to get a car now I don't think I'll be getting one of the lot even if it isn't that expensive. I've been looking around craigslist for an EP3 (inspired by TypeRNammer's journal thread!) and it seems like it's about 8-12k for one? Financing about 7-8k isn't that bad is it? Just a thought but probably won't bite until a few years like everyones suggested! I'd really rather just use that money and put it into a long term investment.
Thanks again everyone

hardly...