How far would you go for your car?

[clutch-monkey]

i hear silvia's crab walk pretty good when you hit ptoholes under throttle

[whiteballz]

Honestly that was one of the scariest moments in my ownership of that car.

I also hear they get airborne in Penrith plaza shopping center car parks.. I've only got one witness to that though.

[pimento]

Yousetube or it didn't happen.

[Savageduck]

Tree can be replaced with other solid objects...

Falling asleep at the wheel can help you lower your suspension and check the airbag. No tree needed.
...and I came out ahead on the insurance settlement.

[pimento]

I'm pretty sure the suspension strut goes inside the wheel well..

[Savageduck]

I'm pretty sure the suspension strut goes inside the wheel well..

You haven't lived until you execute a low level snap roll in a Ford Contour.

[pimento]

Not sure, but executing a low level snap roll in a Ford Contour sounds like a way to stop living...

[Savageduck]

...but then the dust settles, and in a strangely composed moment, while hanging upside down by your seat belt, you find the only thing bleeding is your hand. That was blown off the steering wheel by the airbag and through the shattered glass sunroof as the car slid to a stop on its roof. Needless to say there was a very good demonstration of the abrasive effects of the road surface.
Can you say lucky.

[pimento]

I'm a motorcyclist.. I really don't want to find out first hand the abasive effects of the road surface at speed. I lost enough skin as a kid when push biking through the bush..

[Matra et Alpine]

WB, getting in to semi-serious debt for a car isn't worth it.
Sell a kidney instead, you've got a spare !!!

Seriously tho' don't

Unless you are in solid employment then taking on a debt for a depreciating item like a car isn't good idea. If you HAVE to have it for transport then different rules. But for "fun", it can come back with a whole load of hurt. I'd say stick with cheapest that covers need ( bus ? ) and save the money while waiting for the "perfect car at the perfect price" to come along

[pimento]

I've a postie bike you can borrow...

[2ndclasscitizen]

I've a postie bike you can borrow...

This would be a sight most amusing.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Basically these guys have some sensible comments to make. Owing money is not as bad a thing as it's being made out - debt levels, properly maintained, can be accomodating of leading a life your happy with.

Having said that you're already in a pretty deep financial hole and with a perfectly serviceable vehicle currently in your possession the JDM experience is likely to be an expensive and reckless folly. Not to dissuade you from purchasing - you'll make your own assessment as to what is a manageable level of debt, but even I can tell you ~$20,000 for an asset worth maybe $6,000 is a lot of outlay for not much gain.

Chalk this one up to experience and wait for circumstances to get better, pay your debt and your penance for destroying an E30

Speaking from personal experience with a small used car loan ($6,000) I paid that off at a very comfortable loan repayment schedule at roughly $250 a fortnight in 2 1/2 years. It's plausibly affordable, but you're left with an asset that is worth nowhere near what you paid for it.

[fpv_gtho]

Honestly that was one of the scariest moments in my ownership of that car.

I also hear they get airborne in Penrith plaza shopping center car parks.. I've only got one witness to that though.

anything could get airbourne there i reckon. Someone cocked up majorly with some of the transitions with those ramps

[whiteballz]

Hit the ramp into the Cinema parking (level 4 bridge bit) at the top of first in the Silvia.

Apparently the ass of my car was ~ 2 feet in the air..

Having said that it was the day I broke an engine mount..

Thanks for you input guys. I'll wait a while and see what happens.

I think my view on cars is vastly different to most of you.. I take it as a given that you lose value on a car, I'm perfectly willing to write off the depreciation as long as I hold the ownership in equal value.

The asset has X monetary value, and then it has Y intangible value.

As long as Y exceeds X I'm a happy camper and dont care about on-selling it later, Because in all honesty imports aren't worth shit anyway.