trade 2000 Si for new SRT-4?
filed in 2000 Honda Civic SI
Question: Just test drove the ‘04 SRT-4, very quick. 230hp, 250 lb/ft torque, nice turbo whistle, limited slip, unreal brakes, rumbling exhaust, nice seats, with sunroof and side air bags, overall a pretty nice car. Seemed like a Evo fighter at $10k less.
Sticker is $22,405. The deal is my 2000 Si with 39,500 on it, plus $10,000. I have heard of early SRT’s going for up to $5k over MSRP.
What do you think of the deal and the SRT? It looks ok, but not as nice as my Si, but man did it fly…The interior was not as horrid as I espected with silver gauges and what I presume to be fake titanium pedals and shifter. I like the painted calipers too.
The shifter was a little notchy but still engaged well and was light to the touch. Not even close to the terrible stick in the Mustang.
The tires are summer g-force t/a KDW2’s. Not good for Massachusetts – will need a freakin’ set of snows…there’s another $500 on the deal.
Also is the insurance sky high on SRT’s, or are they classed as a regular neon?
Was going to go for a 350z, but they won’t come down from $29k for the Entusiast, and the Z is just too small inside.
Thanks,
Anyone who paid $5k over for a neon, ANY neon, is nuts. How do you make the car depreciate faster? Turbocharge it! The resale on that Neon is horrible and frankly there is the automatic assumption that a kid bought it and drove it into the ground. That doesn’t help the resale. Also, the insurance you asked about is going to be a bit steeper and Neon’s aren’t cheap to begin with on the insurance side. I’d get the VIN# and give your adjuster a call first. The SRT4 is a great performing car. If performance is your #1 concern then it’s definitely one of the best performing car for the bucks. $5K over? Anybody can ask any amount over MSRP but if you’re not willing to pay for it… don’t. I don’t think supply is that short of demand and if someone is stupid enough to pay any amount over invoice … goodie for them. Just because one paid $5K over doesn’t mean you can pass that on to others.
A case in point.. back when the S2000 came out some dealers charged $10K or more over MSRP. One person who paid such amount over in Seattle wanted to trade it in for a SLK320 instead the following month and was hoping he could get the extra $10K as a factor in his trade-in. He must have been high with the Seattle stuff…espresso.
As for the insurance thing – make a phone call before you buy. Everybody’s premium for insurance is different- it’s based on the car, your age, marital status, insurance history, and driving history. I have a 2004 Volvo XC90, 2003 EVO VIII, and 91 Civic Si and I pay less than $200/month for full coverage 100/300K liability with 250/500 deductible. Good deal? To me it’s a really good deal! Again – car, age, driving history…etc… One of the Evo owner down the street pays $400/month just for that one car. The best thing is to call up the insurance company and get a quote before you buy so you won’t be surprised.
If you’re looking for an SRt4 and 350Z then you know that they’re very different from you 2000 Civic Si in performance. For everyday point A – B practicality, I would go for the Civic Si anyday.
As for the HP rating on those SRT4, I really believe they’re under rated by the manufacture as many magazines have claimed. Those cars are too fast to just have 230 HP.
On your first statement.. being an Evo owner I have to defend it a little. In our crowd we have an SRT-4, an STI, and three EVO owners. All are great cars – but an EVO is not an SRT4 that costs $8,000 less. The rival for the EVO is the STI, anything else compared to them would be apples and oranges. A fully equiped EVO with sunroof and spoiler is $30,800 but you can get it lower. I got mine for $28,800. If you can get an SRT4 for $22,400 that’s a good price. For the extra $6,500 on the EVO you can add up the big Brembo brakes, AWD system, Enkei Wheels and Yoko Advan tires, Recaro seats.. etc… the bottom line is, you’re getting what you pay for. On the STI you’re getting the limited slip on both ends, and active center differential but you won’t have sunroof as an option nor they come with a CD player, Evo does. All are great cars, it’s whatever you like.
It doesn’t matter if people call the SRT4 a Neon or not. It’s still a VERY good performing car, especially for the $$. If you like speed, with minimal modification you can make it quite fast. The SRT4 owner that I hang out with ran 13.4 @ 103 MPH on street tires with around $1K in upgrade and tops off at 160 MPH. Really. His car is faster than a Stock Evo, STI, or 350Z. OK..
With all that said… You’ve test drove the SRT4 and knows your Civic Si. What do you like better? I have driven your generation Si and love it. I have not driven the SRT4 but knows it performance characteristic and potential.
All I can say about the SRT4 and the EVO is that my friend the SRT4 owner reminds me that he wants my car and asks for a trade every chance we get.
If you can afford both – keep the Si and buy the SRT4. If not and you like performance buy it!
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