ok i know you guys are gonna be biased but.....

[injun_josh]

im FINALLY landing a nice paying job. and im gonna have a good bit of extra money left at the end of every month after bills. after bills, food, gas, phones, net, savings, and everything else i am gonna have about 1000 extra just for me money. so i am gonna do one of four things... 1. buy a mazdaspeed3, 2. buy a mazda rx8, 3. buy a new cobalt ss, or 4. spend lots of money on my 03 vibe gt. just wanted to know what you guys would do. i added up EVERYTHING i want on my vibe and the bill is about 7k$. thats intake, ported exhaust manifold, exhaust, grounding kit, sending my head off to monkey wrench racing, unichip, cf hood, stage 2 clutch, rims, tires, roof rail delete kit, springs, kyb shocks, slotted & drilled brakes w/performance pads, tinted windows, and the system i want. now after all that i would have a pretty *****in car, but its not as nice as the rx8 or ms3 and the rx8 handles like it has the road in a death grip. so tell me what you think. if i do go with the vibe modding it should take me a little less than a year.

[AKLGT]

Sorry, but I'm not a fan of the RX8. They look good but performance wise, they are quite lacking, kinda like the Nissan Z. If you go with one, I will have to steer you toward the MS3. Otherwise, my 08 STI kicks (removed) and with about $700, will give you about 350 hp in an AWD road gripping dream machine! that is, if you want to stay with a hatch. otherwise, I would seriously consider the new BMW 135i.... now that is HOT!

[injun_josh]

Quote, originally posted by AKLGT »Sorry, but I'm not a fan of the RX8. They look good but performance wise, they are quite lacking, kinda like the Nissan Z. If you go with one, I will have to steer you toward the MS3. Otherwise, my 08 STI kicks (removed) and with about $700, will give you about 350 hp in an AWD road gripping dream machine! that is, if you want to stay with a hatch. otherwise, I would seriously consider the new BMW 135i.... now that is HOT! well i hae owned 5 rx7... yes thats right 5! i like the rx8 not cause it is super fast or something like that but because its road manners are second to none. i have to say the only thing i have ever driven that will outdrive a rx8 is a porsche cayman s. and im not wanting to spend a helluva lot. my rationale is i can get a used rx8 for right around 18-20k, a new ms3 for 24k, or a new cobalt ss for around 23-24k, or fix up my vibe and have it paid off next year. i would love a sti i just dont want the 700-800$ notes that come with it. have even thought of saving for a while and getting a 2.0 stroked 2zz full race motor from monkey wrench racing. now that im getting this job im trying to buy back one of my 7s which was a 1985 gsl-se. oh you could bet your boots i would pump some serious money into that car. classic japanese good looks and it would have a monster port, turbo swilling, 9k rpm demon under the hood!!!!!! gah i hope i can get that car back!

[injun_josh]

Quote, originally posted by AKLGT »Sorry, but I'm not a fan of the RX8. They look good but performance wise, they are quite lacking, kinda like the Nissan Z. If you go with one, I will have to steer you toward the MS3. Otherwise, my 08 STI kicks (removed) and with about $700, will give you about 350 hp in an AWD road gripping dream machine! that is, if you want to stay with a hatch. otherwise, I would seriously consider the new BMW 135i.... now that is HOT! ooooo, but negative on the beamer. im not a fan of european cars. i have worked on too many. on average they have WAY more premature problems than japanese or newer american cars.

[AKLGT]

maybe true for the audi's but the BMW's??? I've been a huge BMW fan and still would love to buy one. I'd have consider the 135 since it's close to price range of my STI, however, I needed another hatch for the utility, not just performance. But now that makes sense why you want an RX8 so badly. LOL. If that's what you really want, then go for it. However, I will tell you, you'll really miss the utility of the Vibe.

[WaveAction]

i wouldnt waste my money on the BMW135i...spend the few extra thousand and get the 3 series instead..

[Houston]

In today's economy and with your great new job not guaranteed to last forever, I'd put at least half (or all) of the extra dough into short-term investments [for now]. Life in this country might get better one of these days, but I don't see it returning in our lifetimes to what it was just a relatively short time ago.On the other hand and if you're an old geezer like me, blow it on whatever you like.

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by Houston »In today's economy and with your great new job not guaranteed to last forever, I'd put at least half (or all) of the extra dough into short-term investments [for now]. Life in this country might get better one of these days, but I don't see it returning in our lifetimes to what it was just a relatively short time ago.On the other hand and if you're an old geezer like me, blow it on whatever you like.what he said or better yet save for your retirement you never can have enough for later in life.

[injun_josh]

Quote, originally posted by scherry2 »what he said or better yet save for your retirement you never can have enough for later in life.i have a nice 401k and an ira that has grown pretty nicely. when i say bills i mean those to. i view things like retirement and savings just like bills.

[Mavrik]

Two suggestions...1. save up a nice nest egg for a rainy day2. buy a mazda speed 3 or turbo colbalt SS.

[sloth]

Go to junk yard, get a small junker. Convert it to electric vehicle and end up with $1200 left over at the end of the month after you finish your project. Actually by the time you finish and cut out all gas it will be more like $1700 with the way gas prices continue to rise.

[jake75]

When you were old like me you are going to wish you had put $5,000 in a ROTH IRA every year.

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by Houston »In today's economy and with your great new job not guaranteed to last forever, I'd put at least half (or all) of the extra dough into short-term investments [for now]. Life in this country might get better one of these days, but I don't see it returning in our lifetimes to what it was just a relatively short time ago.On the other hand and if you're an old geezer like me, blow it on whatever you like.I've always loved your posts, houston!

[injun_josh]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »When you were old like me you are going to wish you had put $5,000 in a ROTH IRA every year.i put in 3800 last year and 3100 the year before that. i started the ira in 2002 and lets just say that if i wanted to i could by that rx8 brand new fully loaded with EVERY option, and pay for gas and insurance for a full year and still have some change left over. trust me i take my financial future very seriously. but i still want to have fun while im young. i know too many people who worked and saved, and thats all they did, yeah they are millionaires now, but they are so old that they cant do some things they had been wanting to do. case in point. im building a car for a friend. his parents worked there entire lives and on top of that they have built a small real estate empire. they have 75 units ranging from small apartments to large commercial buildings. these people are multi-millionaires. they just recently retired and started enjoying the fruits of their labor. well the husband went out and bought an awesome sea-doo boat so we could all go skiing and boarding. well he cant cause his knees have arthritis. he went out and bought a cannondale 8k$ atv. again, his knees just cant take the pounding. recently he bought a 70 chevelle to restore but he says he is probably gonna either sale it or pay someone else to fix it, cause the sanding kills his elbows, and getting up and down constantly is wreaking havoc on his back. so this is what he told me and my friend (his son) a few months ago, "find a way to make good money. first and foremost your savings and financial future comes first. but always remember you cant be buried with this money. the things i loved to do most in this life, i put off until i was retired and now i cant do them. you have to find a happy medium between being smart about your future and also living your present life." and he was right. i look at it this way, your eggs are never gonna boil if you sit there and watch them, but if you just walk away and let them boil too long your not gonna be able to eat them. you have got to find that "happy medium"

[injun_josh]

and since we are going out on the preparing for your future thing, which was not the topic of my thread anyway, let me ask you guys this. investments and savings are very good things to have. but how many of you have prepared for things to get seriously bad? ira's and savings accounts will not save you from a total economy collapse. money will be useless. i have enough food storage to last several months, enough ammo to last the rest of my life, and enough seeds to plant a 10 acre garden, i also recently purchased a 300 dollar first aid kit, rechargeable batteries of every size with a solar charger, i am also thinking of buying some solar panels, and batteries to run a small refrigerator and freezer, and my dad and i have two five hundred gallon tanks that are always topped off with diesel. i honestly hope i have spent all of this money in vain, but if something catastrophic happens i will not be one of the ones freaking out and panicking. any of you other guys have anything like this? maybe we can swap some ideas?

[northvibe]

ms3 I get 30-32 on the hwy easy and can go fast if i want turbo cobalt is the same too, but is only 2 door.

[jimincalif]

Sounds like you are in a more rural area than me. In SoCal we prepare for earthquakes and/or riots. We have spare water, keep a couple weeks worth of food. cash, and a 12 ga with lots of shells. Have a few solar lights for emergency lighting, a propane stove and a big bottle of propane. If things really get bad I would try to get to my sailboat (about 20 miles away), have food, water, fuel & solar panel and can sail anywhere along the Pacific coast if necessary.

[injun_josh]

Quote, originally posted by sloth »Go to junk yard, get a small junker. Convert it to electric vehicle and end up with $1200 left over at the end of the month after you finish your project. Actually by the time you finish and cut out all gas it will be more like $1700 with the way gas prices continue to rise.ev's are something i have been looking into more and more these days. i have a parts crx, but the only parts that have been lifted are the motor and tranny. so im already halfway there!

[injun_josh]

Quote, originally posted by jimincalif »Sounds like you are in a more rural area than me. In SoCal we prepare for earthquakes and/or riots. We have spare water, keep a couple weeks worth of food. cash, and a 12 ga with lots of shells. Have a few solar lights for emergency lighting, a propane stove and a big bottle of propane. If things really get bad I would try to get to my sailboat (about 20 miles away), have food, water, fuel & solar panel and can sail anywhere along the Pacific coast if necessary.sweet the boat would be an excellent thing to have. yeah i live on a farm that all rolling hill pasture land. out in the middle of nowhere. but at least there are LOTS of woods to hunt in.

[NUBlackshirts]

Quote, originally posted by injun_josh »and since we are going out on the preparing for your future thing, which was not the topic of my thread anyway, let me ask you guys this. investments and savings are very good things to have. but how many of you have prepared for things to get seriously bad? ira's and savings accounts will not save you from a total economy collapse. money will be useless. i have enough food storage to last several months, enough ammo to last the rest of my life, and enough seeds to plant a 10 acre garden, i also recently purchased a 300 dollar first aid kit, rechargeable batteries of every size with a solar charger, i am also thinking of buying some solar panels, and batteries to run a small refrigerator and freezer, and my dad and i have two five hundred gallon tanks that are always topped off with diesel. i honestly hope i have spent all of this money in vain, but if something catastrophic happens i will not be one of the ones freaking out and panicking. any of you other guys have anything like this? maybe we can swap some ideas?Cool! Can I hide out at your house when the zombie apocalypse happens???