trade 2000 Si for new SRT-4?

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,


Bluesman

 

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!

 

The re-sale of the SRT-4 is better than you might think. I ran a
check on 2003 models - clean with 10k miles an 03 SRT is $14,025. In
compasison, an 03 Civic SI is $12,985. Both MRP are within $1,000.

High performance, limited production cars hold their value - as long
as they are in demand. Compare depreciation percentage drops between
a base Lancer and the Lancer Evo, which is turbocharged. You will be
surprised.

 

I agree with that. No way I would pay more than sticker. Hell, I
don't even pay sticker. The final deal was my car plus $9,750. I got
them to drop even lower becuase I would have to get snows immediately.
The g-force are death in the snow.

I remember that too. when I bought the Si in late 99, there was a
yellow S2000, marked up $10k. nuts.

Actually, As much as I love the Si, it can be a pain in the ass. It
rattles. It has to rev high to get going - it needed 6 gears and 200
hp.

I have read about consistent dyno tests at the wheels between 245 -
250. That would mke rated hp what - 270 - 280?

I still think the SRT is a good mtch for the Evo but for the AWD.
Both based on econoboxes, the SRT has tremendous brakes, 17" alloys,
and BFgoodrick G-force KDW's, which may be the best summer rubber you
can put on a performance car. The seats in the SRT are Viper seats -
and are way extreme. I had Reacro SE in the Si. Comfy, but not as
performance inspired as the SRT's.

With that said, I would still take the EVO - but the SRT is definately
a comparison car. Inexpensive small turbo charged 4 door that is
built for speed and absolutely flies.

The SRT is tighter. Better driving position and seats vs. the stock
Honda. Vtec is nice, but a turbo whistle has it beat. The stick is a
little stiff in the SRT, but the clutch is comparable to the Honda,
which says a lot.

I like the speed. SRT wins.

Different strokes I guess. Another buddy of mine who has a maxima
drools for the Evo. The 1st thing I thought was the car was a $30k
Lancer - hard to et around it for me - just like getting around the
SRST being a neon.

Thanks for the post!


Bluesman

 

True, but it isn't often they will sell an SR4-T for MSRP or less. If
they do, you may be in luck. Once the initial demand drops, well, it's
just another Neon.

I won't be surprised. I'm very very familiar with the resale on both
of those vehicles. <grin>

 

Bluesman check out this link if you like speed:
http://www.srtforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36200&page=1&pp=15

That's a 2003 SRT4 with very minimal mods. It last ran 8.55 in the 1/8 and
13.4 in the 1/4 on street tires. I have nothing to complain about the car.
People can call it a Neon or whatever they like but the bottom line is that
it's a very good performing car for the price and it looks quite appealing.
More so than my EVO. You can get a Honda Civic Si for about the same price
but you'll have to spend a lot more $ to move up to the same performance of
the SRT4.

I cannot speak for anything else about the car i.e. reliability. The car in
the video is driven hard both drag strip and autocrosses and he drives it to
work everyday for the past year and it runs great! He said he has done at
least 100 launches at the track ... even with those mods... the stock clutch
is still doing great. Is it going to fall apart down the road? I doubt
that. I know of a few folks who killed their Honda Civics and CRXs engines
trying to get the same performance by turbo charging and/or pumping NO2 into
their cars.

Do not pay full price for any cars either. The MSRP for the EVO was $30,800
but I got it for $28,750 I know of a few folks who paid MSRP or
$2,000-$3,000 above MSRP. I normally drive out of the city area to a place
within 200 miles of where I live and shop for a high demand vehicle. If
driving 200 miles saves me $2,000 then it's worth my trip.

If I didn't already have three vehicles I would be interested in a 99-00
model Civic Si as long as it's blue. If I were you, I would buy the SRT4.
I think you'll be happy with it.

 

Thanks for the post. I did buy it. Sunday. Have been driving it for
the past 3 days. The SRT is amazing. And the Dodge Flame red is one
of the best looknig colors out there, especially for this car.

The only bitch was I immediately had to order all seasons, Continetnal
ExtremeContacts wounted on Mille Miglia Avia's. $900 from the tire
rack - but I will have the tremendous G-force T/A's for the summer. I
can't wait to bring this baby to New England Dragway once it is broken
in.

The deal was my car plus $9750. So if it was full MRP, then my car's
trade was 12,280. My car's trade value was between 9,600 - 10,500 on
kbb and edmunds, and I had aftermarket wheels and seats - not stock.
(the car was stolen at 8,000 miles, I replaced with different than
stock).

So all around it was a good deal. I bought the Si for 17,100. So I
essentially drove it for 51 months at less than $100 a month. Cool
with me.

I loved my Honda - actually feel like I betrayed it by getting rid of
it when it was still running perfectly, but the SRT was too much to
resist.

Later,


Steve - The Bluesman