Type R Owners, How much do you make? Financial advisers chime in.

GarbageFk7

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27 year old here looking for opinions and advice for trading in my car for a TypeR. I think the peer pressure of co-workers

and friends giving me shit for not getting a type-R and spending money on the base model is making me

consider trading it in for one, although deep down i've been wanting to get one for quite some time anyway, but i've always

been conservative with my money and have always owned really cheap used cars in the past. So I gross

70k a year and have around 32k saved up right now. I only pay 300 a month rent at my parents' house but am gonna move

out very soon. Would it be a smart decision to take the hit of trading in my sport i've had for 1.5 years and

finance the R? It would be my daily. Is it worth it? Am I just being cheap or am I too poor to be able to afford one? Get one

now or wait for 2020 idk...
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keatonS

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This is pretty wild, im in like, the exact same boat as you lmao. Im excited to see where this thread goes, looking for some good advice.
 

Driver56

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Could you afford it? Yes. Is it the best use of your money? That's up to you. Since you are planning on moving out, I would advise you to figure out what your cost of living will be before you commit to higher car payments. Also keep in mind that any other life changes during the term of your loan can be a big strain, so if you wind up with kids in a few years and you're still paying off the R, it could get dicey.
 

MTBhatch

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End of the day its still a civic. I would not get a type R unless i track. On street all cars have the same speed limit lol! If i were you id keep what you have and focus on getting a house instead.

If you’re friends are getting mad at you for not getting the R. Trade in your friends instead.
 


charleswrivers

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I'd rather take a girl home to my own place in a LX... or any old POS car for that matter than take a girl home to mom and dad's house in any car. That's my feeling on it and where my priorities would be as a 27 year old... mind you I had moved out immediately after high school just after I turned 18, lived on my own... going to college and working full time and later enlisting. By 27, I'd been on my own for years... married for years too. My experience and drives greatly color my opinion.

You sound like you have a decent job and a good chunk of change saved up. From a purely financial stand point... it makes zero sense to sink it into a depreciating asset... but finances aside... take a look at your friends. Financially, you really don't know what shape they are in. They could be rolling around in piles of debt, making minimum payments and barely getting by... but those same folks will call you out in not buying a 35k+ car. You just don't know. Screw them. They're not going to pay rent/mortgage and that car payment if you over extend yourself.

Friends are all well and good... but don't take their criticism as sound advice.

It sound like you've already compromised on big purchases... and I'd assume living with your folks has benefitted you financially right now. Life is a lot of compromise. You have to find a balance between being happy now with taking care of yourself and future goals you may have... marriage... children... home ownership... ability to retire either early or at least have a high standard of living.

You need to do a budget and see what living on your own is going to cost and see how a car payment for a $35k car is going to work into that... along with the ability to save any additional money, as you've been doing already, for future goals. That's only something you can do. If you can cover all expenses, not be 'house poor' or 'car poor' (or both) and are able to still.meet future goals... then go for it. If not... don't... unless you want to compromise on the future to have something in the present.
 

rraayy3

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Can you “afford” it? Loaded question ...

1. Are you maxing out your 401K? (19K)
2. Are you maxing out your IRA? (6K)
- if you are saving/investing at least 25K/year, continue reading. If not, no you can’t afford your “kewl car” and you should stop letting peer pressure bother you. You’re an adult.
3. Do you have outstanding debt? Student loans, credit cards, etc. If yes, pay that off ASAP, it will slowly kill you financially with interest.
- if no, continue reading ...
4. Do you have liquid savings / “emergency fund”? In case of job loss/emergency, keep 6 months to 1 years worth of expenses in savings.
5. After taking care of 1-4, do you have enough money to cover monthly expenses (rent/bills/insurance/etc.) and still enjoy life (i.e. not eating cereal and spaghetti 7x a week without leaving the house just to make a car payment)

If you answered “yes” to #1, #2, #4, #5 and “no” to #3 ... congratulations you can afford a type R.

Should you get a Type R?

1. Plan on tracking it to utilize its full potential?
2. Are you buying it because it’ll put a smile on your face every time you start it up, every time you merge onto a highway, and every time you take a corner too fast?
- Or are you buying it because you want to feel “cool” around people who have no business commenting on your financial decisions?

You may not like my advice, but it is the best financial advice you are ever going to get ... especially when you have the ability to retire early, travel wherever you want, and buy whatever supercar you feel like.

If a Type R is truly going to make you happy, and you can financially fulfill the criteria I’ve listed - go for it, it’s an amazing machine. I personally would never waste money on it as a daily, since I spend most of my commuting in traffic and the only time I’ve seen 1 in person I kept pace with it on the highway - because speed limits, laws, etc.

** I just noticed the part about living with your parents (not judging, I lived at home for awhile in order to travel the world and still set myself up well financially).
- There is nothing lamer than living at home with your parents and approaching 30 years old just to drive a fancy car. Nothing.
 
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Nanook

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You didn’t really mention retirement or what you expect your living expenses to be when you move out. $70k at your age is a good wage. You need to determine your long term plan and work from there. Figure $1000/month rent, utilities, food etc. Let’s say you finance $30k for the CTR...that’s about $500;month. I figure your bringing home around $4000/month after taxes.

The cost to own/maintain the CTR is significantly higher than your sport. But as your car loan would be less than 13% of your take home and as you’re single with low expenses, you’ll have $2500/month after expenses to put back...I’d say financially it’s a fine decision.

For me however, I’m glad I didn’t own this car at 27....not sure I would be here.
 

EastBayCivic

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I get the itch too!

I would go with @rraayy3's advice. I subscribe to that train of thought as well.

I live in a busy metropolitan area and my commute is 95% highway and with little to no chance during the week to actually let my car stretch its legs. In fact, I have to go out of my way to play with either of my cars ( 17 touring and mkv gti). This usually only happens if I have something to do early in the AM on Saturday or Sunday. That part is a big driver of why I dont get a CTR. I don't know your location @GarbageFk7 , but you may want to see if you could even take advantage of the CTR benefits where you live.

Another reason I don't have one is the lack of a proper garage. I don't think I'd be ok with a CTR without one of those!
 

Shing

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I was in the same boat as you last year, except I make a little less than you, but have a lot more saved up. It also depends on where you live. I'm not sure about Canada, but in California, the market adjustment for the type R is still really high, and the taxes are one of the highest in the nation. I was offered a used type R with 4k miles on it for $38k before taxes, and I still walked away from it. It's an excellent car no doubt, but I was gonna use it as a daily, and knowing most of the time, I wouldn't be using it to its full potential. Also the wear and tear over time was not enticing for me. Initially was gonna settle for an EX trim, but ended up with the sport touring with some added bonuses due to negotiations down to just under $26k. The 0.9% apr was just icing on the cake. Yea, my co-workers ribbed on me for a little while, but my question to them was always the same. "Then where is the higher trim to your current car? lol"
 


VarmintCong

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You may not like my advice, but it is the best financial advice you are ever going to get ... especially when you have the ability to retire early, travel wherever you want, and buy whatever supercar you feel like.
It's good advice, but not necessarily for a 27 year old. I don't recommend waiting til you're retired to start having fun. A Type R won't give you as much enjoyment at 55 as it will at 27, and you probably won't want one, cause the firm seat will bother your hemorroids and bad back, and your other retired friends will think you're having a crisis. And usually those people who save every penny their whole lives, are still cheap bastards at 60, and die with a lot of money and not many experiences.

If you really love the Type R, don't wait til they're gone to decide to buy one. I found out after they stopped making them how much I wanted an Integra Type R, so I never got one. Now at 50, I don't drive like I used to - the track days are behind me after 2 kids, and driving fast just doesn't make me grin like it used to. So I'm glad I did all the fun car stuff when I was younger.

At 27, just put 10% into retirement and you're fine. If you have no CC debt or school loans, a Type R is not a big mistake, and they will keep their value extremely well, it's not like buying an M car.
 

VarmintCong

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Yea, my co-workers ribbed on me for a little while, but my question to them was always the same. "Then where is the higher trim to your current car? lol"
I find that typical co-workers make a lot of bad life choices and have a lot of debt, and want you in the same boat. Ignore them.
 

boosted180sx

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can you afford it? yes. I think you have enough funds to do so.
is it a smart choice? That is entirely up to you.

You can try asking people in the Type R section since there are lots of people who has traded in their base model or a SI model for a Type R.
 

Nanook

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It's good advice, but not necessarily for a 27 year old. I don't recommend waiting til you're retired to start having fun. A Type R won't give you as much enjoyment at 55 as it will at 27, and you probably won't want one, cause the firm seat will bother your hemorroids and bad back, and your other retired friends will think you're having a crisis. And usually those people who save every penny their whole lives, are still cheap bastards at 60, and die with a lot of money and not many experiences..
Spoken like someone who’s a long way from 55. :p

In all seriousness there is another side to that coin. There are a lot of folks that as they get past 50 don’t want a fast car. As attested by the age thread, there’s a lot that do. Take care of yourself and the hemeroids and back pain etc will most likely be minimal or non-existent and you’ve gained experience and wisdom. I would put a lot of 50+ year olds against a young driver any day on the track. Additionally your less likely to do something stupid...that’s where wisdom comes in.

Waiting for the right time to purchase your ultimate car isn’t a bad thing. Gives you something to strive for. Start too high you’ll never be happy.
 

BriteBlue

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End of the day its still a civic. I would not get a type R unless i track. On street all cars have the same speed limit lol! If i were you id keep what you have and focus on getting a house instead.

If you’re friends are getting mad at you for not getting the R. Trade in your friends instead.
We all have the same speed limits, but there is a difference in how quickly we get to the speed limit. I don't have to go 100 mph, doing a fast 0-40 is fun too.

That being said, I would not get any type of performance car unless I had a garage.
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