Soon to be SI owner

Hey folks!

I’ve been in the market for a new daily driver for a few weeks now. I drive almost 70 miles/day during the school year (teacher), so economy and reliability are priorities for me. In the past, I’ve had some hotrodded muscle cars (87 Monte Carlo, 90 mustang 5.0 with heads, cam, intake, and a 150 wet shot) and a zippy ‘90 Prelude with four wheel steering (!), so the enthusiast in me also wants something that’ll give me a little grin during the commute.

My first interest was the Focus ST. After some research and checking one out in person, I was put off by recent Ford products’ apparent reliability issues. I’ve also heard that the car is a bit thirsty, and it comes from the factory with an open diff, which is absurd, frankly.

Naturally, I considered the WRX, too. Mileage and cost of ownership put me off, though I’ve always had a soft spot for those things.

I posed my quandary to one of my tenth graders who is into cars, and he suggested I check out the SI. Sure enough, I went to a dealer to check one out, test drove it, and loved it! I love the standard feature list, the shifter felt perfect, and it was zippy enough to bring a smile to my face. It really seems like the perfect blend of daily driver/fun to drive for someone on a teacher salary!

Sorry for the long winded post. I’m looking forward to joining the community. What’s the over-under on how long I keep it stock? This Friday I’ll be heading to a local dealer to try and shmooze my way under invoice...wish me luck!

Good luck. The latest Si is truly a great value for what you get.

I scoped out GTIs and WRXes and to get an similar package was at least +6k out the door and at least +10k total cost over 5 years. Yeah they're faster off the line but I'd take the Si around corners and it has more passenger space too.

If you live in a suitable climate do see if you can get the summer tire option. Unfortunately my dealer didn't have any.

Welcome! I doubt you are going to get much off of your invoice for the car per say. You could probably get away with them throwing in summer tire set or all season floor mats. The price of the SI are dirt cheap and dealerships dont make a ton off of them to be honest so they dont have much wiggle room. The obsession gets real when you buy it! I loved the shifter on mine when i purchased but bought a weighted shift knob and the shifting feels even better.

Good luck! I'm in a similar situation (~80 miles round trip commute each day) and my Jeep broke down one too many times, so I decided to get a new car. I researched the same vehicles, and for the money the Si is a steal. It's fantastic!

As an ex-owner of an ST, the Si is the better choice. Handles better, is more comfortable, and feels more grown up. Plus, as you said, my bet is it will be more reliable in the long run.

I am in the market as well. But I am holding out for the 2019 model because there is a big possibility that they will refresh the model.

fightingfish said:

......Sorry for the long winded post. I’m looking forward to joining the community. What’s the over-under on how long I keep it stock? This Friday I’ll be heading to a local dealer to try and shmooze my way under invoice...wish me luck!

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Welcome to the community. I think the car will be a good fit for you. I came from a similar background. Many previous modded cars ('84 Z28, '02 WRX, '02 Z06, '11 EVOX) all of which were supposed to remain stock and wound up modding in under a year. I am arguably older and wiser now, was single then, now married with a 3rd kid on the way. I had many friends and family with Honda/Acura through the years. While I never liked their lack of torque, nor their "wind it out for VTEC" mindset, I could not fault their reliability, resale, and fuel economy. After a brother in law of mine picked up a 2017 HB Sport CVT, I did some curious research and soon decided to buy a 2017 SI. It's a great little car with some pep and good handling that can return excellent fuel economy.

danjustynchiong said:

I am in the market as well. But I am holding out for the 2019 model because there is a big possibility that they will refresh the model.

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Don't hold your breath the car hasn't even been out for a year. If they make any changes they will be minimal and not worth waiting imo.

Thanks for the warm welcome, folks!

My mind is made up, car-wise...just can’t decide on the color!

As for the performance tires, I’d love to, but the LI winter is nothing to scoff at. Does the $200 premium also get you the original all season tires, or is it one or the other?

TheRealWizzy said:

Don't hold your breath the car hasn't even been out for a year. If they make any changes they will be minimal and not worth waiting imo.

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Not expecting a lot of changes. Hopefully just a new rear bumper for sedan model. No rush to buy as of right now.

fightingfish said:

Thanks for the warm welcome, folks!

My mind is made up, car-wise...just can’t decide on the color!

As for the performance tires, I’d love to, but the LI winter is nothing to scoff at. Does the $200 premium also get you the original all season tires, or is it one or the other?

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It's one or the other.

jweb said:

It's one or the other.

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Get the Type R...its worth it.

CivicRGTS said:

Get the Type R...its worth it.

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With dealer markups its close to twice as expensive. Can't even compare.

fightingfish said:

Thanks for the warm welcome, folks!

My mind is made up, car-wise...just can’t decide on the color!

As for the performance tires, I’d love to, but the LI winter is nothing to scoff at. Does the $200 premium also get you the original all season tires, or is it one or the other?

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The stock All Season tires are horrrrrrrible, based on my last NJ winter. I suspect the issue is more contact patch width than actual tread. If I could do it again, I'd go for the summer tires, and then buy a skinny set of all seasons on steel wheels, or a proper set of winter tires.

2018 Si coupe is listed here at $21,999.