BigBadBuford

I was really surprised to hear the difference in insurance prices as well, I was expecting maybe $25-$50. The Z is $175/month to insure, my beater Accord (which would be traded) is $28/month and the new Accord would be $74/month. I am currently with State Farm and when I originally got insurance they seemed to have the best rates. Since then I've lost my "good driver" discount (brakes went out in my Skylark and I rear-ended someone) and I lost my "Good Student" discount since I graduated which upped my rates by about 25%. I am going to check with my brother's insurance company, AIG, they seem to have awesome rates and really good service and see what they can do for me.

jleighZ

I'm in the same boat. Just got engaged and wanting to buy a house next year. Problem is is the only cars I like is the G35 and Jeep Liberty. I love my car so much and it depresses me to think about selling it, but I know I'm going to have to do something to be able to afford a house. It sucks being a mature adult

EL Diablo

You said your number one priority is to save money.

The Accord is less expensive and more pratical.

Looks like your gonna be driving an Accord Soon.

If your 23 and looking to buy a home your ahead of the game.

In a couple years you'll pick up an 0X 400Z TT hehe

MA4

"but the Z currently needs 4 tires and most likely brakes so that is about $1200"

you can put on Kumo tires and do the brake job yourself for 700$ that 500$ savings will keep you insured for another 5 months

BigBadBuford

Glad to see I'm not the only one in this situation. Other than the Z there weren't too many cars that interested me, at least not ones in a price range I could afford. Sucks "growing up" doesn't it? Seems like last year my only cares were power and performance, not saving money and moving out. Anymore I am more worried about putting money in the bank towards a house and maxing out my 401k and IRA. I'm also not too into racing and driving the car hard as much as I used to be, I think mostly because I saw my brother break his neck and back in a bike accident last year. Even though he is fine now (it was a miracle, his injuries were like Christopher Reeve's) it still scares me to really push the car hard anymore knowing that something like that can happen in a second. The Z is pretty much the perfect car on a track and when you are driving it hard, the power, handling and braking are just amazing, but in a daily driver situation it just doesn't impress as much.

I just got back from the Honda dealership earlier tonight and my decision is even tougher now. They offered my $29k for my Z as a trade which would get me an Accord EX V6 6 Speed fully loaded with Nav with some money back which is really tempting, but on the way home 3 people stopped me to comment on how awesome the Z is and that just makes it even tougher giving it up!

NISMO_GUY2003

The way I look at it, if you are going to have any type of car payment at all, you might as well LOVE the car that you're paying on. This keeps you from buying a new car every 2 years or so and still being upside down on your loan.

P.S. Sure leasing is an option and often offers you a lower monthly payment but I don't like mileage restrictions and like the fact that I own the car at the end of my loan.

Bottom line is are you willing to swap one of your dreams (the Z) for another (house)???

Desi Z 07

Snow tires are pretty expensive. I think a good idea would be to try and put some weight into your rear hatch. Sand bags would be a good thing to do. I dont know if it would work for sure, but i think it should help some in snowy/ icy situations. Plus if you are stuck, you could just open up a bag of sand, and use the sand for traction. Im pretty sure some people on the forums are doing this, so just do a search and i think you'll find something on it. If it works, then it would be a whole lot cheaper than snow tires, and better yet, you could keep your Z, and have a little bit of practicality to go with it. Good luck w/ whatever you choose to do.

NzZ

The accord 6spd is a great car...but it can't hide the fact that it's a family sedan. It just doesn't feel sporty like the Z. There's a reason Honda makes the S2k. :-) You don't have to push the Z anywhere near its limits to enjoy its performance. Simply cruising through a corner at 30mph is a religious experience in the Z. I got nauseous trying that in the accord 6spd.

As for being practical, that's up to you...but the Z is a very practical car. Services are reasonable, the warranty is good (longer powertrain coverage than a honda), it gets good fuel mileage if you drive sanely, etc. The insurance prices you were quoted don't sound right...for me the Z was $120 more every 6mos. I'm in my mid 20s and have a pretty clean driving record. I would check with my insurance company and several other companies if I was you.

About those tires...I just noticed the Yoko AVS ES-100 are finally available in Z sizes. The price? $157/front and $172/rear. So that makes an entire set of Z tires...$658. And those tires have almost double the treadwear rating of the OEM tires. And they are probably slightly better than the OEM tires.

NzZ

BigBadBuford

Thanks for all of the replies. I am planning on making my final decision in about 2 weeks, by then I will have my bonus from work, my tax return and if there really is a tire feathering fix like there has been rumored to be, it should be out by then. I know I will be racking my brain the entire time.

I've had my Z out for the past few days and I remembered a few things I really liked about the car. Although I've had it for 1 1/2 years already, it still gets tons of looks. I really like the sound of the engine and the whine of the transmission. Plus, since the weather has been nicer lately I've pushed it a bit more on the back roads and the great handling is a lot of fun. It is nice seeing that we are starting to have more choices in tires, I just hope that if I do decide to keep the Z they also have a better selection of snow tires as well.

As much as I like the Z, I like the Accord probably almost as much, but for different reasons. I love the smoothness of the engine, the build quality of the interior and the overall refinement of the car. The voice activated nav system (a feature I really regret not getting inthe Z) is awesome too. The money I'd save is also a big plus. I'll have to check with my insurance to make sure his numbers were correct, but with the Honda dealership offering me such a sweet deal on a trade ($29,300), it is very tempting.

I guess I'll just have to keep throwing it around in my head for the next two weeks and hope I make a decision I won't regret.

NzZ

When that 6spd Accord coupe first came out they wouldn't budge from sticker. I said thank you and walked out. Not even 2mos later the salesman called me back and offered my $3000 of sticker. I tried to get it down further, but that was it. $24k and change for a car w/o nav (this was an 03, the 04s weren't out yet). Anyway, when i asked why he told me "honestly, they're not selling as well as we had hoped." So there are good deals to be had on the accord coupe. I have a friend that just bought a 6spd w/nav for just under $25k. 04 model, but in a color my friend didn't really like (I believe it was called Taffeta white).

NzZ

ml2316

if you're worried about money then why are you considering ultra luxury items like a nav system.