Regretted buying NA CJ instead of Ralliart :(

[INVUR-1]

After doing some researching i felt so regret buying CJ SX.
shoulda save up a bit more and go for a near new RA instead ;'(
RA got every i wanted the look and the performance.

Now the question is, should i continue modd my car or should i leave it as it is till late next year and trade it in for RA ?

Been thinking about it for a while now, just don't want to wast money on it.
It a brand new car so i hope it won't loss it value as much but if i mod the car ie.body kit etc.... it might be hard to sell/trade it in is that true ???

What your view on this guy?

[ofey]

You are going through the same thing most of us go through.

All of us who have bought NAs have looked enviously on those who have bought RAs and wondered why we didn't shell out more. But for some of us, our pockets are only so deep.
Don't let envy or ego rule you.
When you go for meets, you're not judged by the car you drive or how fast your go, You're judged by whom you are and how friendly you are as a person.
On this club, we've met some RA owners who know nothing and some Evo drivers who have egos which need to be put back in check.

2 things will come to mind:
1. How much do you need a turbo?
2. Will the looks significantly change the function of the car?

You will have to also consider the increased cost of running a turbo AWD.
No more RON91 petrol. Premium only.
650km per tank Vs 450km per tank.

New RAs now have capped price servicing which perhaps make it more attractive. I think is restricted to 8 services (or 120,000km) for the RA and that's reportedly when the SSTs usually start showing the first signs of problems.

For us who bought before Jan 2010, the cost of servicing is ridiculously different. My 45,000 service cost me a mere A$395. If I had owned an RA, I'd be up for close to A$1000.

You will find that modded cars don't sell for anymore than a non-modded one. After you consider how much you spend on modding your car, the additions will not even be considered in the price.

You will always get better value buying a higher spec model. Even if you compare what you paid for the SX (~A$23,000), you could have got a VRX for perhaps A$7-9K more. An brand new top of the line RA will be A$19,000 more but that's the cost of another car!

I have the financial ability to purchase an RA if I wanted but I figured, I could put the money to better use. Investing A$10,000 in shares and betting, you could then mod your NA to quite a good state. Sure an RA would go faster, I'd turn a few more heads when I zoomed past, but would it help the overall state of my life? Unless I raced random people on the road, then perhaps I'd need one to keep myself going.

Another way of looking at it, those who bought an RA new, have shelled close to A$40,000 on their ride. You've shelled only about half of that. IF all things were equal, You're A$20,000 ahead of them in terms of disposable income to get your next car. In 10yrs, with simple maths, it's cost you A$2000 to zoom around per year, it's costing these fellas A$4000 to do the same. In 10 yrs time, the RA will be just another car. Ego only lasts so long. Turn the clock 10 years back and say you bought an CH vs the guy who bought just a lancer CH RA. Those guys have since moved on from their cars by now.

Tough.... Enjoy your car for what its worth and then move on, promise yourself a better car next time around.

[nixonx]

I suspect even with a ralliart, we would see the same post about an evo there's always something better... unless you have a GT-r !

[Mitch]

Yeah agreed with ofey i have had the same thought but yeah take your time make up your decision and start saving for the RA if it is what you really want

[Alileighju]

That's a very good response Irving, Andrew, it all comes down to what you want in your car and what you're willing to spend. A Ralliart will cost a lot more on road, maintenance, insurance and performance parts if you're going down that road.

If you are willing to spend these extra costs for performance, so be it.
Sure sometimes I wish I had a turbo car but as I drive 77km/day it would not be practical.

I think what's important is what you do with your car no matter what it is, it's the journey and what you learn along the way that counts.

Everyone has regrets in buying something, oh I should have gotten that instead! Just spend whatever amount on your car that makes you happy but not too much that it hinders you from your next car. There will always be something new and you never know what you'll grow out of or into next.

Ali.

[justin]

i have to agree with you all, i mean i drive an RA, but really its just another flashy car that you have to worry about, wen i sold my 200SX S15 i was looking for comfort that is fun and exciting at the same time along with a few goodies like cruise control and such now it does have everything i need and want but really its just a car i could have gotten all that from a Mazda SP25 like i originally wanted but couldnt get it in time... common sense told me to wait but the joy of having a turbo'd car the week i needed it was to much.. now i dont regret it and i love the car its my new pride and joy but seriously its annoying worrying about a car all the time....

The Ralliart is a nice car by no means short of amazing and mind bobling... but like Ofey said, what happens when you hit 45k kms and you go aw crap and dont realize its a 1k service... ur down 1g's before you even know it.... i think that everything sort of needs to be taken into account before buying new in any circumstance... you just really need to think hard and long about it.... as much as i love my RA i would have been happy with a nice Mazda 3 with all the extras and never have to worry about crazy priced servicing... (although i must add that capped servicing is amazing... you always know how much your up for where as no one else really provides that... bonus about mitsu i guess)

anyway just some friendly advice mate, and i hope you get to your RA one day they are truely amazing.... but then again so is an evo 8

[INVUR-1]

I have the financial ability to purchase an RA if I wanted but I figured, I could put the money to better use. Investing A$10,000 in shares and betting, you could then mod your NA to quite a good state. Sure an RA would go faster, Id turn a few more heads when I zoomed past, but would it help the overall state of my life? Unless I raced random people on the road, then perhaps Id need one to keep myself going. Another way of looking at it, those who bought an RA new, have shelled close to A$40,000 on their ride. Youve shelled only about half of that. IF all things were equal, Youre A$20,000 ahead of them in terms of disposable income to get your next car. In 10yrs, with simple maths, its cost you A$2000 to zoom around per year, its costing these fellas A$4000 to do the same. In 10 yrs time, the RA will be just another car. Ego only lasts so long. Turn the clock 10 years back and say you bought an CH vs the guy who bought just a lancer CH RA. Those guys have since moved on from their cars by now. Tough.... Enjoy your car for what its worth and then move on, promise yourself a better car next time around.

Very good point Chief Ofey!

I just thinking that it will be a Rice Car if i start to mod the body, dual exhaust and spec the hood....

but thanks you all for your word, i was feeling a bit down before.
But yeah, every things been said (above reply) is true, i had taken into account all of those and of cause the cost to run a RA will significantly higher than NA CJ.
Maybe in a couple of years time i get my hand on a RA or something similar.

At the mean time i will let the mod bug bite me

[bd-850]

agree with Simon (part from the GT-R crap ) Buy a RA and you'd wish you got a EVO, same old story over and over again.

some days i wish i didnt buy the Lancer, for the money i could have got such a better 2nd hand car, i could have got a cheaper car and spent the extra on doing it up to make it quicker than the lancer. but you have what you have NOW so enjoy it.

But i find modding it is part of the fun of owning a car.


and i agree with Ofey

[tjoz]

You dont need to worry, you just got the grass is greener thing happening. Its normal. Its also a modding vs OEM stand point. Everyone at some stage will go through it; just wait till you have the days where you want to blow your car up

At the end of the day it should be what you want. Personally I would go modding over a factory special for the simple reason of being individual. You can have a car you have worked on that is tailored specifically for you whereas with an OEM car you dont have that; you get the default choice. A Happy Meal on wheels. It not just goes for CJ owners; every car owner goes through it at some stage.

It also gets thrown the other way; buying a more expensive car is not always the answer. Your still going to ask why.

On actual work you put into the car; the reward is far greater than buying a flashy car. The bigger sticker price is all just ego crap. The more expensive the car the bigger the wanker ratio.

Modding is never easy. You will have plenty of times where you go 'why' but that is just part of life. If you constantly look for justification you will never know happiness

[13EZY]

youre not judged by the car you drive or how fast your go, Youre judged by whom you are and how friendly you are as a person.

bang on!!!!!!!

mind you, i very carefully considered my investment of 16K for a 2nd hand VR, knowing full well i'd pour at least 10K into mods for whatever car i bought

[goatio]

i have a ralliart &love it.
would have loved an evo just that little bit more.
but an evo is too impractable, another 20k,
higher insurance,costs , twat magnet,
& the mrs would have liked an evo even less.
boot space is already tight in the RA.
they say the grass is always greener on the other side,
after 5 months i'm just starting to think about mods.
enjoy your car

[MisfitPL9]

Had this discussion with a work colleague today ( I had the green eyed monster rear its head as he purchased a new WRX for $45k ).

Had a think about whether I should have got the RA, and in the end decided was happy with the SX - I had to think - What do I need this for, what did I spend, would I be happy with it for 3 years ( on novated lease ) etc...

I couldnt justify spending $30k plus on an RA, when I could have got the SV6 for a similar price, or a V8 Commodore for a bit extra - almost bought the V8, but decided against it based on re-sale value and price of fuel in 3 years ( I had a hard enough time trying to sell the 60th Anniversary Commodore - people are just not buying larger engine cars )

Mate also pointed out to me that the RA would have been nice but stock, and at least with the SX, I can mod it the way I want - major bonus.

Glad I got the SX - couldnt be happier with the Lancer - a car that surprised me coming from driving V8's and V6's to a four.

[PYLee]

On actual work you put into the car; the reward is far greater than buying a flashy car. The bigger sticker price is all just ego crap. The more expensive the car the bigger the wanker ratio.

That's a pretty bold statement there. The question is , would you still settle for a lancer if you had a bigger budget ? Saying that , would it make every single person buying an expensive car a wanker ?

Whatever it is , do what you can within your comfort zone. After all , it's a car with depreciating values so think twice before making any decisions.

[LaNcE]

its true tho. ive got the mr and see all the bills the evo gives me. but at the end of the day i got the car that i wanted for now and not think everytime what if i got that car, its pretty much self satisfaction as you work hard and the car is my reward in a way. but im just guessing here, but why spend all the money to make to make the car go faster or changing body parts to look like an ra/evo when in turn the the price of the car itself + the mods is pretty much the same as the ra already but it will be still not that same performance wise.


when i was looking for a car i was thinking of getting a cheap cj + turboing it with the road race turbo kit but i figured ill be spending a lil less(did the maths the car i wanted to build was 5k less of an evo but 100kw+ less of the evo) it was better to fork out a bit more to get something better. dont get me wrong sure the sx will take you to a to b a lot cheaper than the ra. but how much more extra will you fork out for the car you want? im guessing its just $20 per month. all up to you but this is how i see your dilemma. hope this helps.

and not all evo owners have bigger ego's than the kw's they have but there are some cj's owners who are just the same its unfair to just pin point evo and ra owners.

[Meaty]

I bought a VRX, the only other car i would of bought at the time was a (insert a small ivtec hatch here) i dont want a auto-boxed RA, sure a Evo would be nice, but then i could of got 2 VRX's for the same money.

I have never regretted purchasing my lancer, i didnt even test drive it.

The RA has a nice look to it no denying it, but if i had my choice again, i wouldnt buy one, i might get a different colour VRX but.