Moving to Korea

[cdlong]

i'm moving to Korea in three months and i need to figure outwhat to do with my car. it's a '95 240 with quite a few suspension mods, but the KA is mostly stock. here's the car (http://www.cardomain.com/ride/360169/1).

i'm in the Air Force. i'll be in Korea for 12 months and then come back to the states, hopefully to Colorado Springs. my car is just a DD right now and i autocross it frequently in STX. i could technically take my car with me but it will likely get trashed. i've come up with plenty of ideas, but two come up as the most likely.

plan A - sell my car now, buy an STi in colorado when i get back. i could race in A stock and use it as a DD and to go into the mountains for skiing, mountain biking, etc.

plan B - keep my car in storage for the year, buy a beater (~$5K) in colorado that is more capable in that environment, AWD, four door, etc. i would then fix up my 240 more and probably bump it up a class to SM with a turbo and more suspension.

i'm going to try to sell my car, if i sell it or not depends on if i go with Plan A or plan B. i've thought a lot more about this, but i don't want to write a book here, just tell me what you think.

[Wahl 136]

Personally I would go with Plan B. If you have time invested working on your car you should keep it. Like I said this is just my opinion if it were me.

[Irukandji]

Plan A sounds smarter in the long run. You'll eventually get tired of having not one, but TWO beaters. Sounds like you'll be pretty busy too, so working on cars will become a hassle.

[P4rD0nM3]

I'd go with Plan A.

Why? If you can afford the STI when you get back...I don't think there's any contest between a 240SX and an STI...unless you're a 240SX freak or your 240SX right now is of show-ass quality.

[pbcstylez]

Plan A, do it! you dont wanna fix two pieces of junk for the next 5 years, get something reliable if u get a chance and do it once, cars = too much $

[cdlong]

Plan A sounds smarter in the long run. You'll eventually get tired of having not one, but TWO beaters. Sounds like you'll be pretty busy too, so working on cars will become a hassle.

that's kinda what i was thinking. plus i'm going to buy a house to renovate and maybe work on my masters. luckily i'm single and don't have a family to worry about. plus, i'll have a car that's worth what i've paid for it (minus depreciation) instead of two money pits.

I'd go with Plan A.

Why? If you can afford the STI when you get back...I don't think there's any contest between a 240SX and an STI...unless you're a 240SX freak or your 240SX right now is of show-ass quality.

i like the 240, but mostly i like RWD. my problem is i can't think of any cars that have steering feel and handling of RWD but can handle snow and gravel like AWD. isn't the center diff in the STi driver adjustable? i'd probably be happy if i kept it cranked all the way to the back. maybe the 330Xi, but i'm not sure i'd be comfortable doing this in a BMW.
http://images.sportcompactcarweb.com/projectcars/0209_01z+subaru_wrx_sedan+front.jpg

[s13gold]

+1 for Plan A.

[cdlong]

I'd go with Plan A.

Why? If you can afford the STI when you get back...I don't think there's any contest between a 240SX and an STI...unless you're a 240SX freak or your 240SX right now is of show-ass quality.

wait, you're from Grand Junction. how do you like driving your 240? is it your only car? do you use it for any outdoorsy crap?

[RiversideS13]

+1 for plan A
it is an opportunity for you to upgrade and you will not worry about your s14 while you were away.

[20 til 3]

I'm also in the AF getting sent to Korea, which base you going to?

[cdlong]

Osan, base level CE.

[zens14]

go with plan A

[Jung918]

I would go with the subaru. Even if you don't get a STI, the WRX or Legacy is also a good option

[origin_s135]

plan A for sure, hell, if you really want to have fun in the car go drive the car in the snow. :)

[cdlong]

i test drove a new '06 STi on saturday. needless to say, i'm definitely going to get one. i was thinking about a 325xi but they're a lot more expensive and the sti is the kind of car that looks right when it's muddy. if you do that in a BMW you look like a lazy ass who doesn't care about his car.

it was raining during the test drive and the car still gripped really well. i set the manual diff control all the way back for a little while and got the thing to oversteer pretty bad. i fucked up and pretty much spun out, but at least the thing isn't so nanny-fied that it won't let you do anything fun. once i get used to the car, i bet it will be a lot of fun.

so i guess my car is officially for sale. i don't really know how much i can get for it. any ideas?

[jrmiller84]

I would go with plan A as well. I seriously thought about buying a WRX (not STI) before I started swapping in the SR into my car. It was either get the SR or get a car payment :keke:

Needless to say if I could afford the car payment on an STI I would damn well do it over my 240, which brings a tear to my eye to hear myself say after all the hard work, haha. It's just a completely different class of car.

Buddy of mine had one and it was a blast to drive.

You're from Abilene and moving to Colorado Springs, that's awesome. I have some very good friends in Abilene and Colorado Springs is absolutely beautiful. Went to both places last year. I almost went to DU up in Denver and I'm really sad I couldn't, it's beautiful. Colorado FTW, period.

[cdlong]

yeah, i'm pretty excited to get out of abilene. if you're married with kids and love going to church, this is a great town. young single guy, not so much.

i was really considering buying the car i test drove, it's exactly what i want. but to buy a car just to put it in storage for a year seems stupid. i'm sure i can find an '06 in the summer of '08 with 20-30K on it for significantly less.

[swift_style]

stick with plan A. Plan B would only give you more work to do and you'll need more time. ex: buying a beater, investing more money into your 240 and fixing it up all sums up to a STi.

[89s13steve]

hey i did 2 years up at Casey in korea, listen to this advice and listen well, if you want to keep your car at all...DON'T MARY A JUICY GIRL!!! trust me. but if they are letting you take it over there you might as well, I know a few guys who brought cars over there and had no problems. just be careful driving in winter. theres alot of good places to drive in korea and its great to have your own car.

[cdlong]

DON'T MARY A JUICY GIRL!!!

i heard that several times already, but it is appreciated. i don't think it'll be a problem, asian women don't do anything for me.

maybe i will take my car over there. i'd planned on living on base and not dealing with a car or insurance for a year. i'll consider it though.

[180sxidey]

plan c: buy a new car... take em there... drive it until u come back.. and sell em there.. the imports cost almost double in korea.
lol

[Ian]

When it comes down to it, if I didn't have my 240, i would have been able to afford a WRX a long time ago...

good thing I just both anyways


if i was in socal, dailying a 240 would not be a problem for me, but in this area, it's not doable

[yokotas13]

you should be bale to pay for an STI in cash by time you get back from Korea

no excuse

[HalveBlue]

Plan A!

Colorado Springs sucks at plowing and salting their roads in the winter. I had a horrible time with my 240. Plus the drivers around here are shit. Pure and utter shit, I tell you.

Oh yeah, welcome to Korea, where the Soju will knock even the toughest GI on his ass and all the girlies want your ID card. Get ready for lockdown when the riots come around.

Oh, and the Springs is aiight. I'd rather be in Denver though.

[cdlong]

i've heard Soju is a crap shoot, sometimes it's like wine coolers, sometimes it's practically moonshine. what's with the ID cards? do you mean they want to steal them or they want to know your rank so they know how much money you make?

i'm revising plan B slightly. i can take my car with me so i'll probably do that if it doesn't sell. and when i get back, buy a lesser subaru just for winters and adventures into the mountains. something like a 2.5rs that isn't race worthy but isn't a shit box either. which plan i go with ultimately depends on if i sell my car for what i want.

[HalveBlue]

The Korean girlies like GI's for their ID cards. ID Card = access to bases = access to cheaper prices for a lot of products.

The health benifits ain't bad either.

But, no, they won't steal them. What I meant was they'll try to seduce you left and right to get you to marry them.

[kanagawa_kouki]

Oops, I didn't notice you had already said you could bring your car with you. Yup, all that is really required for you is to have it on your orders. Btw, I used to live on Osan AB, where do you happen to be getting stationed?