I don't own one yet, but even before buying it I was just wondering how actual owners feel. The possibility of something malfunctioning is always there (really with any car really I suppose, but some less than others), especially if you modify. But without even thinking of that, I'm just as worried about vandalism and theft. I know there are some real ******** out there who can't accept when somebody has something nicer than them (plus those who have something against imports), so they feel the need to ruin it for the other person. Are you guys paranoid when you park it for an extended period of time, or do you not even think twice? And I know mechanical problems just come with the territory of this car, but how worried are you that something's gonna suddenly break while you're driving?

Your answers won't discourage me from buying one either; I've come to terms with the fact that sometimes you have to give up some stuff to get what you really want. I flirted with other cars with similar performance (S2K, 350Z, early 90's NSXs with a hell of a lot of miles on them, etc) and a little more reliability (it will be my daily driver after all), but I'm prepared to take on the responsibilities of owning one of my dream cars. I was just wondering how you guys felt after owning them for a while...

 

I am a little paranoid when I park it for a long time but that's just me. I always check over the car when I go back to it to make sure no one touched or scratched it. That's why I'm getting a Viper alarm system. I also keep the car away from rain as if the water is going to melt the car.

 

The more time and money I spend on the car the more I worry about the vandals and bad drivers .This feeling got really bad two years ago as the car started looking show quality under the hood,and getting alot of attention . I really do not worry about break downs only breakins ,as the Eclipse wide screen , PFC and wide band are all in view .The tinted windows help but I do try to Park where I can see the car when I go out .I also park on the end of a row and away from others .Remember it is just a car and can be replaced,,, yea right .

 

im scared to death of idiots.

 

i've had my fd for three months. i always park far away from other cars, take two spots, park backwards, use the club, a car cover (in my garage!), and installed an alarm to notify me if someone has violated my baby.
a couple of weeks ago someone shattered my window. since then i've had two nightmares, one of someone breaking my window (again) and cutting my seats. another of my car getting stolen. if i go to a friends' house, i look out the widow every hour 'just to check'.
would i sell it to save myself the mental anguish? never. i am, however, considering moving out of the city, so that i can rest easier.

 

me too and it sucks cause my horn doesnt work so i always have to give them this

 

Mechanically, you'll want to go through and eliminate weak points...I replaced all remaining rubber hoses with ss braided for <$100. Do all your maintenance when you first get the car, be prepared to spend a grand on maintenance alone. Other than that, have a fire extinguisher, a couple quarts of motor oil, and a gallon of coolant on hand, plus a AAA card just in case, and you're pretty much ready to roll.

As far as visually, yes I worry a lot about going to normal places like stores and restaurants, b ecause people have no respect for others. My wife's millenia has about 20 good size dings and dents on it because of buggy's and door dings. Once she came outside and found an old woman's front bumper wedged over top of her own. Just yesterday i was out in the FD and we were inside eating, and I could see the car. Some guy walks past the car looking down at it, then stops, walks around the front and the other side, making a complete lap around it. Then he bends down to check out my rims. Then he walks around back to look for emblems, there are none but the flying M. So he does ANOTHER lap around the car. Finally he gets back into his vehicle and leaves. I dont know if he was just checking it out, trying to figure out what kind of car it was, or scoping it out so he could steal it later. And if people do this while you're sitting right there watching them, imagine what they do when you're not.

If I didnt own a house with a garage I wouldn't own the damn thing, I'd sell it out of paranoia.

 

Damn, that is hardcore.

 

hahaha i dont have a garage. Yes i get paranoid when it sits in certain places. My neighborhood is relativly calm, only one road to get in, and im in the back. So i feel pretty safe, just shut all my windows and sunroof, lock it and havnt had a problem since(i pray it gets keyed every night) I do have some "gangster" kids that walk around but none of them do anything because they know me and i know what i would do it they touched my car.

 

Might not be a good idea to take two stalls. I dont know about where you're from, but out here its asking to get your car keyed or worse.

I do tend to park farther away from the store or whereever because the stalls are bigger and theres less cars around (I dont mind walking). I garage park the car, and would never consider street parking it.

I'm not too worried about mechanical breakdowns even though I daily the 7. I'm more worried about splitting a coolant hose and overheating or something. The pfc helps monitor temps/boost which adds a layer of comfort

 

You make your car a HUGE target.

#1 taking two spots. Sort of a ******* move.
#2 car cover. Again it just gives someone another reason to screw with your car.

Think about it...

 

Taking two spots is a great way of increasing the odds of getting keyed.

It is also obnoxious.

 

Wow.....
A) I am buying a house with a garage so I can sleep good at night.
B) I drive carefuly looking for pot holes... This has increased even more due to my new 18s.
C) I park it where I can see it. Most of the times closest to the handy cap spaces away from the regular spaces to avoid dings.
D) It is been stored during the winter indoors starting it once a week.
C) When I park it at my old neigborhood (parents house) the getto boys no to stay away because I'm Crazy and own a Colt 45 semi automatic with Corbon hollow points!....

 

agreed on both

no matter who im with, friend, family, stranger (god willing lol), if they see someone who took 2 spots, they automatically think revenge and how to use that on that person by screwing with their car..my brother sees it all the time, he'll see a car take a spot and a half and he'll be like, omg, i wanna deflate his tires or throw a shopping cart at that car..im like lol relax..

also with the car cover, i have a car cover but only use it at home..it attracts tons of attention..people will think, hmmm, i wonder whats under that cover..i wonder what else he/she has in that car that makes that person over protect it?

i know its hard to not protect your "baby" but doing those extra things to protect iit will lead to bad causes..


as for me, yes im paranoid..at work, ill park at the very corner because i know the person who comes in after me parks next to me so i am relieved that no customers will part next to me (so i dont have to worry about the risk of them hitting my car with their doors)..my co-worker is there practically all day and i leave before him so my car is clear the whole day when i take that spot..but i still constantly glance at the car every 10 minutes or so since where im stationed at is facing the door and i can see the car right away, its right in my vision the whole time

friends house? most of them have driveways so i park there..for those who dont, i dont bring the FD, i either get picked up or take the beater civic..

 

Amen to that!

 

My car may not be show quality, but I still hear how great it looks from people, and I enjoy driving my car, a lot. I take normal precautions in mall lots (I take the Honda), but if you park by other well maintained cars, it seems safe (they don't want their car hit either). I AutoX the car twice a month, and go to as many track days as I can (1 or 2 a month), and I really don't worry about hitting cones or going off in the dirt, that's what buffers and body shops are for. If I have to coddle the car, I don't want it, I don't have enough money to buy a trophy car, I want it because I love to DRIVE IT. Looking at it is good, driving it is better. Break downs can be fixed, and scuffs can be polished out, use common since when parking, lock the doors (if the thief wants in, he's getting in), and drive it.

Of course I live in Kentucky, your experience may very.

 

in an ever growing world of useless gigatic boring SUV's with bowling ball like handling and huge blind spots I'm afraid of getting hit. People in SUVs and on cell phones, yelling at their kids, or people who know they suck at driving and buy huge vehicles to make up for their shortcommings almost merge on top of me daily.

I have a backup vehicle so I don't have to worry about parking her at the mall or the movies. I drive her for a sunday drive, and daily to and from work. It is nice to be able to see my car out the window at work. I work at an auto repair center with many small repair shops, nobody ***** with anybodys' **** around here.

I also take her to school, but being an automotive teacher's pet has its advantages, I don't have to park in the college parking lot, I bring her straight up to the automotive tech area. There is ALWAYS work to be done on an FD, lol.

 

My car was totally flawless when I got it. Now 3 years later it has some door dings and scratches and it doesn't really bother me. You just can't have anything nice unless you never drive it and the funny thing is that I rarely drive my car. I have put about 12,000 miles in 3 years. Most of the damage comes from my wife throwing her door open in the garage. (Yes I know, I have yelled at her 1000 times) First of all it is just a car, nothing to lose sleep over, or have nightmares about. Second, we have insurance for a reason.

 

I'm basically gonna mention points others already brought up

- To piggyback on what RotaryResurrection said, there's a world of difference between being able to afford buying a car, and owning a car. Thank God, I live at home w/ the parents, and straight up hijacked one of the garage spots. At school/work, I have a garage spot too. I would simply NOT drive my car if I had to street/public park it on a regular basis. That's how cars get jacked, dented, dinged, banged up, etc.

- I always park at the very end of a parking lot when going into a shopping center/store etc. When you're THAT far out (about a 2 min walk from the doors lol) there really isn't a prob w/ double parking. I do it all the time. The mall security doesn't like it, but no one's gonna get pissed if you take up even FIVE spots as long as it's in the middle of nowhere, so it's not affecting THEIR parking space.

- At least for me, there's a direct correlation between the more I put into my car (mods, not maintenance), and the more paranoid I am about driving it - just because I have more and more to lose. The key to that IMO is 1) Strong faith in God (meaning you do your part too lol), and then 2) Having damn good insurance that will cover EVERYTHING (which means you better have reciepts for everything, and have the premium already include your mods).

- Re: parking in not so good areas, it's real simple. If I'm going somewhere "ghetto" or known for dumbass vandals, I simply won't take my FD. End of story. I'll take my daily beater (which is a must...you gotta have one), or I'll have my friend drive. And when we go to eat, I'll wait however long it takes to park the car in a visible corner spot, and request to be seated where I can see it. I've also seen people circle around my car. Needless to say, it gets ya VERY nervous.

- Worrying about other drivers - hopefully that's a bigger concern than worrying about your OWN driving lol. I'd venture to say that the majority of FD's put to sleep were done so by driving recklessness/incompetence, than by the notorious cellphone SUV mom. BUT, that doesn't mean you shouldn't upgrade your horn. A good strong SUPER loud 2-tone horn is a must. Check out Adam C's horn. I can practically hear that thing go off from here

When all's said and done, I'm the type of person who doesn't want a car I'm too afraid to drive around. That just means that I'm extra careful along the way, and anytime the FD's involved, a lot more planning and thinking ahead has to happen. But, it should never get to the point that I'm scared to drive it period. If that point ever comes, again, like RotaryResurrection said, I'd prob sell it, cuz then it's pointless to have...

 

thanx guys. here ia am trying to protect it and instead i'm making it more susceptible.

 

I'm scared to death when I leave my car parked somewhere I can't keep an eye on it. Usualy when I park in a public lot I write down the license plate #'s of the cars next to me just incase, My paint is insured so I take all the precautions so incase I have to file a claim. But I'm definitely a slave to my FD. Thinking of getting one of those alarms with the pager thingy?!?

 

#2 this is completely true. I put a cover on my car at NOPI and when I got up the next morning it was gone. I thought maybe the wind blew it. When I got it back to the hotel and went and ate I came back and it was on a riced out Del Sol. Damn ricers took my cover and put it on their car. The cover just attracted people and did not help keep my car clean.

 

this past year its been ridiculous for my fd and i. ive noticed i only drive my car when its either the only car here or to rx7 meets. but basically i only drive my car to meets. i think thats pretty sad.

 

the fear of driving such a machine disappears once you have bonded with it, and instead, the fear is replaced with absolute unmitigated joy.

 

I hate when people mess with other peoples cars.... think about how much money and time they had to spend for there own pride and they mess it up because of violators... man.... we need those car alarms that shoots out flames~~