I did a quick calculation and the S2000 with a $15k loan at 3.9% would cost $1847 in interest total over 6 years.

Also with an estimated initial loan of $22k for the Civic and being two years into it at 2.9%... you have approximately $600 in interest to pay over the remaining three years of the loan.

Assuming the $30 insurance decrease will be offset by premium gas and increased tire consumption, and you're $2000 upside down on your Si...

You're looking at:
$1200 more interest
$2000 for being upside down

If you can recoup ~75% of your mods: $1500.

So best case scenario:
$1200 more interest
$500 for being upside down

That's just in the beginning. That doesn't seem horrible, right?
But it's still costing you more money than that.

Fast forward to 2013. If you kept the Si, you'd have paid it off.
Residual value for a 5-year old Si sold privately: $8268 (Edmunds)
You'd own something worth $8268.

If you traded for an 04 S2000 and it's now 2013:
You'd still owe $7937 on a 9 year old S2000.
That car might be worth $8500.

You'd only have $500 of equity rather than $8268.

So that's the skinny if I've done reasonable calculations. If I haven't, I'm sure the peanut gallery will check the math.

If you wait three years with the Si payments, you'll basically have an item with $8300 of value which you could turn around and buy an 04 S2000 outright (in 2013).

If you get an S2000 now, you take the initial upside-down hit and roll it into a small payment that keeps you upside-down to break-even for the next three years. In 2013, you're left with basically jack-squat.

Your call. But it's a >$7000 loss over the next three years for going to the S2000 by my estimation.

 

(Psst. To the OP, you can't compare your monthly payments with 3 years left vs. a different loan over 6 years. The real comparison would be to get the S2000 financed over 3 years and see what that monthly payment would come out to. Or to see what your Si payment would be if refinanced to a longer term (6-years from today)).

 

This.

 

Since this is an 04 and as mentioned earlier no Flashpro is avaiable until 06, what are the benefits of the flashpro for this car?

 

There's a separate subforum for that.

 

One of the local club members tracked his car a lot. It had engine problems and other serious problems from bumper to bumper. It had 3 accidents on the CarFax. He got a good trade in for it for some reason. A couple of days later, the car appeared on the dealer's website as a pristine "lazer" red S2000 in great condition with a ridiculous price tag considering all the problems it has. They had taken a buffer to it and thrown it on the lot. It sold in a few days... Don't make the same mistake some poor buyer made with that car.

 

FAIL! Went it to look at it today did a walk around and scrutinized the replaced fender and every other part of the body and interior... Thing was mint! Went in to ask the salesmen I been working with for a test drive. Then the sadness occurred another salesmen started the paperwork for a couple ten minutes earlier while I was outside looking at it. Worst luck in the world and the search continues and my knowledge of S2K's continues from s2ki.com!

 

Trust me that was a good thing. From what CKit posted, its better to wait a bit.

CKit - Couldn't he just refinance the car within a year though?

 

this.

 

He could finance the S2000 with a shorter term and come out closer to the overall cost of the Civic. I was mainly pointing out the gross error in his logic when he thought he was "saving money" by paying less monthly on the S2000.

If he had cash to pay off either vehicle, it'd be a pretty good trade.