[darkpuppet]

Any modded car you buy will cost money to maintain/fix... as with any car. Sure, anything beyond stock is going to put more stress on the car requiring more maintenance and more money... but that applies to EVERY car.

The civics are dirt cheap to mod, and they respond really well. However, they retain a lot more of their residual value, so yeah, people can and will get more money for a used civic than any used ford. Regardless of mods.

A buddy of mine bought a '92 civic for $4,000... absolutely mint condition, and that is considered a steal. You can get a mint condition 2000 focus for that amount of money.

what's the better buy really? in 10 years time, I'm pretty sure my buddy will be able to sell his civic for more than my focus will be worth (it's worth a whopping $10,000 only 4 years into it's life).

Now a focus just plain ol' starts cheaper. Throw on basic mods, and yes, you'd have a cheaper car than a civic that started with a higher residual, with way more money in mods.

If you do the right mods, the car can be driven just fine every day. This civic is just that... it's probably got nothing until that monster turbo spools and vtec hits... there's no strain on the engine until you hammer on it.

And if you hammer your 500WHP daily driver every day, you're going to be in the ditch long before you throw a piston.