which car for first?

Glirk Dient

Glirk Dient

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Soon I am going to be getting my liscense. So I need something to basically drive to work and back...to friends houses and wherever else that is locals.

I want it to have a sporty look to it...so I don't wanna look like a soccer mom or some guy that found his vehicle at the garbage dump.

My price range is...well anything reasonable for someone who isn't rich. If need be I can get a loan from the bank and just pay that off.

I am interested in a manual(only tried to drive one for about 30 mins and I almost had the hang of getting it to move haha). It doesn't need to have the best performance...but decent performance and gas milage would be nice.

I was told by a friend that a ford probe gt would be a good starting vehicle...but other people have said not to get that since it is discontinued. A few other people suggested anything by honda...or anything not american.

So with that in mind...what would you guys suggest? If you can find anything in the maple grove/twin cities minnesota area that would be nice. The zip is 55369 if you need it.
 
BMW. You can find some for cheap, used(find some for the price of new Accords). Great vehicles, too much fun. I am assuming you're pretty young too, don't be afraid that BMW's are for older people... plenty of kids own BMW's, even the not-so-rich ones.

EDIT: For your price range we need numbers. Not "rich" or "not rich"
 
Oops, disregard my previous post. I thought you were like High School student 'cause kids around here get their L's around 16. Anyways, go for Honda. I was considering getting a Civic EG or an EK to practice manual transmission, sweet hatch's. You can find some for like around 2-3 grand.
 
This caught my eye. Looks nice, low milage, good price and seems to be getting good reveiws.
 
RX-7.

hah, just kidding. You should get an Isuzu Gemini. Go dance in Paris.
 
anything by honda is a good choice
civic FTW as a great first car
or a gti or jetta or something
but my personal fav... if you're willing to spend the cash to keep it running reliably:

the VW Corrado





 
links dont work, they just go to main page

sunfire is a hit or miss throw away car plagued with problems ..get a honda/toyota and stay away from american cars unless your budget is twice what you posted or find one that's mechanically sound and under 75K miles

whatever car you buy DO NOT exchange money till a mechanic of YOUR choosing looks at it. Also most jurisdictions ask for lean checks before you can register it ...basically it just means that they'll print you a statrement saying that the original owner doesnt owe money to a leasing company. the same place should also be able to give a printed history of the car you will buy ..it will tell you what accidents your car was in so you can determine if the car is worth it
 
Hmm, the link seems to work for me. I think it might be an issue with cookies.

I have heard good things about honda civics...just most of the cheap ones look like crap heh.
 
If you're handy with a wrench I swear by older model Saabs. They're almost always for sale close by, get good mileage, their hatchbacks make for tons of space, and all the mechanicals are over-engineered beyond what you'd expect. They may not have the looks of BMWs in the same price range, but I've found them far less maintenance-intensive, and more reliable.
 
Glirk Dient said:
Hmm, the link seems to work for me. I think it might be an issue with cookies.

I have heard good things about honda civics...just most of the cheap ones look like crap heh.
Click to expand...

I've owned 2 hondas (prelude and currently own a civic as my second car), good reliable cars
 
CptStern said:
I've owned 2 hondas (prelude and currently own a civic as my second car), good reliable cars
Click to expand...
yep, like i said, anything by honda is a great choice
my buddy owns a 93 prelude siR and he's had very little trouble with it
civics are obviously great on gas
 
Hmm...my friend suggested a probe. Despite being discontinued he says its a common car and you can find parts easily. That and he has had one and can repair it.

Ford Probe GT 97

Ford Probe GT 94

Either of those seems good...depending on how much I want to lay down for a car.

Also the Sunfire caught my eye as it looks pretty good, low miles and nice price.

So which do you guys suggest?
 
Glirk Dient said:
Hmm...my friend suggested a probe. Despite being discontinued he says its a common car and you can find parts easily. That and he has had one and can repair it.

Ford Probe GT 97

Ford Probe GT 94

Either of those seems good...depending on how much I want to lay down for a car.

Also the Sunfire caught my eye as it looks pretty good, low miles and nice price.

So which do you guys suggest?
Click to expand...
id avoid anything american
japanese cars are by far more efficient and reliable
get a civic 2 door or a prelude or something
 
B_MAN said:
id avoid anything american
japanese cars are by far more efficient and reliable
get a civic 2 door or a prelude or something
Click to expand...

qft
 
the links dont work

this is what I get:

http://www.carsoup.com/changelocation.asp

you and dalamari can see it because you're in the same state


probe was plagued with problems ..if you have a friend who can fix it then that could be the saving grace

also you have to ask yourself whether buying a car for it's looks is a good idea at that price range ..compare other cars of same make and model, look at black book value, check accident history, get certified mechanic to look at it then make your decision


the sunfire/cavalier usually has a lifespan of about 180K km (111K miles) to 220km(136K miles) japanese cars have been known to hit 300k km (186K miles)

sunfire are also notorious for having gas gauge reading problems ..I've owned a cavalier and my wife owned a sunfire, as did my father in law ...all three had problems with the gas guage (mine stopped at 1/4 tank ..I never really knew how much gas I had)
 
Buy yourself an old Mercedes, say a 190 or such. They don't die. Ever. They're also cheap and simple to maintain yourself. And there is loads of online help, lots and lots of Merc web forums.

Plus, they don't die.
 
I'd worry much less about where the car came from and more about its condition when you're buying used. I've worked on used cars from just about everywhere, and have some cars that were lemons and some that just won't quit. I've yet to see any real correlation between its country of origin and the life of the vehicle.

However, I would look strongly at the manufacturer. A Honda's parts are cheap and effective, but its not going to offer much in the way of space and I've had some real pain-in-the-butt times trying to work on them myself (you put the bolt where?) Some are going to take more damage easier (used Mercedes, Volvos, Ford trucks, and Saabs particularly) and some are going to be cheap as hell and just run forever like Hondas or Toyotas.
 
Ive still been looking around. Mustang has caught my eye now however I am still looking for a civic because I hear they last longer.

Is there a site where I can find out how long a car is expected to last for and what cars are plagued with problems and so on? I have been searching google and turned up nothing.
 
B_MAN said:
the VW Corrado
Click to expand...

you forgot to mention an degree is basic electrical engineering is required with this car, as well as the funds to rebuild the g-60 charger (aptly nicknamed the grenade) multiple times, or you could go with the vr6 but then you get 'awful' gas mileage (my friends 12v vr6 manages 19.6mpg city).

But the car is definitly hot, i was going to buy a g60 before i bought my GTi.
 
short recoil said:
Delorean DMC-12 if you want hot women to rape you.
Click to expand...

Or if you are looking for a future in time travel. But the plutonium is hard to come by and you must bring your own weapons.
 
Don't take car advice off Dalamari, he talks shite. You should see what he drives! lmao

You want a '98 Holden/Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, mate. Mine was £1000, its 100% reliable, has aircon/satnav/electricwindows/remotecentrallocking/abs/etc and its pretty nippy. Plus they're common, so parts and labour are cheap as chips.

Mine is my first car too, and as first cars go, its a real beauty :P
 
Im in the states...don't think theres many of those here.

Anyone have anything positive or negative for the mustang?
 
lePobz said:
Don't take car advice off Dalamari, he talks shite. You should see what he drives! lmao

You want a '98 Holden/Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, mate. Mine was £1000, its 100% reliable, has aircon/satnav/electricwindows/remotecentrallocking/abs/etc and its pretty nippy. Plus they're common, so parts and labour are cheap as chips.

Mine is my first car too, and as first cars go, its a real beauty :P
Click to expand...

We don't get Vauxhalls, Astons, nor do we get a majority of the hot hatchbacks (we don't even get the Ford Fiesta ffs!)
 
Vauxhall, lmao!
Don't honestly.

Just get a rice burner, toyota or something.......you can't go wrong really.
 
Yeah, japanese is the way to go, good MPG, reliable, cheap
 
Dalamari said:
Yeah, japanese is the way to go, good MPG, reliable, cheap
Click to expand...

But they look like crap or are riced out which is even worse. The mustang v6 isn't too bad on gas milage. I found a 98 mustang with 76k miles on it for $5k. Not to mention it is black and everything looks good in black. The only problem is im not sure how long it will last me. I wanna find out how many miles the mustang is estimated to live, when things start to go sour on average for vehicles and all that.
 
And a 98 mustang looks better than any jap car?

They look like the bastard child of a hyundai coupe and a ford sierra.
 
1FAFP4049WF208115%2D1.jpg

1FALP42T6RF150881%2D1.jpg


Those are the 2 I am considering and they look pretty badass.
 
Problems with mustangs is that you must get a classic version or the new 2006 model. The problems is that an old clasic in good shape is hard to come by at 5k, and the 06 mustang is surelly not 5k. Mustangs from 1990-2004 are the ugliest cars ever.

And, of course a v8 sucks a lot of gaz.

Edit : I just saw your pics, those were the ugly bastards that I was taking about. They berelly have 250 HP and the interior is ugly, plein, nothing special.
 
short recoil said:
And a 98 mustang looks better than any jap car?

They look like the bastard child of a hyundai coupe and a ford sierra.
Click to expand...

could you tone it down on the racist rhetoric? it's really not necessary

Jap:
n. Offensive Slang

- Used as a disparaging term for a person of Japanese birth or descent.
 
regardless if it's an abbreviation or not it is still a derogatory word for a person of japanese origin. I can accept that you didnt mean it that way, but I just dont like how that word is still casually thrown around ..50 years after the fact
 
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