good starter car

[MaSonZ]

trying to get ideas for a car for me. will be a getting my permit mid to late fall (hopefully), and my mom and I can't seem to agree on anything for  car. she wants something safe, understandibly, as do i. however she just says safe like theres only a few safe cars to choose from. Ive done a few hours research, talked to my mom,dad and brother, and my brother and dad agree with me, i wont be needing a truck daily, and if i did I could ask them or my mom. anyway,  back on topic, Im lookin for somethin a little sporty (a volkswagen jetta, mazda, something like that) with a manual, good fuel economy etc. etc.  as I said my mom and I cant seem to see even romotely close to eye to eye on anything, and im out of options. any ideas or help?

[Fender16]

Find the cheapest, just barely working, vehicle you can buy.
When you are just starting to learn how to drive you don't want to buy a car you actually like because you may damage it.
My first car was a 1991 Chevy APV mini van.

Had over 260k miles when I got it, could hardly go past 70, didn't like going up hills faster than 45 miles an hour, paint was faded, you name it, it didn't function like it should.
I got it for free since a family friend was moving and had no use for it since it just sat outside.
Dad and I got it running and I had some enjoyable times with it.
Since it was a piece of crap, I abused it.
Burn outs, driving through fields, jumping it, drifting in my drive way, spray painted on it, put stickers on it, good times.
I sure didn't get any chicks with it but it got me where I wanted to go and taught me how to drive.

Now I drive a 2005 GMC Envoy with leather seats, Bose system in it, sun roof, the works.
As a kid, you're going to do irresponsible things in your car and you may as well do it in a car that is already on its last legs anyways.

Just my two cents.

[MaSonZ]

i understand what your saying. with me, not very many kids are like this, the more i value something the better i treat it (cell phone is a good example, last one was like 70 bucks, threw it all around, on the ground, didnt much care for it, current phone is 250....little bit more protective of it than other one. treat it like a phone should be treated.) im just at wits end about deciding. maybve i should pay 2 or 3 grand on a car that is on its final legs.

[SFRT - Frenchy]

Sporty & safe ... enjoy  

[Maverick]

Get an older Jeep. I like the cherokee style cars. Very simple easy to maintain and they have a very very long lived engine in them (4.0 liter). They are fairly inexpensive and common vehicles.

"Sporty" is not something you need to be dealing with for a first vehicle.

[1701E]

Safe, good fuel, manual and sporty?  Honda and Toyota are good ones.
Both are good in all aspects, except maybe "sporty" unless you buy new.  We have a Honda Accord 2000, Accord 1994, Civic 1995 and all are still running strong.  My brother and his wife have a Toyota Corolla 2005-ish and Scion 2008 both running great.  I honestly think all of these cars look nice, all but two are manual, all of them get good mileage (24-33mpg).

Just look around, it's not hard to find good cars, don't let the year fool you.

[MaSonZ]

Safe, good fuel, manual and sporty?  Honda and Toyota are good ones.
Both are good in all aspects, except maybe "sporty" unless you buy new.  We have a Honda Accord 2000, Accord 1994, Civic 1995 and all are still running strong.  My brother and his wife have a Toyota Corolla 2005-ish and Scion 2008 both running great.  I honestly think all of these cars look nice, all but two are manual, all of them get good mileage (24-33mpg).

Just look around, it's not hard to find good cars, don't let the year fool you.

talked about a civic (like 95ish) and she said no right off bat, talked about toyotas, ahe said SUV right off bat (mom dad and brother all have trucks, why would i need something big like an SUV or a truck too?)

[Banshee7]

My first truck was a 2003 Dodge 2500 with a Cummins, 4 inch lift, and an 8 inch straight pipe sticking out behind the cab (later replaced by a headache rack), and also had a TST PowerMax on it.  Then I got an 06 F-250, another 4 inch lift, two 5" stacks.  After getting tired of buying diesel (which used to be cheaper than gas). I now drive an '03 Ford F-150, 4 door, maroon.  Everything is stock on it.

[moot]

Forget the truck.  If you don't need or want one and your brothers and father agree, you should be able to squeeze that one by easily enough.  All it sounds (key word there) like you need to do is find some model that's closest to her criteria, within the cars that you need/want and that you brothers and father also agree on (I don't know you or your family, so that's the best reference from my pov).
There's a lot of older cars that you could find in a reliable enough state.. A while back someone pointed out e.g. the old BMW 2002 as a great driver's car (sounds like what you'd like). But without knowing your budget, there's no way to advise.   I don't know about you, but if safety really matters and I had the cash, and what you wanted was something sporty.. and it was a first car (so probably not something with a warranty left on it), I'd find some beater and fix it up myself.  Gut it and add a roll cage.

[DMBEAR]

I always apreciated the fact that the back of my blazer could fold down. 

[Spikes]

Hyundai's are good cars and pretty safe.

[uptown]

Friday nite I won a 1995 Geo Metro in a poker game and wasn't too hip on it because I'm not into little cars. But after getting it home and checking it out, I have to say that this thing is a very basic means of cheap transportation. 3 cyl. 5 speed and 50 miles to the gallon. Under the hood is as simple as it gets and everthing is easy to get to. It would be a great kids starter car.

[Banshee7]

I always apreciated the fact that the back of my blazer could fold down. 

Word!  The joys of having a Tahoe as well 

[SPKmes]

Nissan I have found are good. The bluebird sss, or the skyline. Both don't fair well for back seat passengers, but you'll always have a comfy ride. Nissan I say because they have good engines. Most have cam chains not belts. Just on that subject, if you buy a car from about that time and it's done more than 120,000 K's check when the cam belt was last done and if it hasn't been make it your first priority. The engine just seem to go and go. Strength wise they are reasonably solid also. A skyline I had once got shunted in the rear by a range rover, my car had to have the bumper repaired also the boot got a bit dented. The rangy needed towing. Check who you are buying from also, especially if you are looking for sporty. If the seller is young It's thrashed.

My pick Nissan.   I don't even know if you get these vehicles there.

[moot]

We don't get Skylines, other than the newest one.  You need (in the US at least) to go thru importers and pretty much all models are overpriced, from what Mason seems to describe as his situation.  It would also probably be a pita to deal with rare parts, and any associated specialized labor.