good starter car

[Getback]

Who's paying?

[Masherbrum]

People are recommending BMW's for a teenager?   LMFAO.   

Read the title of the thread next time.   It doesn't say "Spoil me".   

[1701E]

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?)

Just curious, what part about a Honda Civic did see say "No" to?  It fits: Safety, Fuel, durability, manual, looks very nice.  Not knowing what she is against makes suggesting hard.
Is she set on an SUV?  If so, I'm sorry, and have fun with that gas bill.

[Hoarach]

My first car.....Honda Accord.

Reliable, safe, good on gas, and manual if you want it.

If she is forcing SUV...small SUV such as the Subaru forester or Honda CRV might be good look.



The skylines..are expensive cars and were supposed to come to the US last fall.  You can buy a GT-R at the Nissan dealerships but its a $80k car at least. This is definitely not a first car nor should any expensive luxury/sport car.

[71313]

90's nissian pick-up you can't go wrong

[Lusche]

Find the cheapest, just barely working, vehicle you can buy.

 

Went the same way. My 1st was an 13 year old very small Daihatsu. I was on a small budget, but this lil gem was even way below my limit. And being so old and absolutely nothing to brag about, I didn't mind when it had the first big dents in it.

What a sad day when the engine finally gave in...

[Matador]

. i have a subaru outback 02 with 60k on it, but if you want something "truckish" you could look at the baja, it has an open bed in the back, and comes in manual. i also have a 92 chevy silverado sport with 200k+ on it( we have been using it more since i started driveing and the transmissing doesnt catch until like 4 sec after the clutch is let go), its a 5speed, and i just love manual.look around you can find cars cheap in places, (go to auto auctions) i saw a BMW at a local dealer for 8.5k my dads friend (good haggler) said he could probably get it for like 7k, and they are great reliable cars. if your looking for fuel economy look at VW their turbo diesels get like 50mpg. look around you will find something you like. and when your out you will notice the car you want more often

[CAP1]

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?

volkswagens are a pain in the azz. the thermostats, and waterpumps tend to go around 40-50k. the waterpump is driven by the timing belt, making it an expensive job,.

 mazdas....eehh........they;re pretty good, but i personally don't like em.,,,,,,,although mom's protege with the 1.8L DOHC and a 5 speed, is MUCH quicker than she has a clue. i test drove it for the clutch when i put it in for her last year, and that frakkin thing lit 2nd, and chattered 3rd very nicely. nimble too.

 for safe, reliable, and less maintenance issues, i'd look at one of the camrys, or one of the hondas. the camry isn't too sporty, but is a nice cruiser, decent mileage, and is no slouch.
 the honda civics are quick, nimble, and very reliable too. one of our tow truck drivers has that sleek civic r. i drove it. he told me to go ahead and beat the poop outta it. so i did(and scared the poop outta him too!) wound her up to 4500, sidestepped tyhe clutch, and rolled smoke out of the fenders.....powershifted 2nd, continued...powershifted 3rd, and she caught traction, and went around the bend like she was on rails.

oohh.....btw..my first car was a 67 mustang 289 automatic. since i still lived under my grandparents roof, i had to listen to them......and never really drove it in the rain or snow. they made me take their 71 ford ranch wagon. that had a 390 in it.i sometimes took that in the good weather too. i think they never had a clue how many races i won with that car. 

 good luck dude

[stroker71]

I had a 94 Probe GT that I put alot of miles on over the years.  So when my daughter got her DL she wanted one too...her's is a 96 GT.  Being it's a mazda engine it's well built and I would steer clear of the auto tannys...they are trouble.  Same thing as a Mazda 626 or MX6 as far as drive tran/platform go...just have different bodies.  And for some money you can make them fast!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkTgPiOsQlE

[Treize69]

I had a 94 Probe GT that I put alot of miles on over the years.  So when my daughter got her DL she wanted one too...her's is a 96 GT.  Being it's a mazda engine it's well built and I would steer clear of the auto tannys...they are trouble.  Same thing as a Mazda 626 or MX6 as far as drive tran/platform go...just have different bodies.  And for some money you can make them fast!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkTgPiOsQlE

My first two cars were an '86 Blazer and a '96 Grand Am. Blazer finally became undriveable (body-wise) at 210,000 miles, and the Grand Am suffered enough damage in a winter driving accident that I took it off the road. Both could probably still be on the road if I'd taken better care of them (or if the person who owned them before me had taken better care of them). The two cars I've had since, the Saturn was a total POS and my Mustang is starting to break as I get close to the end of the warranty coverage. Go figure.

[eagl]

A good point to try to press is that safety is not enhanced by a weak engine.

A used 6-cyl accord would make a great first car.  Plenty of power for a new driver, reliable, good safety statistics.  Roomy enough to drive around a few friends, good visibility out of it.  And if you have spare money, it's easy to buy things to modify an accord to match your tastes.

That said, I learned on a mid-size station wagon with a powerful V8 engine, so very early on I learned to appreciate and respect powerful vehicles.  My next car was a grossly underpowered but reliable and inexpensive datsun 210.  My next car after those two was a trans-am, after I had a regular paycheck for 4 years and knew I was guaranteed able to pay for it ahead of the loan schedule.

So for a first car...

1.  Powerful enough engine to get the car moving.  Underpowered is just as "unsafe" as overpowered.
2.  Reliability (honda, in my experience, is great for reliability).
3.  Safe.  Medium sized sedans are about as safe as they get in a "normal" car.  SUVs... I'd avoid them because if you make a mistake driving an SUV, you'll probably live but you will kill everything within 2 counties and that's a tough thing to live with for the rest of your life even if it wasn't 100% your fault.
4.  Good for driving around friends.  Again, the accord is great for this...
5.  Can be easily modified if you have some spare cash.  Lots of people modify accords, so there should be lots of options at reasonable prices.
6.  I prefer and highly recommend learning in a rear-wheel drive car, but I just don't know of many reasonably priced reliable rear wheel drive sedans out there.  The safety and reliability of a V6 accord pretty much trumps the rear wheel drive, at least for a first car, in my opinion.

After you drive that a while, get a real car, like a used V8 camaro or mustang

[moot]

I said BMW 2002 specifically, not any BMW.  From what I saw, it's cheap and a good RWD driver's car.  I don't know about the realities of its maintenance.

[CAP1]

I said BMW 2002 specifically, not any BMW.  From what I saw, it's cheap and a good RWD driver's car.  I don't know about the realities of its maintenance.

most any bmw above 2000 is very expensive to fix. anything.

[Sol75]

Kind of an obscure car, but the SAAB 900SE or the 9-3 would make a good car.  They have the eurpoean (read BMW) styling and ride type, and tons of luxury features, and can be found relatively inexpensively for an older model. 

I never considered them until my recent purchase of a 2009 Saab Aero Convertible as my daily driver car.  GREAT little car! and nice looking too.

Then my cousin bought a 95 SAAB 900SE ragtop as his 1st car.  VERY nice as well.  runs great, handles good, has lots of luxury type features, and has to be one of the most solid ragtops ive ever driven.  With the top up, you could swear you were in a hardtop.

(Plus, SAAB makes planes too, so it has to be good!) 

[CAP1]

Kind of an obscure car, but the SAAB 900SE or the 9-3 would make a good car.  They have the eurpoean (read BMW) styling and ride type, and tons of luxury features, and can be found relatively inexpensively for an older model. 

I never considered them until my recent purchase of a 2009 Saab Aero Convertible as my daily driver car.  GREAT little car! and nice looking too.

Then my cousin bought a 95 SAAB 900SE ragtop as his 1st car.  VERY nice as well.  runs great, handles good, has lots of luxury type features, and has to be one of the most solid ragtops ive ever driven.  With the top up, you could swear you were in a hardtop.

(Plus, SAAB makes planes too, so it has to be good!) 

i've yet to meet a customer that's happy with their saab


our favorite saying when we see one pulling in the parking lot?

eehh....it's just another saab(sob) story.