good starter car

[RTHolmes]

are those vws made in mexico? just that ive owned a bunch of vws and they have all been faultlessly reliable. '78 Scirocco 1.6 - brilliant car although used plenty of oil by 100,000 (mostly down to lack of a 5th gear ), Mark I Golf 1.6 no problems, Mark II Golf 1.6 no problems, Mark IV GTi (2-point-slow) - previous owner never checked the oil and ignored the warning light "because it always went out eventually" so it needed a head skim but since then no problems. must be over 150,000m in total and no breakdowns

how about a Ford Focus? a 2000ish 1.8 Zetec is way better than it has a right to be (not sure what they call them stateside)

[CAP1]

are those vws made in mexico? just that ive owned a bunch of vws and they have all been faultlessly reliable. '78 Scirocco 1.6 - brilliant car although used plenty of oil by 100,000 (mostly down to lack of a 5th gear ), Mark I Golf 1.6 no problems, Mark II Golf 1.6 no problems, Mark IV GTi (2-point-slow) - previous owner never checked the oil and ignored the warning light "because it always went out eventually" so it needed a head skim but since then no problems. must be over 150,000m in total and no breakdowns

how about a Ford Focus? a 2000ish 1.8 Zetec is way better than it has a right to be (not sure what they call them stateside)

yaknow......i don't know if they were mexican built or not. in one years time at the last shop i worked at before getting my own shop, i did 3 water pumps, and 2 thermostats. all on different cars. THE water pumps were in the ballpark of 50k miles. i've since then found out that this is very common on these engines, as the engineers in all of their infinite wisdom, chose to use plastic impeller installed on a knurled shaft. eventually, they wear, and although the bearings and such in the pump are fine, the impeller doesn't spin.

 the thermostats, i've found to be common too, but have yet to pin it to an exact cause.

[shppr01]

Ive got a 1990 caddilac fleetwood for sale .. You get prestige along with safe! only 2 grand !

[CAP1]

Ive got a 1990 caddilac fleetwood for sale .. You get prestige along with safe! only 2 grand !

that still have the ht4100 in it?

[moot]

are those vws made in mexico? just that ive owned a bunch of vws and they have all been faultlessly reliable.

All sorts of electrical problems on the 02 Passat and 02 Jetta estate that some family of mine owned.

[balance1]

I know that you have almost entirely ruled out a truck but I bought an '02 dodge dakota with 120k miles for 4k and I have been happy as a pig in mud since I've gotten it. got the 3.9 v6 in it, plenty of oomph, you can beat it to hell, and its just a fun drive. the engine is roomy and easy to work on. If you haven't already totally ruled out a pickup keep one of these little jems in mind.

Disclaimer: I may be biased! it was and still is my first vehicle, and I love it to death

[dkff49]

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.

mason i see what you are saying here, but the idea behind getting something that is cheap, reliable, and safe is to provide the driving experience without worrying about whether of not yu put that big dent in the trunk/hatch or busted out the grill.

I also suggest the samething to anyone looking for their first car. Mine was a 1971 Ford F100 pickup (wish I still had it now) which I paid for with a paper route and did a little work to get it on the road. I wrecked several cars, unfortunately the one that I totalled was a nice car in nearly mint condition. I still wish I had waited a little longer to get a "nice" car and acquired the driving experience first.

[CAP1]

mason i see what you are saying here, but the idea behind getting something that is cheap, reliable, and safe is to provide the driving experience without worrying about whether of not yu put that big dent in the trunk/hatch or busted out the grill.

I also suggest the samething to anyone looking for their first car. Mine was a 1971 Ford F100 pickup (wish I still had it now) which I paid for with a paper route and did a little work to get it on the road. I wrecked several cars, unfortunately the one that I totalled was a nice car in nearly mint condition. I still wish I had waited a little longer to get a "nice" car and acquired the driving experience first.

see..the thing with pickups is that they handle like poop in any bad weather. 25 years ago, i had my first pickup...a 69 chevy c-10. mannnn was that thing fun in the snow...350 2wd, 3 speed on the floor. i used to go into empty parking lots, back roads with nothign parked along the sides, and just throw that old POS around.

 you kind of can't get away with that these days though.


 i still think for everything he's wanting, a honda civic, or a toyota camry will fit the bill very nicely.

 i had a customer..had 3 camrys in the family. the lowest mileage one was just over 300k. the highest one was about 370k or so. there's a guy that comes in to get gas, has 375 on his 2000 camry.

[dkff49]

see..the thing with pickups is that they handle like poop in any bad weather. 25 years ago, i had my first pickup...a 69 chevy c-10. mannnn was that thing fun in the snow...350 2wd, 3 speed on the floor. i used to go into empty parking lots, back roads with nothign parked along the sides, and just throw that old POS around.

 you kind of can't get away with that these days though.


 i still think for everything he's wanting, a honda civic, or a toyota camry will fit the bill very nicely.

 i had a customer..had 3 camrys in the family. the lowest mileage one was just over 300k. the highest one was about 370k or so. there's a guy that comes in to get gas, has 375 on his 2000 camry.

i am not suggesting that he get a truck just that whatever he gets it should not be something that he loves very much. I was simply stating that mine was a truck but it was an old beater that i would care very much if it got a few dents in it.

[texasmom]

We'll be looking for a starter car for our oldest. 

My criteria in the search:
#1: paid in full
#2: manual transmission
#3: the kid gets to choose the one he prefers from the choices we find meeting #1 & #2

[CAP1]

We'll be looking for a starter car for our oldest. 

My criteria in the search:
#1: paid in full
#2: manual transmission
#3: the kid gets to choose the one he prefers from the choices we find meeting #1 & #2

paid in full by who?   

[texasmom]

Oh, we don't mind buying it for him. He's got to pay for the insurance though.   Heck, with 3 sons, I'm getting a headache just THINKING about insurance increases.

[CAP1]

Oh, we don't mind buying it for him. He's got to pay for the insurance though.   Heck, with 3 sons, I'm getting a headache just THINKING about insurance increases.

ooooooooo.........well, depending on just what they want.....i stick with my rec for the honda or toyota.

 if they want an american car, and somewhat fast, then a mustang or camaro.......but that'll obliterate your insurance.

 hell...stick to the honda or toyota. decent power, reliable, safe, and can probably save ya on insurance.


on the other hand, if my mom was telling me that.....i'd STILL want a mustang. 

[shppr01]

that still have the ht4100 in it?

yes it does ! and the original radar detector factory installed

[CAP1]

yes it does ! and the original radar detector factory installed

icccc......

ht4100 was a junk motor. never liked them. too many things went wrong with them. saw a lot that spent more time in my bay than in the owners driveway.