First Car Dillema 16yr

Just got my licence and looking for a first car, dont want to spend too much on it as my first car so i decided to have a $1000 budget, and add onto the vehicle. this will all be paid by my crapy McyD's job.

anyway after looking at classifieds and what not, i came down to these 2 cars. this is all i know about the vehicles

"1990 ACURA INTEGRA GL Excellent running condition , high mileage, some rust $900"

"1994 Chev Cavalier. 4 cyl, auto, ps, pb, pl, good condition. Excellent winter car. Very little to safety & e-test. $850 obo."

These are straight from the classifieds pages on my local newspaper
and i live in Ottawa, Canada. winter season about to start. and i need the car to get to work or school and back.

Just got my licence and looking for a first car, dont want to spend too much on it as my first car so i decided to have a $1000 budget, and add onto the vehicle. this will all be paid by my crapy McyD's job.

anyway after looking at classifieds and what not, i came down to these 2 cars. this is all i know about the vehicles

"1990 ACURA INTEGRA GL Excellent running condition , high mileage, some rust $900"

"1994 Chev Cavalier. 4 cyl, auto, ps, pb, pl, good condition. Excellent winter car. Very little to safety & e-test. $850 obo."

These are straight from the classifieds pages on my local newspaper
and i live in Ottawa, Canada. winter season about to start. and i need the car to get to work or school and back.


I have personal experience with Cavaliers. They are dependable and they will last you a long time if you take care of them right. They are good for winter driving but so are most FWD cars.

Dont have much experience with Integras but i know they will last a long time too.

If you can, go and test drive both of these cars and find out which one feels and looks better to you. If possible, take the cars to your local mechanic to fully inspect the vehicle, unless you are very knowledgeble about cars yourself. Some mechanics might charge a fee, but it shouldn't be too bad.

the cavalier will be cheaper to insure and easier to find junkyard parts for if it breaks. Just make sure the interior doesn't leak, look for signs of water damage.

Ok thnx, but im sorta leaning towards the integra, since we had a cavalier a while back and i was never too fond of it, but what kind of things should i ask and find out about the integra on the phone, im going to call him and ask him about the mileage but what other questions are good.

Is the integra manual? If so go with it. Not only will it burn the Cavalier, it will be much more fun to drive. And as for the high miles, don' t worry about it. I drive a 91 CRX currently with 186000 on it, bought it at 182000 for $1000. The previous owner admitted that he used it for drag racing, and the transmission was blown, bad grinds from 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 3rd. Got one on ebay with 100k miles for $100 + $250 install. Not a bad car. I would prefer the Japanese cars in the older segment

actually, it probably won't "burn" the cavalier, they're both slow as sin and with a rusty frame, it won't be at all fun to drive, or at least I wouldn't try to have fun with it for fear of cracking something.

Ok thnx, but im sorta leaning towards the integra, since we had a cavalier a while back and i was never too fond of it, but what kind of things should i ask and find out about the integra on the phone, im going to call him and ask him about the mileage but what other questions are good.


Ask him if it has ever been in an accident. Whether it burns/leaks oil. How much tire tread left, Does it go in a straight line when you take your hands off the wheel. Are there any major problems with it. Does it pass inspection (if you have inspections in your state). There are all kinds of questions to ask.