Ideas about a good first car

Hi Im on a extremely low budget ($2000) and was looking for ideas about a good car to buy. I want a car thats reliable and gets good gas mileage. Performance is a non-issue but It would be good if the car was flexible to mods in case money turns up. The only must on this car is a manual tranny. Thanks for any help.

Best bet would be a 92-95 Honda civic hatchback. You could probably pick one up for around 2 grand.

As long as shes been cared for she will last you. Before you buy it, take it to a mechanic to make s ure nothign obvious is wrong with it.

2 grand wont get you a super reliable vehicle, but you probably know that...but a Honda is the safest way to go.

I was actually thinking about that exact car. I think it would be a good fit for me.

LOL perfect. Go for it!

Another thign to keep in mind is that the 92-95 Civic hatches (aka EG hatches) have such a huge aftermarket support. I mean things like suspension and engine bolt-ons from Integras will install onto a Civic so there are so many options out there. For the future when you get some money you might want to look into an engine swap. They are very common; you can probably find a used b-series motor for 2 grand and get it installed for 800 bucks...instant power!

I reccomend www.jdmcivic.com for future reference!

Good luck! :)

Thanks a lot.

80's Toyota pick-ups are generally cheap, easy to maintain, and reliable. Plus the aftermarket on them is not all that expensive. Not sure if you are looking for a truck, but you can do a lot with them and they run forever. I picked up mine for 1,200, and I've yet to have to put any money into for reliability issues.

Yeah Hondas are always a safe bet. Check out 90-93 Accords, I see tons of them that are around 2k. And bailey's advice and go to a mechanic and have them check it out. With higher mileage/older hondas, the motor mounts have a tendency to wear out which causes the engine to shake, not all the power gets to the wheels, and you get wheel hop...so make sure the mechanic/you check those if you do find a honda you are interested in. My 90 accord has 160k on it and it still runs great even after the previous owner beat the hell out of it and did like zero maintenance (except for the gas leak, but that was caused by salt-causing-rust, and bottoming it out). I'd recommend it.

Hi, I was considering buying a 93 accord with 130k that seems to vibrate at idle and has the problems with the motor mounts as you have been pointing out. It's not too bad at this point. Would you recommend buying a car like this. Other than the vibration the car has been kept in really great shape. Thanks for your advice.

Like CougKid said the old Toyta pickups wouldnt be such a bad idea. Pretty much depends on what youre into