First Car

Hey, My name's Drew and I'm 15. I live in Lawrenceville, GA. I was wondering what kind of car to get for a first car. I'm tryin not to spend alot, but want something cool. I mostly am looking for japanese import cars like civics and so on. Any suggestions would be Awesome! thanks:)

This is a post I can respect. The person states their age, what they want, what they can typically spend, and asks respectfully. I get so tired of 14 year olds who ask, "which car, yo? The Evo, the NSX, or the new GTO?" They don't even care about the cars, they're just trying to make people jealous that they have a F&F car on the plate. If they were actually looking for a car, they would include parameters like Drew did, not just, "which one, thanks for the help."

Thank you, Drew. All other wannabe-posting-dimwits take a look at Drew's post. He knows what he likes, what he can spend, and isn't a poser.

Having said that, :) Drew, you can't go wrong with a smaller Japanese car. I wouldn't call it cool, but Tercels run darn near forever and they are pretty low on the price-o-meter. You could have a low mileage (under 80k at least) Tercel from 97 or 98 for $3000-4000, a Corrola of the same age for about another $1000. Civics are also top-notch rides in the quality department, but it shows in their resale value. That same example in a Civic might go for more like $6000-8000 or more. If you have a little more cash to spend, the Toyota Echo is also a very high-quality vehicle. I guess what I'm saying is, all of the above examples are very comparable reliability-wise, so it all depends on if you want a bare-bones Tercel for $3000, or a quieter Civic with A/C, cloth seats, automatic, and a sunroof for $7000. Both will last about the same amount of time, just a greater buy-in cost. You'll find the same thing with other Japanese makes; they all offer great reliability, but the costs differ considerably. Just because I only mentioned Toyota and Honda doesn't mean you should skip Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda, and others from over there. For finer points on reliability, consult a Consumer Reports from the newstand. If you look at my sig you'll see that I have personal experience with the ones I mentioned so I didn't want to speak for the other japanese brands.

You can go with something like a Kia Rio or the small Hyundais and save some serious cash, but they lack the build quality and reliability of the Japanese cars. (they are Korean, by the way)

It might be tempting to go for an older RX7, 240sx, or 300zx, but unfortunately to get them cheaply enough, they are beat beyond normal service limits and may give you headaches. You may also find older BMWs in your price range, for instance I know of an 87 325i convertible in nearly pristine condition that could be had for $5000. It has 156k. It seems attractive, but with a car that old you never quite know... it could be fine for another 200k, or it could catastrophically die tomorrow. Most BMWs of that age have been giving 200-250k of trouble-free service, but parts can be expensive and its probably not a good first car unless you're an accomplished mechanic and can do the work yourself to save money.

For a first car, I know the temptation is to maximize flash for your cash, but it might be wisest to take a step back in the flash department. You'll end up with a more reliable car with fewer miles for the same money if you play your cards right.

I was actually about to ask this same question. I am 18 and I am looking into buying something easy on the wallet, but reliable. I do not feel comfortable driving yet, I was just in a really bad accident when my friend hit a tree going 40mph, luckily we are both ok. I do not feel confident that I will be able to handle a manual just yet so I am leaning towards automatic. I do not want to spend much, mostly because when I buy a car it will have to be financed because I have no money saved up. I am not looking for something to turn into a race car or show car just a basic get-me-and-my-girl around town deal. I do not care about looks or going fast I just want something to last me through college. Tercels have always caught my eye, and I have seen some descent ones that people have done a little work to. Maybe I will look into a Tercel, sounds good.

Both of you have very good post on what you want and none of that bullshit.

But like Curtis said there a lot of cars out there that run great and have pretty good mileage. But you also there cars that can you can get pretty cheap like rolla's and echo'c or tercel's there not in high demand and they have good mileage and are that expensive...

Great post everyone here did everything right you guys stated your age and what your looking for perfect post...

I gotta tell you guys, if there is a cheap used car that i HIGHLY recomend as a first car-or in general a daily driver, it's a 92 ford escort hatchback. Two years ago i was in a bind, and needed a cheap car, to get me around. Well, for $1200 i got a good deal on an escort that had 60K miles, it served me WELL. One time, my bro got stuck in his 92 lincoln continental (which weighs like 3600lbs) and i towed time home-over 15 miles away. The escort is a 1.9 4 cyl...towing a v6, 3600+lb car, 15 miles. To this day, the car has no problems whatsoever.

If you can get an early 90's hatchback civic-get it, great cars. Now i finally got a car that looks nice, and that i'm happy with, a 95 V8 ford thunderbird. I love this car, and i recomend this also. If you find an early 90's thunderbird SC for under 3G's, BUY IT. Thats a supercharged 6 with decent power in it's stock form (just over 310ft lbs under 4k rpm-yum)..

I gotta tell you guys, if there is a cheap used car that i HIGHLY recomend as a first car-or in general a daily driver, it's a 92 ford escort hatchback. Two years ago i was in a bind, and needed a cheap car, to get me around. Well, for $1200 i got a good deal on an escort that had 60K miles, it served me WELL. One time, my bro got stuck in his 92 lincoln continental (which weighs like 3600lbs) and i towed time home-over 15 miles away. The escort is a 1.9 4 cyl...towing a v6, 3600+lb car, 15 miles. To this day, the car has no problems whatsoever.

Not to disagree, because im sure you know more about escorts than i do. But the one friend of mine that had an escort GT, bought it for $3k, i think it had 80 thousand or so miles, and it cracked a head gasket around 100k. probly just a weird case caus the guy was a immigrant anyway....haha. it still ran fine for the next 500 miles (with some wierd noise from the engine) until he sold it.

Escorts are real nice for the price though, and i would just be aware if i were you that ford cars are known to fuck up occasionally, but still get you from point A to B if they do.

Hey Drew. I'm kind of in the same situation you're in, and I think the Honda Del sol's and Toyota Celicas (6th gen) look nice, and you can get them pretty cheap. I'm not so sure about finding one with low mileage though...

Well that's my 2 cents anyways. Good luck on finding one!

I gotta tell you guys, if there is a cheap used car that i HIGHLY recomend as a first car-or in general a daily driver, it's a 92 ford escort hatchback. Two years ago i was in a bind, and needed a cheap car, to get me around. Well, for $1200 i got a good deal on an escort that had 60K miles, it served me WELL. One time, my bro got stuck in his 92 lincoln continental (which weighs like 3600lbs) and i towed time home-over 15 miles away. The escort is a 1.9 4 cyl...towing a v6, 3600+lb car, 15 miles. To this day, the car has no problems whatsoever.


I second that. I drive a 94 Tracer, which is pretty much the Escort's cousin, and I'm currently at 130K miles having only replaced a timing belt. I drive an hour to school and back everyday via interstate and I have no doubt that it will get me there safely.