somthing under a grand!

well im once again proving to my mother that anything worth having thats under a grand is going to need work (not going to get a good runner that looks good for that price) im really wanting to go with a 4wd becuase of snow and such where we live (about a foot at most) and am wanting to beable to have fun with friends (they have trucks) i would much rather be in a truck then a car in the snow. im looking at getting a older jeep or somthing (small 4wd that can get up small trails) but i cant be having it sit in my driveway in parts (we rent a house right now so we arnt soppose to although our neigbours who rent from the same landlord both have 2 cars each in there driveways that dont run) she is mostly saying that i shouldnt get a older car/truck because i wouldnt have the tools to work on it (i have all the hand tools you can need for normal automotive work and have access to all other tools i dont have from my schools automotive shop.) so im starting to ramble on and on so im going to just stop here with the main question.

should i get a older truck and fix it up or a running import car that needs just a bit of engine tuning up??

P.S. im sorry if this question gets posted way too much but its a major decision in my life (first automobile)

Any thing with the Jeep name on it for under a grand will most likely be a piece of junk. There are rare finds, but I've looked at a beat up 52 willys jeep with a blown engine for $2000.

The same thing (to a lesser extent) goes for the import. If you want cheap to buy, fix, and good in the snow, get a mid 70's FWD caddy. Find a nice Eldorado with a 500 in it, torn seats, and faded paint. Drive it for thousands of miles and have fun. I just turned down two here in L.A. for $1250 because they had too much rust for SoCal cars. I offered them both $800 but they wouldn't take it. They came to $1000 real quick, though.

just remember, and I sure you have heard it before, but with a car that low in price, you get what you pay for.

look for an early 90's ford escort gt, then swap a mazda 1.6l turbo into it. nice sleeper and quite powerful to boot!

well what would you sudgest is a good offroad vehicle that a 16 year old can drive daily but is able to go out and play on trails (rutted dirt roads and small rocks) so not a large lift if any.
it has to be midium or smaller (i have to be able to park this think in parking spaces.) i would love to take the doors and top off (thats why i was looking at the jeep) and drive it sown the road.

i am looking at maybe the suzuki samurai but there are very few for sale here (but i know a friend that is building one as a hunting truck and maybe be able to buy it off of him and make it road worthy.)