first car

[silviaspecR]

i'm thinking of a 240sx as my 1st car, where would be a good place to look for a cheap one as a project car?

[turbo2nr]

daily classifyeds
cars.com
autotrader.com

you live in la it should be 2 hard

good luck

1

[SR20DETpower]

I would get a fwd auto tranny as your first car......... after about ayear or more when u will truly find ur a bit more comfortable with the road and seeing how cars react..... you will be ready for something like a 5spd rwd sports car. Keep it stock for awhile and learn it, then upgrade what u want to, its best to get a car and drive it for awhile, then u know what needs to be done to your liking...... just get a car and in 1 week just put on all new suspension parts or an engine swap might not be a good idea, especially if its your first car.

I consider myself a good driver as far as handling the vehicle and paying good attention to the road(not only do u have to battle your car, you have to watch out for all the idiots in their cars lol) I've been driving for over a year all by myself and have put on about 20k miles on my car and Im just now starting to feel comfortable with situational awareness and really being able to control your car. I put my car into an embakment on a wet day when i was a real NOOB, I wasn't even turning I was finishing my turn at a slower then normal speed since it was raining then I gunned it when i straightened out and it started fishtailing and I couldn't regain control at all....i was in for the ride..... and this was a FWD car..... you will always think of yourself as a good driver but thats just cause your young, lesson is after u drive for a good year and get used to it you will really notice how much better u drive now then before, and before I thought I was a good driver......

Im not being mean or putting you down, just trying to help you, keep it simple and learn....... don't kill yourself or someone else... best advice u can have.

Grendel had a few 280zxt's and spun those out and wrecked one... I just don't think rwd cars are for first time drivers, neither are manual transmissions because u have to focus a lot more on shifting and clutch work.... atleast with an auto u can drive and focus on the road.... what a newbie needs.

[old_s13]

I partially agree. 240SX is a good first car, doesnt matter if its FWD or RWD.. but auto vs manual does make a difference. It also depends on where you live.

I live in LA, I love taking canyons. Being that the S13 was and still is my first car, I purchased it as an auto. I had PLENTY of time to wisen up and learn what to do and what not to do. I spun out a 2-3 times, but nothing too bad. Looking back, they COULD have turned out worse than they did.. so I am lucky that no one was around when I did lose control those few times. BUT, it doesnt take much to wake you up with RWD cars.

Auto vs manual is a big issue, because manual cars DO require more and constant attention. If you live in an area where there is plenty of open space, manual is fine to learn on. If you live in the city like I do, go auto.

After 7 or so years, my car is stripped and doesnt even have power steering. I converted it to manual and the car is quite difficult to drive, I cant imagine ANY young driver being able to drive it.

The choice of FWD vs RWD is yours. The only thing I can say is that if you are a new driver, ask to go for a ride with someone older who is a kickass driver. Have them show you what REAL driving is so that you dont make stupid mistakes. I take my little cousins in my car and they shit their pants. Its a good wake-up call for them to NOT speed because they still have a lot of learning to do before they even consider racing around in their NEW cars.

I'm not advocating fast driving, I am just saying that more advanced drivers dont get effected by adrenaline and speed. Too bad Fast and Furious advocates the exact opposite!

Originally posted by SR20DETpower
Im not being mean or putting you down, just trying to help you, keep it simple and learn....... don't kill yourself or someone else... best advice u can have.

Grendel had a few 280zxt's and spun those out and wrecked one... I just don't think rwd cars are for first time drivers, neither are manual transmissions because u have to focus a lot more on shifting and clutch work.... atleast with an auto u can drive and focus on the road.... what a newbie needs.

[flylwsi]

I just don't think rwd cars are for first time drivers, neither are manual transmissions because u have to focus a lot more on shifting and clutch work.... atleast with an auto u can drive and focus on the road.... what a newbie needs.

that's a bit ridiculous.

i learned to drive in a fast, stick, rwd truck...

it takes more attention, but it's not like you have to stop and think and take your mind off the road.

get what you like, not what other people say.

you should be more than capable of dealing with driving a stick, rwd car if you can walk and chew gum...

it takes more dedication and interest, and you're obviously into cars, so it's no big deal.

do what you think will make YOU happy... if you want it, buy it.

[stanner]

I am gonna agree with the other 2 posts on what they said concerning getting a new car and one other thing that I would want to add is that at least for me however fast my car is it never seems fast enough. I always want it a little bit faster, but I always have an appreciation for how fast my 240 because my first car was a much slower car (1985 VW diesel Golf, 52hp 76ft/lb torque) but I had that car for nearly 3 years and put over 50,000 miles on it, so I knew how it would handle in every different drviing situation. Now with my 240 even on those days when I am wishing it was faster I can look back and remember how much better it is than my old golf. that is just something that you may want to think about if you start off with something nice then you don't really have much to look forward to, execpt engine upgrades or buying a car that costs as much as a house. as for geting a manual it is up to you my first car was a manual but I was living out in west texas where everything is flat and traffic is non-existant. but living in LA and having to deal with trafffic when you are learning to drive would just suck. I have been driving a while and I still hate driving in LA with a manual, but then I get back to Santa Barbara drive the mountains and I love it.

[old_s13]

Stanner does make a few good points. I too beleive in starting with something crappy and working your way up. You definately learn to appreciate what you have when you DONT have it. Then when you get it, its all the more worthwhile.

Second, when I *started* with my auto I still had the skill to drive stick. I am not talking about driving stick in a professional manner, but I was capable of getting around town with no problems or stalling. Now that my car is stick, I have no problem driving it.. but it definately gets boring and I absolutely dread driving my car in high-traffic situations. Seriously, the more sporty you make your car the LESS you would want to drive it in traffic.. its common sense. Anyone with a 6-puck clutch, super stiff suspension, etc.. should easily be able to relate.

The only reason I would suggest an auto as a first is because you can focus on more important things, like your line, braking, load balance, etc.

flylwsi> You're right about one thing though, you should definately do what makes you happy. I'll tell ya though, right now a Lotus Exige would make me happy but I dont own one.

[flylwsi]

The only reason I would suggest an auto as a first is because you can focus on more important things, like your line, braking, load balance, etc.

these are important, though they are different in auto cars than in stick, so you've got to learn how to do it all over again when you put a 3rd pedal in there...

i personally think it's easier to learn braking techniques etc. in a stick, then applying them to an auto...

but that's me...

my whole point is:
don't tell someone not to buy the car they really want b/c they could possible crash it.

if they want it... and they can afford it... that's their thing...

Being that the S13 was and still is my first car

this is my reasoning for that...

if you can afford only one car, and really can't afford to replace it often, get what you think you'll be able to drive in a year.

and i'm not saying you're not able to drive your car, or you're poor, but you get the idea...

some people can only buy cars very infrequently, and i don't think it makes sense to tell someone to buy something to learn in... if you only own it for a year, that would make sense...

but since we almost all own cars for long amounts of time...

do it right the first time...

[old_s13]

"these are important, though they are different in auto cars than in stick, so you've got to learn how to do it all over again when you put a 3rd pedal in there..."

I completely disagree. The biggest difference between an auto and a manual is having a clutch and being able to use it. When I had my auto, I embarassed many manual transmission cars, many had much more power & potential than my car. A clutch is USEFULL if you know how to use it. However, if the person is not skilled then its actually a draw-back. You'de be amazed as to how much more you can concentrate when you DONT have to worry about what gear to be in, let alone how to control the clutch, rev-match, and heel/toe.

One of the biggest benefits with having a manual is being able to drop the clutch and take off. The second biggest benefit is being able to use your gearing/clutch to slow your car down. Those were the two biggest drawbacks when I had an auto. I learned never to race off a line. I learned in the canyons to downshift, BUT, since I only had 4 speeds.. it was difficult to slow my car down on the highways like a manual car could. I had to compensate with larger brakes (Z32 brake system).

If I was a drag racer, I'de upgrade my torque converter/auto. But since I dont drag race, I found the stock S13 transmission was FANTASTIC, it does a great job of downshifting. I was able to perform 4-wheel slides and was always able to stay in the high rpms in the canyons. 7 years of abuse and it finally gave up. =) It was starting to slip.. thats when I knew it was time.


"some people can only buy cars very infrequently, and i don't think it makes sense to tell someone to buy something to learn in... if you only own it for a year, that would make sense..."

Yep, I agree with you on that. But, if you wanna buy a beater and save that money for ANOTHER day, there's nothing wrong with that too. It all depends on what you want to do. As you said, whatever makes you happy.

[Ace$nyper]

I say get a 5-spd i learned on my stick and never ran into any problems. But I do think RWD can be a bit much for starters but if you learn with a FF first you can use a the RWD better when you start. After about a year you should be fine i drove a trans am WS6 with only like 5 months under my belt really scary. Now i can drive them (and anthing else with 4wheels) without a problem. For learning stick make sure you feel really comfy with it before you get in traffic thats when problems happen (stalls grinds)

[SilverFeniks]

Argh, I tried to post yesterday but everything I said got lost because the server was down or something

Anyhow, if you're smart about it, it shouldn't matter what car you get. If you're like a lot of 16-year-olds and get all excited about having a car and go racing off, not knowing how to drive a 5-speed/RWD car, you might f* it up. But as long as you take your time, you should be cool.

I'm hopin to get an S14 this summer, I've never driven a manual unfortunately but i've driven several RWD Mercedes, so I think I have that under control just fine.

good luck!

[Grendel]

Originally posted by SR20DETpower
Grendel had a few 280zxt's and spun those out and wrecked one... I just don't think rwd cars are for first time drivers, neither are manual transmissions because u have to focus a lot more on shifting and clutch work.... atleast with an auto u can drive and focus on the road.... what a newbie needs.

Yea, new drivers and RWD can be a bad combo if you don't have much self control... I drove a few FWD manual cars before I had my Z cars and I still crashed them.

Its not so much about how skilled you are at driving, its more about how much you can control your right foot

I say get a FWD car first, learn it, hate it, then get a nice RWD car and enjoy driving the way it was meant to be.

-Grendel

[Suislide]

i say buy whatever you want, RWD, 5-speed, whatever, but don't just climb into the car for the first time and expect to be able to drive it perfectly right off the bat. take some time in a parking lot to get used to how a RWD car feels, and DEFINITLEY take some time to learn how to drive standard properly if you buy a 5-speed car.

[ghostchild316]

My 1st cars is my 240sx,and I I learned how to drive stick in it too
Ive only been driving stick for only a little over a month and a half or so,but in that time period I already put 817.5 miles on the car.

Everyday after school I would drive my car cuz I really wanted to get better at driving stick in traffic.

I'm alot better now,no more clutch smell either!!!

When I first started I was really shakey and I'd kill the car every once in awhile,but now driving stick in traffic or anywhere its like second nature to me,just like Gran Turismo:sun:

Driving stick rules
Loving every minute of it

[flylwsi]

i say buy whatever you want, RWD, 5-speed, whatever, but don't just climb into the car for the first time and expect to be able to drive it perfectly right off the bat

that was my point exactly, i just couldn't get it out right