Car for $4000-6000

[JinKazama23]

Hi everybody I'm having hard time to decide what car should I buy for price range of 4000-6000$. I'm interested in sporty looking car, leather, spoiler etc.

I'm 18, I've been driving my parents car for about two years and now I want to purchase my own vehicle. I'm looking for something that is also cheap in terms of maintance, parts etc. I've heard Toyota Celica is a good shot for the first car?

What do you suggest ? and btw. where should I look for my car ? look for it on the internet (what websites?), newspapers or something different ?

I'd really appreciate any help

[oedipussy]

I'd go with something American with rear wheel drive. Front wheel drive is a bitch to work on and I imagine that mechanics would charge more because of it. I've never personally owned a foreign car but I've heard that the prices for parts are outrageous, so that's probably not the way to go.

I bought most of my cars on ebay, and got some great deals. My '63 Dodge 880 only ran me $975 in good mechanical/cosmetic condition.

['97ventureowner]

For a "first car" I'd stick with your local paper's classified section, or any other auto trader type publication you can find in a convenience store.

[JinKazama23]

ok thx but still i have no idea what car should I look for :P

['97ventureowner]

There are a lot of good choices for a "first car.' GM has a lot of choices in this area. You can look for small to mid sized vehicles from the late '90s to early 00's such as the Pontiac Grand Am or Grand Prix,Olds Alero, Ford Mustang, to name a few. ( Yes I'm kind of prejudiced towards domestic nameplates

[oedipussy]

I can't recommend the Alero. My mother has one and the thing is a piece of junk. It's a FWD car. You basically have to pull the engine just to change the termostat...

It really depends on what year range you're looking for. $6000 can buy you a reasonably nice car from pretty much any decade. For that price, forget about spoilers and get yourself a late '50's car with huge fins... Preferably a Mopar in that case. And of course, cars of this vintage are very easy/inexpensive to fix. Simpler times...

[andrgo]

Well, I'm 19 and I'm no expert on cars really. I'm more into old trucks and "odd" vehicles. Don't get something you'll regret though, your tastes will change. When I was 15 I got an early 90's Buick Skylark - still have it today, kinda wish I would have got something either more sportier or a pickup. Although with the gas prices it's probably a good thing I didn't go with a truck, doesn't mean I don't like trucks though. I guess it depends on the distances you go everyday if you're concerned about gas.

You could get a decent old sportscar for under $6,000. It might not be in mint condition, but it sure won't be a junker (unless it's a Rolls Royce or something, lol.) I know I've seen a few Corvettes under $6k - insurance would KILL you though! Old Camaro's are decently priced these days, and I don't think the insurance is too very bad on them. You could definitely get an early 90's Mustang for under $6k.

Anyway, it's up to you. Personally, I wouldn't go for a foreign car. Nothing against foreign cars, and I'll probably end up getting one when I'm older. But you're 18, you should get something cool and original and enjoy it. Then trade it off in a few years and go for something fuel efficient. If you live where it's snowy, the last thing you'll want is a sports car - think about how your geographical location might affect the type of vehicle you need.

Anyway, some personal favorite sites of mine...
#1. CraigsList - probably the biggest classifieds site on earth (besides eBay.) Find the city/cities nearest you and start doing some searching.
#2. AutoTrader - private parties and dealers, many car listings here.
#3. CarSoup.com - only available in some states.
#4. AutoBase.com - " ", mostly dealers.
#5. Cars.com - searches through different classifieds sites and newspapers.
#6. TheBigLot - private sellers.

Edit: in regards to the Alero remark above, my cousin had one of those things. Nothing but trouble, she had more troubles with it in one year than my family has had with all of ours in the last five. I don't know if it's the Alero brand itself, or if she had a lemon (I know she paid big bucks for it though), but it was a piece of crap if you ask me (and she'd say worse.)

[sickcallawayc12]

Well as for where to look for one, i agree with 97ventureowner, but as long as you are able to look it over inside and out and test drive it then you should be good. Those are very important when shopping for a car. As for what you got some options. European vehicles definitely have high maintenence costs. A lot of this is labor though. Parts are generally more expensive, though some are not horribly expensive. Japanese vehicles generally aren't as bad as European though so those are something worth looking at. You can definitely get a relatively low maintenence reliable Japanese car for that price (Celica, Civic/Integra, Accord, Camry, Corolla some examples, Sentra, Maxima to a lesser extent). Some aren't all that sporty though and some don't really have "all the options" which seems to be what you're looking for. I think a Pontiac may be best suited for you. Pontiacs are one of the few traditional domestic brands I like because they are a sporty oriented brand, all their cars have that sporty look/feel to them, and they can come with quite the amount of options for not much money. They aren't speed demons (they're pretty heavy) but are nice cruisers and handle pretty well. They are all right for reliability too. They may have an issue or two, but all vehicles except Hondas and Toyotas have an issue or two. As long as you keep up on maintenence and don't put DEXCOOL in it you'll be fine.

[sickcallawayc12]

Originally Posted by oedipussy

It's a FWD car. You basically have to pull the engine just to change the termostat...

You've never owned a Saturn have you?

[JinKazama23]

Originally Posted by sickcallawayc12

Well as for where to look for one, i agree with 97ventureowner, but as long as you are able to look it over inside and out and test drive it then you should be good. Those are very important when shopping for a car. As for what you got some options. European vehicles definitely have high maintenence costs. A lot of this is labor though. Parts are generally more expensive, though some are not horribly expensive. Japanese vehicles generally aren't as bad as European though so those are something worth looking at. You can definitely get a relatively low maintenence reliable Japanese car for that price (Celica, Civic/Integra, Accord, Camry, Corolla some examples, Sentra, Maxima to a lesser extent). Some aren't all that sporty though and some don't really have "all the options" which seems to be what you're looking for. I think a Pontiac may be best suited for you. Pontiacs are one of the few traditional domestic brands I like because they are a sporty oriented brand, all their cars have that sporty look/feel to them, and they can come with quite the amount of options for not much money. They aren't speed demons (they're pretty heavy) but are nice cruisers and handle pretty well. They are all right for reliability too. They may have an issue or two, but all vehicles except Hondas and Toyotas have an issue or two. As long as you keep up on maintenence and don't put DEXCOOL in it you'll be fine.

thanx for advice but just out of curiosity, what is DEXCOOL ?

[oedipussy]

My problem with the classified ads is that people generally want way too much for their cars. Like $4200 for an '88 Buick Century. That's just ridiculous. Sometimes you'll find a good deal, but most of the time the sellers are just expecting way too much for their jalopies... I prefer ebay because of the way it's set up - you're more than likely going to get the car for the right price.

I think it's the Alero brand in general. We've had so many problems with that car. It's just poorly designed. One look under the hood should be enough to scare away any potential buyers...

Nope, never owned a Saturn. Can't say that I ever plan to, either.

Hondas and Toyotas don't have issues? I've never owned either but the people I know that have them have nothing but problems. I've always considered both makes to be nothing more than cheap (in terms of both quality and cost) transportation. Although as far as Japanese cars go, I will (grudgingly) admit that Honda does make a fairly solid automobile...

['97ventureowner]

Dexcool is a coolant that was meant for long term use. It started to be used in the mid '90s. It was meant as the next generation of coolants to replace the old standard for many years, ethylene glycol. The major difference is the color. Dexcool, is an orangish-red, while the ethylene glycol is green. Dexcool is an OAT based coolant(Organic Acid Technology) and has different properties. If a vehicle came from the factory with Dexcool installed in the cooling system, then it or another vehicle manufacturer approved coolant should be used. One should not replace the Dexcool with ethylene glycol because the respective protection packages that each coolant has is different. Dexcool was made for the modern engine that may have many different metals and other substances used in manufacture, so it's protection package is meant for that purpose.
There has been some issues in recent years with problem components such as intake gasket failures and cooling system sludging up. A lot of research has been done and some of the causes have been linked to improper maintaining of the coolant. GM had said you could use the coolant for 5 years or 150,000 miles, but we know now that is too long of a time to wait for servicing. A new timetable similar to the green coolant should be followed. That is flushing and refilling every 2 to 3 years or 30 to 40,000 miles. Air infiltration has also been an issue leading to the coolant to sludge u. In many cases, a faulty radiator cap has been the culprit. Replacing the cap with a new one ( usually a Stant brand has solved the issue.) Always keep an eye on the overflow tank or level in the radiator and keep the level topped off and you should be fine. If you notice a sudden drop in the level you should further investigate for a leak.
The main thing to e\remember, contrary to what has been posted previously is that if your cooling system came from the manufacturer with an extended life coolant, you should stick with it and not change to ethylene glycol, because you risk damaging your engine. I've had 4 vehicles in the past decade that used Dexcool and I still continue to use it.

[JinKazama23]

I have one more question, is 100,000 miles a high milage for grand am, ford mustang '99 '00 ? How many miles you can usualy drive untill the engine dies if we talk about american cars ?

[oedipussy]

In this day and age, that's actually fairly low mileage. I've seen cars that are only 3-4 years old with more miles on them than that.

There's no set mileage or amount of time before an engine "dies". Assuming you don't abuse it, you should get a lot of driving out of a car. None of my cars are high mileage (the highest one has about 130k) but they are all 40+ years old and still running on the original engines (only one of which has been rebuilt). And yes, they are American cars. I don't know if that's going to be the case with today's cars 40 years from now, but it's a good track record...

[sickcallawayc12]

Originally Posted by JinKazama23

I have one more question, is 100,000 miles a high milage for grand am, ford mustang '99 '00 ? How many miles you can usualy drive untill the engine dies if we talk about american cars ?

+1 on what oedipussy said. In addition, regular proper maintenence is key for any vehicle to last a long time. Do that and you should get many many miles out of your GM or Mustang engine. Really there are few automakers with engines that won't "last" like Hyundai for example.

Originally Posted by oedipussy

Nope, never owned a Saturn. Can't say that I ever plan to, either.

I only mention it cuz I know that is one brand, particularly the S-Series, that contradicts your views on the FWD car. They are one of the easiest FWD vehicles to work on.

Originally Posted by oedipussy

Hondas and Toyotas don't have issues? I've never owned either but the people I know that have them have nothing but problems. I've always considered both makes to be nothing more than cheap (in terms of both quality and cost) transportation. Although as far as Japanese cars go, I will (grudgingly) admit that Honda does make a fairly solid automobile...

All vehicle makes are gonna have their lemons and neglectful owners of course, but I consider these two brands to be the most reliable out there with few issues. I hear the newer Toyotas have more recalls though. However, my grandmama has been driving nothing but Toyota vehicles, (cars vans and SUVs) for the last 20 years. She hasn't had any issues with them and has loved them all. Because of the name and track record, Toyotas tend to be ridiculously overpriced though and Hondas to a lesser extent so I understand. No, quality isn't spectacular, but overall I like it better than domestics, personally.