| Mark |
Hey guys, I was turned to this site by a buddy(not sure what his name on here is..) Anywho, I'm 16 and I want to buy my own car. What kind of cars would you guys suggest I look at for that kind of money? I have very little knowledge of cars at the moment, but my parents ride is starting to be a bit of a hobby of mine.
Thanks
Mark |
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| TrevorK |
quote:
Originally posted by Mark
Hey guys, I was turned to this site by a buddy(not sure what his name on here is..) Anywho, I'm 16 and I want to buy my own car. What kind of cars would you guys suggest I look at for that kind of money? I have very little knowledge of cars at the moment, but my parents ride is starting to be a bit of a hobby of mine.
Thanks
Mark
if you can't do the work yourself at this point, get something that's cheap when(or if) it breaks - a 95+ Cav/Sunfire.
For 3000 you'll most likely get a 91/92 Civic with over 200K.
For 3000 you can get a 95 Cav with <150K on it.
As well, insurance will be a bit cheaper on the Cav/Sunfire most likely (Not much, but most likely $50-100/year less assuming you don't have collision) |
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| arabian_ryda |
and even though u save 50 to 100 a year on insurance with a cavi youll be putting 500 to 1000 to keep it running. as the civic most likely will need nothing. go for a import there less pron to repairs and last longer with better fuel economy.:bthumbup:
EDIT: also with an import car it will hold it value as a cavi if u buy it for $3000 youll only get like 1000 after a couple of months. |
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| Mark |
quote:
if you can't do the work yourself at this point, get something that's cheap when(or if) it breaks - a 95+ Cav/Sunfire.
I really want to learn how to do the work myself, thats one of the reasons why I am buying my own instead of sharing with my sister.
I have a strong hate for anything with an H on it, especailly civics. Cavilliars on the other hand I do like and have been looking at. The ones I've seen for 3000-3500 are all 89-90's though, but Ive only looked at www.autotrader.ca and in the Journal. Should I be looking else where?
Also, two other cars I have looked at a lot of ads for, Daytonas and eagles. Thumbs up or down on those ones?
Thanks a lot guys.
PS - Damn I'm car-stupid! |
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| REFLUX |
quote:
Originally posted by Mark
I have a strong hate for anything with an H on it, especailly civics.
Also, two other cars I have looked at a lot of ads for, Daytonas and eagles. Thumbs up or down on those ones?
PS - Damn I'm car-stupid!
1) Welcome to the forums :) :)
2) You should be more accurate in what you say. It's more likely that you don't like what the owners of Hondas/Hyundai's have done to their cars because if you honestly mean you don't like Hondas/Hyundais, that is quite an ignorant statement. There are plenty of REALLY fast Hondas/Hyundais out there & plenty of nicely done up ones as well, don't let a couple (or many) bad reps limit your choice in cars.
3) Eagle talons are great cars. There are a couple of fast talons on this board & their have their own club site/forum as well. NACDSM???
4) Everyone starts at Zero some point in their life, don't let the know it alls on this & many other forums scare you away. |
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| Mark |
ya, I guess that did come off wrong. I just really hate the lil civics witha $30 muffler and a driver who thinks he can race the world and win.
For the talons, How many kilometers on it is too many? |
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| dogstar |
if you want something cheap that you can work on, get an old toyota.
DO NOT get a corolla GTS, unless you have a lot of money for repairs, they are way too popular for their own good right now, and its driving the prices through the roof, which is really a shame, cause theyre great cars.
but most any other sporty little toyota is gonna be a good car, and for the most part, they are easy to work on.
honda civics... well, the ricers choice can be a nice car, but mostly, they were bought cheaply, abused, then sold to some kid who had no clue about maintenance...now theyre just waiting to die.
just my personal opinion of course, but i laugh when i see 5 civics within ten minutes, and they are all puffing blue smoke out the tailpipe. |
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| ChromeDragon |
| If you want to get boosted for cheap you can look at the Peanut Trifecta (Suzuki Swift, Chevy Sprint, Pontiac Firefly). If maintained they can be great little cars and it's quite possible you can pick up a decent turbo model for the $3000 price cap you have given yourself. They are light little cars that can be made pretty damn quick for not a whole lot of money!:bthumbup: |
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| TheNeonEdge |
In my personal experience, the easiest cars to work on are
A. older carboorated {sp} cars and
B. domestic cars
My infiniti, i can barely do any engine work myself because there is little to no room in the engine bay, which is kinda a pain in hte ass.
On my old trans am there is tons of room to look aroudn and see whats what in there
P.S. its for sale and i MIGHT let it go for 3500 firm.
Also what area of St.A do you live in?!, I live in akinsdale.
--ThE EdGe |
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| TyPhOOnSliPPerY |
"for a import there less pron to repairs and last longer with better fuel economy"
stereotypical staements mean nothing honestly ..... |
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| TrevorK |
quote:
Originally posted by arabian_ryda
and even though u save 50 to 100 a year on insurance with a cavi youll be putting 500 to 1000 to keep it running. as the civic most likely will need nothing. go for a import there less pron to repairs and last longer with better fuel economy.:bthumbup:
EDIT: also with an import car it will hold it value as a cavi if u buy it for $3000 youll only get like 1000 after a couple of months.
That's your opinion. But JD Power reports beg to differ that there's that big of a difference in quality.... |
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| fiero_TyPe_s |
for 3000 you do have lot's of different choices. i do have a different then those listed above.
i have a 1986 Pontiac fiero 180000 Km black 5 speed
full body kit
15 ASA cup rims
20000 Km on Fully rebuilt Engine
List of engine mods
CD sunroof sporty fun little car that people will ask you about
i sure we could talk about price i need to sell this car fast my new car is going on the boat soon. :eek:
the car in my sig is the car but black |
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| typesly |
quote:
Originally posted by dogstar
just my personal opinion of course, but i laugh when i see 5 civics within ten minutes, and they are all puffing blue smoke out the tailpipe.
Hmm, thats funny cause I see a lot more old Toyota's blowin smoke out the tailpipe than Civics :confused: I guess u see what u WANT to see. |
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| clapbak |
| go grab a crx with 200,000 on it! :P |
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| dogstar |
quote:
Originally posted by typesly
Hmm, thats funny cause I see a lot more old Toyota's blowin smoke out the tailpipe than Civics :confused: I guess u see what u WANT to see.
lol, yeah, 80 tercels with 500000km on them.
your right, you see what you want to see, i was simply pointing out a reason to not buy a car model that is often treated poorly.
infact, that can go for most imports, because you get a lot of people who fall into the "imports require low maintenance" theory, but they hear it to be "imports require NO maintenance"
the older domestics you do see on the road are often in better shape than imports of the same age.
all depends on the previous owners of course, but a lot of the times, seeing some dumb young punk trying to sell the car is a good sign its been mistreated. |
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| Xpnsve |
I'm sure you can pick up a nice '89-91 prelude for 3k if ya look around...
You definitely want to go import though as the older ones outperform domestics mechanically.
Honda's and Toyota's are both very reliable... my winter beater is a '85 tercel and she still pulls strong
Older caveliers are pretty reliable too as long as the person took care of it. The most important thing to remember though is to always get an inspection done on the car first. Tire warehouse has a very good 300+ point inspection for like $100, comes with compression tests and shit.
Oh, and try to remember when someone is selling a car, assume 95% of what they tell you about it is bullshit.
I recently picked up my baby for $4500. Not too shabby. |
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| TrevorK |
quote:
Originally posted by Xpnsve
You definitely want to go import though as the older ones outperform domestics mechanically.
Maybe you should put "in my opinion" in front of that - as it's just your opinion.
A lot of people have good success with domestics - that combined with low, low part prices makes them a steal for a budget minded driver.
Realistic Scenario: 1990 Integra vs 1996 Cavalier. You pay 3000, so both have 20K/year mileage (280K vs 160K) on them by now. Both are mechanically sound.
Which will cost you more $$$ - most likely the Integra. All the normal "wear" parts will cost ya (Suspension, bushings, mounts, brake lines, etc....). You can't tell me imports have better rubber mounts than domestics do - that's ignorant.
Yes the Integra will be worth more in 5 years, but that doesn't matter because of the difference in maintenance costs.
So in short, comparing the same YEAR domestic vs import might get the import the victory, but since they aren't the same price you can't. Comparing equally priced cars, which is pretty much a 1990 Integra vs 1996 Cav, and you can't even come close. And let's not even talk about body condition.... |
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| Mavrick |
Best bang for the buck for $3,000 or less?
I am assuming that you are looking for something that can be insured and driven right away, without having to do any extra work. Simply forking out the cash to get a car that runs and will put a grin on my grill, I would consider the following:
85-87 Shelby GLH or Charger. Surprise in an econo-box. Welfare looks, but plenty of scoot.
87-91 Turbo Firefly or Sprint. What a fun little car. Good gas mileage, yet they can quite surprise you with their passing power, and an amazingly entertaining car to drift with.
86-87 Cavalier Z-24. A small car with a V6. Tires smoke going into third gear. Boxy and slow-looking, they are a great sleeper, too.
89-91 Sunbird GT Turbo. I don't see these very often, but I think any J-Body fan should have one of these on his wish list. A bitch of a thing to launch, as their base torque is horribly low, and launching too high causes almost endless wheelspin in the first two gears. Run right, they will rival a 5.0 Stang in stock trim. A Sunbird with a 3.1V6 is pretty impressive, too.
Taurus SHO. Rated at 220hp so as to not insult the Mustang GT, these four-door grocery-getters were the beginning of a whole new generation of sleepers.
Calais or Grand Am Quad-4.
84-91 Daytona Turbo. I owned an 84 Turbo-Z years ago. Fun car, but high mileage causes a lot of stress in their front frame rails due to the power, and the frame will flex and hammer the CV shafts, causing expensive replacements. Some suspension mods like better struts and springs can make all the difference in the world, and they are indeed reasonably quick with 175-220 HP, depending on the year.
84-87 Fiero. 2M4's aren't bad, but if you can find an SE or GT with the 2.8 V6, they are a damn fun car.
Okay, my post is getting a bit long, but there is no way I can stop without listing a few imports, too. I think it's a little tougher to find an import in that price range, but try these:
79-85 RX7. These are great cars. They're not lightning fast, but for a 1.3L, they move along fine enough, and will rev until you decide to shift. They'll also peel the tires quite nicely, and drift great.
MX-6 GT Turbo. I don't know if you can get one quite that cheap, but they shouldn't be far off. Suprisingly quick car.
Nissan 240SX. Again, you might have a hard time finding one this cheap, but should be able to get one for close to that.
That's all I can think of right now. Hope it helps.
Mav. |
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| limecorrado |
| ^^^^Pretty Good Right Up.However i Would disagree on the calais/grand Am Mine was a money pit and would not wish that kinda burden on anyone.Avoid. |
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| Jord@n |
I have been looking for a decent car for a long time and have had a few inspected that I was considering buying. I still have yet to buy a car and my budget has gone up a bit higher then yours ($5,000 range) but just some advice from me:
Import cars go forever if taken care of properly and the owner did regular maintenance. The good thing about import cars is they will have better resale value and have less repairs. The bad thing about them is they are much more expensive to buy and repair.
Domestic cars are also an option worth considering. If you buy a domestic you will get a newer year and probably less kilometers. Domestic cars are cheaper to repair as well and you can find any part you need at a junkyard. The bad thing about domestics is that you will probably end up needing more repairs then a import. Also resale is much harder and you will find that you won't get near what you paid for it.
If you are considering buying a domestic, some of the better ones to consider are Ford Escort (made with Mazda Protege parts ;) ) and perhaps a cavi/sunfire. I would not recommend buying a Grand Am or a Taurus, those are probably the worste cars to buy used.
If you are considering buying a import, some of the better ones to consider are Honda Accords, Nissan Maxima's, Toyota Corollas, Nissan Sentra's. Keep in mind that you will be looking at older years for the amount of money you have to spend.
As for places to look for cars, I would recommend you buy the Bargain Finder and $5,000 and under Trader every Thursday. And remember to keep checking the boards for deals in the Marketplace.
*all statements are my opinion so no flaming plz ;)
Hope that helps,
-Jordan |
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| GTS Jeff |
| ummm insurance for one year will cost u close to 3 grand, so in fact, u cant afford a car right now. |
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