Good first car?

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Foxbodykid

Foxbodykid

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Florida
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Pwnage4you
Hello everyone I am 15 and I am faced with the task of choosing my first car. My grandpa said I have a $8000 price limit. I would like to get a 1985-1993 mustang lx . I would like it to have a v8 and have under 150000 miles is this too much to ask for or should I choose something different
 
For 8 grand, I'm sure you could get a decent V8 Foxbody. If not, a RX7 FC would be great, or a 2nd gen 3000GT or a S14 240SX.
 
First car? Something cheap, big and stable, with the smallest motor possible. A 2.4 Camry will suffice, and you can sell it on for almost as much as you bought it afterwards.

Knock around in that for a while, then after you've had your dings and dents, swap up to that Mustang.
 
I really don't care about the age of it I like that body style so it doesn't matter how old it is for me

*also the engine has 205 hp for the v8 model
 
Plenty of people on here has asked what a good first car is, and invariably, many older, wiser members will give you the same or similar advice:

Get a cheap, old, slow first car first, drive that for a while, then graduate up to something sportier. Essentially what niky said.
 
1. Buy as powerful car you can afford. More horse power = better.

Chicks will laugh at you, and think you have a small .... And you will die quicker, probably you will kill yourself because this is your first car and you don't have enough experience behind the wheel. You think this is smart advice?

2. Buy slow car, cheap. Lear it and then change to something better, be reasonable. Earn money and buy something you really want rather than make sacrifices. Smaller engine will save your wallet, and life.

For first car you want something that will take you from point A to point B. Sometimes through point G ;)
 
Dont listen to everyone. If you really want a mustang then buy one, a really nice foxbody can be had for around 5k, and you live in Florida so there is no winter. To all the people on here that advise against anything sporty, if you want trouble you'll find it no matter if its in a corrolla or a corvette. I've seen more of my friends with junk total them than the ones with "sporty" cars. If you want a mustang what about the 99-04 style, Ive seen nice ones for around 8k.
 
For $8k you can get a pretty damn good fox body too. Hell, $6k will get you a good one.

But a Mustang for a first car? Sounds too risky. Suck it up and buy something slow for the first few years of driving, so when you crash the car it wont be the Mustang you love so much.
 
I almost bought a Fox Body with a well built 393 stroker V8 (430 horses vs the stock 210) for $4500. Anything that is stock I wouldn't pay more than $1,000.
 
Foxbodykid
I'm not listening to any1 anyway I'm getting a mustang no matter what
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You are of course free to ignore us and do as you please (or as your parents allow) with your money. However, that then begs the question, why ask for advice on a forum if you're going to ignore it anyways? :odd:

Also, please refrain from using textspeak and do use proper grammar and punctuation. Proper English is expected on this forum.
 
Here's the problem:

Slashfan
Anything that is stock I wouldn't pay more than $1,000.
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A Fox body is an old car. A crude, old car with a cheap V8. Granted, it's not an STI, so you're probably not going to wrap it around a tree, but this is an investment, right? You want to build it into something nice, right? So take up Granpappy's budget offer, get that Mustang, garage it and work on it, and buy something horrible... like a Chevy Prizm (Corolla dependability at rock-bottom depreciated prices) to putter around in while you earn your license.

This means that all the inevitable dings, dents and scrapes you get while learning to drive go on the grocery-getter while the Fox body gets to come out on those twenty Sundays a year when you can actually enjoy it without fear of the other idiots on the road.

That last part is important. When we say underage drivers are at risk, it's not just because you're still learning how to stir the gears and keep the car in a straight line. It's because you still don't have the experience and situational awareness to avoid inattentive and dangerous drivers. No matter how good you are at the actual job of piloting, situational awareness takes a few years to develop.

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But go ahead and do whatever you want. Just make sure that woman who T-bones your precious Fox outside the school parking lot has insurance.
 
niky
Here's the problem:

A Fox body is an old car. A crude, old car with a cheap V8. Granted, it's not an STI, so you're probably not going to wrap it around a tree, but this is an investment, right? You want to build it into something nice, right? So take up Granpappy's budget offer, get that Mustang, garage it and work on it, and buy something horrible... like a Chevy Prizm (Corolla dependability at rock-bottom depreciated prices) to putter around in while you earn your license.

This means that all the inevitable dings, dents and scrapes you get while learning to drive go on the grocery-getter while the Fox body gets to come out on those twenty Sundays a year when you can actually enjoy it without fear of the other idiots on the road.

That last part is important. When we say underage drivers are at risk, it's not just because you're still learning how to stir the gears and keep the car in a straight line. It's because you still don't have the experience and situational awareness to avoid inattentive and dangerous drivers. No matter how good you are at the actual job of piloting, situational awareness takes a few years to develop.

-

But go ahead and do whatever you want. Just make sure that woman who T-bones your precious Fox outside the school parking lot has insurance.
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I will advocate this. If you love foxbodies and you appreciate the one you get, don't drive it ragged everywhere especially to school everyday. The chances of someone totaling it there are huge.
 
You could get something that'll sip on gas. Just saying. Gas prices don't look like they're going to drop any time soon (3.25/gal. x 10=32.50 x 4(weeks)=130 monthly Assuming you have a 10 gallon tank) .
Not to mention that saving on gas will actually benefit you in the future when you get on your own and such when it comes to tight financial times (like now). I know it sounds crazy but just thinking of the possible future Ramifications..........
By the way I'm not saying buy a smart car or something off the wall.
 
I'm not going to drive it every day and everywhere I'm still going to make my mom drive me around because of gas prices but thanks anyway for all the info and opinions

*also I will be allowed to use my dads truck so I can get some practice in
 
A 15 year old kid with a V-8 Mustang ? Hope you have a good paying job to pay that insurance premium. Insurance companies thrive on people like you .....

young male
+
Hi-Po car
------------
big $ premiums (that's if they will accept you for having such a car at your age)
 
If you really love cars with horse names, you can always get this:
800px-Hyundai_Pony.jpg
 
Wow you are pretty lucky to have that much money to spend on a first car. For 8000 dollars you can buy a nice vehicle. If I had that money I'd buy a 2nd generation Mazda RX-7 for around(3800-4500) fix up the minor and major mechanical issues it may have. I have a friend mechanic who is one of the best mechanics and engineer specialists I know that charges around 25% money a shop charges for work. Then with the rest I'd put 3mm apex seals in the Rotor housing for reliabilty, install a performance ECU, and a better intake and exhaust. Lastly I'd put light weight Recero Bucket seats in it to reduce weight. After all is said and done I'd have a really nice sports car. The stock 2nd gen RX-7s are fine as well though.

You can also get a older Supra, Comaro, Mustang, Firebird Trans Am etc the list goes on.

Really though the best advise I can give is to do your own in depth research on car models you are potentially interested in. Examine yourself(your abilty o pay for issues, insurance rates, and how rare replacement parts are for said vehicle, not to mention your driving abilty and with this be real with yourself.)
 
Foxbodykid
I'm not going to drive it every day and everywhere I'm still going to make my mom drive me around because of gas prices but thanks anyway for all the info and opinions

*also I will be allowed to use my dads truck so I can get some practice in
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"Mum, take me to the movies."
"🤬 off, drive yer own car!"

Good luck with that 👍

 
A direct copy/paste from 2 similar threads not too long ago:

Since it's your first car and you're still learning how to drive, I present a car that is not very exciting, but is reliable and safe:

1996-2007 Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable-

263204.jpg

03-sable-1.jpg


You can easily pick up one for around $2-7000, leaving plenty of money left over for investment or other things. Despite what you may have read, these cars actually handle fairly well for what they are, especially with better tires. Power is adequate with the more common Vulcan V6, plentiful with the higher output but less common Duratec V6. These cars never came with a manual transmission, only a 4-speed automatic which is a bit on the fragile side, so pay close attention to how the transmission shifts if you decide to test drive one. Other trouble spots are the factory coolant tank in the 96-03's develops cracks in it after while; OEM replacements run about $60. Also, change the coolant in the Vulcan engine every 2-3 years; it is infamous for rust in the cooling system which can lead to bad things. Finally, watch out if the rear of the car is sagging, that means the struts/springs are shot and replacement is apparently very expensive.
 
My first car was a 1999 Volkswagen Jetta Non Turbo manual. I love it, great on gas, has some get up and go. Still driving it today, just put the 110k mile on it yesterday.
 
how about a small pick up truck so that you can do some odd-jobs to work for purchasing a second vehicle likely a sporty car.
 

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