Good used car

[logi74]

I found an Acura Integra a week ago in the village I live near by; never been crashed, 160k miles, $5k, owned by a middle-aged woman.

As a starting out car for a kid with a permit (grrrr) I thought this was a awesome car...

My dad told me, however, that he'd rather I have a Datsun 510, because they're so durable and that I've driven both auto and stick for years.

Now I'm curious what you guys think...What's the best starting out used car for my age, in your opinion?

Not, for example, like a Countach... I wish it were so though....

Something under $10k.

 

[Joey D]

Something cheap on gas, insurence, easy to fix when you crash it...you will crash it, slow so you don't kill yourself, and dependable. You'll be fine with a Honda Civic.

And 5 grand for a car with 160K miles on it is stupid.

 

[logi74]

Something cheap on gas, insurence, easy to fix when you crash it...you will crash it, slow so you don't kill yourself, and dependable. You'll be fine with a Honda Civic.

And 5 grand for a car with 160K miles on it is stupid.

Yeah...I thought she was kidding, but apparently not.
At least it's better than the Mazda Millennium and the '88 Land Rover as the other 2 options.

I figured a Honda Civic would be a safe choice...but have you seen the new one?


I hoped it wouldn't look so weird.

 

[Joey D]

For 10 grand you aren't going to get a new Civic, but you can easily get a 2000 or 2001 for a decent price with not a ton of miles on it. I personally hate Honda, but I can disagree they are some of the best cars on the road.

 

[Slick6]

My dad told me, however, that he'd rather I have a Datsun 510, because they're so durable and that I've driven both auto and stick for years.

You're crazy if you're giving up a chance to have a 510. I'd have one, but the nearest ones are 1000 miles away. 👎

 

[logi74]

You're crazy if you're giving up a chance to have a 510. I'd have one, but the nearest ones are 1000 miles away. 👎

I'd love one too, but the closest I am to one is 200 miles away.

And Blazin, I was just offhandedly commenting on the new Civic. I expect I'll wind up with a '95 or something if i'm lucky.

 

[Wolfe]

A Bluebird would be teh awesome. (sic) I thought your dad was going to give you one, or that there was one in the family or something, but now you say you'd have to find one, and the closest is 200 miles away? Your father's recommendation is....unique, to say the least...

Anyway, your best bet as a new driver would be something economical, reliable, and safe...like a Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corrolla, Mazda 323, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Jetta, or BMW 3-series. Maybe even a smaller Mercedes -- especially a diesel one. 👍

 

[logi74]

A Bluebird would be teh awesome. (sic) I thought your dad was going to give you one, or that there was one in the family or something, but now you say you'd have to find one, and the closest is 200 miles away? Your father's recommendation is....unique, to say the least...

Anyway, your best bet as a new driver would be something economical, reliable, and safe...like a Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corrolla, Mazda 323, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Jetta, or BMW 3-series. Maybe even a smaller Mercedes -- especially a diesel one. 👍

No, he doesn't know how to use the computer...

Both of us love the Datsun 510; I went to a few websites looking for one.

And yes, any of those work for me...what about the Mazda Millennium I saw for 8k?
Would you say that's a good car?

 

[Wolfe]

A Millenia would probably be more boring than the lighter, smaller "family cars" out there, but it would certainly be a safe, practical choice. The problem is, it seems that it isn't the most reliable Mazda out there, according to these owners...

 

[logi74]

A Millenia would probably be more boring than the lighter, smaller "family cars" out there, but it would certainly be a safe, practical choice. The problem is, it seems that it isn't the most reliable Mazda out there, according to these owners...

I stand informed...I remember a quick flight of fancy I had for Scion xB's...

But my point is, I really don't care about the horsepower or top speed...
figuring the fastest I'd ever need to go is 70. I like the Scion xA's, '95 Honda Civics, Integras, 323's, 3-series, and my current "learning truck" I drive a lot, namely my 1976 Ford F-250 with a tough-to-get-to 3rd gear and in quite good condition.

I think I heard somewhere the the Volkswagens you mentioned are rated as the worst in reliability on some car website.

 

[neanderthal]

a 240D mercedes.

strong, reliable, safe as a brick house, and you arent going to get yourself in trouble with it too. no ones gonna try and race you, and you certainly couldnt beat a fish on a bicycle. as a bonus, it can be run on waste vegetable oil.

when youve got more driving under your belt, then you could move on to something more fun.

 

[logi74]

a 240D mercedes.

strong, reliable, safe as a brick house, and you arent going to get yourself in trouble with it too. no ones gonna try and race you, and you certainly couldnt beat a fish on a bicycle. as a bonus, it can be run on waste vegetable oil.

when youve got more driving under your belt, then you could move on to something more fun.

👍

 

[puricele7e]

....Would try a used BMW 3-series, E36 or E46. Doesn't need to have lots of power, driving full throttle a 100 hp car is way more fun that driving a 300hp one at the same speed 👍👍

EDIT: Here in Germany the insurance is high on high power coupe and convertibles....so you may be able to guess that a 4-door 316i is pretty cheap to maintain

 

[Wolfe]

....Would try a used BMW 3-series, E36 or E46. Doesn't need to have lots of power, driving full throttle a 100 hp car is way more fun that driving a 300hp one at the same speed 👍👍

EDIT: Here in Germany the insurance is high on high power coupe and convertibles....so you may be able to guess that a 4-door 316i is pretty cheap to maintain

In the usa, we haven't gotten 316i's since the E30, and we got very, very few of them. The 318i lasted through the E36, but our E46's were available with nothing but 6-cylinders. The 4-cylinder BMW's aren't very popular over here...

I think I heard somewhere the the Volkswagens you mentioned are rated as the worst in reliability on some car website.

They're definitely less reliable than Mercedeses and BMW's, as far as German cars go, but they'll still give you less trouble than an old Cavalier or something...

 

[sicbeing]

Trsut me, first car, teenager, under 10k, if you dont care about speed and just want something reliable that will HOLD IT'S VALUE, you need a honda or toyota.

 

[Young_Warrior]

The volks with the 1.6 engine are reliabe and I belive the 1.6 is the most common VW engine so that engine alone screws up their reliability. Something about the flywheel being riveted on instead of bolted on on the 1.6 engines.

 

[Wolfe]

The volks with the 1.6 engine are reliabe and I belive the 1.6 is the most common VW engine so that engine alone screws up their reliability. Something about the flywheel being riveted on instead of bolted on on the 1.6 engines.

Us americans are obsessed with power, don'tcha know; we don't get 1.6L VW's, because they wouldn't sell. The smallest engine choice we get is the 1.8T. The same goes with BMW -- we haven't had 4-cylinders since the E36, because those didn't sell well, and even then the smallest and only 4-cylinder we had was the 318i.

Pretty much the only small-displacement cars that actually sell are Japanese. But even then, you'll see more people choosing the V6 option...

 

[Wolfe]

Trsut me, first car, teenager, under 10k, if you dont care about speed and just want something reliable that will HOLD IT'S VALUE, you need a honda or toyota.

Right, 'cause we all know BMW's and Mercedes' depreciate like crazy...

Edit: Oops, double post...

 

[puricele7e]

Obsessed with power for what`? Cruising down the highway going 70 at most ? I can't really understand it....Maybe because I'm too single minded......

 

[Wolfe]

Obsessed with power for what`? Cruising down the highway going 70 at most ? I can't really understand it....Maybe because I'm too single minded......

Actually, 65 mph for most of the nation, if you're talking about the legal speed limit...

I can't tell you from personal opinion, because I value handling and other factors above straightline speed, but it's just the way things work around here...most people would rather spin their tires and launch really fast from stoplights than save money on petrol...

 

[puricele7e]

Oohhhh....now I get it Thnaks 👍

 

[Young_Warrior]

Im now considering getting a E36 instead of a focus now ever after I saw a 320i coupe with a full m3 bodykit and m3 alloys and the lovely leather interior. I just cant choose between them. My head says focus my heart says BMW.

The BMW will be cheaper but seing as it might be nearly 10 years old the car I buy might need some expensive repairs.

 

[puricele7e]

If you decide with your head, your heart will ALWAYS tell you've got the wrong one...but if you choose with the heart, the head has no more influence ......I'd say go for the BMW, even if the costs are slightly higher......

What does produce more satisfaction in having? A BMW that eats a bit more money but puts a HUGE smile on your face whenever you think at it and so on, or a car with which you can save money, but look pretty bland (by my standards anyway)

It all comes down to taste....and we all know taste is linked to the heart and not the brain 👍👍

 

[Young_Warrior]

If you decide with your head, your heart will ALWAYS tell you've got the wrong one...but if you choose with the heart, the head has no more influence ......I'd say go for the BMW, even if the costs are slightly higher......

What does produce more satisfaction in having? A BMW that eats a bit more money but puts a HUGE smile on your face whenever you think at it and so on, or a car with which you can save money, but look pretty bland (by my standards anyway)

It all comes down to taste....and we all know taste is linked to the heart and not the brain 👍👍

Your reply is what my heart and head wanted to hear. You have put a smile on my face and now im going to actively look for a nice E36.

 

[puricele7e]

Do you know how I feel reading this ?? You CANNOT possibly imagine

 

[logi74]

Hey thanks guys!
I hear kids at school bragging all the time about going 135 on the highway.
A**holes.

 

[Burnout]

Acura Legend!

 

[RobcioPL]

1995-1999 Nissan Maxima

Bingo

 

[Wolfe]

Im now considering getting a E36 instead of a focus now ever after I saw a 320i coupe with a full m3 bodykit and m3 alloys and the lovely leather interior. I just cant choose between them. My head says focus my heart says BMW.

The BMW will be cheaper but seing as it might be nearly 10 years old the car I buy might need some expensive repairs.

Which would you rather have, a FWD hatch that lights itself on fire, or a RWD sedan that'll just bug you with minor annoyances?

My 318i is 20 years old, and I've owned it for just over a year now.

Annoyances: - Differential is old and noisy, but will last for quite a while longer.
- Shifter bushing long gone.
- "Brake lining" light came on when my rear drum shoes were due and is impossible to reset for my model year.
- A few cracks in the dash, rips on the rear seats at the top, and a couple broken interior pieces.
- Idle bounces between 1000-1500rpm when car is cold
- Interior light dimmer has dirty contact

Problems: - Alternator grounding wire broke, so the alternator ceased to function -- almost left me stranded a few times until we found out what was wrong. Replaced the wire, and worked like new.
- Front-right ball joints old and worn to hell. Replaced them before they broke.
- Old, cracked coolant hoses left me with a leak that I didn't notice. Car overheated one day (I wasn't paying attention to the gauge, like an idiot), burst those same hoses. Replaced the hoses and refilled the coolant system, and I haven't been able to touch the center mark on the temperature gauge since.
- A different wire attached to the alternator broke, so the alternator, again, ceased to function. Almost left me stranded twice, but the wire has been replaced and the alternator works like new again.

If I ever have a breakdown that isn't related to some old hose or wire, I'll let you know.

 

[Gil]

A good 510 with a $10,000 budget.
I'm 42 and I go for that one over the Acura.
Imagine an old 300ZX engine or an SR20 in the 510.
Hell, the stock 1.6 on a re-build with some tweaks would be suitable for a 16 year old.