So my parents want to buy me a car.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Klostrophobic
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Klostrophobic

Klostrophobic

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Which is cool by me.

My dad showed me a couple cars that he was looking into buying for me. One of them being a late-90s Chevy Cavalier (WHY?), another being a '97 Saturn SL-series and the other being a 2000-ish Mercury Grand Marquis (WHY?). Of these, only the Saturn piques my interest in the slightest; and only barely. But I'd rather not complain when someone is buying me a car.

I would, however, like to suggest other possible cars that they could buy me instead. Or that I could buy by myself.

I don't know what I want. Just something that'll be economic and won't rip a hole into my wallet in insurance costs. It'd probably have to cost under $3K, too.

Any suggestions?
 
Very unoriginal, but in this price range i'd go with a civic. Cheap, good engine (for this price), reliable, not thisty (makes quite a difference now), and it's relatively fun to drive stock. Bonus points if last owner was grandma or aunt Mary.

Plus you'll have an the largest choice of supplies to rice the crap out of it!! which really makes it a must. You know you'd love to.


And... a 2000 Grand Marquis for under 3K?? :lol: that has to be some kind of record for depreciation!
 
Originally posted by Klostrophobic
No, he was a banned member here. I'm just claiming to be him.

I've never driven a Toyota Tercel.
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So you are Tercel driver :odd:

Well consider the Toyota Tercel. They are reliable and will give good milage and also cheap insurance.
 
Toyotas are very good cars indeed. The only problem I have with Tercels or Corollas are how boring the cars are to drive... I remember driving a 90-91 Corolla and a Civic sedan of the same age a few years ago... in comparaison the civic felt like a go-kart, and the Corolla like a boat cruising on marshmallows.
 
Buy a late 80's early 90's Toyota pickup truck. They have pretty good power and acceleration, more than a Tercel or Corolla, they're very reliable, easy to work on or fix, fun to drive, handy to have and you can abuse the hell out of them and they'll keep on going. Not very safe in a wreck, though, so don't get in a wreck.
 
im in the same positon, I thought I was gonna spend 12-16k on a car, but I start college in the fall so now thats cut to about 3-5k, if I can find a unmolested 300zx I'll buy it but Im most likely gonna buy a civic or a delsol, then when I get money Ill get the car i want
 
Mk1 MR2! You get the Corolla reliability, but in a little mid engined supercar.

I own a 1991 Civic Si, and have driven a similarly yeared Corolla GT-S (the FWD ones), both of those are fun.

Miatas are awesome, but are most likely over that 3k limit. Actually the Civic and Corolla probably are too. So... MR2, it's faster than them anyway.
 
2002 Neon R/T. Fun to drive (honest 150 hp, short 5-speed, great suspension), cheap to insure (4 doors, airbags, ABS and traction control), and cheap to buy - like 7 or 8 kilobux - and quite reliable. Failing a 2002/3 model, you should be able to get a '98 or '99 R/T for under 5 kilobux.
 
He's basically telling you to get the best Neon you can find - which, I think, is bad advice.

Decent, economical, reliable used cars for under $3000:

- 1992-1996 Toyota Camry sedan/coupe
- 1993-1997 Toyota Corolla
- 1990-1993 Honda Accord sedan
- 1995-2000 Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique
- 1993-1997 Ford Probe
- 1997-2003 Chevrolet Malibu
- 1993-1997 Mazda 626 2.0 (and maybe 2.5 V6 - but only if you can get a decent deal)
- 1990-1994 Nissan Maxima
 
When my brother got his license 8 years ago, my parents got him a '91 Sentra that used to belong to a friend of theirs. Not once in the 3 years he had it dit it get any major problems. I'd assume a later model like a 1999 would be about as good?

The older Maximas aren't too bad either. One of my friends takes his dad's whenever we go bowling.
 
I think you want to be looking for something Japanese, to cut down on unforseen repair bills. Straight, unmodified, and in a plain (potentially undesirable) colour.

Go for 4 doors, because you'll be taking your mates places with you, and it's a pain to have to tip the seat all the time.

You live in Boston, so aircon is good, but not a prequisite.

Get a manual gearbox.

In short, I'm basically saying to get something practical that will teach you to drive. Your first car will always be fun to drive because you don't know any better. Drop the pretensions, and get the best car you can for the money, that isn't going to kill you driving it or running it.
 
Originally posted by GilesGuthrie
I think you want to be looking for something Japanese, to cut down on unforseen repair bills. Straight, unmodified, and in a plain (potentially undesirable) colour.

Go for 4 doors, because you'll be taking your mates places with you, and it's a pain to have to tip the seat all the time.

You live in Boston, so aircon is good, but not a prequisite.

Get a manual gearbox.

In short, I'm basically saying to get something practical that will teach you to drive. Your first car will always be fun to drive because you don't know any better. Drop the pretensions, and get the best car you can for the money, that isn't going to kill you driving it or running it.
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What he said, in a nutshell. Another option is a turn of the century Ford Ranger. I saw a nice, clean, '01 for $4995 the other day. They've also got a very good crash test rating with Consumer Reports.
The only caveat is that whenever your parents or buds want to haul something of any size, they'll look right to you. Of course, you can use that to your advantage to get the truck in the first place. "Well Pop, if you need to haul something we'll have a truck."
 
What you need Jim, is a 323. You can find them very cheap, they last forever, and they can be fun to drive. You could buy 2 323s for $3,000.
 
Originally posted by MazKid
What you need Jim, is a 323. You can find them very cheap, they last forever, and they can be fun to drive. You could buy 2 323s for $3,000.
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Or you could get one decent car.

I agree with everything Giles said except the manual transmission - it shouldn't be a 'must have' for a first car, I think. If you go for a 1990-1994 Maxima, you can get a decent powertrain, a decent-sized car, and pretty good spec - it's probably the best bet.

I assume you don't want a pickup - aside from not being economical and being unable to seat more than three people, they're also not particularly safe in side impact due to their design:

s-10-s.jpg


I recommend SUVs over pickups 90% of the time for those reasons.
 
I'd recommend a first gen 240SX myself. They're really great cars, and 3 grand will buy you a pretty nice one, especially if you don't mind having an automatic.

However, it is only two door, so it's out if you want something that you can haul friends around in. (Although it does have a backseat that one or two people (depending on what position you drive in) can squeze into, in a pinch. And if you get a fastback, you can fit quite a bit in the back.
 
Well, I really would want a manual transmission. It's more fun and I may as well get used to driving one on a regular basis. I've been driving for over a year, I just haven't had a car of my own yet.

Doug, are you saying I could potentially get a 2003 malibu in the $3K range?!

No pickups for me, I hate SUVs, a 240SX wouldn't work.

Thanks for the suggestions, dudes!
 
Originally posted by jpmontoya
Toyotas are very good cars indeed. The only problem I have with Tercels or Corollas are how boring the cars are to drive... I remember driving a 90-91 Corolla and a Civic sedan of the same age a few years ago... in comparaison the civic felt like a go-kart, and the Corolla like a boat cruising on marshmallows.
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It all depends on how well the cars was taken care of, i bet it had badly worn springs and struts.
 
Originally posted by Fenrir51
It all depends on how well the cars was taken care of, i bet it had badly worn springs and struts.
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You may be right about the suspension, but the steering was as lively and responsive as a Grand Marquis one would be, Same for Tercels when compared to cars in the same price range from Honda, Mazda or VW. I can't say for any coupe/hatch versions, but that's how it felt with the Corolla sedan (the American version, huge difference from European models) and the Tercels I drove. Every article I've read about them always praised these cars as a reliable way to get from point A to point B, but look elsewhere if you want to have fun while doing it.

That may have changed a bit with the new models, but the old ones were all but exciting drives.


Integras and Accords are also very good choices in this price range.
 
I happen to have a 95 Corolla Sedan and it is very responsive compared to other cars ive driven. If you want to have fun from A to B its not going to happen with a cheap car like a Corolla, Civic, Sentra, 323, etc. Ive driven a Tercel too but it didnt have PS so id wasnt the best thing to drive at slow parking lot speeds.
 
Originally posted by ///M-Spec
You can probably find a older Integra for 3k. Solid car. Fun to drive. Parts out the whazoo.
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I'll second this gladly, but it's going to get difficult to find one that isn't pre-flogged by someone just a few years older than yourself. Don't buy one that was ever owned by anybody under 30.
 
Originally posted by Fenrir51
I happen to have a 95 Corolla Sedan and it is very responsive compared to other cars ive driven. If you want to have fun from A to B its not going to happen with a cheap car like a Corolla, Civic, Sentra, 323, etc. Ive driven a Tercel too but it didnt have PS so id wasnt the best thing to drive at slow parking lot speeds.
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95' Toyota Corolla DX FWD
341HP
11.83 @ 119.76 mph
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This one? Unless it's a joke, I hope you speak about what it was before you tuned it :p

I guess it's subjective and up to the driver to see what he likes the most. I've tryed almost every cars in the category while shopping for a new one in 97: Corolla, Sentra, Escort, Esteem, Neon, Golf and Civic. Handling was on top of my priorities list, and I ended up choosing between the Civic and the Golf.
 
Best cars I found on the cheap with tons of mileage were maximas, camrys and accords. You should be able to buy one fairly inexpensively, and only some minor maintainence to get you going. Manny transmission obviously (I found repairs cheaper, easier, and since I've been stuck with automatics since '93, one of the biggest regrets I have in ownership)
 
Originally posted by jpmontoya
This one? Unless it's a joke, I hope you speak about what it was before you tuned it :p

I guess it's subjective and up to the driver to see what he likes the most. I've tryed almost every cars in the category while shopping for a new one in 97: Corolla, Sentra, Escort, Esteem, Neon, Golf and Civic. Handling was on top of my priorities list, and I ended up choosing between the Civic and the Golf.
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hah!

It is a joke if you hadnt noticed that.
 

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