What car should I buy next?

  • Thread starter Thread starter C_Raccoon23
  • 27 comments
  • 1,834 views
C_Raccoon23

C_Raccoon23

Local Trash Panda 🦝
Premium
Messages
5,767
United States
USA
Messages
TPC_Raccooon23
Messages
CRaccoon23
Okay, so I am 18 and will be graduating from high school pretty soon. On top of that, I will be taking auto mechanics for college, so of course, that next car I want has been on my mind quite a lot.

Right now, my current car is an 1996 Acura Integra LS. I love this car and it's fun to drive and everything, but I really want to drive a car that's not FWD and has a bit more power.

So here's a list of cars I have been considering getting later down the road:

- Nissan 350Z
- Honda S2000
- Lexus SC 300/400
- Lexus IS 300
- Subaru Impreza (2002-2003)
- Chevrolet Corvette C4

So out of these, which would reccomend? And if there are any you'd reccomend that I didn't list here, that's fine too.

Thanks in advance. :)
 
18, graduating high school, going into auto mechanics... I recommend that you save your money.

If you're planning on spending your life working on cars, the last thing you should be doing is dropping tons of dough on something newish like a 350Z or IS300. Buy a very inexpensive (old) project car and learn about automotive mechanics while fixing it. When you're done restoring your classic project car to original equipment, you can sell it to a collector, make some good money, rinse, repeat. Juggle two of them so that you can drive one while the other is under major repair. Pick a car that people care about, has some character, and has general enthusiast interest. Perhaps an elderly porsche, maybe one that has seen better days.

If you're serious about automotive mechanics, you absolutely have to leverage that in your automotive selections - especially at age 18. The C4 is I think the best selection from your list.
 
Last edited:
Thank you for the response.

Now that I really think about it, I never thought of doing what you wrote in your post. I just wanted a more exciting car later, but what you advised doing sounds like it will be more fun to do, plus I will still get the chance to drive fun cars.

I'm really looking towards the Corvette now after reading your post, even though there were a few other cars I forgot to put in that list. But since you mention older cars, I could also go for a Datsun 280Z and work on restoring it when I get the experience.

Once again, thanks for the advice. :)
 
Danoff
18, graduating high school, going into auto mechanics... I recommend that you save your money.

If you're planning on spending your life working on cars, the last thing you should be doing is dropping tons of dough on something newish like a 350Z or IS300. Buy a very inexpensive (old) project car and learn about automotive mechanics while fixing it. When you're done restoring your classic project car to original equipment, you can sell it to a collector, make some good money, rinse, repeat. Juggle two of them so that you can drive one while the other is under major repair. Pick a car that people care about, has some character, and has general enthusiast interest. Perhaps an elderly porsche, maybe one that has seen better days.

If you're serious about automotive mechanics, you absolutely have to leverage that in your automotive selections - especially at age 18. The C4 is I think the best selection from your list.
Click to expand...

My dad did something similar to this.
Once he got out of high school, he met a handy man that was obsessed with Porsche.
They became good friends and soon my dad was helping him out.
When looking through the junkyard once, he came across a 356 Speedster Body. Nothing else, just the body, so him and his new friend worked on installing the engine, painting it, etc. etc.

Once he was done, he used it at track days and all that, but after a few years, he sold it for a profit.
 
snap-on-tools-777369%5B1%5D.gif


Buy tools...you'll need them.
 
IS300 as Its nice (Lexus fanboy here) overall for all the choices you have. Its a nice small sportie car, its an Invine 6 so theres TONS of room for upgrades. Trust me if you're looking for a car that nice how it is but want to upgrade it here and there. IS300. :)
(Info from my dad who works at a lexus dealership.)
 
CarreraGT
Do you mean the bug eye model :confused:
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's this one:

h.i.subaru.impreza.wrx.sti.2002.jpg


And thank you for the suggestions so far guys. :)

Oh, I don't plan on buying any of these cars soon. Just some years down the road.
 
MuoNiuLa
Oh, I don't plan on buying any of these cars soon. Just some years down the road.
Click to expand...

:lol: Then I don't exactly understand what the purpose of this thread was? Not that I don't enjoy a new "What car should I get?" thread every few days... ;)
 
MuoNiuLa
Yeah, it's this one:

h.i.subaru.impreza.wrx.sti.2002.jpg


And thank you for the suggestions so far guys. :)

Oh, I don't plan on buying any of these cars soon. Just some years down the road.
Click to expand...

Wow. I think you are the first person I have ever heard say they liked the bug eyed WRX... In my opinion, you can't beat the pre-2000 models.
 
^ Skyline + America = Does not compute.

That and it would be waayyyyyyy out of his price range if he could get one.

CarreraGT
Wow. I think you are the first person I have ever heard say they liked the bug eyed WRX... In my opinion, you can't beat the pre-2000 models.
Click to expand...

Agreed. When I think 2003 WRX I immediately think Teardrop/"peanut-eye", not Bug-eye. Also I thought that the Teardrop was the first generation to be brought to America.
 
I like the idea in post 2. Excellent Idea.

And I would suggest perhaps an E30 BMW. Restore one of those to its original glory and you could get up to 10k for it!
 
What do you mean by auto mechanics for college? I'm going into automotive engineering for college this coming year and bought myself a 91 MR2 (near death) for $600. After buying all the parts to fix it I've spent about 12-1500, still working on it but once its done I'll have myself I rather unique little sports car :) That would be my recommendation especially cuz I'm assuming you like working on cars ;)

However as far as future investments go....I love the sleeper effect of the IS 300, the nimbleness of the s2k, and the japanese muscle that is the 350z :D As you can see from my avatar, I wouldn't go for any of those 3 off your list ;)

But for the record, I'd buy an FD Rx7 :)

edit: lol changed my avatar it was the Subie rally car
 
Last edited:
This is the first time I've heard someone suggesting to restore a car for a profit. It generally doesn't work that way.
 
Eric.
This is the first time I've heard someone suggesting to restore a car for a profit. It generally doesn't work that way.
Click to expand...

I know a guy who has literally made millions doing that. You have to have a good eye for an investment car and it helps if you can hang on to the car for a long time.
 
your 18, what are you doing eyeballing a 'vette?

i agree with danoff, do NOT start with a fancy pants car, save money up (the auto mech schooling is gonna cost a fortune), and pick something easy to start on in the trade so you can physically learn the basics while your paying to learn the basics.

and, yes, some of us fell in love with the bugeye impreza. too bad they handle like crap.

Eric: how do you think guys like Chip Foose got started? besides, there are very few actuall Restorers nowadays that would put the car back to it's factory default (I still don't know how guys drive muscle cars around on today's leadless alky loaded gas without destroying the engines)
 
Punknoodle
Lead additive.

EDIT: Let me re-phrase. Lead substitute additive.
Click to expand...

which, of course, is not for sale up here in places. most people simply drop a modern engine in an old body. oh, almost all petrol up here now has Ethanol filler in it...which means anything made before about 98 risks heavy fuel system damage from the ethanol eating the metal.
 
Sniffs
which, of course, is not for sale up here in places. most people simply drop a modern engine in an old body. oh, almost all petrol up here now has Ethanol filler in it...which means anything made before about 98 risks heavy fuel system damage from the ethanol eating the metal.
Click to expand...

I thought the ethanol ate through rubber not metal...
 
I've gotten reports of ethanol pitting out metal gas tanks and lines. besides, I don't know of any "rubber" fittings on most cars.
 
Sniffs
I've gotten reports of ethanol pitting out metal gas tanks and lines. besides, I don't know of any "rubber" fittings on most cars.
Click to expand...

Tiny bit of research and I found that ethanol is very hard on aluminum and rubber (since it's an alcohol) oops :). Separate note - there are definitely rubber components in fuel delivery systems (at least in "older" cars)
 
Ah I see. Not an issue here at the moment. You can opt for 10% ethanol fuel but you can just get regular 95 or 98. And lead substitute is available over the counter.
 
There aren't many used ones around and I don't know your budget, but I think the Genesis Coupe might be worth a look. I would was considering buying one, but it isn't the best option in my situation.
 

Latest Posts

Back