A good first car?

you guys have any ideas/advice for a high school student looking to buy his first car?? i like the Mistubishi Lancer Evolution VIII, good looking, great performance, but that's probably just a little bit out of my price range... perhaps the scion tC? great price and nice speed, but i'm more into 4 doors. I'm probably just a bit pickey. 20 grand and under would probably be the price limit...any other ideas or suggestions? thanks!

 

I'd expect you would wreck the Evo within the first week of purchasing it. No offense, but thats a whole lotta car for a first timer.

Scion TC wouldn't be a bad choice. Good looks, decent performance, good value.

A 4 cyl. Mitsu Eclipse wouldn't be bad, either, especially with the new '06 model.

For 4 doors, its easy to stay in the 20k price range so long as you do not go with a v6 or v8 for the engine.

I do advise you stay away from Nissan Sentras though.

 

Have you seen the new Honda Civic?

http://www.hondapreview.com/civic/

The 4 door model looks similiar. It won't be as fast as the Si, of course.

 

whoa this message board rocks! quick replies! yes, i guess your right kaula, it'd be quite burdensome to worry about high insurance and all those payments. and whoa! i completely forgot about the honda civic, seems like a pretty nice choice, but that Si model looks pretty nifty

 

The Si will completely outperform the tC, but costs more, too.

 

My first car (still have) is my 03' eclipse GS(got it 2002), great performer and decent power for a 4cyl (147hp); no matter how hard you floor it it doesnt go to far because of that stupid onboard chip http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/redface.gif, cept if you void your warrenty and use the racing fuel boosters http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif. MPG is good also, I wouldn't recommend anything over 180HP. Civics are also a good buy but look old, the scions are nice looking but lack a nice 4door car in your price range.

One lesson I learned was that if X car was 20,000 and Y car was 23,000 and it was just that much better/classier/confortable/whatever go with the 23,000 one and try to hassle the sales ppl for a lower price, remember they always want to SELL so you can always get a MUCH better deal.


Currently using an altima 05 SE http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

 

Whatever you're shopping for, price out the insurance before settling on the car. Anything reasonably sporty will carry a heavy insurance price tag, and if you're going with a new car, full coverage insurance will be mandatory. Unless your ongoing budget is pretty plush, gas, maintenance, and insurance can be an ongoing headache. Although buying new, you won't likely have the maintenance nightmares of the rusted cheap heap.

 

Should have checked my link in this thread. No way that looks old.

 

wow that new Civic looks SWEET (especially with the carbon fiber hood)

I was going to recommend the Scion as well... those are quite sleek looking =]

 

wow 20 grand is the price limit? lol, how much do you make being at high school? for 20 grand you can buy a new SMART!

 

Yeh but honestly, would you want a Smart car??
I'm going for a Peugeot 106 for my first car
£450, 3rd party insurance which will be a lot cheaper and it's only a 1.4litre engine.
But as G.T. said, insurance is very important.

 

I don't know anyone who would, i bought my car (opel vectra) for €1500,- 3 years ago. But if i EVER had 20.000 to spend i'd still would have bought the vectra, and save the 18.500 untill you gained some driving skill. 20 grand just is a lot for a car and honestly, it's way to much for a first-timer

 

20 grand? I'd buy a car that cost half that and use the remaining 10 grand for college money..

 

One other thing you may want to remember...any kind of spoiler or ground effect...even though it`s been proven that at highway speeds spoilers have absolutely NO effect on performance...the insurance people immediately classify the vehicle as a sports car and your insurance rates go up, up, up.

 

How about Hyundai Elantra hatchback? Considering the excellent warranty and reasonable value, and the fact Hyundai offers 0% for 60 months, it looks like a pretty good deal. Hyundai is also tied now with Honda for reliability, so I'm told. Ok so it's not a Ferrari, but there is a GT model that is a bit sporty.

 

I'm a chrysler man, so if you want to go luxury and sport and you're not worried about it being a couple years old...I recommend the chrysler 300m.....

http://www.carmax.com/dyn/factsheet/factsheet.aspx

and you've still got money to spare!! My ex boss had one, which I drove alot, and it was very powerful, and had automatic, or the slapstick shifter for manual shifting (depending on what mood your in, I guess), nice and roomy interior and VERY good on the road noise, but it will turn heads when you drive by!!!! Not only that, but my WHOLE family has been die hard chrysler fans for as long as I can remember, and i've never heard of any of them going to the shop for any major problems, other that the normal wear and tear, like a new timing belt because it had 140,000 miles on it!!!!

Even though this car is sporty, the insurance companies consider it luxury, but it looks and acts like a sport car!! That just my own personal opinion!!!!

Roger

 

My first car was an '81 Ford Granada, purchased in 1993 for $200, by me with my own money earned working at a Grocery store part time while attending high school.

I feel sorry for you. Your limit is only $20,000. Wow, that sucks. Your parents should be locked up.


I guess times have changed.


-Steve

 

What ever you get make sure it gets gooooooooooodddddddd gas mileage. My truck gets about 13mpg(hating life). Filled up yesterday 33gal $70.62 O well thats what I get for buying a 4-wheel drive F150

 

Thats not true. So far I've owned a Hyundai Scoupe, Chevy cavalier Z24, Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V and my current Honda Accord EX-L V6 coupe with spoilers and/or ground effects.

As for performance, spoilers are useless and potentially harmful to performance of any front wheel drive car on or off the highway, and most cars out there are fwd.

None have been classified as sports cars. My '03 Eclipse V6 was, however. It takes more than a spoiler to determine a sports car. I'm not up enough on how they determine it to tell you what, though.

 

i know what you should get afew ford pintos that way you and your friends can play bumper carshttp://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

you get 20k just for a car i dont even get that in a year damn youhttp://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

for that much what you might get is the new mustang its a nice remake of the classic ones

 

Now that might cause the insurance to skyrocket, lol.

 

What are you smoking?

First of all, no R34 will go for 20k, and second of all, the Sti is a 30k+ car.


As for it being faster than an Evo...thats about as inaccurate as the rest of your post. A good driver with an Evo will beat an STi, hands down.

 

I back you up on that one too, adding a spoiler to a car won't touch the insurance, might go up a bit for the body work category, but generally speaking it won't go up at all.

 

Used is over your price quote too, LOL.

You can magazine race all you want. Read the reviews. Even with average drivers, the STi barely edges out the Evo.

 

In the end, its irrelevant. We are talking first cars, not rally cars that are well over the target price range.

 

Its still irrelevant to this thread.

 

Since 1996 eh? That was a good 9 years ago, and seeing how you posted some time ago that you were 15, you have been into drifting since you were 6 years old. That's impressive......

 

Maybe it depends on where you are...but my niece`s piece of s**t Neon(only thing close to being a HUGE piece of s**t other than Cadave...er....Cavaliers and Yugo`s) was classified a sports car by her insurance company because of a plastic double-edged boomerang that Dodge thought...and rightfully so...would sell cars to young people with no sense of practicality.

 

It could depend on where I am, yeah. Its not one of the new SRT-4s, is it?

 

And where's the proof that you, at 15, drove a BMW - and as you said "my BMW", and then wrecked it? No-one would sell it to a junk yard for $50

 

Edit- nevermind. I don't even need to say it.

-Steve

 

Spoilers do have a purpose, but only after you've reached 190 mph. Below that...they are strictly for show. Don't get me wrong, I think they're cool, but anyone who thinks they're benefiting from it is mistaken.


-Steve

 

I'm actually laughing at your post for not reading what I said and taking half of it out of context.

I want to hear it too. Whats wrong with the Evo?

 

Wow, I wish I had $20,000 to spend on my first car. I bet my first 10 cars cost me less than $20K total.

Anyway, how about something like a Mazda Protege5 or the newer Mazda 3? Four doors and a hatch. Fun car to drive, not too much power. Insurance should not be too bad, and it is actually a useful car for hauling people and stuff.

 

I was under the impression spoliers only take "Effect" after 120-140mph, now if your driving at those speeds you diserve to be plastered against a wall. Whats wrong with an Evo? Those things are great.

Bout the civic looking old, if you compare it to a mazda3/6, altima 2.5, eclipse etc...I feel that they still carry old 1990's styles.

 

Dude.

Check the links in the thread. Good grief, lol. This is no 90's style that I've seen. Mind you its a concept, but the final model will remain mostly the same--and with door handles The '06, which is what I was referring to, is a complete redesign. IMO, it fits right in there with the new designs, although I think the Altima suffers from ugly butt syndrome that seems to plague so many Nissans.

 

omg the new Si is sexy... this past year's model looked like crap (the hatchback)... if i didn't get an Explorer i definetely would have looked into getting this bad boy =]

 

Yeah the Si finally looks spiffy. The hatch just looks like poo. No offense to any CTR owners out there

 

wow all those ideas and suggestions. thanks guys! i appreciate your input, but ya, that new Si caught my eye. looks pretty nice, too bad its just a concept car for now. I know the evo is out of my league but what do you guys think of just the lancer? its like 10k less and a little tuned down from the evo but looks alright and the specs seem alright and its more in my price range.

 

The new Si is closer than you think. Concept or not, Honda is advertising it in its current form on their site. They did the same to the Ridgeline truck, and it came out a few months later.

Most car manufacturers bring their new models out in the late fall months.

http://automobiles.honda.com/civics/email.aspx

Of course, if you can't wait, I don't blame ya. Patience has never been a virtue of mine either, when I want a car

As for the Lancer, its not a bad vehicle at all. Very tame, and handles like a dream.

 

Haven't checked out the 4th gen eclipse yet, but the 3rd gen (up to '05) was not forgiving to anyone over 5'7" in the back seat.

I think the backseat is just there as a filler lol.

 

I was at carmax the other day, and I seen a 2004 toyota corolla that had all the features, and it looked like it was right out of the fast and furious movie!!! It was factory done too...not some aftermarket or teenager project!!! I know looks don't mean performance, but I can't remember exactly what it was called or what kind of powerplant it had, but you might want to research the toyota website, because it only had 10,000 miles on it for 14 grand, so you might be able to pick up a brand new one for under 20!!!!

Roger

 

Yeah most of the Corolla models are under 20k, if not all of em.

I didn't mention it because, aside form it being 4 door, the tC is a better value.

 

What about this one, was my 1st one ?