Looking to buy my first car - don't see any threads about this, so I'm posting here.
42 replies, posted
Hi Facepunch, I'm going to be buying my first car.
It will be used for driving around the city, as well as for driving on highways. It will mostly be used for driving inside the city though.
My budget is from 6000-8000 dollars, so I will obviously be buying used.
I would prefer a car or a hatchback.
I'm not especially experienced with automobiles so I want a newer car that won't give me too many issues.
Can you help me out and suggest something that would be in the price range? I don't expect you to find dealership and say "Here you go wally", but if you can suggest a make and year, that would be awesome.
Thank you automobile addicts.
are you looking for a car to get you where you need to go or something more sporty/fun?
Nissan GT-R
[editline]6th January 2012[/editline]
Honestly, try to find cars through family/friends who may be selling, or know anyone who is selling. Then try to look through local newspaper ads, or on Craigslist. Also, try to find spots where it is common to park cars for sale.
I know a couple spots in town that always have about 10+ cars parked with prices/phone numbers on the windshield.
Dealers usually cost a bit more. Be careful not to get ripped off from any source! Do research online.
Hmm... relatively new, 6-8k, hatchback.
You might like a Ford Focus.
Brands like Honda/Toyota/VW/etc seem to hold their value pretty well, and it's harder to find them cheap, but they keep their value because they are usually good. Another thing to thing about is servicing a foreign car can sometimes be more expensive, especially when you have to replace parts (talking more VW/European cars if you are in USA).
Domestic brands such as Ford/Chevy/etc can be cheaper, and are usually cheaper to have to have work done to them as parts are more readily available, and knowledge/experience with these cars is greater to most people. Again, I'm assuming you're in USA.
I'd go for a 2001 BMW, but that's just me.
My first car was a 1991 Mercedes 300CE. It treated me well, and I treated it well. Having a nice older car teaches you how to drive a car that doesn't have all these fancy new features, as well as how to properly take care of a car.
Don't get german cars unless you're willing to shell out quite a bit of money for maintenance and repairs. At least that's how it is in America, not sure about Canada
[QUOTE=Glitch360;34091049]Don't get german cars unless you're willing to shell out quite a bit of money for maintenance and repairs. At least that's how it is in America, not sure about Canada[/QUOTE]
Cars that aren't american or Honda have parts pretty expensive up here in Canada, but when it comes to GM, parts are piss inexpensive and easy to find.
But as a first car in North America, BMW and Merc are pretty much a no-go if you care for your wallet, heck even Subaru's are expensive to fix.
For example, other than gas, my Grand Pricks barely costed me any repairs. All I did was a basic tune up, and with the numbers of road trip I did, I never had trouble with it.
But I'm a GM/Pontiac type of person, so obviously, I always tend to peak toward them so my advice may be slightly biased in those kind of things.
As for OP, I'll think a bit what kind of first cars you could get for that price range, but I think cars like a Saturn ion/Chevy Cobalt/Pontiac G5 could be good for the price, they're somewhat quality cheaper end cars, but sadly they aren't hatchback. For a hatchback, you could try looking for some Subaru Impreza wagon thing, but repair prices would be higher, obviously. You could also go and find a hatchback civic, but I know nothing about civics more that I dislike them, so I'll leave my hate for them, to other users who have knowledge about them.
Autotrader is amazing for this sort of thing. I'd go on autotrader, insert your search requirements, and post your 5 favorite in this thread.
Okay, I'll do that when I get some more spare time, you've been really helpful so far, I like this subforum.
Don't bother with prestige.
They're horrendously expensive to maintain & overpriced.
Its your first car, its destined to be bumped and scraped along everything, trashed when picking up drunken/rowdy friends, wheelspinned about and generally heavily abused doing stupid things. That's the beauty of a first car.
Choose a car that can take a beating, like a Honda Accord or something.
You and your friends will have more fun doing stupid shit in a car than admiring a German badge.
Turn to badge snobbery when you're middle aged and trying to outdo the Jones'.
[QUOTE=WolvesSoulZ;34091233]Cars that aren't american or Honda have parts pretty expensive up here in Canada, but when it comes to GM, parts are piss inexpensive and easy to find.
But as a first car in North America, BMW and Merc are pretty much a no-go if you care for your wallet, heck even Subaru's are expensive to fix.
For example, other than gas, my Grand Pricks barely costed me any repairs. All I did was a basic tune up, and with the numbers of road trip I did, I never had trouble with it.
But I'm a GM/Pontiac type of person, so obviously, I always tend to peak toward them so my advice may be slightly biased in those kind of things.
As for OP, I'll think a bit what kind of first cars you could get for that price range, but I think cars like a Saturn ion/Chevy Cobalt/Pontiac G5 could be good for the price, they're somewhat quality cheaper end cars, but sadly they aren't hatchback. For a hatchback, you could try looking for some Subaru Impreza wagon thing, but repair prices would be higher, obviously. You could also go and find a hatchback civic, but I know nothing about civics more that I dislike them, so I'll leave my hate for them, to other users who have knowledge about them.[/QUOTE]
This. My dad had an...04 Grand Prix? for about 4 years, and is on his 4th year of owning his 2008 Grand Prix. Very few problems with either, and drove them to very high milage. I have a used 2001 Grand Prix with about 192k miles on it, and just had to replace CV joints which weren't tooooo bad to do. Other than that, which isn't like a surprising thing to replace, very reliable cars.
[QUOTE=Dip;34100451]Don't bother with prestige.
They're horrendously expensive to maintain & overpriced.
Its your first car, its destined to be bumped and scraped along everything, trashed when picking up drunken/rowdy friends, wheelspinned about and generally heavily abused doing stupid things. That's the beauty of a first car.
Choose a car that can take a beating, like a Honda Accord or something.
You and your friends will have more fun doing stupid shit in a car than admiring a German badge.
Turn to badge snobbery when you're middle aged and trying to outdo the Jones'.[/QUOTE]
He should get a Subaru, then he could do both.
Last summer in mine consisted of;
Racing against a Lexus (and winning)
Showing a couple guys in a lifted Jeep how its done in the mud (resulted in doing flatspins in a mud hole)
Hauling scrap metal (2 loads of 600lbs, one load of 1000lbs, and one load of 500lbs)
Hundreds upon hundreds of miles of rally
Jumping bridges, jumping hills while rallying
and it still looks pretty decent and through all the abuse, it currently sits at 204700 miles.
[QUOTE=Aljaud;34102042]This. My dad had an...04 Grand Prix? for about 4 years, and is on his 4th year of owning his 2008 Grand Prix. Very few problems with either, and drove them to very high milage. I have a used 2001 Grand Prix with about 192k miles on it, and just had to replace CV joints which weren't tooooo bad to do. Other than that, which isn't like a surprising thing to replace, very reliable cars.[/QUOTE]
Well in reality, contrary to popular belief that what GM Does are shit, their W-Body cars were really reliable piece of machinery, and the last Pontiac models they released were a back to the past with the powerful cars that made their name. (Even though they were Holden's with bigger engines and Pontiac more aggressive look to them).
But to the point, the 3800 Buick V6 is one of the most produced v6 engine in history, if not the most produced, and it's incredibly reliable and solid, it is said to be one of the best engine GM made. And the W-Body all around had a neat build quality. (Engine & Frame - Best thing GM Does in my opinion). But the Transmissions of the 3800 powered cars is pure crap, it doesn't take abuse well.
Mine has 168,XXXKM on the odo, and as said the only thing I had to change on it was the brake line, not going to ruin me at 0,45$ for one foot of line. The usual tune up(Brakes,fluid,bearings.) Very very solid model. Never have a problem starting up even at -30C.
But then again, for a first car, they have rather big engine, being v6 3.8L either N/A or S/C, so the mpg isn't that good. I barely can afford the gas, but at least, it saved me many many times from emotional breakdowns, so it's a win. Very fun to drive too, comfortable. I love it. And it's soon to be top-swapped, so 260hp at the crank and nearly 300lb/tq isn't something to spit on.
But anyway, to many, first cars should be reliable, beatable, economic, so, as said, a little Honda/Toyota often do the trick there. But really, any deals you can find is a great thing.
I don't know what any of that meant, but ok
Ford Focus is a nice starter car. A Kia Spectra is also good (those things never quit running). Both are dirt cheap and good on gas. With such a large budget you can get a newer model that's in close to new condition.
[QUOTE=ice445;34109077]Ford Focus is a nice starter car. A Kia Spectra is also good (those things never quit running). Both are dirt cheap and good on gas. With such a large budget you can get a newer model that's in close to new condition.[/QUOTE]
What year Kia, though? My mother's 2004 Optima has constantly problems with the electronics - the car itself runs great, but there's always something going wrong with the electronics (radio has been replaced ~3 times) and accessories.
That's bad era. Right when they created the Forte, Soul, etc is when their reliability shot up.
If you want a Kia, aim for the newest model you can afford.
Get a Subaru for coolbeans.
[QUOTE=Saber15;34110556]What year Kia, though? My mother's 2004 Optima has constantly problems with the electronics - the car itself runs great, but there's always something going wrong with the electronics (radio has been replaced ~3 times) and accessories.[/QUOTE]
2005 or newer. Considering how cheap they are, OP could probably at least get a 2008.
Go with something like a Civic, Focus, or Camry / Corolla. They're piss easy to fix, take a beating, hold their value, and parts are cheap to find. Toyotas and Hondas are also occasionally used as tuners if you're into that sort of thing. Whatever you do, get the Chilton's / Hayne's manual for your car and take some time to learn how to fix it. It's a great feeling to know you can fix your own car and save a ton of cash if anything breaks.
[editline]9th January 2012[/editline]
My mother also had an old Kia, and it was constantly in and out of the shop for computer / electrical / engine issues. That thing rarely ran right for more than a couple of months.
I drive a first generation Toyota Camry and it took an utter beating before I bought it, and with a bit of maintenance still runs like a charm at 108,000 miles on the original transmission.
Mercedes 190 with a manual transmission, try and break one, I dare you.
I heard poles, walls, other vehicles and bodies of water can break cars.
[QUOTE=Second-gear-of-mgear;34148195]I heard poles, walls, other vehicles and bodies of water can break cars.[/QUOTE]
Not a mercedes "the destroyer of planets" 190
I'm so sorry, please don't hurt me.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/PRnOy.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/MzPLB.jpg[/IMG]
This one got stopped pretty hard:
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/XXW6F.jpg[/IMG]
Those are fake photos made in the second world war by America as propaganda against Germany and German products.
That does actually explain alot. I have a new outlook on life!
I actually want a Merc 190 myself... but I've already got four cars and barely enough money to run three of them :v:
I've got a 190E with the 2.6 liter inline 6, tan leather, 5 speed manual, navy blue exterior.
hnng
And my 300CE. Champagne with tan leather. :)
stick with japanese, mitsubishi eclipse gtx in good condition,
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