Hopefully this isnt an overdone topic.
Let me start by saying I have never owned a car, and growing up we never had one. My mothers been uncomfortable with the idea of driving since she got into a vicious accident when she was a kid, and living in NYC, its never been a necessity. However, at 23, I'm sick of the subway and am looking to buy my first car. With insurance costs for someone my age and the fact that I'm already covering rent and other bills, I'm likely going to end up buying something in the lower price range, specifics are still up for decision.
My questions for you guys, what was your first car, how much did you spend, and how do you think you did?
[t]http://i.imgur.com/XMoi1zp.jpg[/t]
A 2008 Kia Spectra5. It was slow, stiff, and handled worse than a schoolbus. The automatic transmission would shift at 2k and jerked the car every time. The road noise was incredibly loud, but not loud enough to drown out the creaks and squeeks of the interior. The power steering failed all the time, the suspension was stiff as a pole, and one of those greeting cards that plays sound had better speakers. It got decent fuel efficiency and the engine never gave me any issues, but driving it was not enjoyable at all.
I got it for free from my dad when he bought a new car, ended up selling it and buying a Mazda3 a few weeks ago.
get a crown vic
[QUOTE====;45134265]
A 2008 Kia Spectra5. It was slow, stiff, and handled worse than a schoolbus. The automatic transmission would shift at 2k and jerked the car every time. The road noise was incredibly loud, but not loud enough to drown out the creaks and squeeks of the interior. The power steering failed all the time, the suspension was stiff as a pole, and one of those greeting cards that plays sound had better speakers. It got decent fuel efficiency and the engine never gave me any issues, but driving it was not enjoyable at all.
I got it for free from my dad when he bought a new car, ended up selling it and buying a Mazda3 a few weeks ago.[/QUOTE]
Ouch. Yeah, thats pretty much the kind of stuff I'm trying to avoid dealing with haha. As for the speakers, I used to have a coworker who's car speakers were so bad, he kept a boom box underneath the dash on the passengers side. Found out by kicking it Some mid 80's corolla, manual windows(2 broken handles), grinding transmission, typical hoopty haha.
Get a honda
My first car was a Ford Escord xr3i. It was great except that it didn't run, and I wasn't legally allowed to drive it when I owned it :v:
My first car was a 89 dodge dynasty, it was a huge pile. The guy I got it from owed me money so he signed it over to me. No one else wanted and I needed a car. It got me my license and a job. I wouldn't buy another one. After that I got a 88 Chevy Silverado for $1000. It needed a new starter and the muffler had a hole in it but it ran great. I ended up having to replace the transmission and I put a new cat and muffler on it, still runs great but I'm selling it to my roommate. Now I'm driving a Honda accord I bought for super cheap. The brakes were warped and the front axels were shot, but after about $550 into the car, it feels like new.
I also had an 85 supra, but I had to let it go....might get it back someday.
my first car was an m30 swapped e30, don't do it man.
just fucking don't.
My first vehicle was a 2002 F-150 XLT with a 5.4L v8. My dad gave it to me in high school when he got a new truck.
I love that truck more than I love the mustang I have now (my dad took the truck back when I got my mustang).
It was smooth, had plenty of power, and besides the occasional coil pack going out, everything that's been replaced on it in the past 300,000 miles has been usual wear items (ball joints, brake pads/rotors, etc....). Yes, the truck is 12 years old, with 300,000 miles and STILL drives like new, even after me raw-dogging it for 5 years straight. The only thing that sucks is that it only gets around 16-18mpg depending on how you drive. Also, it was the last year that the 5.4 v8 engine came in a 2 valve configuration, so all the bugs had been worked out.
And since you put (help a virgin out), The 40/60 split front bench had enough room when pushed all the way back and the center console flipped up that it was the main sexytiem place for me and my gf in high school.
My first car was a Volvo 240
And I still got it :v:
First car was a Honda Accord 2001 ran great and gets good mileage not as good as the Civic though, but was a more comfortable daily and 1st car while being easy to learn in.
My first car was a Mercedes 420SEL
Bought it at 17, and I pay a metric fuckton of cash per month to insure it...but it does get 20 MPG out of a V8, somehow...
I love my car, but its not good in city traffic since I have to pin the right pedal to the floor to get out of the way since 2nd gear start was thought to be perfect in the mid eighties.
I'll post new pics when I do my first oil change and finally fix that fucking door check strap
Volvo 760 and it was a lovely car at first. Then came the recalled electrical harness issues. But I won't give up! It's worth it.
[editline]17th June 2014[/editline]
But Volvos are mad expensive in New York. oh well.
[QUOTE=Xanadu;45137314]Volvo 760 and it was a lovely car at first. Then came the recalled electrical harness issues. But I won't give up! It's worth it.
[editline]17th June 2014[/editline]
But Volvos are mad expensive in New York. oh well.[/QUOTE]
Shit forgot to mention that you get an insurance discount if you get a special secondary anti theft system installed for 100 something bucks.(I know this because I clean tristate cars that come through the auctions at work and they all have these alarms and I hate them)
first car I bought myself was a 99 Prizm for $250.
$33ish a month for insurance
35 mpg
200,000mi in another week or so..
Not bad.
Corolla/Prizm masterrace.
2004 Subaru Outback and its fun to drive, reliable, cheap to insure, gets decent mileage, and gets all the ladies. Just stay away from the automatics because the 4eat is a dog. Also it can somehow withstand the daily beating I give it being a 17 year old and all. (having bald snow tires on the rear for a while plus rain equals skids for days)(also gravel)
The Barge Is Large
[t]http://i.imgur.com/qk9HMaZ.jpg[/t]
Yes I could talk about the abysmal fuel economy, the (relatively) lackluster power(This thing would be considered fairly quick in Europe actually), or the fact that a wagon is more practical. But I won't. It's large, it's in charge, it's my barge, and that's all that needs to be said.
[sp]In New York I wouldn't buy one of these. A: You'll be in stop and go traffic 99% of the time and the fuel costs would be nearly crippling. B: 80% of the ones you'll find there are going to be former taxis, and for the most part they're 300,000+ mile machines(Those that aren't have some sort of fatal flaw) that have been beat all to hell, and for a first car you just don't want to deal with that[/sp]
my first car was a '95 240SX.
i bought it for 2700 right after I got my learner's permit. it was a huge piece of shit; it was in an accident and the front end was a different color than the rest of the car, it never really ran right, and it wouldn't pass a smog test.
i wouldn't recommend getting someone's project as your first car, no matter how good the deal seems. nothing sucks more than having a car that you can't drive, either because of mechanical issues or bullshit like not being able to register it.
Mneeh, 0-60 mph in 8-9 seconds isn't really quick or snappy, even here. :v: And then there's the corners!
[editline]edit[/editline]
I should contribute to this
[t]http://i.imgur.com/kNVGAqG.jpg[/t]
My first car was that Mercedes 280 SE. Been pretty reliable really, has done about 4000 km in the past 1½ years without any huge problems to talk about. Since I bought it, I've restored the paint (removal of hair-line scratches, longer scratches down the sides and bad boot paint), fixed up the engine bay to make it more presentable and lots of other stuff (like black license plates with chrome surrounds instead of those dreadful white ones new cars have!)
I'll need to find a daily driver in the next couple months or so, though. I'll keep this as insurance and such isn't particularly expensive on it, the most expensive thing is fuel.
98 Accord, ran good
I bought an '85 300ZX 2+2 for $1300 when I was 16. Sold everything of value I had. Had 83k on the ODO and didn't run, so I bought a shop manual and made it happen.
The day I got it running (pretty sure I was saying "OHHH FUUUCKK" in this picture):
[t]http://i.imgur.com/PM7Mvva.jpg[/t]
And a few months later:
[t]http://i.imgur.com/fRA3dI8.jpg[/t]
[img]http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2009/08/22/17/55/1995_jeep_grand_cherokee_4_dr_limited_4wd_suv-pic-7461677991295281464.jpeg[/img]
I had this. 1995 Grand Cherokee Limited. no matter what I threw at it, it always ran. no matter what. broken axles, tie rods, exhaust fell off, but it had a 318 v8 so it literally got like 12 mpg
My first and current (long story) car I got from a buddys friend who worked next door to the place my bud worked. He got it at a police auction for 500, I payed 450. 1995 Honda Accord V6 LX
When I first saw it. It had seeping head gaskets, and I didn't know till I got it home and started tooling on it. No biggie, I'm good at fixing shit. The engine work would have cost me somewhere around 1200 to 2 grand had I not been doing some pro bono work for some awesome machinists, I even fixed their personal car. The windshield had a big crack across it and the driver door lock was failing hard. Had no radio, headrests, center console, windshield wiper rubber, passenger side mirror was hanging on by the wires and had no glass, the radiator was for a completely different car and the CV axles were about to go a bearings equivalent of thermo-nuclear.
[thumb]http://i.imgur.com/OLUbksN.jpg[/thumb]
Shortly after I got it for the most part fixed up. Still needed a few things, had codes for the SRS and ABS but those are all gone now. The tires and rims cost me 300 bux, a fucking steal. Got em' from the same guys that rebuilt my engine.
[thumb]http://i.imgur.com/02EGI3X.jpg[/thumb]
And here it is very recently, front tires failed from pothole attacks. :suicide: And these tires are even worse, almost got me smashed on the side because I couldn't get across an intersection. Rain is mostly at fault for this.
[thumb]http://i.imgur.com/1s6NDBr.jpg[/thumb]
Even with all the stuff wrong with it it's been as close to a dream to work on as any other car I've ever turned a wrench on. Parts can be pretty pricey because it's a 95 but is reliable as fuck, I really could not have gotten a better first car then this. There's really no support for bolt-on modifications but knowing someone with a proper shop while owning one of these kinda makes that point moot, a point I can't follow just yet. The 4 cylinder models are all the rage for up grades but who want's easy right? [sp]everyone[/sp]
In any case, whatever you choose try and find something that's going to be easy to work on and is in good shape mechanically. Looks should really come second as that stuff doesn't get you to and from work safely and reliably.
First car was this
[t]http://imageshack.com/a/img198/9780/pa180054test.jpg[/t]
Got it at 152,000km, Naturally aspirated. Ended up top swapping it, blowing an engine, learning of my mistake, building another engine with a new blower ontop, drove the shit out of it, sold it dirt cheap.
Got all of my tickets in this car, speeding, too dark tails, etc. Loud exhaust is apparently not an issue on these cars. :v:
This car made me learn most of what I know mechanically, literally went from changing the smallest things, to swapping engines, to building engines, to replacing all of the suspension components, brakes, you name it, I changed it.
That's what first cars are for, learning on what you can and what you shouldn't be doing.
Liked the darned thing enough to buy another one of the last gen. Between my two Grand prix, I went from 200 to 330 horses to hopefully 380 under the hood, not so bad for 4 doors grocery getters.
If you want something very reliable and cheap on insurance, you may go for an 1997-2002 toyota, ive had my corolla 98 at 180 000km, ive beat the SHIT out of that car, both engine and body (trail riding), now its at 250k km and never had a single problem and i can travel about 10000km before i need to add oil, but i change it every 5000km anyway, and it still drive like when i got it.
If you are willing to spend more for fun driving and for best winter driving, then you would love an impreza, or cheaper, an outback.
Don't buy anything too new or too nice, you don't want shit to get knicked. You live in a city, Hondas and other Japanese cars are popular with theives, especially cars that are sporty. Get a white Mercedes 190E with the dumb hubcaps and a hood ornament delete. It will look like the most boring car on the street and everyone who goes after Benzes goes after the chrome alloys on the SLs and SELs or the hood ornaments or the chrome Mercedes star front plate that some people have. You can't steal radios out of them because they can only be reset by dealers and you have to have proof of ownership, and no one wants the radios in the old ones, or even the old ones in general. A good old 190 sedan won't give you any shit, is alright on gas, and was the smallest compact sedan ever produced on a full production scale. Hood rats go after Hondas and Nissans anyways...
[t]http://photo.netcarshow.com/Mercedes-Benz-190E_1984_photo_06.jpg[/t]
This is actually a good beginner's guide from our local /o/
[t]http://i.4cdn.org/o/1400987322990.jpg[/t]
Is lane splitting legal in NY? If it is I would [B]really[/B] recommend a motorcycle due to the cost and traffic there
You'll wanna get either a domestic car, or a japanese one. You don't wanna go German with your financial situation (They're really good mechanically, but when stuff breaks, it's expensive), and you should get one with a smaller engine (not too small though, so that you have to go WOT just to get up to speed)
As for my first vehicle, I bought this beautiful 125cc bike back when in 2012, when I was just 15. I think I faired pretty well, she'd only done 2500 km when I picked her up, and I got her cheap. Since then, I've replaced the instrument panel, a sidestand switch, two tires (first one burnt up, second was a flat), a chain and sprockets, and now I'm changing the charging regulator.
[t]http://i.imgur.com/srx6wJj.jpg[/t]
[QUOTE=Slade Xanthas;45154682]4EAT might be a dog, but it's better than the myriad of issues that seem to plague the 5MT in the 90s. Never seen so many people complaining about practically glass transmissions until I read up on the older subie manuals.
First car I drove from work and back for a good year and a half was a 2005 Suzuki Grand Vitara. It was tragically boring, but very mechanically sound with barely any road noise. Just was kinda disconnected from the environment and features were lacking. Gas mileage was also ehhhh at around 18 average.
First car I've ever owned in my name is my '99 Subaru Legacy. 24 MPG average, AWD all the time, japan strong just like the GV was. Gets me anywhere I need to go in any form of weather any time. 2.2L is bulletproof. Just watch out for 2.5Ls cause they like to pop head gaskets. 4EAT for earlier vehicles is a better choice than the 5MT if only because they tend to be rather fragile, though if you're mechanically inclined or have big pockets and still want a manual, you could consider it, especially since the 4EAT tends to be on the hard side of shifting and doesn't know when it wants to shift gears sometimes. Subaru interiors are also notoriously spartan and devoid of features (more than the GV in my case, but at least I can use a tape to aux converter and the speakers aren't in the damn dash.)[/QUOTE]
If we're mentioning first daily driven cars as well and not first owned, I'd have to mention the '98 Nissan Maxima which is moderately comfortable and you can beat the shit out of it. Very cheap and easy to maintain as well.
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