Buying My First Car - Help!

[gstq]

Eh,

I'm going to be looking to buy my first car in about 6 months however I'm on a low budget. I'm looking for something under $3,000 that's still nice and classy (i.e. not a Civic?). I was initially looking at Cadillacs in the $5,000 range. Two I had my eyes on were the 1997 Cadillac DeVille and the 1998 Cadillac STS. I love them both and the interiors are mind blowing. Anyways, I've decided that it'd be much easier for me to afford something just under or around $3,000. So, for a while now, I've had my eyes set on the 1994 Ford Mustang and the 1993+ BMW 325i, both of which I've found used in the AutoTrader for $1000-5000.

I don't plan to tune-up the car in any way really, other than two modifications I have in mind. I've put away $700 for a vertical door conversion kit (lambo door conversion) and $600 for a 4-set of spinners (found a good deal). I may also upgrade the stereo system so please keep all this in mind when suggesting cars.

Can anyone suggest any cars that are very nice that go for low prices (examples: 1994 Mustang, 1997 DeVille, 1998 STS, 1993+ BMW 325i, etc.) that I haven't yet discovered?

Thanks,
- Mike

[Mitsu3000gt]

From my experience with cars, "very nice" and "low price" do not really go together. That being said, you can find some good deals if your willing to wait long enough.

I'd be a little nervous about a 1994 BMW 325 for only $3000. Thats probably about right for the mustang though, especially if it's a V6. Although the Caddilacs depreciate faster than anything I've ever seen before, I don't think they are as cheap as $3000 without some damage or 500,000km even for a 1997 or 1998.

I think your best bet in my opinion would be the newest Cavilier/Sunfire you can buy for ~$3000. My neighbor just picked up an immaculate sunfire GT for his son for only $4000 (I think its a 98) It will be cheap and more reliable than your other suggestions if you don't want something like a civic. Parts will be cheap too if you need to fix anything, and installing a stereo would be a breeze. Fit and finish is crap but at least you will have a newer car with less problems than your other suggestions, especially because of the cars you suggested, if they cost only $3000, I would expect them to be far from perfect.

Mark

[Impreza]

Don't mean to ruin your day champ, but your budget is way too low for the cars you want to get. Maybe just buy an older civic and work your way up from there! Nothing wrong with a civic, not sure why you hate them. Civics are a great first car imo. At your budget, you're going to need something reliable.

ps, I'll just ignore the part about the spinners and the door conversion ;)

[gstq]

Thanks for the posts. The prices I've posted are based on deals I've found for used cars. My budget will likely rise to about $10,000 within the next few months which is why I'm not really completely set on anything yet. Impreza, c'mon man. Civics are ricer cars. Mitsu3000, firstly, you've got a damn nice car. The Audi is one of my dream cars. :) Anyways, you're right about the new Pontiacs. They're cheap, nice, and efficient, and I was looking into them a while ago. Still not sure what I'm going to do, however if my budget does rise to $10,000 which is very likely, I'll be looking into nicer cars. I'll look at those Pontiacs now. :)

Thanks,
Mike

[Mitsu3000gt]

Thanks for the compliment, I like it quite a bit myself.

If your budget rises to $10,000, I wouldn't buy a cavilier/sunfire - only if you need the best car for super cheap.

For $10,000 you could pick up a nice 1993+ BMW 325 but its still 10 years old so problems will likely start to happen as with any car that old, and they are not cheap to fix at all. Very good cars though. I also would only do the lambo door conversion if it wasn't permanent and could be reversed - I'm guessing it would make it harder to sell when it came time.

If you're ok with spending $10,000 I'd wait the few months and shop around at that budget because I think you will be much happier with what you can get. Honestly I wouldn't touch a 1997-1998 caddy or 1993+ BMW 325 for $3000. Something's wrong there.

Mark

[gstq]

Nah, the Caddys aren't $3000. They're between $4500 and $9000 which I'd settle for. I've got a buddy who just bought a 1998 STS and it says it's an awesome car but it's got horrible fuel economy. The gasket also broke and ended up costing him nearly $1000 to have repaired. I've been offered a 1991 Ford Mustang Hatchback for $500 by a friend of the family however it's in bad esthetic condition. I've considered waiting 2 years and buying a used 200X Cadillac CTS for around $20,000 but I need to be driving as soon as possible.

[Mitsu3000gt]

I'm personally not a fan of caddy's at all but if you like them thats all that matters and they do depreciate more than almost any other car so you will be able to get one for a reasonable price. I would buy a CTS before an STS, but if you need a car soon that is not an option. With an STS you can likely expect lots of little things to break/fail, especially one 10 years old. That being said American cars are usually cheap to fix so if/when you do need to put money into it, it won't be so bad. My friend's mom had a STS and she liked it quite a bit, I don't think she had a ton of problems, but she didn't own it for very long. Perhaps someone who owns one can tell you better than I can, as I only know what I read online and in magazines as far as the STS goes.

Mark

[heavyD]

Nice & classy for $3000.LOL:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: You have a small budget & it's your first car. For that price you should be looking for something that runs & has parts readily available as you will soon find out that owning & operating a vehicle is an expensive proposition especially cars in your price range.

[Xtrema]

It'll probably cost you $3000 just to feed that Caddy gas for the year, driving part time.

There are more than buying price when keeping a car.