car reccomendations...

[bosuteye]

so i just got my license and i'm pretty stoked about it
ive been looking at a some cars and a few caught my eye
Ive narrowed down my list to these couple cars (though it is not concrete):
- 02-04 Acura RSX
- 01-03 Acura 3.2 TL
- 04-07 Pontiac Grand Prix
- 04-06 Mazda RX-8

Any of the cars good or should i go with something a little more older?

thanks in advance

[Stealth22]

All I can say is...

New* or sporty car + young driver who just got his license + trip to the insurance company = I think you can see where I'm going with this.

Unless Dad is paying the insurance, of course :D

*By new I mean anything 2005+

[Sugarphreak]

- 02-04 Acura RSX
Is probably the best choice

[FiveFreshFish]

Take your car shopping list and contact your insurance company. They can give you a quote on each one and then you can decide if it's worth it or not.

[bosuteye]

Breaking my heart already..haha
well i seen it coming but i was just throwing it out there.

unfortunately i will be paying the car, insurance, gas and maintenance with my own money.
only thing my parents provide me with is food and a place to live.

Anyone have any other suggestions that i should look into.
The main reason i'm looking at "newer" cars is just mainly due to the low KM's and less of a headache (in my opinion).

[bosuteye]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
- 01-03 Acura 3.2 TL
Too grown up for your age

- 04-06 Mazda RX-8
You really don't want to get into bed with a Rotary just yet!


Is there a major problem with mazda's?

[FiveFreshFish]

What's your budget for the car itself?

[bosuteye]

i have approx. $10k..
if i'm purchasing it from the dealer i can just make a down payment of 15-25% of the price and then just finance the rest.
and yes i have a job.

[sxtothe240]

I'm assuming that this care will prob be driven in winter.

Maybe try a 04/05 subaru WRX? 4wd, plenty of power, sporty looking, 4 door. with a good set of winter tires, you'll be set for the snow that'll be rolling around in the near future.

I'd advise you to maybe look at older cars...insurance is going to rape you for the first few years.

[DSM4LIFE]

if you want i have a eg civic hatch with swapped b18c GSR motor with turbo kit just waiting to be put on for sale

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by bosuteye
i have approx. $10k..
if i'm purchasing it from the dealer i can just make a down payment of 15-25% of the price and then just finance the rest.
and yes i have a job.

Unless Dad is willing to co-sign on that finance agreement, dealers will laugh you out the door. Reason? No credit rating. Sure, as young guys, we have money for a big down payment, and we have jobs. But we're young, with next to no credit rating. And with insurance, not enough driving experience.

When you say you just got your license, I'm assuming you are around 16-18. That means you haven't, or have just started university. That means your job is not full time (full time and permanent) and does not pay you more than $15-18/hour. To banks and finance companies...thats not enough. Your job (and age) isn't stable enough for them to be convinced that you can make the payments on a 36 month lease/finance 12 months down the road. And even with Dad co-signing with you..you still need insurance.

Call your insurance company or use kanetix.ca to get ballpark values- on a newer car, you will need collision/comprehensive coverage. By law in Alberta, if you have only 3rd party liability coverage on your insurance (meaning no collision), the max they can charge you is around $1800 or $1900/yr. But add collision to that, and there's no cap. And with no driving experience, expect to pay upwards of $4-5K per year for insurance.

I'm not trying to scare you or discourage you...just trying to tell it like it is...just be sure that you can 100% afford all aspects of the car.

[Jim Rome99]

Here is my suggestion: get yourself a Civic from the late 90's. Get it checked out properly before you buy, of course.

You will almost certainly get into some kind of fender/bender, hit a curb at high speed, have an old lady impeed your lane at some point, nothing personal, it just happens when you are a new driver no matter how smart a guy you are. It happens to everyone. This way, you're not going to be too upset if you've only got 5k invested in the car.

BUY WINTER TIRES! NOT ALL SEASON. WINTER TIRES! Spend the money, they're so worth it. For $400 you can get a wicked set put on at Fountain Tire. DO IT.

[simplyRed]

Originally posted by sxtothe240
I'm assuming that this care will prob be driven in winter.

Maybe try a 04/05 subaru WRX? 4wd, plenty of power, sporty looking, 4 door. with a good set of winter tires, you'll be set for the snow that'll be rolling around in the near future.

I'd advise you to maybe look at older cars...insurance is going to rape you for the first few years.

I would still be carful about the WRX (for insurance and the power as a young driver). I have a WRX that you can buy if you want though. I also have an Impreza RS (no turbo but still AWD and boxer engine).
PM me if you want

[max_boost]

Originally posted by Jim Rome99
Here is my suggestion: get yourself a Civic from the late 90's. Get it checked out properly before you buy, of course.

You will almost certainly get into some kind of fender/bender, hit a curb at high speed, have an old lady impeed your lane at some point, nothing personal, it just happens when you are a new driver no matter how smart a guy you are. It happens to everyone. This way, you're not going to be too upset if you've only got 5k invested in the car.

BUY WINTER TIRES! NOT ALL SEASON. WINTER TIRES! Spend the money, they're so worth it. For $400 you can get a wicked set put on at Fountain Tire. DO IT.

Civic FTW for first car.

Cheap. Tonnes of available parts. Good on gas and fairly low maintenance and reliable.

It's your first car and you really shouldn't be spending too much everything considered, that is unless you can afford it.

[bosuteye]

yea i could see myself getting a little upset if someone were to hit the back of my $15K car.
better off just spending $5K on a cheap integra or civic.

[Ukyo8]

RSX FTW!

but i may be biased :D

[Hakkola]

Don't waste much cash on a car when you're so young. My advice would be to get a mid-late 90's Volvo, S70R or something would be sporty, practical, safe, and cheap. I blew a fuck ton of money modding and shit when I was young and it was a mistake.

If I could do it again I'd save some more money and put a down payment on a Condo or something and rent it out, and buy a nice car when I had real money.

[bosuteye]

I seen a few VW Jetta (00-01) going for around $5-6K.
only problem is most of them have 175-210K on them.
Would you trust that or avoid it all together?

[bosuteye]

anyone?

[FiveFreshFish]

I have an '00 GTI with a VR6 over the past couple of years. Solid car, no problems whatsoever.

These MK4 cars (4th generation Jetta & GTI) have lots of aftermarket support if that's the route you want to go. They're pretty good stock as well.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zeroforum?id=4

[03ozwhip]

i heard the MK3 and 4 have electrical issues. ive heard this from a few people i know that had the exact same issues. you might want to look out/read more into that..

[Euro838]

You may also want to check out 98+ preludes if you want something more than just a civic. There are lots of them out there and should be relatively inexpensive to buy.

[freshprince1]

Originally posted by bosuteye


- 01-03 Acura 3.2 TL


I have an '02 Maxima SE...3.5L V6, fully loaded, HID headlights...etc. $9K, excellent reputation and reliability.

[bosuteye]

so after some research and whatnot. i'm in the process of finding a '94 VW Corrado or a '94-98 integra
both were fairly cheap on insurance when i quoted them on kanetix.ca.

What would be a reasonable amount of km's that i should be looking for? less than 150K

[jonnycat]

If you are not 18, you are not legally allowed to appear on any kind of finance contract for a vehicle.

If it were me I'd spend most of the $10K on a vehicle. $5,000 cars are typically being fire sold before a major slew of problems hit. The owners are usually sick of the constant state of repair for smaller ticket items, or they let the smaller ticket items pile up.

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by bosuteye
so after some research and whatnot. i'm in the process of finding a '94 VW Corrado or a '94-98 integra
both were fairly cheap on insurance when i quoted them on kanetix.ca.

What would be a reasonable amount of km's that i should be looking for? less than 150K

Cars this old will typically have 200k km and up.

[jxi]

I highly recommend a Chrysler Sebring years 2001-2006. This is what you need. The rest that everyone else suggested are piles of garbage, seriously.

[zachattack54]

I would go with the RSX. Those are a good starter cand pretty easy to drive. IF you can go for a type-s.

[A2VR6]

Originally posted by bosuteye
so after some research and whatnot. i'm in the process of finding a '94 VW Corrado or a '94-98 integra
both were fairly cheap on insurance when i quoted them on kanetix.ca.

What would be a reasonable amount of km's that i should be looking for? less than 150K

As much as I love the Corrado (hell look at my user name) I dont think it's a great first car... chances are the car will be in the shop ALOT... they are pretty much the definition of unreliable.

[bosuteye]

Originally posted by FiveFreshFish


Cars this old will typically have 200k km and up.
So would it be worth it to get an integra between 180k and 200+k and get the engine either rebuilt or swapped?

[dino_martini]

Definitely check with the insurance company.

I got a few quotes, and even for a Civic SI my insurance was something like $4900 a year. CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY.

[inline6turbo]

RSXs are one of the most expensive cars to insure I was told by TD. My RSX-s was $350/month with a clean abstract, and I'm a girl. I was floored.

[bosuteye]

Yea when i quoted them on kanetix the lowest i seen for the RSX was 3900. But i kinda passed on those cars until i get my driving experience up. i'd rather spend <4K on a car and not be too worried to get it banged it.

So would it be worth it to get an integra between 180k and 200+k and get the engine either rebuilt or swapped?

[Ukyo8]

Originally posted by inline6turbo
RSXs are one of the most expensive cars to insure I was told by TD. My RSX-s was $350/month with a clean abstract, and I'm a girl. I was floored.

:werd:

My Rsx is $360 a month while my s2k used to be $330 a month

[bosuteye]

OT question: Would it be difficult to rebuild an engine (chevy 350, SR20, etc) if you have no prior knowledge or experience building engines? Would i be able to put one together if i were to pick up one of the Helms manuals?

[barmanjay]

screw all your suggestions

buy a blue cavalier with a bodykit and foose wheels,... it only needs an OOP

:thumbsup:

;)

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by bosuteye
What would be a reasonable amount of km's that i should be looking for? less than 150K

Originally posted by FiveFreshFish
Cars this old will typically have 200k km and up.

Originally posted by bosuteye
would it be worth it to get an integra between 180k and 200+k and get the engine either rebuilt or swapped?

What I mean is that most cars that age will have more than the 150k km that you originally specified. If a car has been taken care of, then it won't need a rebuild or swap at 200k km. Engines can easily hit 300k km with proper car although other parts will need to be replaced well before then.

[bosuteye]

How much would it cost to swap a brand new engine in a 1990 Toyota Celica? Someone is selling one for $200 o.b.o.

this is basically what they said about the car
"Engines done
dented roof
smashed front window
broken tail light
newer tranny
new clutch
new altenator
drive trains all good body is still good
newer front tires"

[FiveFreshFish]

^^^ Too much hassle for your first car. You can do better.

[Q-TIP]

Originally posted by bosuteye

Is there a major problem with mazda's?


There is a major perception problem with RENESIS engines. They are not unreliable like most make them out to be if they are properly cared for. I had a 2004 RX-8 and loved that car, never gave me issues and probably never would have. You NEED to watch the oil, you NEED to let it warm up properly and you NEED to read the damn owners manual.

However as society is made up mostly of whiny, useless lemmings the following is often the fate of most RX-8's.

The owner CAN'T check the oil, he CAN'T grasp the concept of warm-up, and most unfortunately he CAN'T read.

The RX is a great car, somewhat lacking in power but still way more fun to drive than the many BMW's, STI's, Evo X's or pretty much any other car that I have had the chance to track. It is however most certainly not a new drivers car, and for the most part it isn't a car for most people.

That being said, back to the OP's topic. Get a Sunfire.

[Neil4Speed]

I would go for a 3.2CL Type S if your looking in that range of vehicles.

http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-2001-Acura-CL-3-2-Type-S-Coupe-2-door-W0QQAdIdZ158868459

http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-2001-Acura-CL-3-2-Type-S-W0QQAdIdZ160812894

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-2001-Acura-CL-3-2-Type-S-Coupe-2-door-W0QQAdIdZ160803657

[ricki65]

in my opinion, Acura offers you the biggest bang for your buck. Legendary Honda quality, (although they had some V6 transmission problems from 99-2001 TLs) but overall they perform very well. I drive a 1999 TL everyday as my beater, and my 2003 Caddy STS sits home rusting, while my 1999 911 sits in the garage collecting dust. Acura has amazing handling and performance, trust me coming from driving M3s, 911s, and 350Z, before. TL will probably do better due to 4 doors, and cheaper on insurance. But the thing is fast.