Good first car

[Viperelite]

I have been undecided on a car to buy for my first car for over a year. Ive been bouncing back and forth from an '84 Buick LeSabre, 85' Cutlass Supreme and various other cars.

As you might notice im a bit of an old car enthusiast.

I want a decent car for a first car, something balsy but not overly balsy like a muscle car lol. I don't want a tiny car with a tiny engine, my friend has a 00' cavalier and i hate it, it's ridiculously cramped inside, i can barely get in and out.

Looking for something older, easy to work on, around 1500 - 2000$.

Insurance is not a huge worry as it will be insured under my mom's name with me as an occasional.


Any Suggestions?

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by Viperelite
'84 Buick LeSabre, 85' Cutlass Supreme

^^^These cars are pretty gutless by today's standards. I recommend a Buick Grand National from that era except it'll be a bit over your budget.

[Viperelite]

Originally posted by FiveFreshFish


^^^These cars are pretty gutless by today's standards. I recommend a Buick Grand National from that era except it'll be a bit over your budget.

I don't see how they are gutless, i test drove both those car's and they were pretty nice, the cutlass (with a 305) would put rubber down without effort and were pretty quick to 100, my friends cavalier we clocked at 14.4 seconds, we test drove and clocked this cutlass at 9.8 seconds, of course i would be doing some performance mods to the engines, i was planning to buy the cutlass and rebuild the engine in auto class and bore it slightly, new pistons, a mild cam and lift kit and some long tube headers, not to mention a better gear diff around 3.78 over the stocks would be in order to get that thing hauling some ass lol.

[89s1]

Originally posted by FiveFreshFish


^^^These cars are pretty gutless by today's standards. I recommend a Buick Grand National from that era except it'll be a bit over your budget.

He could take a page from the honda book and swap motors.

I would pick the Cutlass, I like the look of those. That or a Monte Carlo (since they look so similar.)

With a simple small block build it would be a good performer, then add some giggle gas for track days and you're golden.

[Viperelite]

It's not really between the cutlass or anything, just looking for some new recommendations, Ive looked at grand nationals, WAY out of my price range lol.

[FiveFreshFish]

'78 Turbo Buick Regal? Quite the sleeper.

[Viperelite]

Anyone know if a 95' Monte Carlo Z34 is any good?

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-1995-Chevrolet-Monte-Carlo-Coupe-2-door-W0QQAdIdZ171289009

[89s1]

Going from an '85 monte to a '95 monte is one hell of a step back as far as coolness is concerned.

One can lift the front tires, the other can't even spin them. :nut:

[Viperelite]

Originally posted by 89s1
Going from an '85 monte to a '95 monte is one hell of a step back as far as coolness is concerned.

One can lift the front tires, the other can't even spin them. :nut:

:facepalm: did not even realize it was a FWD. I don't want a FWD lol.

[toastgremlin]

Buy something that's cheap to fix, and not quite in prime condition. You want to have sort of a beater for your first car, and it gives you something to work on. I'm confused why the Grand National/Regal T-Type is being recommended in the thread; I've rarely seen a functioning example of even the T-Type going for less than $20k. I think there's a T-Type that's been rebadged to a GNX for sale at Car Country for about $36k.

My buddy had a Delta 88 in high school; hard to go wrong with a boat like that. Don't buy any Olds diesels.

If you're looking for old beater cars, their owners don't tend to post in newspapers or Craigslist. You might have some luck just picking one up off the street.

edit: Look out for rust on G-bodies (e.g. Cutlass Supreme); they tend to get really bad right behind the rear axle, and you might be biting off more than you can chew in terms of chassis repairs.

edit edit: Have you thought about Cadillacs? The market for 80s Cadillacs has just completely crashed and they're still pretty perky considering the massive weight and soft suspension.