Need advice on first car

[Sasuke_Kensai]

Hello, I am a car newbie.

I am considering something used, probably $7000 or less.

It would be greatly appreciated if I could get any advice for cars that are:
-cheap on insurance
-reliable
-good gas mileage
-good handling
-somewhat stylish, but not so stylish
-not too high performance, not too low

I was considering a 94 Golf, but I get the impression that their bodies tend to have many breakdowns, and that VWs have some electrical problems.

[x-MG-x]

Ok so what type of car?
sedan, hatch, wagon or coupe...?
The toyota corolla is a pretty reliable car with a pretty reliable engine.. not too slylish but long lasting! my dad hit 390000 on one! :) if you dont want too low or too high performance then get a 1.3-2.0 liter engine.... well thats just my advice.. i advise the corolla if there is much where you live..

[ExtremeSi]

Get a Prelude :thumbsup:
HAHAhaha hey Jari. Invading my territory are you?

[x-MG-x]

Originally posted by ExtremeSi
Get a Prelude :thumbsup:
HAHAhaha hey Jari. Invading my territory are you?

Bro, no offence... but prelude is one of the hardest cars to repair when it comes to engine problems.. hardly any space in the engine bay.. my dad is a mechanic and rejects all preludes because it takes a whole day to fix! well its pretty "comfortable" and its "stylish" and maybe even "quick" but if you want a prelude you need to be mechanically wise for oil changes, keep the engine cool... and as this person says " he is a car newbie"

[Sasuke_Kensai]

errr, anything but a wagon i guess? ha ha small would be good (hatchback i suppose)

and the above ^^ post is just a joke i think, heh

i was looking at some used toyota tercels, i don't think i've really heard many bad things about toyota?

Forgot to mention, probably looking at years 94-97

[x-MG-x]

94-97? well theres heaps of differnt cars from those years so if you make your pick of what car you want just pm me and my dad will give ya a few pointers aight? :thumbsup: :)

[pulse_crx]

you want this car:
http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&threadid=42004

Trust me :rolleyes:

[B20EF]

I don't know why you wouldn't want a stylish car but why not just a plain old civic, great on gas, parts are cheap and easy to find, cheap on insurance especially if you get red cause it's easy for other drivers to see

Other than regular stuff like oil changes, brakes, tune ups you should never have a problem with it

[dogmaiwli]

Mid 90's GOLF or jetta (But I am Biased),
but have it inspected first.
Or a Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, etc.......

The key is to get if from someone you know/kinda know and get it inspected by a mechanic you trust.

[ehos]

Finance a new car :)

7K is a lot of payments. Get that new Echo hatchback, cheeap on gas, insurance etc.

And no worries about fixing old junkers. Don't buy anything pre 98-99 or you might be sinking more and more money into fixing annoyances.

OR, go the other route and buy an elcrapola car for 5-600 bucks that is reliable and just drive it to death, fix what you can and then buy a nicer car (you will appreciate it more!).

Old civics, corollas, sprints, run forever. Make sure you buy it running/driving, that needs no work.

NEVER sink money into a car! Don't do it! :) (Just kidding, well, maybe, but you're young you'll figure it out).

[yohan4ws]

Dont buy GM .. Mechanics recommend Honda and Toyota for a reason ..

For the prelude comment.. Buy a 1.8L dual carb 2gen prelde ... like 2000 bux will get ya a decent one .. a buddy of mine is selling my old one (http://members.shaw.ca/andrew.b/)

I think the door handle broke off at one side but there's a few at pick your part that you can fix it up cheap ..

this car seriously gets wikked mileage and burns no oil ... gettin a bit rusty .. way below you rprice range but reliable, great first person car, easy to work on ..

Or, you can spend s'more .. Accord's are excellent cars .. for a first car, get it stock .. You dont want cops hastleing you about modified exhaust (which is illegal as are clear corners, pass/driver side window tint .. )

I'm trying to find a checklist for buying a new car.. it was on www.preludepower.com or hpoa.org .. it was a HUG Elist of every component in a car to check, locks, mirrors, windows, etc. make sure that every button lights up and a checklist format

If i find it i'll post.. its good for any car you look at.

[dogmaiwli]

Originally posted by yohan4ws
Dont buy GM .. Mechanics recommend Honda and Toyota for a reason ..

For the prelude comment.. Buy a 1.8L dual carb 2gen prelde ... like 2000 bux will get ya a decent one .. a buddy of mine is selling my old one (http://members.shaw.ca/andrew.b/)

I think the door handle broke off at one side but there's a few at pick your part that you can fix it up cheap ..

this car seriously gets wikked mileage and burns no oil ... gettin a bit rusty .. way below you rprice range but reliable, great first person car, easy to work on ..

Or, you can spend s'more .. Accord's are excellent cars .. for a first car, get it stock .. You dont want cops hastleing you about modified exhaust (which is illegal as are clear corners, pass/driver side window tint .. )

I'm trying to find a checklist for buying a new car.. it was on www.preludepower.com or hpoa.org .. it was a HUG Elist of every component in a car to check, locks, mirrors, windows, etc. make sure that every button lights up and a checklist format

If i find it i'll post.. its good for any car you look at.

Looks like a nice clean car / with a history, I'd check it out. and then you'd even have money to put into it.

[hjr]

toyota and honda generally have a good image when the reliablility come into the equation. It seems that the more performance oriented or high strung the car is, the more it breaks down. this is true for VW (i can vouch for that).

as long as you dont mind not being the absolute fastest car on the road i would look for an older civic dx or something.

[ExtremeSi]

Originally posted by x-MG-x


Bro, no offence... but prelude is one of the hardest cars to repair when it comes to engine problems.. hardly any space in the engine bay.. my dad is a mechanic and rejects all preludes because it takes a whole day to fix! well its pretty "comfortable" and its "stylish" and maybe even "quick" but if you want a prelude you need to be mechanically wise for oil changes, keep the engine cool... and as this person says " he is a car newbie"

:D Ya I was joking, he's a friend of mine. And no offense taken I completely agree with you! Everything I have to fix in my engine bay is a bitch to get at. I think what he wants would be a nice VW golf. The only downside to them IMO is that their parts are expensive, but then again so are most imports. The tercel is a pretty weak little car, even for you Jari :D. I would check out some mid-90s celicas (see: celica (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15288&item=2472390785&rd=1) )
Some golfs....maybe a 92-96 civic hatch.....that's all I can come up with on the top of my head.