First car

[Saber19]

Ok so I'm getting my first car soon (yes I'm 16). I've been into imports for a couple of years now, so i've had to sit through the agony of being to young to drive. Here's the thing...does anyone have any suggestions on a car that isn't older than about '96 and isn't over about 25k. Found a used 350z that I'm looking into, and I was thinking about looking at Supra's but I can't really find any. This isn't for me to buy one just yet, I just want to know what you guys would think would be a good car for now. thanks

[BretFraz]

OK, so you want an import. An Asian one, I assume.

Less than 10 yrs old.

Under $25K.

Seems to me there is a lot to choose from. Supras and 300ZXs will be very tough to find unless they're beat up. Got anything else on your list we can consider?

[Saber19]

well honestly anything is fine with me, if it runs, i can do a few things to it, use it as a car to kind of learn about things first. my friend today suggested a supra also but like you said, they're few and far between. maybe an integra or something? i've always kinda liked acura. but it doesn't matter, i'm all for any suggestions.

[The Yousef]

- WRX
-Teggy GSR
-VW GTI
-VW Jetta
-Audi A4
-RSX Type S
-Honda Prelude <---------Go with this one!!!!!!!
-Sentra Spec V
-Yugo
-Lada

[David88vert]

Don't get anything with too much power, or too sporty - the insurance payments will kill you. Don't get a $25k car - the insurance payments will kill you.

Suggestion: Get a 2-3 yr old car (let someone else take the depreciation hit) that is nice and "family-oriented" (i.e. either 4 door or a hatch), and something that has large aftermarket support (lots of aftermarket parts available). Once you get the car, you will get bitten by the bug to midfy it to your liking. Rims, stereo, suspension, etc.all cost money. Figure out how much you plan to spend on these items, then double that figure, and that will tell you what you really can spend on the car to keep it within your budget.
Example: If all of the accessories that you want for the given car add up to $4K, then double that to $8K. Take the $25K that you can spend on a car, subtract the $8K. You can spend up to $17K on the initial purchase of the car.

You might want to stick with the basic cars to start with - Civic, Scion, Jetta, etc. Stay away from used Supras, RX7s, etc. Parts and labor are much more expensive for high-performance cars, and insurance will kill you on them - if the power doesn't send you into a tree first.

[EKnight]

Its stupid if your 16 and lookin into cars like that. Insurance for one, but then when you wreck( 99% of people do) it just destroys a great car like the supra....

just my 2 cents tho

[5thgcelica]

^^^ nice GT4 man. whish i had one..



anyway.. i agree w/ what david said. get you a good car. but honestly, you dont want a supra or rx-7 for your first. no offence, but chances are, you're first car, you'll fuck up and wreck. i did it. and jsuta bout everyone does. so personally, it wouldnt make sense to go find your dream car as your frist, and then screw it over. if you want a good car to mess with, but something that many people dont have, a prelude owuld be cool. got nice performance, lots of aftermarket support, and resonablly priced.

[The Ren]

- WRX
-Teggy GSR
-VW GTI
-VW Jetta
-Audi A4
-RSX Type S
-Honda Prelude <---------Go with this one!!!!!!!
-Sentra Spec V

All these are good choices.. For your first car at 16 I wouldnt recommend a Supra, or a RX7, or a 300zx (turbo anyways). I knew a 16 year old who recently bought a 500hp supra and wrecked it within 4 days, and dont forget insurence on them isnt cheap...

[BretFraz]

Lots of excellent advice so far.

I 100% agree with knowing insurance costs *before* you buy a car is critical. At 16 your biggest expenses will be insurance and maintenance. The differences in insurance rates can be huge from one car to the next (Supra vs Corolla, for example). Some car brands like the european ones will have higher insurance rates because replacement parts are a lot more expensive than parts of Asian or domestic cars. Repairing a crashed Audi or BMW will cost more than repairing a crashed Toyota or Chevy.

If you are looking at used modded cars, be careful with the ones that have had extensive engine or drivetrain work. Not everyone who mods cars knows what they're doing and you could end up buying someone's nightmare. Buying a car that has had just wheels and stereo stuff added isn't too bad as long as the drivetrain is still mostly stock.

Lastly don't forget to budget some $$ for repairs and maintenance once you buy the car (unless its practically new). Almost no one sells a car that needs nothing. People get rid of cars because the cost to fix or maintain them is too much. The new car will likely need a major servicing (oil, trans, coolant flush, all new filters, etc) and some new parts like tires or brakes. Even little shit like taillight bulbs and new wiper blades will prolly be needed. Getting caught up on maintenance can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few grand so budget accordingly.

[efman]

buy a gsr !

[Saber19]

Ok, yeah I see about the whole insurance thing. Hopefully I'll be like my brother and not wreck my first car, but I tend to be a little more outgoing than him at times. I appreciate the suggestions and if y'all have any more keep 'em coming. I need to check out the insurance thing, too.

[The Ren]

I really hope you take people's advice and really sit down and consider about the car. My first car was a 93 Mitsubishi eclipse. I went through 4 cars before I got the supra, and I still have lots to learn...

[Julio]

So far this kid seems smart in this thread.

Not everyone wrecks @ 16.. I wouldnt scare the kid just yet. I would be more worried about insurance, like most people on here say.

If I was you kid, I would stick around reading shit online, Learning about all this stuff as you are doing now wont hurt. If you are smart enough you can seriously drive any car.. BUT experience and knowledge will take you far.
And at 16 experience is a weaksause.

[Saber19]

Yeah, I wanna learn as much as I can about things so I can prove to my parents that I actually want a used/older car to work on and make it the way I want it. They said I could just get a new one and have it the way I want it new. But they just don't really know much about the whole import thing and that I want to so some stuff to the body and later on the performance. I dunno..I have some serious persuasion to do. And thanks for the suggestions, keep em coming please. I think I'm gonna need em :confused:

[ChnkyLao]

damn you have 25k to spend on a car, i had barely 5k to spend, u are lucky.

o yeah watch out for the insurance. think about it.

[never_finished]

damn you have 25k to spend on a car, i had barely 5k to spend, u are lucky.

o yeah watch out for the insurance. think about it.

shit, my first car was less than a grand...hahaha

[blackboi50]

shit, my first car was less than a grand...hahaha

im still in my first car...it was 2 grand............had it for 4 years now no wrecks...............good luck kid!!!!!................1

[efman]

buy a ef for 2k save the rest and once you destrou/wreck it buy a nice one,

[blackboi50]

buy a ef for 2k save the rest and once you destrou/wreck it buy a nice one,

yall are wrong for thinking hes going to wreck it.........i know it happens alot but dayum yall are negative..................1

[HyPer50]

You could always just buy my 97 mirage DE lol. Anyways... my first car was a 96 Geo Tracker, and ya, i wrecked it twice during my time with it lol... the best advice anyone has given you, dont buy anything expensive or nice for your "learner" car, cause chances are it will get messed up one way or another.

[blackboi50]

You could always just buy my 97 mirage DE lol. Anyways... my first car was a 96 Geo Tracker, and ya, i wrecked it twice during my time with it lol... the best advice anyone has given you, dont buy anything expensive or nice for your "learner" car, cause chances are it will get messed up one way or another.

thats better.............................1

[MongolPup]

Yeah, def. get a cheaper car as your first car.

I'm not saying it has to be used or shitty, maybe like a Scion tC? Recently toyota has being cranking up factory support for it (TRD has decided to make parts again ha, poor supra drivers can only get stupid crap like "high performance" oil filters at this point). You can buy strut and sway bars, a weak SC, lowering springs, better shocks for thsoe springs, a clutch kit, a quick shifter and some other stuff I'm sure I forgot, all without voiding the factory warranty.

That way your getting a new car, you can tune it, but it's not something that will be some huge deal to lose.

I wanted a supra as my first car (still want one) but I can GUARANTEE I would be dead by now, the rush of speed is intoxicating once you are driving by yourself.

[Saber19]

I might screw it up but down here there just isn't any kind of place to do anything crazy and show out. Now if I still lived in south Atlanta it might be a different story. Nah but seriously, I wanna really take care of whatever I get and I know I don't need anything crazy as my first, what I DO need though is some way to convince my parents to get me a used car x.x If not I might be inquiring for a job at the Ritz and working my arse off Then I can do what I want to about it...for the most part. But yeah...keep em coming.

[ChnkyLao]

i still drive my first car tooo, probally almost hit atleast 1 person a day wen i was first driving, go for a integra, something like that. would be a whole lot better than my jeep

[yudalicious]

IA giving good advice, I'm impressed...
don't spend ALL your money on the car, leave some aside for emergency repairs/other non car-related stuff, you wouldn't believe how many younger people spend all their paychecks on cars/parts and then when they need money bad they take big losses on selling parts/cars (just check the FS forum, everytihng starts with "I'm short on cash so..." hhaha)....
don't get a very fast car until you learn to handle it, that is very good advice...also don't go street racing, that's usually an accident waiting to happen.

[efman]

buy a ef for 2k save the rest and once you destrou/wreck it buy a nice one,

well its just that almost every kid i know who were into cars when they were 16 wrecked they're first car, i'm 16 to and really worried about recking my first exspecialy the fact that i live in dahlonega that has twisties which are very tempting bothers me really wecking your fisrt car seems to be a fact of life.

[wantboost]

s13,s14, mr2 sw20 (hard to work on), integra, miata. those are all cars with alot of aftermarket support. the miata is a fun car cept i couldnt fit in it lol. btw look into the price of parts some are cheaper than others

[R3RUN]

another thing that you might not have considered is the things youll find you want to do with your car. i dont know how many of your friends have cars but once you get one everyone is gonna want a ride. so if your the type that gives people rides places so that you can get around them having to have their mom drop them off someplace get a car that can carry more than 2 people. another thing to think about is where you are going to be parking it most of the day. probably at 16 your still in high school. and high school parking lots arent the best places for nice cars. i know at norcross there are tons of hit and runs and people key the shit out of anything that appears to be nice. and dont get something that will go really fast, get something with the potential to go fast. im 18 and i still do stupid shit because the car im in now is so much better than the jeep i used to drive.

[Saber19]

True..hoepfully the keying isn't something I'll have to worry about at this school. It's...um...quiet I was thinking about an Integra as well...even the Prelude. Now my problem is persuading my parents to get the used car..and find one lol

[Stormhammer]

go with a Subaru WRX

[EJ25RUN]

1. get something cheap you can learn to work on yourself. the best thing is

to know that you have a fast car and you built it yourself.

2. dont get something too fast, that chances of you doing something stupid

and wrecking it are too high if you are young driver,.

[imbosile]

I wanna really take care of whatever I get and I know I don't need anything crazy as my first

i had EXACTLY the same intentions with my first car, I'm 17, my first car was a 98 prelude, i loved that car... , i took really great care of it, but it was totaled by another driver who just ran a red turn arrow right as i was coming through the intersection....and boom....the car is history. i hope that doesnt happen to you man. it really sucked.....

[Maki]

your 1st car should always be cheap and easy on insurance. a civic will be perfect. wait for your second car to start building.