Well, maybe you aught to learn. My first vehicle was an automatic, but since then had been converted to a manual. If I had just started with the stick, I'd have saved around $1000 and several months of hard work. It is absolutely worth the time and effort to learn. Also, being the only person in a group who can drive stick in a situation where you have to is pretty satisfying. Thought of one more FWD suggestion. Mini Cooper. (old or new) You can get the base models pretty easily, the S models for about $4500 in some cases, and even (very rarely) the classic minis for that price if you look hard enough. Amazing handling, but not necessarily the easiest car to build up. Old on left, and new on right. Obviously all of the pictures in this post are of excellent examples of the car, and in some cases a rare and desireable model. If you could stomach RWD, here is a list of genuinely cool cars. 1994 Mazda Miata (yes, that specific year is important) The best year with the best parts. Miatas are very easy to soup up, modify, and tune. One of the smoothest gearboxes ever made right from the factory. Mitsubishi Starion / Crysler Conquest Unique, rare-ish, spunky, and waaaaay ahead of their time in the early 1980's. The drivetrain will take about 400hp before it blows, so boosting it to that number is pretty easy. Bonus: the interior is full on '80s sports car (if you're into that). Datsun 280z (or 240z/260z) Well respected and awesome car. No-body who owns one dislikes it. Very sporty feeling. All the charm of an old car with lots of new car ideas. Nissan 240sx Fun and sporty when stock, with roads in every direction for modding. People have thrown just about every motor into these things in the name of drift, so finding info on them is pretty easy. Toyota AE86. A bit overhyped, but still a good car. Not very powerful in stock form, but they have one of the best sounding 4 bangers around. EDIT: There is a Starion near you on craigslist for 3500 that is a very desirable model. https://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/5379739929.html
Since you are paying for your own insurance these are some thing to keep in mind. Displacement, doors, body style, and year is what determines what the insurance cost of the vehicle not including the driver. So having a 1985 1.4l 4 door station wagon will be pretty cheap to insure, and low displacement trucks are also cheap to insure. My first vehicle I bought when I was 17 was a 1974 Datsun 620 pickup with a 1.8l 4 cylinder, my insurance was $47 a month for a pretty basic liability insurance. You can also get a good student discount if your gpa is high enough and I think it might be different between different insurance companies.
You will need a teacher, by which I mean anyone who can drive stick, not necessarily an actual driving instructor. Youtube will help you better than any of us could, but I'll take a stab at it. If you are truly willing to learn, go ahead and buy a stick with your budget so it's yours to learn on (learning is pretty bad for a clutch). That way you won't have two learning curves Before you ever try to drive it, familiarize yourself with your gear pattern. I never had any trouble with this but some people do. Your goal here is just to make sure that you know where to put it in when it's time to shift without studying the thing on-the-move. Your teacher will teach you however they see fit, and it may take a few sessions to learn. Don't be afraid if you don't get it on your first trip around the block. Try to pick the flattest, and least driven place to practice. Parking lots are great, as are quiet retirement neighborhoods. Once you can get in the car by yourself and drive somewhere (doesn't matter if you kill it once or twice along the way), you can/will teach yourself from then on out.
dont buy someones turbo integra as a first car. find a stock integra GSR instead if you want something peppy. FWD FTW.
I wasn't planning on getting an integra at all because I live in a place where it would be stolen right away if I didn't have an expensive car alarm
It's amazing how you guys force your opinion on him. Drift Stick! Drive RWD! Most europe cars are FWD. Get a VW Golf or some nice Toyota Corolla. If it's your first car chances are pretty high you'll have a crash with it anyways so better don't get an expensive one as first car. For example: automatic https://newjersey.craigslist.org/cto/5401481524.html stick https://newjersey.craigslist.org/cto/5407821009.html
True but still it's better to learn how to drive sick from the get go and that's my plan now after making sure I have people to teach me. Either way I'm firm with the FWD part of the car.
>implying fwd sucks It has so many advantages, also some disadvantages, but in the end it comes out superior
FWD sucks. It sucks so bad. On paper I'm sure it is, but how does someone who calls themselves a man possible prefer it? It's fun-sucking. It's weak. It's awful.
contributing/10 Yet we got BMW. FWD gets you savely from point A to point B for the average non car enthusiast car user. I suggest to let your dad/mom rent a car for a day so you just ruin the clutch of a rental.
I honestly think that its fun sapping is absolute hypocrisy. Why? You drive an auto, a bigger sapper of fun than drivetrain layouts ever will be
