If you live in europe your best chance is to go on mobile.de and study the car market there, and then search for the car(make and model) you want on a car website from your country to find one close to you because prices that you find on mobile.de are kinda the same you'll find anywhere Depending on what you want you can get an opel corsa, a golf4 or golf3, some other small car if you want something for city. If you want an offroader there are plenty of Daihatsu, Suzuki, and Landrovers( freelander ) If you want something a bit more sporty you can go with a diesel bmw from 98-2000 The corsa takes around 4l/100 km and the rest around 5-6l/100km (juding you want the smallest engine size available)
Chevy built the Monte Carlo until 2007. It's very comfortable for the mileage. They put a lot of money into it. It has it's own platform. It has independent rear suspension to. The Thunderbird had it 26 years before the Mustang. It's definitely more sporty than previous Thunderbirds. It out handles just about any Mustang until 2010. Maybe you could say Sports Car.
Ahhh, that makes sense. As a european the concept of "personal luxury" is completely alien to me so I had no idea until now why people liked these cars Also, I've been looking at these lately: 1996-1998 Renault clio. It had the Renault D7F, a 1.2L multi-point fuel injected engine that delivered a whopping 58hp, and returned decent fuel consumption for a 1.2L petrol (6.2l/100km | 37mpg US | 45mpg UK). These cars are known for their supreme reliability so buying a good one is money well spent IMO.
It depends what type of car you want. From what I know, the Citroën Saxo and the Peugeot 106 are both great cars. Someone mentioned the Peugeot 205. It's not a bad choice either, depending on what model you get. I'm not sure about Clios, but given how many of them still run, I guess they are pretty good. Second gen Micra are quite nice from what I know. There's a lot of choice and I don't think I can mention every single car available. But for that price, you can find some interesting cars. EDIT : Forgot to mention, but the Renault "Supercinq" can also be found for very low prices, and it isn't a bad car.
I love the supercinq, if only they had made it with a more modern engine. The Cleon-Fonte engine in that car was first introduced in 1962, and its age is reflected in the power and fuel consumption figures sadly. The 2nd gen micra, 1st gen clio, 106/Saxo all seem like good ideas. As much as I love the 205 there's no way my family would let me own a car like that (poor safety, no airbags etc.)
Japanese vehicles are usually good options, like the Honda Civic/Accord and small Toyotas. Im not that familiar with European cars, some good options but I wouldn't exactly know.
I'm very much a fan of the E92 Corolla Liftback (pic below) however fuel consumption might be a little high....on the other hand I'll be driving for 14km in a nearly straight line with 2 roundabouts at the most, so meh.
I don't where do you live but in France, where i live, young drivers buy small cars like peugeot 106 and citroen saxo or clio and super 5, if you want a reliable car i would choose peugeot cars like 205, 405, 309 ( this one is a really economical and reliable car! ), 306... for Renault i would they cars like r11, r19, r9,... and for Citroen you can have an AX (wich turn around 4-5 liters/100, and is really reliable), the BX (okay i know some people love it, like me, and others just hate it but they are not known for mechanical problems and the hydrolic suspension are just brilliant !), ZX, xsara,... I think 80's - hearly 90's cars are the best for first car because they don't have too much electronic and they are cheap. I really apologies for my bad english ! xD
I've actually been looking into the Peugeot 205. Petrol models are super cheap nowadays (everyone here wants the diesel 205s) so it won't break the bank to buy and insure a decent 1.1 model. I absolutely love the BX, but it's far too big for me, and maintenance is too expensive for me aswell The AX is really nice IMO, but it's simply an old design. Nowadays the same money will buy you a 106 or Citroen Saxo in decent shape
And the three are virtually the same car. I'd go for a 106 if I were you. Looks marginally better both inside and out, while the Saxo looks rather bland for a Citroën. I'd also consider a 176 Fiat Punto. Dirt cheap both to buy and to run, trusty engines, independent rear suspension, they are quite sturdy and reliable if not mistreated. You could get a peppy 6-Speed or the late Sporting model for a little bit of verve.