It was brought up by my parents that we may be able to get a "kids" car this summer (most likely at some point in July), and I may need some recommendations for a potential car to buy. They said it cannot cost more than $10k, and even that's almost more than they'd prefer to spend, but if the car is in great condition and it is a great deal, they might go through with it. It has to be reliable enough, and I will be able to do moderate repairs, as long as parts are cheap and it doesn't require a lift or a shop to do it. They'd prefer a FWD or AWD, since a RWD is "difficult to operate in the winter", but it may be okay if it's not a super sporty vehicle. The insurance shouldn't be super high for the vehicle, and considering that I am gonna be a 16 year old male "high-risk" driver in the eyes of the insurance company, most sporty vehicles are not gonna be a good option. I've talked with some of you about it, and currently, a 2004 Subaru Legacy wagon is one of my potential vehicles. Post some recommendations if ya have any!
a mk3 golf in good condition or a little worn mk4 one. really everything you wanted, this car has it. Cheap FWD German -reliable economical cheap to insure its got everything!
One of these. You could buy one ready for concours for 10k and parts are cheap, but you'll never need any since they're built like a freakin' tank. They're RWD but I'd hardly call them sporty.
Until something breaks, which it will. Any older japanese or domestic vehicle should be pretty decent, get an inline engine and a manual transmission if you want reliability. Older GM pickups and some of their cars, older dodge pickups especially with a 12 valve, any old toyota or nissan should be pretty reliable, the old mazda B series pickups are great too. Anything else really depends on the individual model and year of the vehicle, some of the old ford pickups are great but as soon as you hit the early 90s it starts going down hill pretty fast, which is the case with most vehicles.
2nd generation Hyundai Accent. Reliable, simple, cheap parts, surprisingly spacous inside, comfortable, affordable, good on gas, and youd have plenty of money left over to pimp your ride
I'd stay away from anything Korean that isn't brand new. :/ Especially a car that, if you bought the last year of the generation, is 10 years old. It'd probably be quite unreliable. A first car? Anything Japanese, some German cars, and there have been quite a few american cars that have proved reliable. And absolutely nothing made by Chrysler after 1980.
I was going to argue against this, but then I remembered that you could quote any of the posts I've made in the What did you do to your car today? thread and shut me up. It is a genuinely good car if have the patience and knowledge (and bravery) to maintain and repair it yourself though. I've only spent about $1700 on it over the past few years, excluding things like registration, insurance, and consumables.
I'd be fine with some of these older cars, but my parents seem to think that if it's made in the 90's, it's not reliable enough, and it's "too old". I kinda get that, but I'm not the one that gets the full decision on which car I can get. I can suggest them vehicles, and if they don't say no, I will keep the option in mind. My dad is saying I shouldn't get German cars because parts will be expensive when they break, and once again, I can't tell him they aren't, because I haven't looked to see if they are or not.
Grand Marquis. -Locate old lady -give <$2000 -Be on your way with reasonably new (Mine is 2004 and paid $2700 from a dealer) and reliable car. I've only put $30 into mine since I've owned it. (New grill) If you can find a well maintained Ranger, They are pretty damn reliable to. I do have the 5-Speed manual and 4.0L however. I literally beat the shit out of that truck everyday after school and it still runs like a top and it's almost as old as I am. In the 15 years we've owned the truck we've only put about $2000 into it. The majority of which was after a day where I got a little to rev happy and blew a headgasket. That was $1250. Besides that, U-Joint, o2 Sensor type things.
Protip: Audi parts are comparable in price to Honda parts and are equal or better in quality (it's literally the usual VDO, Hitachi, Bosch products). The notion that German parts are more expensive is a misconception. Except bmw because f*ck bmw. Get a Honda Fit, Ford Focus or Yaris for the compact car segment. Civic, Corolla, A4 for small car. Camry, Acura TL, Honda Accord for midsize. Crown Vic if you want to be logoster and have pf12351's money to pay for petrol. These cars seldom go wrong. Sort of.
Get a 2004 Pontiac GTO. There are plenty for under 10k throughout the US. XD Nah get the Legacy wagon
What do you want? something small that just needs to be light on fuel, something big that you can load a couple of friends and take a road trip with every now and then? First determine what exactly you want from a car. So far I agree on a Japanese vehicle, they are usually reliable and cheap to repair. Your parents say that 1990's is too old, but they tend to be easier to fix and cheaper to repair (Depending on manufacturer ect.)
2003 VolkWagen Jetta TDI safe, reliable, good looking, AMAZINGLY fuel efficient, and cheap $4,000-$5,000 on Craigslist.com ima nrd
i found a silver audi A4 quattro in silver at autotrader website,it seems like a nice car to drive,it even has a 5spd manual
I'll have to disagree with you here as A4s are objectively total junk. What car did you end up getting, cardy?
