SIGforum.com Main Page The Lounge ** Update Page 4!** 1st car for a high school senior, hopefully last thru college... ideas?
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| Go ahead punk, make my day |
I'll tell you I wanted to keep it in that range as well, but honestly I think you have to move into the $5-9K range (location dependent, of course). Every one I looked at in the $5K and below range was a ragged out or a couple 3 years older than a I wanted. Also beware of water damage - with all the hurricanes in the past couple of years, lots of those cars are out there (even up north - they 'total' them down here, then clean em up and drag them north with a corrected title). I saw one that looked great on the outside, but every contact on the otherwise immaculate engine bay showed signs of corrosion and there was some mold in the trunk in the corners and down in the spare tire compartment. If you see that, just walk away - not remotely worth it. | |||
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Member |
Honda Civic. No question. I gave my aunt mine with over 225k on it. Never a problem. Would still, to this day, have no concerns driving it across country. Very good gas mileage. Again, Honda Civic. ========================================== Just my 2¢ ____________________________ Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right ♫♫♫ | |||
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| Conveniently located directly above the center of the Earth  |
I've grown fond of Subaru in the last decade. Worst example of 'vehicle care' is an adult son who notoriously drives the wheels off whatever he has most conveniently latched onto, expecting mere ease-of-disposability between his commutes in PDX area. On a lark 4 years ago he engaged the services of an el-CheapO already very high mileage Subaru. His efforts to date to render it immobile have failed. Nearing 250,000 miles he is befuddled/amazed/confused. It still seems reliable although the tranny needs servicing. The only other rig he has been unable to run into the ground was a mil.surplus Hummer...which simply wouldn't run reliably enough to wear itself out. We're 3 1/2 years into a Subaru Legacy and have come to admire their design features. **************~~~~~~~~~~ "I've been on this rock too long to bother with these liars any more." ~SIGforum advisor~ "When the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change, then change will come."~~sigmonkey | |||
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| His diet consists of black coffee, and sarcasm.  |
For a teenage boy driver, anything even hinting at "sports" or "sporty" car will send insurance through the roof. So, if it hasn't been mentioned  I suggest something like a Honda Civic/4-cylinder Accord or a Toyota Corolla/4-cylinder Camry. The Ford Focus and Chevy Cobalt are dreadful shitboxes, not even close to the quality of even the base model Civics/Corollas. One possible exception to the "sporty" might be a Toyota Celica GT (not the GT-S). It looks sleek and "swoopy," but only has a Corolla engine, so isn't fast. However, such a car would be a minimum of 12 years old, as they stopped making it in 2006. | |||
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| Member |
I checked out https://www.carcomplaints.com/best_vehicles/ before I bought one. | |||
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| I kneel for my God, and I stand for my flag |
Toyota Avalon. Legendary Toyota reliability, yet bigger than a Camry, so I'M HOPING, a safer vehicle. | |||
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thin skin can't win |
This was our experience as well. One of those times when I felt like and old fart when I had to realize/accept how shitty a car was going to be available for only $5K. You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02 | |||
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| Member |
Don't forget to check out craigslist. I have found some nice cars on there for very reasonable prices. | |||
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| You're going to feel a little pressure... |
Subaru. Reliable. Heavy. All wheel drive. Safe, like a Japanese Volvo. Get him the Subaru and some snow tires and sleep well at night. Bruce "The designer of the gun had clearly not been instructed to beat about the bush. 'Make it evil,' he'd been told. 'Make it totally clear that this gun has a right end and a wrong end. Make it totally clear to anyone standing at the wrong end that things are going badly for them. If that means sticking all sort of spikes and prongs and blackened bits all over it then so be it. This is not a gun for hanging over the fireplace or sticking in the umbrella stand, it is a gun for going out and making people miserable with." -Douglas Adams “It is just as difficult and dangerous to try to free a people that wants to remain servile as it is to try to enslave a people that wants to remain free." -Niccolo Machiavelli The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all. -Mencken | |||
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| Never miss an opportunity to STFU |
We had a 04 and 05 Ho da Civic, and an 06 Corolla Matrix. I gave both kids my used Civic upon HS graduation, and the Mrs drove the Matrix to work for years. Both kids graduated college (some commuting Home occasionally). My sons died last year after 13 years. And the daughters this year; also 13 years old. I performed the service on both. Mostly oil changes. When my daughters died a couple of months ago, my daughter came to Michigan and drove the Matrix back home to NY. She will use it to commute to work 80 miles each day. We didn’t have a car payment for 8+ years, and didn’t put $2500 in repairs for all three cars combined. My suggestion: Honda or Toyota. Never be more than one step away from your sword-Old Greek Wisdom | |||
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Mazda 3 or Honda Civic You can't truly call yourself "peaceful" unless you are capable of great violence. If you're not capable of great violence, you're not peaceful, you're harmless. NRA Benefactor/Patriot Member | |||
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| Member |
right now in my driveway is a 2000 Altima, and 4 cylinder, auto, side airbags, antilock breaks, 140,000 miles, newish tires breaks, first $1000 takes it. | |||
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Member |
I have rarely seen american cars rated over foreign cars when it comes to safety. Here is an example. __________________________ "Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough." -Mark Twain | |||
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Fighting the good fight |
Yep. 4 door, 4 cylinder Honda or Toyota car. Inexpensive, readily available, safe, and extremely reliable. Cheaper insurance payments for you too. Get him a Haynes manual as well. Between that and YouTube, he can fix most minor to moderate issues that might crop up. (Just be sure to encourage him to ignore the typical teenage boy impulse to stick a bunch of cheap, dumb shit on their cars, like spoilers, fart can exhaust tips, LED ground lights, etc.) | |||
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| H.O.F.I.S |
As my insurance agent told me. It's not a matter of if. It's a matter of when teenager's have their first wreck. I'd not spend a lot on a first car. "I'm sorry, did I break your concentration"? | |||
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Member |
Minivan. Used ones are cheap and plentiful plus he can fold down the seats and roll out a mattress.....  No car is as much fun to drive, as any motorcycle is to ride. | |||
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| Member |
Kia Optima. Huge trunk for its size. Blind spot and other safety features. | |||
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Wait, what? |
Any dependable used 4 cylinder vehicle with a good track record. The less performance the better. Safety, economy, and dependability should be the biggest criteria. If they want a hot rod, let them pay for it. It has been my experience that parents that buy their first time drivers performance vehicles create problems for themselves. “Remember to get vaccinated or a vaccinated person might get sick from a virus they got vaccinated against because you’re not vaccinated.” - author unknown | |||
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| Yew got a spider on yo head  |
Old Toyota pickup. Well, get the newest 5K will get you. They are not only reliable and good in the snow, but they are useful and a lot of fun. Can't imagine being without one. | |||
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Member |
Chris, Sent you some photos and car details to your email address. Let me know if you have any interest! Best regards, Nick. NRA Life Member and Certified Instructor | |||
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SIGforum.com Main Page The Lounge ** Update Page 4!** 1st car for a high school senior, hopefully last thru college... ideas?
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