Best First Used Car

[MT930]

Best First Used Car

Teenage daughter will need a car this Summer/Fall. I am starting to look around

here, these are the priorities in order. $5000.00 or less is the target cost.

1. Safety
2. Reliable
3. Fuel Efficient 30 MPG +
4. 90,000 Miles or less, must be used
5. Durable
6. Auto or manual

There is no cool factor at all, needs to cost effective. First one is on me the second one is on her.

Experience would lead me to a Honda, Toyota or Subaru. Anyone have experience with this recently.

[romad]

Safety is your only concern.. what they want is not a factor.....for 5 grand buy the largest, safest beater vehicle you can find.

[craigster59]

Toyota Camry or Carolla.

[porsche4life]

Going to be hard to hit all of those criteria for under 5k...

For reference I have an '07 corolla with 60k on it and it's still worth in the 8-9k range.

My folks are selling an '09 Kia Spectra with 40k mi on it and again, in that 8-9k range. Of course it it still has 60k and 5 years of warranty too...

[95avblm3]

How about an E36 BMW 3-series? Still plentiful, easily found for $5k or less. Parts aren't too bad pricewise and they are easy to DIY. Safe, reliable and fuel efficient... Not sure about 30+MPG out of the straight-6 but there is always the 318 4-banger. Interiors tended to fall apart in the E36s but if you find a good one or can look past that, it may be a good choice.

Honda's and Toyota's are the ol' standby and because of that aren't as cheap as they could be. Maybe a Hyundai but to reach your price range, you may be looking at a Hyundai from an era where they weren't as nice as they are now...

[cairns]

I would get her a 944. You should find a decent one for not too much more than $5K; it's a safe, reliable, well constructed car with great handling, great brakes and not too much power and it will hold a lot of her stuff. Teach her the joy of driving. And take her to a good drivers ed course no matter what car you pick.

And FWIW I like the 3 series idea too.

[cockerpunk]

an older honda civic, manual.

[Bob Kontak]

Civic or Corolla if you can stomach the size.

[Nostril Cheese]

Volvo 740

[LakeCleElum]

We kept our '99 Camry (V6) for a spare car....Has 207,000 and have only replaced the wiper motor, timing belt, brakes and struts....Uses no oil between changes.....Want to run it till it dies...

[HardDrive]

Ford tarus

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by romad

Safety is your only concern.. what they want is not a factor.....for 5 grand buy the largest, safest beater vehicle you can find.

Add in "newest" to that list and you might be getting somewhere. Modern engineering has made new cars VERY safe, there are some pretty compelling videos out there from 5th Gear comparing an '80s Volvo and a modern compact car. The compact car is far safer in a head on collision with the Volvo tank because it was designed with crumple zones, airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners, etc.

Originally Posted by 95avblm3

How about an E36 BMW 3-series? Still plentiful, easily found for $5k or less. Parts aren't too bad pricewise and they are easy to DIY. Safe, reliable and fuel efficient... Not sure about 30+MPG out of the straight-6 but there is always the 318 4-banger. Interiors tended to fall apart in the E36s but if you find a good one or can look past that, it may be a good choice.

Honda's and Toyota's are the ol' standby and because of that aren't as cheap as they could be. Maybe a Hyundai but to reach your price range, you may be looking at a Hyundai from an era where they weren't as nice as they are now...

Originally Posted by cairns

I would get her a 944. You should find a decent one for not too much more than $5K; it's a safe, reliable, well constructed car with great handling, great brakes and not too much power and it will hold a lot of her stuff. Teach her the joy of driving. And take her to a good drivers ed course no matter what car you pick.

And FWIW I like the 3 series idea too.

You guys are freaking insane. I am a hardcore car guy and DIY mechanic, you couldn't give me an E36 and I would definitely hesitate on a 944 (especially a $5k one). They are high maintenance old German cars that require an attentive owner to be reliable. These are all bad attributes for a teenage girl who will probably turn up the radio when she hears a bad noise. You have to take off your car guy hat when these questions come around, my wife is the oldest of 10 (8 girls) so I get a lot of car questions from non-car people. Dead reliable and soul crushingly boring is the name of this game.

Personally I wouldn't look at anything but Japanese cars. Honda and Toyota will carry a tax for the name, so don't be afraid of Nissan, Mazda, and Subaru. Suzuki is bankrupt so avoid them, early Hyundai and Kia aren't nearly as good as current models, and Mitsubishi is bordering on broke. Look outside of the most mainstream models, for instance an Avalon vs a Camry. Most people looking for cheap reliable transportation will be thinking Camry/Accord or Civic/Corolla, those will be the hardest to find for $5k. The Mazda Protege/626/MX3/MX6, Nissan Sentra/Altima/Maxima/200SX/240SX, Acura CL/RSX/Integra, Subaru Impreza/Forester/Legacy, Honda Del Sol/Prelude, Infiniti G20/I30/I35, Lexus ES/GS, Toyota Celica/Matrix/Paseo/Solara are all less mainstream choices that might be forgotten by the average Joe when searching Craigslist.

[not sharp]

HERE, HERE for manual. Really hard to text!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Z-man]

Subaru Imprezza. The Subbies are built like small tanks. AWD can help keep her out of ditches in the winter. Fuel efficient with sufficient room to pack stuff in. Plus it isn't one of the 1,000,000,000 cookie-cutter Civics and Corollas out there, so if she has a desire to be unique, the Imprezza fits the bill.

-Z-man.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

... These are all bad attributes for a teenage girl who will probably turn up the radio when she hears a bad noise....

Was outside talking to my neighbor.

His teenage daughter comes rolling up in her Jeep Liberty.

As we are standing there I ask her how long the motor has been making all that racket.

She looks at me and shrugs.

Ask when was the last time she had an oil change?

Shrugs.

Little while later my neighbor calls me.

He checked her oil.

It took four quarts.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by romad

Safety is your only concern.. what they want is not a factor.....for 5 grand buy the largest, safest beater vehicle you can find.

+1 on this. Especially after yesterday's experience. My daughter was driving us to Costco (me in the backseat) in her Nissan Xtrail(like a Rav4). A half ton truck backed out of a blind spot in front us. The daughter braked hard. The half ton drove away while my daughter was leaning on the horn. Road rage!?!!!
Did not hit him but it was close....
No low cars for first car. Volvo, suv that sits higher such as Rav4. Lots of airbags etc.
ABS brakes are essential.

[MT930]

Yea $5K maybe a little thin cost wise. Camry / Accord

Honda & Toyota are safe bets.

She would like a New Honda CRV well set up P 944, Audi R8 , Silver P 997 has been mentioned. All I can say is "Study Hard'

The high school parking lot here is littered with Subie Outback's I could not go wrong there.

She will do an oil change and change a tire before she get's the keys.

Being mechanically oblivious is no way to live regardless of gender.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Was outside talking to my neighbor.

His teenage daughter comes rolling up in her Jeep Liberty.

As we are standing there I ask her how long the motor has been making all that racket.

She looks at me and shrugs.

Ask when was the last time she had an oil change?

Shrugs.

Little while later my neighbor calls me.

He checked her oil.

It took four quarts.

I had a female friend in high school with a Taurus, it started making a knocking noise so I had her pull over. No oil on the dipstick, not a drop. She didn't even know how to check it. We filled it back up and away she went, no idea how long that car lasted.

[95avblm3]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

You guys are freaking insane. I am a hardcore car guy and DIY mechanic, you couldn't give me an E36 and I would definitely hesitate on a 944 (especially a $5k one). They are high maintenance old German cars that require an attentive owner to be reliable. These are all bad attributes for a teenage girl who will probably turn up the radio when she hears a bad noise. You have to take off your car guy hat when these questions come around, my wife is the oldest of 10 (8 girls) so I get a lot of car questions from non-car people. Dead reliable and soul crushingly boring is the name of this game.

Personally I wouldn't look at anything but Japanese cars. Honda and Toyota will carry a tax for the name, so don't be afraid of Nissan, Mazda, and Subaru. Suzuki is bankrupt so avoid them, early Hyundai and Kia aren't nearly as good as current models, and Mitsubishi is bordering on broke. Look outside of the most mainstream models, for instance an Avalon vs a Camry. Most people looking for cheap reliable transportation will be thinking Camry/Accord or Civic/Corolla, those will be the hardest to find for $5k. The Mazda Protege/626/MX3/MX6, Nissan Sentra/Altima/Maxima/200SX/240SX, Acura CL/RSX/Integra, Subaru Impreza/Forester/Legacy, Honda Del Sol/Prelude, Infiniti G20/I30/I35, Lexus ES/GS, Toyota Celica/Matrix/Paseo/Solara are all less mainstream choices that might be forgotten by the average Joe when searching Craigslist.

I stand by my E36 suggestion. I owned a '95 M3 for about 5 years. Aside from a leaky power steering fluid reservoir it was bulletproof. My suggestion that it is an easy DIY was intended for dad and not for daughter. Although, involving daughter in maintenance of the car will, IMO, make her more aware of odd noises and vibrations and ultimately make her a more well rounded driver/operator.

Nothing wrong with Japanese cars, I've owned my share of those too. I guess I just think there are much more interesting but still good choices than a Corolla or Camry, two of the most soulless cars on the road. I do agree with your suggestion to consider the other Japanese brands as there are some decent alternatives that don't carry as much popularity tax. Sorry to all of the Camry and Corolla owners that I have offended but you can't deny that they are nothing more than appliances.

[PorscheGAL]

How about a Miata? It does not get quite the gas mileage but a pretty solid car. If my parents had gotten me a car like that I would have been over the moon.

I also think getting her involved in maintenance is a great idea. My dad thought it was important. First job I ever helped with was replacing an alternator in my hand me down ford tempo. I never forgot and now my husband and I are one sensor away from putting my new rebuilt motor in the 911. Who knows you may spark something.

Good luck.