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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.
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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.
Quote:
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...
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Quote:
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.
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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.