Best First Used Car

[ckelly78z]

Definitely not a BMW or a 944, these are currently the cars my wife and I have, and are driving in this snow/slush/ice crap both with rear wheel drive. I don't care what any of you say, a front wheel drive sedan is the only option here, and the cheapest, most plentiful, and value driven is the later Ford Taurus, followed by the Toyota Camry. The Camry is probably more reliable, but the Taurus is cheaper.

[Porchdog]

Pontiac Vibe / Toyota Matrix? Essentially a Corolla wagon.

You'll be able to get the Vibe for less, they are the same car. I've been driving one for a year and a half. It's slow, but it's dependable and economical.

[pavulon]

Subaru baja with an investment in winter tires. Totally uncool especially with a manual trans.

[azasadny]

Mazda3 or Ford Focus... both good used cars if well maintained...

[drleah]

My first was a beat up Ford supercab with a 460. Would haul ass non working gas gauge. The car I drove for 9 years of college and vet school (rear ended and totaled 2 weeks before graduation) was a mitsubishi cordia. Got 35-40 mpg and I learned a ton about cars. I second the vote about a manual especially about texting!

[edgemar]

06 and up hyundai Sonata

[MT930]

Originally Posted by azasadny

Mazda's or Ford Focus... both good used cars if well maintained...

Both of those have caught my eye I have 0 experience with modern Mazda's.
They seem less expensive than the Honda / Toyota parallels

Focus has been considered.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by MT930

Both of those have caught my eye I have 0 experience with modern Mazda's.
They seem less expensive than the Honda / Toyota parallels

Focus has been considered.

Several of us on the board have Mazda 3's as daily drivers and no complaints.

Great little car.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Mazda3 is a fantastic car, but probably not a $5k car. I have two little sister in laws with them, one a 1st gen the other a 2nd gen. Another little sister in law with a 1st gen Mazda6. All have been mechanically flawless, so much so that my in-laws are probably buying the next teenage girl in the household a new Mazda3 next year. In my opinion they are nicer inside (very Audi-like styling) and better to drive than the Civic/Corolla. I have personally owned an RX8, MPV, and Protege5, and we're picking up a new Mazda5 on Friday as a daily driver for my wife. Mazda makes great cars.

[mikesride]

I don't get the mazda love around here.....every one I have ever been in looks and feels cheap and rides like a cardboard box sliding down the stairs...
That being said I do understand they are reliable, but most newer generation cars are as well.
Five grand should get you a pretty reliable econo box, far superior to my first car for sure! (74 FIAT 128sl coupe....the worlds first biodegradable sports coupe!)

[BRPORSCHE]

My first car was a 2005 Mazda 6 with 65,000 that I bought for $8,000. The absolute only thing I have done in the past 70,000 miles is 4 new Michelin tires and 1 alternator...minus routine oil changes.


And I am hard on it. Would absolutely recommend it. And its a larger car than the 3 so it cruises the highway better.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by mikesride

I don't get the mazda love around here.....every one I have ever been in looks and feels cheap and rides like a cardboard box sliding down the stairs...
That being said I do understand they are reliable, but most newer generation cars are as well.
Five grand should get you a pretty reliable econo box, far superior to my first car for sure! (74 FIAT 128sl coupe....the worlds first biodegradable sports coupe!)

I like them because they are the least appliance of the appliance cars. Typically at least somewhat fun to drive, which you can't often say about an Accord or Camry.

[Steve Carlton]

Where will she be located? I'm wondering if FWD or AWD should be priorities. How many miles per year is she going to drive? If the mileage is low, consider dropping fuel economy from the equation.

There's a lot of cars that can be leased for about $150/mo. Less worries of a breakdown or a big-ticket item like the transmission taking a dump.

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by 95avblm3

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.

C'mon?! Seriously? We had a '98 M3 and it had been pampered all its life and it still had little issues. Nowhere near the same league reliability wise as a corolla or camry. We are talking about a car for his daughter, she won't give two hoots if its soulless if the radio works!

And easy DIY? Kiss my ass... The M3 was by far the biggest pain to work on car we've had. Don't get me wrong, I loved the car, but I would in no way recommend a BMW or a 944 in this instance, and I love them both.

Like Matt said, go find a japanese econobox and be done with it. I've flogged my '07 Corolla for 60k and its been truly flawless. Not the most fun car but it gets me from A to B easily and gets 33-34mpg doing it...

[Hugh R]

Toyota. My daughter stuffed an Echo into a K-rail at about 40 MPH hydroplaning in the rain and walked away. The car was destroyed, but she walked away. An Echo was their cheap one.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

How many miles per year is she going to drive? If the mileage is low, consider dropping fuel economy from the equation.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Why would she need 30+ MPG? She shouldn't be putting a lot of miles on the thing. If she has a part time job that she travels to 4-5 days a week, it shouldn't be so far away that she needs that kind of fuel efficiency.

I was thinking used Ford Ranger. Not gonna get you that kind of mileage around town, but will get you plenty of safety.

[Embraer]

after I graduated college, I used to go play Disc Golf all of the time. I drove into town to go do it. anyway, id drive by the high school and pretty much every day, I saw a teenage girl driving the coolest car. and she totally embraced it. her girl friends would ride in the back while she cruised out of the parking lot.

totally out of the pricerange, and not practical. ...but it was awesome seeing a 16 year old (ish) girl driving a black '63 continental with suicide doors.

[jhynesrockmtn]

My daughter is driving a 98 Camry my Dad bought new. It hardly looks new now but runs like a top. I think she's at 160,000 and counting. For college graduation last year I did new struts, shocks and brakes to get her well past 200k with routine oil changes.

[911boost]

Selling the F150 Matt?

How about a Jeep Cherokee? The old 4.0 straight six ones, 1999-2000ish. We used them as patrol vehicles and they went over 200k pretty regularly.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by 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.

Sentra SE-R
Toyota RAV4
Subaru Forester
Honda CRV