Close to getting first car, best for around $5,000

[zombiebuggin25]

a used ford focus would be a great car, and can easily be had for a decent price.

 

[hawkeye122]

No, a '57 Chevy or '60s Camaro is, but nowadays that's almost impossible.

Why?

 

[MisterWhiskers]

1996-1998 Toyota Camry's are the way to go. Roomy and reliable.

 

[Azuremen]

No, a '57 Chevy or '60s Camaro is, but nowadays that's almost impossible.

Because, you know, might as well have the whole family die in that crash than just risk injuring them.

@Azureboy
m-o-s-t

I'll assume you're addressing me, but I've no real clue as to what exactly since you failed to put any context in here.

That, and talking down to me while your user title consists of 1337 speak about Midnight and being a tuner is beyond hilarious.

 

[Danny]

@Azureboy
m-o-s-t

Dayum. Girl got some sass.

 

[lvl1dnIghT7un3R]

You are the true one that is beyond hilarious...
Have it your way. Toyota and Honda have the best first-cars. Happy?

 

[Tornado]

That, and talking down to me while your user title consists of 1337 speak about Midnight and being a tuner is beyond hilarious.

That's what that was supposed to be? I thought his keyboard exploded or something.

You are the true one that is beyond hilarious...

You know, you'd probably have a better leg to stand on if you weren't arguing that a Piëch-era VW would have similar running costs to a Camry. Even a VR6 is going to be expensive to sort out if something goes wrong.

 

[Azuremen]

You are the true one that is beyond hilarious...
Have it your way. Toyota and Honda have the best first-cars. Happy?

Not the best, but certainly the easiest to keep on the road when money is an issue, and it clearly looks like money is a concern, along with it being the only family car.

That's what that was supposed to be? I thought his keyboard exploded or something.

Well, I mean, the only thread he has made is in the Drag Racing sub-forum...

You know, you'd probably have a better leg to stand on if you weren't arguing that a Piëch-era VW would have similar running costs to a Camry. Even a VR6 is going to be expensive to sort out if something goes wrong.

You'd think these things would be common knowledge among those familiar with cars. But I mean, I'm the joke for actually discussing the topic and making some effort to have actual points and reasons.

 

[roylan101]

How are Subaru outbacks in terms of running costs and reliability, i can find both the 4 and 6 cylinder models in my range. I also just asked for an auto insurance quote to see how much it would be if I got it under my own name, $6000 for a 6 month policy to theoretically insure a subaru outback. No wonder no one my age drives in the city.

 

[lvl1dnIghT7un3R]

...and they delete my post.

How are Subaru outbacks in terms of running costs and reliability, i can find both the 4 and 6 cylinder models in my range. I also just asked for an auto insurance quote to see how much it would be if I got it under my own name, $6000 for a 6 month policy to theoretically insure a subaru outback. No wonder no one my age drives in the city.

Don't know much about this except that they are fairly reliable.

 

[Joey D]

Thats why I was thinking of getting an automatic, In Fall 2014 I'll be applying to universities, my top being Michigan, so I might not be in the city anymore, but thats awhile from now.

If you go to the University of Michigan I think it's a requirement to drive a Subaru. I've never seen so many Subaru's in place before, Ann Arbor is a breeding ground for them.

And Ann Arbor is still a city, it's not massive but still very city like.

 

[Cale]

How are Subaru outbacks in terms of running costs and reliability, i can find both the 4 and 6 cylinder models in my range. I also just asked for an auto insurance quote to see how much it would be if I got it under my own name, $6000 for a 6 month policy to theoretically insure a subaru outback. No wonder no one my age drives in the city.

Wait 6k? Holy crap. Mine is 2k a year and I have 6pts on my license.


H4 vsH6. H4 has timing belt while H6 has a chain. The H6 requires premium but well get better highway mpg and had an extra 50hp.

Sorry for my typing I'm sick and dizzy, so my cell isn't truck ly easy to use

 

[Cano]

That, and talking down to me while your user title consists of 1337 speak about Midnight and being a tuner is beyond hilarious.

Haha, I'll treat you a drink sometime just for this one, Cody

 

[Conza]

Im 20...[Want a sub $5k car with 5 seats] I also live in new york city.

I love looking at cars, especially in the US, your prices kick our prices asses! (I'm an Australian).

All of the cars I'm about to list, if I were living in a similar area for a while and had the doe and needed the car, I could live with any of these. Hope it's an interesting selection even if you don't like any of them, and who knows, one might be right, if not, I apologize for the spam

Alright, here's where I'd start...

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/Cars-Tr...p4506.c0.m282&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo=&_udhi=5,500

That includes bidding prices, so for just 'buy it now'.

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/Cars-Tr...=0&_mPrRngCbx=1&_qfkw=1&_trksid=p4506.c0.m301

I put the max up to $5,500, figured you could sweet talk $500 bucks off for saying its your first car, taking family around, ect, I got $1,500 my car for basically nothing, so GL!

Spoiler

Excellent motor, excellent car, my mother owns the Mk III, she's had it more than 15 years and it's still going, but the VR6 in this is great, it'd make an awesome cruiser, and look, bidding at 5k... Oh it is in "Columbia, Missouri, United States", that might be a problem.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2002...0428078?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3ccef878ae

Here's a Passat like you were talking about, I'm sure they'd accept 5k if you explained your situation to them first via messaging.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001...5106183?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item589c0b4487

This will never, ever, ever die, it's probably fairly fast and confortable too, might even be for 'less' than 5k an offer

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2002...1309685?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item35c4942475'''

If you could lose a passanger, and afford the gas bill (~50% more than a standard car) this'd be a dream first car, but I couldn't advise you to buy it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2004-Mazda-RX-8-/300863682302?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item460cdf76fe

Snow in New York? Meh, this car'd love it, also super bullet proof car, probably $4.5k ish

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Outb...4933270?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3f2217ee16

A Querky and safe turbo Saab, be a bit different, probably 3.5k, reliability... hmm...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Outb...4933270?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3f2217ee16

I would seriously consider not taking family members for a car like this, for probably 3.5k?!? I love cars in the US.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1987...0876234?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item338000ec4a

A classic E46, 6 cylinders too so it's a good one, just skip over the border, I reccon it's worth the headache at the NY DMV of transfering a Canadian car, especially at probably 3.5k (USD)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-3-Series-/121068147199?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c303951ff

Bigger, better, cheaper and classier, but slower car (similar engine more weight) $500 less, its in the US

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LEAT...4374983?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4ac1862947

Another 944, but $1k sweeter

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PORS...1105304?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3a7e8a7118

The ultimate 'budget' driving machine

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1997...5675985?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4ac19a0351

 

[Antonisbob]

Because, you know, might as well have the whole family die in that crash than just risk injuring them.

I didn't know he wanted to have a demo derby with the car when he was done.

I guess those plastic, 3 foot long VW's people suggest are stronger than an all metal car.

 

[Cale]

I didn't know he wanted to have a demo derby with the car when he was done.

I guess those plastic, 3 foot long VW's people suggest are stronger than an all metal car.

They're safer. Without question.

 

[Joey D]

I didn't know he wanted to have a demo derby with the car when he was done.

I guess those plastic, 3 foot long VW's people suggest are stronger than an all metal car.

You sound like an overprotective soccer mom, "Oh I need a massive vehicle to be safe!". Truth is, safety innovations keep the driver safe in a crash, not 20ft of car. Pretty much every car from the 70's back is a death trap in any serious accident.

And just about every car is made out of metal.

 

[TDZdave]

One would think if you look around long enough you could find a fairly decent quality classic muscle car, A friend of mine in a car club picked up a fully restored Dodge Charger for $8000, brought it to Australia and now drives it almost every day,

I would also think you could get get almost any model of Trans-Am, Corvette, Mustang and Camaro pre 2003 for your budget in the U.S,

My Advice, By an American car, your in university, not in employment, The more common the car the cheaper it "should" be cheaper to repair,

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I'm not sure where you live, but here is a nice one in Dallas. It's even got racing stripes!

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/3542003467.html

And for the other three people:

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/3563667169.html

So it's not a perfect system, but at least everyone will be having a blast. Although, you did say five. At least one of them is probably small, no? Would probably fit in the trunk of either, poor bugger.

 

[Tornado]

I guess those plastic, 3 foot long VW's people suggest are stronger than an all metal car.

Yeah, actually. They generally are where it actually matters.

 

[TDZdave]

Designed to fold around the safety shell as oppose to block the safety shell,

 

[Azuremen]

I didn't know he wanted to have a demo derby with the car when he was done.

I guess those plastic, 3 foot long VW's people suggest are stronger than an all metal car.

Congrats on making it painfully clear you don't understand anything about engineering or physics. Less is often more, and the reality is shape and manufacturing processes play far more into crash safety than weight and volume.

The fact is I'd feel safer in a new Fiat 500 than any American car made before the 90's.

 

[Conza]

My Advice, By an American car, your in university, not in employment, The more common the car the cheaper it "should" be cheaper to repair,

That's certainly one school of thought, I tend to differ with that, prefering to buy something more reliable in the first place, so even though the bills will be more expensive, they'll be far less often (I will say, that I've only owned one car, and it isn't american, and, my family has owned many many German cars, all new, almost all fraught with reliability issues, but their and my French car/s, no problem 👍 So I can't "technically" say from personal experience that US cars are unreliable... Car journalists do though, so...)

 

[Antonisbob]

Congrats on making it painfully clear you don't understand anything about engineering or physics. Less is often more, and the reality is shape and manufacturing processes play far more into crash safety than weight and volume.

The fact is I'd feel safer in a new Fiat 500 than any American car made before the 90's.

Cool, but when a 5,000 LBS car hits a 2,500 LBS car, which is more likely to go flying into the oncoming lane or ditch? That's simple physics right there..

 

[Slash]

Despite that sheer size of the vehicle alone has been linked to saving lives in car accidents over the years. I had a friend of mine hit a pole head on at 60mph and the car had no damage past 3/4s of the length of the hood/engine bay.


You have more of a chance surving an accident vs a semi in a larger car than you do in a tiny little Fiat. Despite the advancements safety and technology. I personally feel safer in a larger vehicle.

 

[lvl1dnIghT7un3R]

@Antonisbob & @azureboy
Well... it would depend on the speed. If it is 5 mph, not much. If it is 75 mph... psshhhhh a fiat can't go that fast! If it could, the muscle would just keep going...

@roylan 101
How long do you think you will keep the car, or how long do you want to have it? And you say that you'll move to Michigan for school? Would you still need room for 5 then?

 

[niky]

Cool, but when a 5,000 LBS car hits a 2,500 LBS car, which is more likely to go flying into the oncoming lane or ditch? That's simple physics right there..

When a 5,000 lb car hits a 2,500 lb car, if you're talking about a 70's lead sled versus a modern compact, the driver of the 5,000 lb car is the most likely thing to go flying into a nearby ditch.

Modern cars are built to dissipate crash energy. They don't "bounce off" of other cars so much as turn kinetic energy into shrapnel. The way they're supposed to. In most crashes of recent cars I've seen, the car doesn't move very far after the initial impact. Most of the force is dissipated and the car stops. Period.

In the event of an offset crash, new cars are designed to redirect the crash force away from the cabin. Get into an offset crash with an older car and it'll redirect that crash force into your knees.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather be able to walk away from a crash, thank you.

And in case nobody here has seen it yet (which is hardly possible...)



While yes, larger is sometimes better... heavier isn't. A larger car will be safer only if that extra size and weight goes into crash structure. If it doesn't, it won't be.

Want safe? Get the newest midsized front-wheel drive car possible. And get it with the smallest engine choice. Failing that, a new "compact" will do. Many new compacts, like the Cruze and Civic, are much bigger than before and have lots of crush space in front.

But get an old body-on-frame car? No.

 

[lvl1dnIghT7un3R]

@niky
Good video. The 940 has more space for the chicks though.

 

[Bopop4]

Car Crash

And there goes my ideas about a mid 80's Golf.

If you want safety then just get a late model truck. Most can carry 6, (But I wouldn't want to be in the centre rows.) and they are very handy as well.

 

[roylan101]

@Antonisbob & @azureboy
Well... it would depend on the speed. If it is 5 mph, not much. If it is 75 mph... psshhhhh a fiat can't go that fast! If it could, the muscle would just keep going...

@roylan 101
How long do you think you will keep the car, or how long do you want to have it? And you say that you'll move to Michigan for school? Would you still need room for 5 then?

Id say about 2 or 3 years, enough to last me through college. I'll hopefully get into michigan, but im probably going to go away for school regardless if I get into michigan or not, im doing engineering and all my choices are outside the city. I dont think i'd need room for 5 then, but i probably would still want a 4 door car, or atleast something with rear seats.


And from what i've learned so far in class, the physics isnt as simple as a 5000 lb block hitting a 2500 lb block and then the bigger guy winning. It's all about structure and crumple zones and where the forces are redirected. Of course a fiat vs a semi is very different. Not to mention most of those older vehicles dont have much in the way of airbags. What they lack in safety they make up for in charm, though.

What do you guys think of a crossover or small SUV like a CRV, rav4, or forester?

Edit: Sorry I see Niky explained the crash thing