What do you think would be a good first car?
I don't particularly want a dodgey cheap car, although if it is really cheap...
I would like a reasonably good car and i am prepared to pay a bit extra for it.
I have had a job for and have worked hard so don't be jelous of me, but my limit would be around $5,000 to $7,000 AUD ($3,737 to $5,232 US) i do understand car prices are different in other countries, but if you could give me a rough idea or your opinion it would be helpfull.
actually i like the mitsubishi lancer, even though they are expensive. I hope i don't offend anyone but i would rather not have a Datsun, (although my friend has a reasonable one) but once again dependant on price.

Get an Accord. Its one of the cheapest and best selling cars, cause its cheap!

My first car was a FIAT Strada, so I do NOT recommend one of those. :D

Mark

Japanese cars are without doubt the most reliable. You have though to offset that against the fact that "if" they break down they are generally more expensive to repair than say a Ford. A lancer is a good choice.

Honda Civic... good economical transportation.

My first car was a Pontiac Grand Am, mine was a good car but I don't think they've got a good overall reliability record.

I always liked the cavalier. Cheap, great mileage, and can be found everywhere!

My 2 cents.

Except you can't get them outside the US :D [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I would recommend a Hyundai Accent or something similar. With the money you have saved you could probably get a 2001 model, which would give you many years of reliable service. The Mitsubishi Lancer is also a good choice, if you can afford it. On the whole, I'd say orientate yourself around some of the newer japanese cars out there, as I think they really are the best option for someone starting out.

I've got a "Volkswagen Golf 2" ;)
It drove about 230.000 km now and its still better than some brand-new cars (and more beautiful IMHO).
Just my 2 cents but it really is a proof of "German Quality".

Except you can't get them outside the US :D [img]tongue.gif[/img]
</font>[/QUOTE]you can actually, you can get them here in Britain!

A Chevvy Cavalier? I lived in England for eight years and I never saw one - nor did I come accross one in the few months I spent in Australia. They must be made under a different name, like the whole Opel/Vauxhall thing, because I've never seen a Chevrolet outside the US before.

its vauxhall cavalier here

I agree about the Japanese cars. I currently have a Corolla, and I LOVE it.

Whatever you do, DON'T buy a CHEVY. Sorry, but I owned one (a Blazer) and my friend owned some car (don't remember her model), and we both spent a fortune in car repairs. I had my Blazer for 2 years, it was 7 years old when I got it, and I spent almost $8000 in car repairs in that 2 years. To compare, my parents had a Toyota, and it never needed any repairs (except for regular maintenance), and it was 10 years old.

Nissan's are good too, that's what my parents own now.

If you know someone with a subscription to Consumer Reports, ask them to borrow the annual car buying book. It'll break down for you the ups and downs of all models, including what you can expect to pay for repairs. The library might have a copy too.
Also, check out here and here.

[ 12-31-2003, 08:24 AM: Message edited by: harleyquinn ]

I've owned a couple Chevy's, they're not as bad a car as many make them out to be. As I said, the Grand Am didn't need a single repair in the 5 years (almost 100,000 miles) I owned it. My Z28 has had a transmission problem and an intake oil leak repaired since 96 (bought new). The transmission problem might have been due to the fact that the car has 200 more horsepower than what it started with [img]smile.gif[/img] .

Overall Chevy has been pretty good for me. My Subaru just went in for $1200.00 in engine repairs with only 60k on the odometer, and don't get me going on the Audi I owned (NIGHTMARE)... so it's not just Chevy that can have reliability issues. Damn cars... they're ALL a bloody waste of money ;) .

[ 12-31-2003, 09:17 AM: Message edited by: Thoran ]

I totally agree with that statement. I think it's rediculous that the "low end" cars are now over $10000 when you add in taxes, etc.

Thanks for your help even if it was just mostly telling me waht cars not to get.
Yeah i will also have to consider insurance etc.
But i would like a reasonably nice car that i wouldn't be ashamed of, but also echonomichal. Reliability isn't too much of an issue as there are somewhat of mechanichs in my family and i would like to learn more about cars myself, so long as it doesn't break down at bad times.

I feel the domestics (such as chevy) do get a bad rap. Cars these days are MUCH more reliable, and comparing a complex 4x4 vehicle (like the Jimmy) to a FWD passenger car (like the Corrolla) just isn't a fair comparison.

Look back even 20 years, and it was very common to scrap cars that were even 5 years old, let alone 7 or 8. Complaining about having to fix a 7 year-old car also is not very fair.

And just because one person you know has owned a car for 10 years without repairs, but only drives it 10,000km a year doesn't mean the car is any better than a 7 year old car that needs fixing at 200,000km. There are a lot of factors to consider here.

People these days suffer from what I call "the McDonalds mentality"...have it your way, right away. They have unrealistic expectations from their vehicles; they don't maintain them, abuse them, and then complain that the car breaks down.

A funny little anecdote...we had a customer in a while ago that had a shake at highway speed, I showed her the loose tierod ends and told her it would cost $120 + taxes to fix. Roughly $60 for parts, and another $60 for labour. Bear in mind, this is the person that decided to "give the car a treat and do an oil change this year", and has never spent anything on the car in the previous six years she owned it (and this car is a chevy, btw). She clutched her chest and staggered back "I CAN'T PAY THAT!".

A week later she was driving a brand new $35,000 car. :rolleyes:

Gotta love it. I'm getting ready to spend another $400 on my car (front-end brakes... the works), after spending a couple of hundred on other miscellaneous stuff that needed repairing.

Still, the car is paid off, and all that money is less than two car payments were... I'm still coming out ahead. And it's a 2000 model [img]smile.gif[/img]

EXACTLY!

If you have a car that's seven or eight years old, chances are it's paid off. If you have to spend $1000-2000 to fix it, that's two months payments on a $30,000 vehicle. Yet, there are people out there that would rather trade it and buy a brand new car than fix it. Go figure....

Get a AMC Pacer lol looks like an greenhouse hehe :D

haven't been on for ages,
anyway thanks heaps for your replies
still not ready to buy just yet but your advice is helpfull
thankyou

Having to replace the engine on a car with under 100,000 miles on it is rediculous. That was what I had to do, so I think I was well in my right to complain :)

My suggestion would be to buy a cheap banger and drive that for a few years until you have a bit of experience under your belt. The amount of young blokes that prang their first cars is very high. If you've just paid for something that is expensive, your asking for grief.

Just my opinion though.

Cheers, Skip.

I had a very bad experiance with a Dodge/Chrysler product once. I bought one.

Leaving the exploding headgasket and the fights with the warranty company that screwed me over aside, I have to say it was still a below average experiance.

OK, carping aside, the TV News the other night said prices on second hand cars were at a historical all-time low. Given that, I'd say get yourelf a nice Used Car.

My suggestion would be to buy a cheap banger and drive that for a few years until you have a bit of experience under your belt. The amount of young blokes that prang their first cars is very high. If you've just paid for something that is expensive, your asking for grief.

Just my opinion though.

Cheers, Skip. </font>[/QUOTE]yeah I'm deffinatly considering that
how much would you pay for something like that?

My suggestion would be to buy a cheap banger and drive that for a few years until you have a bit of experience under your belt. The amount of young blokes that prang their first cars is very high. If you've just paid for something that is expensive, your asking for grief.

Just my opinion though.

Cheers, Skip. </font>[/QUOTE]yeah I'm deffinatly considering that
how much would you pay for something like that? </font>[/QUOTE]Giday Intrepid,

Been living in the UK for the last 10+ years, so haven't a clue what the price of second-hand cars are now. I'd have thought $1000 would be plenty to pick up a good condition old Holden or Ford. If you like your wheels hot, you can't go far wrong buying a HR or even EJ/EH Holden for peanuts and spend a bit doing her up. You mentioned mechanics in the family. Spare parts are dirt cheap and the engine is a block with a carbie on top, and an exhaust out the bottom. Basic! Even a monkey can work on them, unlike modern cars which you need a degree to understand, and even then, when you adjust one thing it puts everything else out of whack! The money you have left, (you mentioned something like 5-6000 I seem to remember) invest it in land. You can't lose.

Cheers, Skip.

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00"> Today, I bought my first vehicle, A 2003 grand caravan. Sweet deals right now as they have dropped prices on last year models by $10,000. Minivans are great especially when you compare them to SUV's.
They have just as much room, far better on gas, and about twice as cheep for purchasing, and insurance is lower.</font>

[ 01-13-2004, 11:09 AM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

Yeah, I also here they used to (at least older models did) have major problems with rust.

Hey skippy
Yeah an old holden or ford is a deffinate possibility, i hadn't really thought of that before, and doing it up would be fun :D .
Although i think i'll use the rest of the money for other things, like University or something, deffinatly land later on.
Anyway thanks for your suggestions, I'll seriously consider the old Ford or Holden and as you say replacment parts are really cheap, so that is anothe bonus.

I got my first car about 2 months ago, Its a 1985 La Baron (i think thats spelled right) Its yellow and convertable, only cost me 500$ and it has low miles for its age only 46k miles on it :D

what ever you get please , for the sake of all that is good and decent get windows tinted colored rims ect!
there are too many about of these place
in my opinion it is simply declaring to the world that you have to compensate for something

Well, now I have to get a new car myself (my entire engine went out). I will be probably be getting another Japanese car, but I will shop around a little more this time (the bus system gets me to work very reliably, and my savings aren't that great right now, so I'll take my time and shop around).

However, I will say this: never buy a Mazda, Buick, or Mercury. I owned all three at one point, and all of them were nothing but trouble. This most recent car was a Mazda, and it didn't even make it to 90 thousand miles, even with regular maintenance.

*looks around, gets ready to run*
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Get a motorbike!

'90-'95 Toyota Corollas and BMW´s have a good reputation. I own a Corolla and it´s just as reliable as my folks new Passat.

I wouldn´t buy an old VW though.

Actually i've been considering that.
Here in Australia while i am learning in a car i need a liscenced driver in the car to teach me, but if i get a mororbike i'm still a lerner but i can drive myself around without the need for another driver, so a moterbike would solve that problem. But i'm not in toom much of a rush to drive myself so i think i will stick with a car, many reasons, mainly because of the ability to carry passengers and safety.