Car for an HS student

[Bignate603]

Really big bump, I figured I'd revive this thread instead of starting an entirely new thread.

So our budget is around $5k, including taxes and whatnot. My dad's friend suggested that we buy a $1.5k beater and then replace all the major parts that would be likely to break. So, we'd be buying a car and then replacing stuff like the transmission and whatnot - all of this being within the constraints of the $5k budget. What do you guys think?

Also, how are Saabs in general? Would a '97-'01 Saab be a good buy? What kind of car under $5k could I buy today and have it last for ~4 years?

Personally, I think buying a beater and then dumping money into it to replace a ridiculous amount of the car is a terrible idea. To go through and replace everything that could go wrong would be ludicrously expensive.

It's better to just get a car with no foreseeable major work.

Personally, I think that the depreciation on some American cars makes them a good deal in the used market. If you get one that has been maintained well and avoid models that have known problems you can get a great deal.

 

[Fenixgoon]

what about a chevrolet cobalt or ford focus? both can be had for reasonably cheap and get good gas mileage. no clue about general reliability for either of these though

 

[c3p0]

Shadow,

You didn't say where you are from, so I did a quick search on the Richmond Virginia Craigslist for a Focus < $5000. There are a lot of cars to choose from in that price range. Not just a Focus, but other cars as well. I just chose the Focus because I knew there would be a pretty good selection. Try to find something that has been reasonably maintained and with lowest mileage you can find. Most used cars will need tires and brakes, so budget for that as well. I also agree with Bignate603. Don't buy a piece of junk and then try to fix everything on the car. Chances are you will only keep the car for a couple of years. As soon as you find a job you will want to get something better.

Good luck with your search.


http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/1782437004.html

c3p0

 

[Bignate603]

what about a chevrolet cobalt or ford focus? both can be had for reasonably cheap and get good gas mileage. no clue about general reliability for either of these though

I've got a few friends with Focuses, they like them in general. The timing belt is annoying to change, but that's pretty much the same for every other car with a timing belt.

 

[shortylickens]

Not really... that's where our society should be headed. Each successive generation to be more successful.

You think free handouts from the previous generation which give you false self-esteem qualify as success?
Are you a democrat?

 

[MJinZ]

You think free handouts from the previous generation which give you false self-esteem qualify as success?
Are you a democrat?

Free handouts? Oh please. Get your head out of your ass. EVERY Success generation is a free fucking handout. What do you think clean drinking water is? Heated houses? Indoor Plumbing? Vaccines?

You take these things as granted at each successive generation and yet, you can not imagine a mere transportation device to evolve from a shitty Corolla to a BMW 3 series? When did cars not become luxuries to begin with when in the past, people did something called "walking to school, biking to school, or taking the bus"?

Seriously?

People need to realize, that you have a LOT more to thank your forebearers than you'd like to admit. You think you "deserve" all of your hard work, as if you've actually contributed even a quarter of what you think... when you're just working off of and improving on what's already been done.

Society. It's a word, really.

I intend to let my kids drive to school in a Porsche 911 just to piss you all off.

 

[Pulsar]

seconded

Heh. Listening to trident for advice on ANY topic is pretty much a failure from the word "Go".

The focus wagon is nice, and it's not going to be overpriced. You might get lucky and find a high mileage fusion in that range, though it's not a hatchback car.

I wouldn't even look at Nissan - their quality record isn't the greatest, and VW.... not a chance in heck unless you like big repair bills.

 

[Shadow Conception]

c3po, thanks a lot. I've actually been using places like Autotrader and Cars.com to get an idea of the cars in my range.

Zenmervolt: My dad is attracted to Volvos because of their reputation with safety; something to do with the steel frame of the car. I threw in a recommendation for Saabs because I saw one and I liked what I saw. Would the insurance on these brands be high, would you say?

Possessed Freak: My dad's old car was a '98 Saturn SL1, but he sold that right before I got my learner's permit. If I were to purchase a similar Saturn today, would it last? Whatever car I get will probably have to last me through my senior year of high school and hopefully all four years of college.

Everyone else, thanks a bunch for your advice so far. Been really helpful.

Also, my dad and I have actually talked about Focuses. They seem like good cars.

In this price range, what kind of mileage should I be aiming for? What's the cutoff to not buy?

 

[alkalinetaupehat]

Personally, I think buying a beater and then dumping money into it to replace a ridiculous amount of the car is a terrible idea. To go through and replace everything that could go wrong would be ludicrously expensive.

It's better to just get a car with no foreseeable major work.

Personally, I think that the depreciation on some American cars makes them a good deal in the used market. If you get one that has been maintained well and avoid models that have known problems you can get a great deal.

Someone I go to college with actually went the beater route with a four-door GMC Jimmy. He was talking about how they bought the car for $300, redid the brakes/suspension/tires, plus most motor accesories (alt, belt, etc.), and the window motors, and then he drove from NY to Michigan Tech (Go Huskies!) with it. The car ran fine and worked without issue until the transmission locked up and took the motor with it.

He now has a 3yr/100K mile powertrain warranty and $10K invested into his $300 beater.

I don't think he'll replace it when he graduates, but who knows.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Zenmervolt: My dad is attracted to Volvos because of their reputation with safety; something to do with the steel frame of the car. I threw in a recommendation for Saabs because I saw one and I liked what I saw. Would the insurance on these brands be high, would you say?

As long as you avoid the turbo sport models like the T5 Volvos and the turbocharged Saabs the insurance isn't too bad. Volvo's safety reputation is good, but honestly any car with good crash test ratings will be fine. Most of Volvo's reputation was made in the days before widespread crash testing; today all you really need to do is pay attention to the individual cars' ratings.

ZV

 

[adlep]

I say go with a manual 2002 Accord.
100k miles is nothing for these cars.
Good power, reliable, safe-ish. Better confront and ride quality than with Civic.

 

[TraumaRN]

I'll also say a used Focus as well, before the cars handled quite well, were reasonably peppy and very good on gas.

 

[DietDrThunder]

If I were your dad (and I'm old enough to be), I'd buy you this.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/1782336093.html

The first vehicle you drive will most likely be totalled anyway, so you might as well start out with a land yaht (or battle wagon). Then once you are through the wild driving / damaging cars stage, haul it to the wrecking yard for scrap and buy something else.

Of course now that I think of it, maybe you shouldn't get a wagon. There's a chance you could get into OTHER trouble with the back seat folded down.

So maybe one without a fold down seat.
http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/1790511322.html

 

[shortylickens]

Free handouts? Oh please. Get your head out of your ass. EVERY Success generation is a free fucking handout. What do you think clean drinking water is? Heated houses? Indoor Plumbing? Vaccines?

You take these things as granted at each successive generation and yet, you can not imagine a mere transportation device to evolve from a shitty Corolla to a BMW 3 series? When did cars not become luxuries to begin with when in the past, people did something called "walking to school, biking to school, or taking the bus"?

Seriously?

People need to realize, that you have a LOT more to thank your forebearers than you'd like to admit. You think you "deserve" all of your hard work, as if you've actually contributed even a quarter of what you think... when you're just working off of and improving on what's already been done.

Society. It's a word, really.

I intend to let my kids drive to school in a Porsche 911 just to piss you all off.

Oh god you're so cute!
I love you.

 

[thomsbrain]

I drove an Accord wagon all through high school and college. It was a great car in many ways. Not the coolest to look at, but it was reliable, practical, and fun enough. I'd look for a manual transmission Accord from the 6th generation (98-02).

 

[JulesMaximus]

Lotus Elise or Honda S2000.

 

[alphatarget1]

Get a crown victoria police interceptor and scare the crap out of your classmates.

 

[DietDrThunder]

Get a crown victoria police interceptor and scare the crap out of your classmates.

Funny. I had a buddy in High School who drove around in an old Impala police cruizer with an external spot light. He came up behind me one night and pointed the beam right in my rear view mirror and over the bull horn, yelled at me to pull over. Then told me to get out of the car and put my hands on the roof and spreadum. I did what I was told. Scared the crap out of me. Then he started laughing at me through the bull horn and drove off.

 

[Plugers]

if you're talking wagons.

Volvo 2 series <--tank
or
Saturn s series <--good mileage
or
B-body wagon? <--20ish mpg. last forever. my sedan has 220k and runs great.

 

[Firsttime]

I would just get a newer low mile econo box, something American or Asian that won't cost you a fortune to fix and is simple enough you can at least keep up with it. Along the lines of the Chevy Aveo. Keep the miles as low as possible and the transmission manual for fun driving. Won't wow the women but it will work for your day to day stuff.

In highschool my parents had a '99 Volvo V70 wagon, nice car to drive and all but the breaks hated life and had to be replaced frequently, probably because the car weighed about the same as a tank, and anytime any little thing went wrong it was so expensive to fix it wasn't funny. So I would really try to avoid european cars, as a rule they cost much more to maintain and repair then American or Asian vehicles.

I'll add the Volvo still works though, last I heard it was in the 430k Km range, ~270k miles.

 

[MJinZ]

Oh god you're so cute!
I love you.

:awe:

 

[MJinZ]

Funny. I had a buddy in High School who drove around in an old Impala police cruizer with an external spot light. He came up behind me one night and pointed the beam right in my rear view mirror and over the bull horn, yelled at me to pull over. Then told me to get out of the car and put my hands on the roof and spreadum. I did what I was told. Scared the crap out of me. Then he started laughing at me through the bull horn and drove off.

You should have kicked his ass for impersonation.

 

[alphatarget1]

Funny. I had a buddy in High School who drove around in an old Impala police cruizer with an external spot light. He came up behind me one night and pointed the beam right in my rear view mirror and over the bull horn, yelled at me to pull over. Then told me to get out of the car and put my hands on the roof and spreadum. I did what I was told. Scared the crap out of me. Then he started laughing at me through the bull horn and drove off.

That's very illegal... lol

 

[exdeath]

Free handouts? Oh please. Get your head out of your ass. EVERY Success generation is a free fucking handout. What do you think clean drinking water is? Heated houses? Indoor Plumbing? Vaccines?

You take these things as granted at each successive generation and yet, you can not imagine a mere transportation device to evolve from a shitty Corolla to a BMW 3 series? When did cars not become luxuries to begin with when in the past, people did something called "walking to school, biking to school, or taking the bus"?

Seriously?

People need to realize, that you have a LOT more to thank your forebearers than you'd like to admit. You think you "deserve" all of your hard work, as if you've actually contributed even a quarter of what you think... when you're just working off of and improving on what's already been done.

Society. It's a word, really.

I intend to let my kids drive to school in a Porsche 911 just to piss you all off.

Mmm snake food.

 

[Pulsar]

I would lean toward the '03 model year Focus. It's not the first model of that car ('01) and it's not far enough along in the model cycle to have been cost-thrifted yet. You should be able to get a 2003 with around 100,000 miles on it for under $5k.