What car should I buy for $4-5k?! (my first!)

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HappyFace

HappyFace

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
6,265
5
81
I'm looking to spend $4-$5000 tops on my first car. Reliability is very important to me. Wouldn't mind a sexy looking car, but I understand that 5 thousand probably won't buy me both good looks and 100K+ miles.

What should I buy?! Looking at used cars obviously.
 
HappyFace

HappyFace

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
6,265
5
81
I've been looking at imports, such as the Acura Integra. The good ones start at 7-8k which is out of range for me. I really don't have a preference, but more often hear that Honda/Acura/Toyota are of higher quality then domestic cars. I'm just lookin for outside opinions ... please don't start flaming each other!! :)
 
HappyFace

HappyFace

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
6,265
5
81


<< Yugo Tempo >>

rolleye.gif
 
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hoihtah

Diamond Member
Jan 12, 2001
5,183
0
76
go anything honda. :)

if you can find 96+ honda accords LX or EX...
that hasn't been in an accident...
you got yourself a jewel. :)
 
T

thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,030
123
106
If you live in an area where RWD won't be a problem then atleast look at a thunderbird. You should be able to find a nice mid 90s V8 t-bird for around your limit. They are reliable and have enough power to be fun but not enough to get you killed and most importantly they are not a civic :p.

 
RossMAN

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,942
403
136
I'd go for a mid-90's Honda Civic coupe, easy on the eyes, very fuel efficient, outstanding reliability and great resale value.
 
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need4spd

Golden Member
Dec 15, 2000
1,369
0
0

I agree... Honda is a good car...they do hold their value too. So if you buy a decent one, chances are you will be able to resell it later on with ease.

Have fun and look around..
 
HappyFace

HappyFace

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
6,265
5
81
I did a search on cars.com, and came up with prices in the 6-7000 range which is out of reach..
 
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AmigaMan

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
3,644
1
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My wife bought an 89 Acura Integra (RS I think) back in 1994 and it has over 240,000 miles. Sure the transmission is lacking fifth gear and it burns a quart of oil every month, but other than that, it's been rock solid. The engine revs cleanly and smoothly, A/C needs to be recharged but it's too expensive. If we hadn't bought an Accord and given the Acura to her father, she would still be driving it. It's never broken down and stranded her.

I agree with the above sentiments and say get a used Integra for sportiness, or a used Civic or Accord. Stay away from the riced out ones, and get one preferably driven by a woman or older person. They're much less likely to drive the hell out of it like some of us guys do. Also make sure you check Carfax and check to see if the seller has maintenance records for it.
 
Bignate603

Bignate603

Lifer
Sep 5, 2000
13,897
1
0
I saw a '66 tempest around here for 5grand, reliable, repairs cheap because it's easy to work on and had 38k original miles, brand new paint and looked SWEET. Maybe not the most practcal, but easily the coolest car you could get for that price.
 
BigSmooth

BigSmooth

Lifer
Aug 18, 2000
10,484
12
81
A mid-90's Nissan Sentra or Mazda Protege would be a pretty good choice. The Sentra's reliability has historically been as good as any Honda or Toyota (I can find some reports that confirm this if you like), although the previous generation Sentra was a pretty ugly car. The Protege is nicer-looking and should have good reliability. A '97 Protege would be ideal because it was updated that year, but that would be just out of the price range, I think.

Nissan and Mazda are good buys in the used-car market because they have very good quality but not the reputation of Honda/Toyota, so their cars depreciate faster.
 
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SyahM

Golden Member
Nov 6, 2001
1,788
0
0


<< I'm looking to spend $4-$5000 tops on my first car. Reliability is very important to me. Wouldn't mind a sexy looking car, but I understand that 5 thousand probably won't buy me both good looks and 100K+ miles. What should I buy?! Looking at used cars obviously. >>



Honda civic 93-96 ... where do you live? i know i can get a nice 95 civic w/ <100k for $5000 at my area.
ohh .. integra 90-94 is also a good bet. Or, if you want a bigger car, try look for accord 90-94. Most likely 93 EX.
 
G

Grinchy

Member
Dec 29, 2000
163
0
0
If you're not making a snap decision, then consider an older sports touring car. They tend to have all the amenities (unlike your typical Civic/Escort/Taurus), and also drive and handle well. Any car in this price range is going to have some warts, so you might as well have a super nice interior and power everything to go along with that leaking head gasket.

I bought a 1990 Mazda Rx-7 convertible for $4500 (4850 with taxes/license) about 6 months ago. It's wart? Salvage title - but the rebuild was done correctly, the frame is straight, and the engine had 57000 original miles on it. Of course it is sporty as hell, has leather and every convenience conceivable, and looks great (new paint from after the wreck!)

A coworker was looking for a BMW z-3. So he built a relationship with a BMW only used car dealer, got his credit and money situation in order ahead of time, and this guy is custom buying him a car at auction for $500 above the auction price. You could do that and probably get a $7 or $8 K car for $5, too. Something to think about.
 
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2ms

Junior Member
Nov 29, 2000
9
0
0
Neon ACR. I got first one for racing autocross. Never had a problem with first year model through 80,000 miles. Totalled first one and got replacement. Unbelievably fun. There's a reason why it dominates in autocross. Handling is seriously on completely different level from anything else remotely in price range. Read all about at www.neons.org. Recent Sport Compact Car magazine, which is traditionally very Japan-centric, admitted that their current project Neon is probably best handling car they've ever had (including many "exotics" many times price). The two-doors are some of the stiffest cars ever made and weigh but 2,300 lbs. HP = 150 - do the math, that's a fun power-weight ratio. Engine is 2.0 liters so has 25% more torque than Civics, for example. Torque is what's really fun, though DOHC revs awesome too (i shift at 7,000). Also modifies readily since stock engine in very mild tune. I've heard that they are a lot cheaper to repair than imports, but I seriously have never had to repair anything other than crash damage. For that price range you can probably get a 97-98 with around 50k miles. Don't fall for the import hype. On technical merit, nothing comes close. Why would you be at anandTECH if you weren't tech oriented?
 
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