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wanted opinions for a good reliable car for my son we can buy for under $5k.
i have had many vws and well, he doesn’t want one! so i need help.
the facts that i have are
1 5K or less i pay cash and no financing
2 his friends seem to be interested in bolt ons and learning how to work on there own cars so parts avail. is a must.
3. he is just turning 16 so it has to be cool.thanks all!!
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Are you paying for the car or is he?
I would tell him that if he wants help paying for the car that you will have to approve of it, if he didn’t want a VW (which is a good car) then he should find something and have you look at it first. Plus since he is just turning 16 I wouldn’t bother with a 5,000 car get him a beater so that when he hits something with the car it will be a who cares about that dent affair. We all beat the h**l out of our first cars and weekly or daily runs to the parts store will help him later in life by realizing that if he wants his car to last he has to take care of it. And then he could fix it himself
He should be so lucky I had to buy my first car.
Here are some suggestions
Chevy cavalier
Pontiac Grand Am
Saturn Cars
Subaru Cars
Toyota Camry
Honda CivicTo be honest I think you should get your son a decent car. When I got my first car I took care of it like it was my kid. Everybody’s first car is special and it should be for him too. For a first car I would honestly recommend something like a Nissan Altima or a Nissan Sentra under $5,000 of course. I’m not just saying that just because I’m a Nissan fan it’s just these cars are beyond reliable and hardly cause any problems. Especially the Sentra. Working on these cars too is great because there simple, fun, parts are always available, and you can learn a lot. They also look very nice and sometimes when I see a nice clean Altima or Sentra I’ll still take a glance at it. 🙂
Depends on the climate and how much you trust your son. For under 5 grand you can get a Nissan 240SX, BMW E30, Toyota Cressida, or Mazda Miata. There are others, but rear drive is always cool. All of these are reliable, have a huge aftermarket backing and knowledge base, cheap replacement parts, and are fun and easy to work on.
For 5k you can get him something pretty nice. I would stick with Honda, Toyota or Nissan. They are extremely reliable can the market is fulled with “JDM” stuff which is all made in china be the way. lol. I have never had good experience with domestic cars, they are cheaply made and don’t hold the value. I’m sure that made someone mad, but prove me wrong I guess.
What is your son into? Import scene? Off Road? Muscle car? Driving something he won’t get pulled over in? :silly:
A fifth generation manual transmission Prelude would fit the bill nicely. Very reliable, and handling is great even without bolt-ons (dual wishbone suspension). Lots of bolt-ons available (suspension, exhaust, intake, but not really needed. The most fun to drive car Honda ever made, other than the S2000. I’ve been driving one for 12 years.
The whole JDM seen is burned out in my opinion. The whole fast and the furious franchise is as well. Cant say I am proud of the kids my age driving these ricers. Just thought of a cool topic. What kind of cars did the “cool” kids drive when you were young??
That’s a great topic! For me, it was cool to have early 60s and 70s pick ups. Kids cut the beds out cut the springs and sat them as low as possible. With the age of airbags right now I would love to so one right.
I would pick something like a Ford Focus, possibly an SVT model. Could be a good middle ground of import-zippy and domestic, and not quick/fast enough to get hurt. Very basic to work on and enough interchanges with the common model to not be a nightmare to fix.
Well first off, i just got my first truck (I had to pay for). It is a 73 F250 with a 390, definately cooler than anything else in the parking lot. People may do a double take on a ricer, but they stop and stare at the truck. All for 500 bucks!
I digress, but you can find some nice Camaros, Firebirds/Trans Ams, and Mustangs for that price. He may enjoy the torque of a V8 as well banana: But if he is insistant on an import a Civic Si and Acura Type R’s are fast cars. My 390 was really struggling to beat one of them.
no word from the guy who made the topic?
As for me, i will stand by my 3rd gen accord till i die.
Double wishbone suspension, the stuff new luxury cars come out with.
Super high quality, very nice, soft, meterial interior with firm, VERY comfortable seats. It also rides freaking awesomely.
Happy, reliable, bulletproof engines. People take them up and above 500 000 miles.
Pop-up headlights. c’mon.
It has an indicator for burnt out brake lights, doors opened, or trunk lid opened.
If you get the EXi/LXi/SEi, you get a sunroof and sequential fuel injection.Basically, the quality/price ratio is amazing. 60 000$ gets you the same material quality as the SEi, if you were to buy a bran new car. You can pick up an SEi in mint condition for 4000$.
Oh, and then there is resale value.. you can probabily sell it for more than you buy it.They are also fun to drive, no blind spots. Super low belt line so you see the road, and all around you. Easy to check the blind spot your mirror dosnt catch. Double-wishbone suspension dosnt only help the ride, but it also allows the car to handle very well, and predictably.
Overall, if you know the 16 year old can respect his first car and keep it for ages, it’s the car i’d get.
As for reliability, incase it’s even in question, i’ve had one for 5 years. Never had an issue. If it gave me a problem, i was always able to get where i needed to go before adressing the issue.
Main issues, would be the altornator, and at this age, itll need some tooling, cos rubber dosnt last for-ever, but it’s all-in-all a very worthy car.
a good old Buick Regal with a 3800… plenty of power for some fun, safe car, very cozy, reliable… its hard too find used buicks for sale anymore, people hold onto them quite dearly…
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