best used car under 5,000

[travis malawskey]

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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[Nick]

Yep for reliable has to be Honda or Nissan.

My favorite car of all time has to be a 1997 Nissan 200sx with 5 speed manual trans. Great great vehicle. The 1.6 motor is pretty much indestructible, if wanting something a little more fun the SR20DET motor has an endless list of bolt on mods available, and is unkillable (the only real known problem is timing chain tensioners and guides).

The Altima with the KA24DE is pretty much a dead reliable motor (with fewer bolt on mods available).

Of course well no one needs to mention how reliable and tuner worthy the 1995-1999 Honda Civics are (change the timing belt and they will go forever). All though I have heard from several people the 1.5 SOHC motors love to blow head gaskets.

IMO Hondas are OK but they lack torque.

Nissan is where the fun is at especially close to stock.

Of course I am getting ready to install an engine in a 1999 New Jetta for a family member too so it will be interesting as I have never worked on VW before.

[Kennedy]

anything RWD. my first car is RWD and i love it and dont want to go back.
mustangs have parts everywhere for them so that is not off the table and its a cool car. plenty to learn with too.

[asetoftools]

My advice, set your budget for the car at $500.

Any additional money, put it in a fund for repairs that you can do together! I find the cheapest cars to work on are american cars.

There are a million cars on CL in any major city under $1000. Depends totally what the kid wants to drive. Convertible, truck, van, sedan, station wagon… Ah to have no real requirements that must be met!

80s Trans am! Sleeper LT1!
You can have a lot of fun in a dodge aries as well as a kid. for a 16 year old, i think ANY car that runs is a GREAT car!

[Peter]

I think you should buy something safe like a Nissan/Toyota SUV or a Volvo/SAAB. In my opinion Volvos are the best cars for learning drivers – safe, reliable, comfortable. For 5000 you can buy a decent S60. Buy if your son wants to be the cool kid go for an older volvo with a turbo engine and install a BOV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gygWzDb3jLw

nothing is more cool than a pssssss! when changing gears 🙂

[Jesse]

I bought a 1990 Buick LeSabre from an old lady, and that car hasn’t given me a lick of trouble. Those 3800 series engines are bullet proof. Since I’ve bought it I’ve put 40,000 miles on the car without a lick of trouble.

[Author]

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