First car suggestions!

[Skyline]

I'm picking up a second job soon and will most likely be earning around $1k(lowest possible) to $1400(highest possible). I want to save up till February of 2015 if not in late March or early April. I want to go to college and finish my classes is the reason for those dates plus I really need the driving experience for my career path. In a 6 month period I can get $6k-$8.4kish. The thing is, what kind of car should I get with that money? I've never owned a car before so its hard to decide the value on cars, especially older ones.

I was thinking a coupé with a manual transmission, but the transmission can be automatic as well. With those in mind in have a few listed... Some are a bit higher or lower than my price range. But like I said, I have no idea if they are worth it.

1999 Nissan Sentra GXE Sedan
$1600-$3k

1999 Chevy z28 camaro
$2k-5k

1999 Mitsubishi 3000gt coupé
$3k-6k

1999 Mitsubishi eclipse gs-t coupé
$2k-$4k(hard to find IMO, and this does have a turbocharger!)

1998 Mitsubishi eclipse gsx coupé 2d
$3k-$5k (also turbocharged)

2000 Acura(Honda) integra LS sport coupé
$2k-$5k

2000 Honda civic HX coupé 2D
$2k-$4k

2000 Pontiac firebird
$2k-$4k

2003 Cadillac Seville
$2k-$3.5k

1999 Honda civic EX sedan 4D
$2k-$4k

Now the next two are big ones IMO...

1999 Mitsubishi 3000gt VR-4 coupé
$5k-$9.5k (this car has a twin-turbocharged v6)

2003 Nissan Fairlady 350z coupe 2D
$6k-$9k (this car is perfect for me but that price tag...)

2003-2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution ES Sedan
$3k-$8k (I've been a fan of the Evolution series by Mitsubishi for a while now, especially the 07 and later models. I wouldn't mind rolling up in one!)

Should i settle in the $4-5k range on a Honda or maybe a firebird? Or go the performance route and drop money on a Subaru or Mitsubishi? Or something completely different? I'm looking for reliability and maybe a bit of performance. Please give me your input.

EDIT:

After some research, I've pretty much narrowed my choices down to a Honda civic/accord, scion tC, or that lancer evo ES.

 

[MtnMan]

I've got to say, thats a pretty funny range of cars. Unless you know how to wrench yourself, I would avoid cars like the 3000gt. A lot of those cars are gas hogs, and if you drive as much as I do that makes a HUGE difference.

Decide what your goal is with your first car, because your list of cars contains some very practical cars, and some very impractical ones.

How many people do you need to haul?
Do you drive in the snow?
How many miles a week do you drive?

I only drive diesels now because it saves me a lot of money, but thats not for everyone.


My thoughts in bold.

I'm picking up a second job soon and will most likely be earning around $1k(lowest possible) to $1400(highest possible). I want to save up till February of 2015 if not in late March or early April. I want to go to college and finish my classes is the reason for those dates plus I really need the driving experience for my career path. In a 6 month period I can get $6k-$8.4kish. The thing is, what kind of car should I get with that money? I've never owned a car before so its hard to decide the value on cars, especially older ones.

I was thinking a coupé with a manual transmission, but the transmission can be automatic as well. With those in mind in have a few listed... Some are a bit higher or lower than my price range. But like I said, I have no idea if they are worth it.

1999 Nissan Sentra GXE Sedan
$1600-$3k
I've owned a couple sentras, good cars, reliable and good on gas. Nothing exciting about them, however.

1999 Chevy z28 camaro
$2k-5k
personally, i would say hell no. Not a cool car, and not practical. But I am more of a euro car guy so, take my advice at face value.

1999 Mitsubishi 3000gt coupé
$3k-6k
why bother with the non turbo version if you are going through the PITA of owning one of these? Get a vr4 or nothing. Again, not really a practical car, but could be considered cool if that is your thing

1999 Mitsubishi eclipse gs-t coupé
$2k-$4k(hard to find IMO, and this does have a turbocharger!)
this is a chick car IMO, but they can be made fast pretty easy. More practical than the vr4 3000gt, but turbo car=higher maintenance and more speeding tickets

1998 Mitsubishi eclipse gsx coupé 2d
$3k-$5k (also turbocharged)
same comments as above

2000 Acura(Honda) integra LS sport coupé
$2k-$5k
not a bad choice if you are into ricer cars. they can be halfway fun to drive, and hondas are good, reliable and efficient cars. Bonus, parts are available everywhere for mad cheap, and they are easy to work on

2000 Honda civic HX coupé 2D
$2k-$4k
if you are interested in an HX, go for the 96-99 model. They get way better mileage than the 2000 models. Do NOT get an automatic HX, the CVT trans sucks and gets worse mileage. I have owned one of these, it could get 50mpg if you were careful, but it could be very finicky to get running perfectly. The oxygen sensor for this car is unique, hard to find, and expensive, and failed often. Mine burned tons of oil at 160k miles, and that somewhat offsets the fuel savings. Overall, the HX is a great car if you find a lower mileage one with a manual trans.

2000 Pontiac firebird
$2k-$4k
see comments about camero (tin-canero)

2003 Cadillac Seville
$2k-$3.5k
god, why? ugly, slow american sedan and FWD....no thanks.

1999 Honda civic EX sedan 4D
$2k-$4k
similar comments to HX, but more common and slightly less efficient.
Now the next two are big ones IMO...

1999 Mitsubishi 3000gt VR-4 coupé
$5k-$9.5k (this car has a twin-turbocharged v6)
this is NOT a practical car, however they can be fun with the boost turned up. Again, if you drive a lot and dont do your own wrenching, i would steer clear. Plus these cars are getting older and they usually get beat on pretty hard.

2003 Nissan Fairlady 350z coupe 2D
$6k-$9k (this car is perfect for me but that price tag...)
personally, these z-cars are disapointing compared to the z32 300zx they replaced. If its your thing, go for it. Probably pretty reliable, but not very fuel efficient.

2003-2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution ES Sedan
$3k-$8k (I've been a fan of the Evolution series by Mitsubishi for a while now, especially the 07 and later models. I wouldn't mind rolling up in one!)
probably one of the more practical sporty cars of your list, but again, turbo cars with higher mileage have been beat on, and will be more costly to operate than something like a civic.

Should i settle in the $4-5k range on a Honda or maybe a firebird? Or go the performance route and drop money on a Subaru or Mitsubishi? Or something completely different? I'm looking for reliability and maybe a bit of performance. Please give me your input.

EDIT:

After some research, I've pretty much narrowed my choices down to a Honda civic/accord, scion tC, or that lancer evo ES.

your final list looks decent, hondas are probably the wisest car, then the scion, then the evo. Evo is by FAR the most fun out of your final list. Turbo and AWD is great fun, especially if you tune it up a bit.

 

[Bible_Belt]

I love the Stealth/3000gt. I've had several. For the love of god, don't get the turbo. It will run for about a month. My last one spun a rod bearing and has been sitting ever since. Anyone's old turbo tuner project is not something you want. Forced induction wears engines out 3-4 times faster. And that's at factory boost levels.

And that Camaro/Firebird is a big fat hunk of junk.

Honda/Toyota/Nissan is what you want for reliability.

 

[Stagger Lee]

When it comes to buying a used car, it's all about condition of the vehicle. All of these years and models you listed sound like they'll need a lot of repairs. You really need someone who is very knowledge about cars to look over any vehicle you are considering.

 

[Skyline]

I was thinking mid 2005-2007 for the Hondas and a Nissan Altima. And that Mitsubishi Evo is just the regular non turbo version, not the GSR. I'm leaning towards the Altima right now. Thanks for the input guys.

 

[ChalengeGuyFan]

Coupe? Gas guzzler? Boring? LOL!

As a young man you need a car which:
- is practical: is should fit 4 people and their luggage;
Because it's awesome when you can rally up some friends and go anywhere at any time. Camping? Resort? Ski? Take with you anything you want! Space is no concern!
- drives nicely;
Because it feels great for everyone when you push it around safely for some adrenaline rush.
- runs on little fuel;
One less concern when you just want to go somewhere. Is it Friday night and you're getting bored with some friends? Just pop in the car and go to that interesting place 200 miles away. It's cheaper than spending the night in the bar, anyway.
- is comfortable enough;
Not extremely comfortable, because that means expensive, but comfortable enough so that your bum won't hurt when you go 200 miles away on that Friday night.
- is cheap enough to buy and maintain.
Shouldn't need to explain this...

 

[Fatal Jay]

all those choices are good but the Cadillac, those 2003 sevilles are the worst, don't waste your time.

Go with a foreign car if your going to get an old model car, those cars last forever especially Honda and Toyota

 

[dasein]

Longbed pickup truck. I so wish I'd had one at your age. Can easily have a lucrative side job helping people/businesses move and haul stuff, write off partial (most of the) insurance, mileage and repairs as business expense. After a couple of years of that, get a 3 yr old sedan with 40-60k miles on it and you are set for transportation as economically as possible. Good luck.

 

[Bokanovsky]

I love the Stealth/3000gt. I've had several. For the love of god, don't get the turbo. It will run for about a month. My last one spun a rod bearing and has been sitting ever since. Anyone's old turbo tuner project is not something you want. Forced induction wears engines out 3-4 times faster. And that's at factory boost levels.

That's a common misconception. All diesel engines are turbocharged, and have been since the 80's. And they usually last a lot longer than normally aspirated gasoline engines. Gasoline turbo engines also last a long time, provided they are properly maintained and not over-boosted. There's no shortage of high mileage turbocharged Audis, Saabs, Volvos, etc. out there. A properly designed turbo engine will have strengthened internals to handle the added stress of forced induction.

But I agree that, with a car like the 3000GT, there's a good chance you'd be getting someone's project car that was modified to run a ridiculous amount of boost.

 

[randell]

You'll probably wreck it, and/or need the money for other things, so keep the price under 2k. Dont get trapped into payments. Get it from a private party, and have a REAL mechanic (pay him $100) go with you to check it out before buying it. Look for something with cancer/body damage, bald tires, minor issues piled up, easily fixed a bit at a time. Learn to do much of that repair yourself. Get something without much acceleration, speed or cornering ability, but which gets 30mpg (or so). It will most likely save your life, and save lives of people you'll have in your car or hit with your car. Even better, get a 1k, smaller motorcycle, to limit the above-listed damage.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Diesel's run at such low compression that comparing them to a turbo'd gas engine is apples and oranges. The scheduled maintenance for an import 90's tuner car will show turbos are only built to last 60-80k. At that age, the dealership usually charges about what the car blue books at in order to install new turbos.

On the flip side, you can always buy a turbo car cheap if the turbos are going out and you can swap them for a reasonable price. In a twin turbo, smoke in one side of a dual exhaust will show up when the turbo on that side is leaking oil, and thus about to fail.

I have what was a very nice 92 Twin Turbo Stealth that spun a rod, and has been sitting for years. I even have a vr4 engine in the trunk. But I live in a rural area, and it's impossible to find a competent mechanic. The car is a nightmare to work on. My dealership couldn't even fix a bad factory alarm after five attempts.

 

[Stagger Lee]

I think with turbo'd sports car engines, it's the oil and turbo itself that take a beating, and when the oil film protection fails so will the engine. I think you would need frequent oil changes, maybe a heavier grade oil and quality synthetic if you're going to run the vehicle hard, and let the turbo idle down and cool before shutting off, or just don't run the vehicle so hard. The problem is previous owners usually do none of those things.

With commercial vehicles and diesels, they are designed to be low power density and ran at full power more frequently and last. They have large oil capacity of heavier grade oil and large coolant capacity and get properly maintained.

Turbos are a complex system and anything can break with turbos usually having a shorter life than an engine itself. Sports cars are generally a bad buy used unless the previous owner was an the old, well-to-do car guy lol. But you're usually not going to get a cream puff for cheap.

It'll be interesting to see how the newest cars with turbo and direct fuel injection hold up over the long term. Some have already had problems related to the direct gas injection.

 

[Skyline]

Honestly I don't know what I was thinking about the turbochargers. I think I was getting a little greedy right there especially since they are far more complex than super chargers. I want a car that will last me, not be a ricer or anything. But you know a matte orange paint job, green flames, and a rear wing on the roof of my car sounds nice.

The Nissan Altima 06-08 and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution ES Sedan 06-08 are my choices right now. That long bed truck idea sounds like a good one but I don't know how I'm going to do that if I'm juggling two jobs and have college early next year. And I'm not really a truck fan... I was also thinking about bringing a mechanic when looking to buy a car, maybe not on first inspection but on second time around when I want to buy it. I'm fine with spending $50-$100 on something "worth" $5k+.

And at this point the only car I'm going to get in the future that's turbocharged is the Nissan GT-R, which has two! Other than that I'm gonna stick with natually aspirated or maybe a more simple and easy supercharger.

 

[Bokanovsky]

It'll be interesting to see how the newest cars with turbo and direct fuel injection hold up over the long term. Some have already had problems related to the direct gas injection.

Direct injection problems affect normally aspirated cars too. Some of the early direct injected cars had problems with carbon buildup on the intake valves (as there is no fuel to "wash" them). Most of those concerns have now been dressed be either increasing the engine's operating temperature slightly (to ensure carbon deposits are burned off) or adding an extra injector that sprays fuel on the intake valves, in essence giving you both, direct and port injection.