First car

[TheNewGuy]

What would you guys recommend for my first car? I doubt you'll sway me from my current obsession but I'd be interested to hear what you have to say.

What I'm looking at getting is a B5/B5.5 gen (1995-2001) Audi A4. Moonroof, leather heated seats, tints, black. From what I've seen these range from around $6,000 (96, 110k miles) to what I was offered today, $10,000 (01, 80k miles, chipped, intake, exhaust).

I'm not getting a crappy car, Civics need not apply :crackup:

 

[Bible_Belt]

You're 16; the last thing you need is a luxury car. Cars like that cost much more to maintain. There's more stuff to break, and parts are more expensive. In comparison, civics rarely break down and are cheap to fix, which contributes to their popularity. They don't seem as crappy when you drive them pass high-mileage Audis broken down by the roadside.

Cars are almost always lousy investments. Depreciation, insurance, and finance costs make it even worse. Too many teenagers get caught in the trap of working a job just to pay for a car that they don't really need.

If you absolutely must drive a nice car, here is the way that smart business minds do it. Take the amount of cash that you have, no loans, and start from there. Look for 'must sell' ads, and try to buy a vehicle for significantly less than the blue book price, which is available for free at the Kelly blue book site, www.kbb.com Point out everything that you can find wrong with the car, act like those faults are big deal, and make your first offer about half of what they are asking and wave the cash in their face. Usually they will take it. Then immediately offer the car for sale, pricing it a few hundred below the blue book, and advertising that fact, "priced below book." You can print out the kbb.com estimate and use it to negotiate with people. After you sell it, repeat the process again. Each time, you buy and sell a slightly more valuable car. Check your state law for how many cars you can sell without getting a dealer's license. If you can be a shrewd trader and bargainer, you can drive a nice car without it costing you anything.

 

[Joe The Homophobe]

Whatever car you get, make sure it gets decent mpg. Just make sure you get a car that gets 30miles per gallon at the highway or something.

 

[TheNewGuy]

I've worked and penny pinched my whole life dreaming about my car, so it will be bought outright. I will only have to pay monthly insurance... about $150-$175 a month I estimate. I like that buy/sell idea, but am not too sure its the right thing to do at this point.

The Audi should get around 27 mpg highway with Quattro

 

[S1NN3R]

Unless you live in a cold-weather climate, don't waste your money/MPG/repair costs on Quattro. On dry roads, it is only beneficial for straight line acceleration in low traction conditions with good power. Contrary to popular belief, AWD reduces handling capability unless the car makes more power than the front wheels are able to handle. Even the 1.8T B5 doesn't have that problem. If you're going to seriously mod it or drive in the snow/rain, then Quattro makes sense. I had a 2001.5 S4 with the 2.7 Twin Turbo with exhaust and GIAC chip, and even it probably didn't really need the AWD.

If you need a four door, the 97-98 BMW M3 is infinitely more fun than the A4 for just a bit more money, but similar repair costs. Blue book on those is $13k, but scour ebay for a while and you can find one cheaper (my old roommate bought one on ebay in pristine condidtion for $12k).

If you don't need a four door or even a four seater, the best fun you can buy for around $10k is a 97+ BMW Z3 Roadster. I've been driving one of those for the last week while I'm waiting on tires for my truck. Even though the one I've got has the smaller engine (2.3), I can still hang in the twisties with my friend's DINAN M5. Great handling little car to say the least.

But, instead of paying cash, finance for <10%, then invest in hard money real estate loans and make 20%+. Or bring it to Vegas and I'll teach you how to double it up in four hours in No Limit Hold 'Em.

 

[blinkwatt]

How about this,you tell us how much money you can spend on a car,how much you are willing to spend on tires and alignments,how much would you pay for insurance,what factors in a car are important to YOU?!

Example;

Simple oil change on a Camry/Civic/Integra can be done for $15-25 any oil shop. A oil change for a Porsche,from 97"Up $365,or $100 D.I.Y.

Tires for a van that I drive just cost me $200 all around for the tires,$40 to mount and balance. Tires for my Boxster cost me just over $1k all around and $80 to mount and balance. Keep in mind I change my tires every 1.5 years.

Now insurance can be all over the board. Do you want liability only or full coverage? You want to protect your investment don't you? With liability only if anyone vandalises your car or steals it you are S.O.L.

Just keep that in mind when looking for a car.

 

[Wiesman44]

you really shouldnt buy a nice car for your first. You're likely going to get in an accident or do something stupid. Buy a piece of sh#t, and save up a few more years.

ps: WHy do u need tints ?

 

[immrtlwun]

Any 96-98 BMW 3 series will run for a long time and they get pretty good gas mileage. They have many options for them too. You can get a coupe (is), a sedan (i), a convertible (ic), or the 318 has a hatchback option (ti)

The 318 runs about $5,000-$7,000 and it's inline 4 gets 30 or so mpg. If you want a little more power the 325 runs about $6500-$9000 and has an inline 6 and still gets upper 20s as far as mileage.

They're BMWs so they will last forever and they look really nice. They are easy to customize. If you really want you can put a stage 2 turbo on for a couple thousand dollars and really boost the horse power.

 

[Le Parisien]

ps: WHy do u need tints ?

Maybe he's a "successful" young drug dealer and needs more "privacy" for his cars? :crackup:

 

[TheNewGuy]

I live in New England, the land of 6 month winters... which is why the Quattro appeals to me. Could you PM me with some more info about your investment idea?

I'm looking to spend from $7,000 to around $8,500 for a car. I've done some thinking and am going to turn down the $10k offer. All work on it will be done by myself, so I will only pay for parts. As far as insurance goes, I want the best deal I can get for under $200/month.

I was thinking about getting a beater, but why. Why take all the work I've done over the past 3 years, all the saving, all the coupon clipping and spend it on a crappy car? I've worked for this, I never spend my money on myself, so this will be my gift.

Tints are nice. I like privacy. So will the girl in the backseat

BMWs are nice. They're on the same level of luxury as Audi, and the 3 series performance seems comparable to the A4s, but Quattro is a huge point for Audi. A late 90s 3 series with RWD will run me the same as a late 90s A4 with AWD. It is about 3 months before I actually go out looking for cars, but when I do I will definitely keep BMW in mind. If I can find a good deal on a beamer I may take that over an Audi.

PS: SINN3R, I like your taste

 

[Big Eee Zee]

dont get a new audi. if you dont know anything about cars, then dont buy an expensive car. a fast car is good, but why pay for power if you dont know anything about how to get that power out? Youd be faster, and drive better, if you bought a 4000 dollar car and payed for a race school (several hundred for a few days time).

m3's are great cars. if you own an awd audi, and drive it in the snow, your a dope. the salt on the roads will cause rust problems in that car in like 3 years. and if your only getting it for less than 3 years, dont buy one that expensive or new because of depreciation.

honestly, its not what you want to hear, but buy a ****ty car. a nice new car isnt a good thing for a new driver. i didnt want to hear it anyways, but if you start with a new car, your next car wont seem nice, and you'll prolly beat the first one up anyways.

you'd be better off buying a 3k dollar car and putting a little work into it, selling it for about the same value later and then buying a kick ass car.

oh, a nice car wont get ladies, pvssy, or much respect. it'll get you a compliment maybe the first time a friend sees it. is two weeks of compliments worth all that much?

and besides, you can do a lot better car wise for that money.

and learn to work on cars. i was able to put together my baby http://img101.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bmw009tr5.jpg
for about 1 grand. its worth about 6.

and if your going to buy a new one anyways and ignore me like a fool, remember the german tax, labor/parts/everything is always marked up like 200%.
on ALL german cars.

 

[penkitten]

sheesh
my ex had an audi for about two weeks and then sold it to buy something else. the guy that bought it ended up having to replace the brain. it took forever to order the parts and to find someone who could work on an audi and it costs too much money. as soon as it was fixed, he sold the thing too.

 

[Road Demon]

Audis have tend to have electrical issues after a few years. Check consumer reports. I would not recomend them. Tires for e36 M3s are not cheap.

Why not get a nice used Honda Accord or a Subaru? How about used Subaru 2002-2003 WRX or 2.5 RS if you want AWD? I would recommend Japanese over German. AWD will get worse mileage than front wheel driver.

How about getting a set of dedicated snow tires on steel/cheap alloy rims for 600 for a front wheel drive vehicle in the New England winter. That will be will be better traction than an AWD with all season tires in the snow.

I have owned 2 cars with AWD, I don't think I would go back. My current ride has a very sophisicated AWD system, it's not some 'adapted' front wheel driver.

 

[Yuriy777]

I live in New England, the land of 6 month winters... which is why the Quattro appeals to me. Could you PM me with some more info about your investment idea?

If you have long harsh winters then you would love quatro. I have friends who drive other AWD cars including Subarus and whatnot but once winter hits all they see is me from a distance. I have an '01 A4 w/ minor work and I love it for it's handling ability in inclement weather. In heavy snowfalls I'm one of two people who drives on my block (The second driving an X5 much slower than I drive my A4). Everyone else just stays home.
So, in short, if you have to live through long winters and want to have fun driving during snow season I would recommend the Audi. I am of course slightly biased.

 

[Skel]

get a honda civic or a jetta or something cheap.

 

[SamePendo]

fvcking hell... the audi's price there is practically non-existant. wow! But then again, here I can get any fruit for free.

Honda civic cheap? Cheap is something like a volkswagen sedan, or, ford ka.

 

[TheNewGuy]

The B5 VW Passat shares the same platform as the B5 Audi A4, so getting a Vdub wouldn't be that mch of a difference.

For those that do have Audis, could you confirm the problems that others are saying are commonplace with Audi?

Thanks for the input everyone

 

[S1NN3R]

There are no real commonplace problems, none that are unique to the Audi over other cars anyway. If there were, they would be recalled, TSBed, or they wouldn't be able to sell the cars. however, some people have one or more problems with a certain car and they tell people that all of them must be like that, and people buy it.

The only thing that the Audi has as a slight detriment is the increased complexity of the AWD system over a 2WD, but it's not any more likely to fail and any other AWD system. Remember, it was Audi that took the AWD concept and made it viable for the mass market, they know best. Just look at all the transmission and driveline problems that many WRX/EVO owners experience and compare that to the incredibly low occurance of driveline failures in the heavier and more powerful Audi S-Line cars.

As far as Kitten's Ex's Audi's ECU going out repeatedly, that is not at all common on Audis. If it happened more than once then there was probably something hinky in the wiring harness that was causing the brain to fry, which sometimes happens with cars, but it's no more likely to happen in one brand over any other.

I had my S4 for 6 months and I never had to spend a cent fixing anything, and I drove that car like I'd stolen it. Although, I've never once had my RX-7 break down either in the almost three years that I've owned her, which goes against the laws of nature, so maybe I'm just incredibly lucky.

 

[blinkwatt]

get a honda civic or a jetta or something cheap.

I second this motion. I have 98.5 Jetta GT in the garage w/the 2.0 ABA engine. With only $400(ECU chip,K & N air filter,and exhaust) it got some speed,not alot but enough to have fun sometimes. My dad has 110k on it as we speak and the only thing that has happened is clutch going out,its been a darn realible car for him even with the slight mods. Another great thing about 93-04(Maybe 05 I dont remember when the new ones came out), the stereos are VERY EASY to swap and make them sound GREAT! With $1k you can put in a Excelon,Eclipse or Premier deck(something with a 24bit DAC) with mid level MB Quarts all around and the stereo is a monster. The only expensive thing to work on those VW from that time range is the brakes and suspension.

 

[TheNewGuy]

I second this motion. I have 98.5 Jetta GT in the garage w/the 2.0 ABA engine. With only $400(ECU chip,K & N air filter,and exhaust) it got some speed,not alot but enough to have fun sometimes. My dad has 110k on it as we speak and the only thing that has happened is clutch going out,its been a darn realible car for him even with the slight mods. Another great thing about 93-04(Maybe 05 I dont remember when the new ones came out), the stereos are VERY EASY to swap and make them sound GREAT! With $1k you can put in a Excelon,Eclipse or Premier deck(something with a 24bit DAC) with mid level MB Quarts all around and the stereo is a monster. The only expensive thing to work on those VW from that time range is the brakes and suspension.

I was looking at Jetta/GTIs before I got into Audis. They're nice, but I don't like them as much as Audis.

Add in the fact that you can't get AWD, they own Audi so price of parts aren't too different, its still an import thus costing more for service (not gonna matter, I'm doing all work myself), lack of luxury, smaller engines (excluding GLX) and the overall worse exterior style and Audi still comes out on top.

Thanks
-TNG