Opinions on used car

Serendipity

exalted512 wrote: »

I'm 4 years his senior and still drive like a bat out of hell
-Cody

My point is that not everyone drives that way...

Besides, who the heck peels out and fishtails these days? Talk about lousy gas mileage...

I've been trying to get the BEST gas mileage possible short of upgrading to a Prius

skipf

I had an SLS. Won't EVER make that mistake again. It was a pleasure to drive, but the Northstar is a nightmare and parts are outrageous. Spent $1200 for an AC compressor. You made the right choice in passing on this one.

concealer404

Get him a 4-door manual transmissioned Camry. You want to talk about LOW maintenece costs? Here's your winner.

Joe08867

appadv wrote: »

Lots of generalizations here...

I'm the same age as your son and you could give me a Mustang/Camaro/Corvette/etc. and I'll still drive at a reasonable speed. I've said on the forum many times that I never get any tickets because I'm always going at or under the speed limit.

So the young = speeder isn't always going to be true.

You are more the exception than the rule.

The Caddy is cool, but it is alot of car for a new driver. Even one with a year under his belt. I think he would do better in a smaller 4cyl than a Northstar V8. And having four doors is like asking him to drive all of his friends everywhere. A huge responsibility.

ND13

$4000-4500 will get a nice reliable used car. I personally would steer clear of a 10 yr old Caddy for an 18 yr old. Look more into a used mid-size sedan or coupe, if he doesn't want a 4-door. Lot's of choices...what about a small pick-up?

ND13

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

Coming from a teenager that started out in a very front heavy V8 vehicle...

This vehicle is a big no no --- V8s are WAY to much for a first time driver...

Even though I did not get in any wrecks, I did alot of stupid things that could have led to wrecks...

My other issues with my first vehicle was related to the truck aspect of it rather than the motor...

But like I said, I just would not suggest that size motor to any young driver...

That's crap. Not all teens are irresponsible. I'd let Ricardo be the judge of what his boy can or can't handle.

bobman1235

Not all teens are irresponsible, but they are all relatively inexperienced driving. They may not be doing donuts and stupid ****, but having a giant car with a huge braking distance and poor handling might not be your best bet.

MKZ

I would stick with Japanese Used Car instead of Domestic for reliable/low Maintenance reason.
1) Check http://www.edmunds.com/ for price. KBB.com seems to be higher price.
2) Get the unlimited Carfax for 30days.
3) Open the engine oil cap when the engine is idle. If some oil spill out, the valve seals are no good.
Check the transmission stick to see whether there is any crystal or not. If you see some metal pieces, it is gone.
4) Check the VIN number on every doors, hood,fender and trunk. It should be matched.

shack

Gee...I don't know. Bag it, slam it, roll some 24s and add a little "thump" and he's good to go....;)

Kex

I agree with lots of the comments here. Get something with better road manners that will be more forgiving in the event he makes a mistake so that it might not necessarily lead to a wreck (then what will the insurance cost!).

danger boy

I agree with myself.. get him a small car with a small engine.. it's his first car dang it.. my first car cost me $1,200 and paid for half of it.

BigMac

shadowofnight wrote: »

Another vote for a nice 4 banger

The first car I had at my disposal was my moms Delta 88 with the Rocket 455 V8 and positraction rear end....actually blew tires up spinning them so much...how I didnt get arrested or dead I'll never know.

I would look at cars with good reliability and resale values. Honda Civic,Toyota,Subaru,Volvo. I bought a 1992 Subaru Legacy new and still have it today. Drives like a champ and only had minor work done to it over the years. 4 bangers get great gas mileage unless you do this to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzP-etuL6Y8

Jstas

appadv wrote: »

My point is that not everyone drives that way...

Besides, who the heck peels out and fishtails these days?

Obviously someone who has never had real power under their right foot.

My truck is heavy and even if I drive like Miss Daisy is in the back, it still eats tires. My Mustang couldn't keep tires under the rear end but when the car run's mid-11's on street tires and the driver has a heavy right foot with weekly treks to the track, I think I spent more on tires than I paid for the car.

Even my 4 cylinder Ranger would get squirrelly if I dropped the clutch around redline and let it spin those little 185/70/R14's out back.

But every truck I've ever had has been able to "fishtail" easily. My current truck seems to be able to do it at idle sometimes.



Then again, I kinda feel sorry for you if you are that uptight while driving. You're young and you're not gonna have any stories about any experiences. In 20 years, your buddies are going to be talking about how they did something stupid, got in a bind and managed to recover in some spectacular way and you're gonna be talking about how you got 30 MPG on a run through Yonkers when you were 19. Hoo boy, settle down there ya rebel!

exalted512 wrote: »

I'm 4 years his senior and still drive like a bat out of hell
-Cody

I got over 10 years on him and I'm told my theme song should be "Can't Drive 55". I got 105,000+ miles on the truck and probably only traveled about 75,000 miles in actuality.

Jstas

As for Ricardo, ignore the advice about getting a "tuner" car. Most of those kids don't learn anything but how to beg mom and dad for money for the next "mod" that just makes the car illegal, unreliable and many times more dangerous to drive while throwing all that lovely economy and efficiency out the window.

Honestly, I'd recommend an extended cab 4x4 Ranger or Toyota Tacoma for him. They are stone cold reliable, get decent enough gas mileage, cheap to repair/maintain and unstoppable on or off-road. But if he's not a truck person, and you go for a small, 4 banger car, watch the stuff from Japan. Most of the small cars from Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi are equipped with interference engines and any car with over 60,000 miles on it should either have had it's timing gear replaced or will need it. It's not cheap but it's cheaper than getting a new engine.

If you do go that route, go for a Subaru. They are bullet proof, very well built and very capable vehicles. A WRX version will have plenty of balls and with the full-time AWD, the power isn't as unpredictable. Another hot little ride and often quite over-looked is the old Nissan Sentra SE-R's. Lotsa fun and not enough power to get yourself in to any real trouble. Handling is predictable enough that you REALLY gotta be pushing it for it to get away from you.

If you want to go with a small American vehicle, a low-mileage Neon is good deal but watch things like water pumps and timing sets. They can have problems with transmissions too. A Ford Focus is a good deal too and there are millions of them out there. Certain years of Mazda Proteges and Mazda 3's are mechanically identical. I've heard of problems with them but nothing enough to establish a pattern. But with hundreds of thousands of examples out there, the number of problems in actuality is quite small. But finding one that will last him a few years or more should be quite easy. For those two though, steer clear of the performance variants of the SVT Focus and the Neon SRT-4. Not that they are unreliable or prone to problems because they aren't. They are just wee beasties and will get an inexperienced driver in to trouble.

bobman1235

He seems to be looking in the 4-5k range, I don't know that an SRT-4 or a WRX (which is a 30000 dollar car new and not easy to find cheap used without major problems) are really the solution there

Jstas

bobman1235 wrote: »

He seems to be looking in the 4-5k range, I don't know that an SRT-4 or a WRX (which is a 30000 dollar car new and not easy to find cheap used without major problems) are really the solution there

Doesn't have to be a WRX, any Subaru will work just fine and I did not recommend a Neon SRT-4.

Ricardo

Thanks for all the input/comments/opinions. We can let this thread die now.

Deadof_knight

The Gm expert said it cost alot to work on if well more like when he said the oil pan leaks and its going to ....its about 2 grand . Virtually everything on that car motor maintenance wise requires the motor to be pulled out..... Eric stated that he had pulled the motor on 50 to 100 caddys like that to fix the oil pan leak problem.

I know thats not what you wanna hear but its information

BaggedLancer

appadv wrote: »

Lots of generalizations here...

I'm the same age as your son and you could give me a Mustang/Camaro/Corvette/etc. and I'll still drive at a reasonable speed. I've said on the forum many times that I never get any tickets because I'm always going at or under the speed limit.

So the young = speeder isn't always going to be true.

You're an exception to the rule as the forum knows that you are a gifted individual.

In all honesty Ricardo, it was long ago that I was where your son was. Had I started with a v8 I'd probably be in big trouble right now. I had a little 4 banger and I still managed to dig myself in deep for a bit.

I'd look into a nice v6 for him as I wish a 4 cylinder car on no one. Most are too damn slow to get out of their own way unless you get one of the turbo cars like a Subaru WRX or Mitsubishi Evo which are way out of the price range.

My cousin just picked up a 2007 Ford Fusion for short change, I'm sure you could find a nice GM variant. Honda Accord is actually a nice v6 as well.

bobman1235

I'd look into a nice v6 for him as I wish a 4 cylinder car on no one. Most are too damn slow to get out of their own way

And we wonder why Detroit refuses to make fuel-efficient smaller cars. Your average American customer, ladies and gentlemen!

(no offense mark, just saying it's a very common viewpoint)

BaggedLancer

bobman1235 wrote: »

And we wonder why Detroit refuses to make fuel-efficient smaller cars. Your average American customer, ladies and gentlemen!

(no offense mark, just saying it's a very common viewpoint)

Heh, i drive an import with over 280hp! It's a 6 cylinder.....I'd never go back to my 120hp P.O.S. 4 cylinder.

Ricardo

I already decided; bought this:

bobman1235

I'm pretty happy with my 165hp 4 cyl Subaru. Though I wouldn't say no if someone offered me the WRX (224hp)...

MKZ

Ricardo wrote: »

I already decided; bought this:

You 2rich.

brettw22

So your son has clown tendencies? :P

Ricardo

brettw22 wrote: »

So your son has clown tendencies? :P

Nope; looks like that is going to the grave with me.

zingo

brettw22 wrote: »

So your son has clown tendencies? :P

Hold your horses! That is not a clown car! :eek:



How do these even look the same?!?

Serendipity

Jstas wrote: »

Then again, I kinda feel sorry for you if you are that uptight while driving. You're young and you're not gonna have any stories about any experiences. In 20 years, your buddies are going to be talking about how they did something stupid, got in a bind and managed to recover in some spectacular way and you're gonna be talking about how you got 30 MPG on a run through Yonkers when you were 19. Hoo boy, settle down there ya rebel!

I happen to know two teens who died while driving recklessly. It was NOT a pretty scene.

zingo

I had two really good friends die while we were in high school. They were driving his truck too fast on a dark, wet night and went off the road and hit a tree. Drugs and alcohol were not a factor, they were just teens being teens. Not every teen drives stupidly, but it naive to think it's ever out of the question.

jchouston

Buy something slow, buy something heavy.