Got my license finally. I need help choosing a decent first car. I'm more likely to go towards an asian import. I also would like something thats pretty interesting, not a typical family car. I have been looking at Toyota Supras and MR2's. I also have been somewhat interested in a Honda Prelude or Acura Integra. Does anyone have any suggestions? Btw, my budget at max is $6000.

somthing that can take a beating ur going to dent it up a bit its life i wrecked my first truck and it wasnt even my falt just take it easy and if u dent somthing just got some bondo and fix it

Bump

Go out and get a cutlass, awesome first car :D I even have an extra one sitting around.... Spend the other 5K in mods...and you can smoke most things on the road =)

Ive always fancied a Jaguar XJ-S or and XJS 5.3 litre V12.

http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-jkl/Jaguar-XJS-Red-Strip-1280x960.jpg

if u like speed def. get sum japanese cars, like mitsubishi's, honda's. If ur worried about price look at hondas if u hook em up right but right in the middle range is da mitsubishi's my personal favorites. They can take beatin's. I'm assumin u no ur sport cars, i think thos would b da best startin cars.

japanese....honda....fast??....Am i missing something?... *scratches his head*

honda would be a good first car my first car was a dodge disuel dually...now i have that and 68 dodge charger

japanese....honda....fast??....Am i missing something?... *scratches his head*

if you are, so am I.

Seriously though... please dont fuck around with silly little four pot cars.
The bare MINIMUM would be a 2.5 litre V8 or even better a 3.0 litre straight 6.

Having owned a Jaguar I can highly recomend them as daily drivers.
Ive not had a V12 Jag but having driven one I have started looking through the autotrader each week for one.

Seriously though... please dont fuck around with silly little four pot cars.
The bare MINIMUM would be a 2.5 litre V8 or even better a 3.0 litre straight 6.

Having owned a Jaguar I can highly recomend them as daily drivers.
Ive not had a V12 Jag but having driven one I have started looking through the autotrader each week for one.

Yeah, I have been looking for a Nissan Altima v6, i think that would be a pretty good first car.

Yes, those car pretty quick

The nice thing about a V12 is that with the right exhaust it sounds like a V12 with 6 plug leads missing. :)

try checking out an american car

why?

The americans build cracking engines but cant build a car very well left to their own devices.
The best cars in history are the ones where the americans and english have worked together.

Jensen Interceptor FF
MGB GT V8 (ok I'm bias on that one!)
Bristol 406-411
AC Cobra (started life as a 4 cylinder AC ace)

Seriously though... please dont fuck around with silly little four pot cars.
The bare MINIMUM would be a 2.5 litre V8 or even better a 3.0 litre straight 6.

Having owned a Jaguar I can highly recomend them as daily drivers.
Ive not had a V12 Jag but having driven one I have started looking through the autotrader each week for one.

Are you stupid? Jaguars are some of the most UNRELIABLE pieces of shit ever made. The brand new ones aren't bad, but the old V12 XJ - fuck that. He needs a first car that won't break, and if it does break, won't be a money whore to fix. Jaguar doesnt meet any of that criteria.

Though not my favorite car, a Honda Civic makes sense. You can easily find a pristine example of a 95 or so in your price range.

Bullshit. The V12 is bullet proof.

Have you ever even had a jaguar to make such a stupid comment? I used to have an XJ40. That was the most reliable car I ever had.
My grandfather has owned nothing but jaguars since he started driving. He owned a Jaguar MK10 built in the late 60's when according to bar-room folk law jaguar were at their most "unreliable" From the day he bought that jag to the day he sold it not one thing went wrong. Not even a burnt out light bulb. Hows that for reliability!

Jaguars do not break. Its just idiots like you who hear storys and quotes from other idiots who once owned one and tried to run it on the cheap.

The only Jaguar that was truely unreliable was the mk1 3.8 E type (xke) which had an inadequet cooling system, making the car prone to overheating. This can be upgraded to later S2 specification which ELIMINATES the problem.

All this bullshit about lucas electrics being unreliable is also untrue. It all stems from a batch of Triumph TR3's that went over to america with dodgy wiring harnesses.

Do not try arguing with me about British sports cars. You will loose.
Get your facts right first.

A properly maintained Jaguar XJS V12 is an excelent first car. A 3.6 or 4.0 litre XJS with the AJ6 engine is also an excelent, if underpowered choice.

In any case a person that recomeneds Honda has no credibility.

Like I said, get your facts right before touting nonsense.

Hondas and Toyotas.

They last.

Get something fuel efficient and dependable. Just get a Japanese car.

hey i dont even care what you get get what you think what will go with you

what the fuck?

personaly im looking at a 80 sumthing toyota truck just becuase i dont want a car, they only want 700 for it and the fact that a older yota gets decent enuf gas mileage for me, and they will haul anything i need personaly, im a if it aint made in america, your not american, but ive been sliding over to the dark side and have been into quite a few jap crap cars/trucks. but anyways, i think you should pick, with that 6000 you can by a preaty nice car with that, my mom just bought a 96? dodge neon(or there other car that simeler to the neon) for 5 or 6 thound

Well, we test drove a 1997 Honda Prelude(vtec), and I was actually pretty impressed. I might get something similar to this. I know alot of you guys are going to hate me for it though :(. But, they are nice cars I think, and reliable. I'm not a ricer, so i'm not going to ruin the engine with stupid shit. So it should be an ok car. I also found a 1995 prelude si with 90,000 miles on it for 5 grand, not so bad..

Bullshit. The V12 is bullet proof.
:lmfao: Then why is it that when they even slightly overheat that they drop their valves? And of course in that 0 clearance engine that means valves hitting pistons which is pretty much a new motor. You know, there's a reason why people put small block chevys in those things, it's cheaper and more reliable to do that conversion then to put a new jag engine in.
A properly maintained Jaguar XJS V12 is an excelent first car.I'll take properly maintained as paying out the nose at a shop so it can be constantly worked on so it can physically make it into the shop next time you have to go in. I like it how the british call fixing leaks and problems "maintainence"
In any case a person that recomeneds Honda has no credibility.
once again, :lmfao:, Although not the best in the performance category the maintainence on a honda is FAR less frequent, inconvenient and costly then the "maintenance" on a jaguar. With that statement I'm going to assume that your trying to prove to everyone that your an inbred bucktooth moron.

Anyone that takes a 20 year old car to a garage to be repaired is a moron. EVERYTHING is accessable on an XJS. Honda's are a real sod to work on.
There is no reason for a car to EVER overheat. You can tell when it is going to happen by looking at your guages. Yes, they do actually mean something.
A car with a propperly maintained cooling system will not overheat.

My grandfather has owned Jaguars since he started driving. He often touts that he has never had a car that has been unable to get him home. I will take his experience of 60 years driving Jaguars over your "I once heard a story from some guy in a bar".

I have owned a Jaguar. I grew up being ferried around in Jaguars. I reccomend them from personal experience. Do you have any personal experience to back up your claims?

Any car will break if abused.

I like it how the british call fixing leaks and problems "maintainence"

What do you call it then? I call it apropriate servicing.

That statement proved to everyone beyond a shaddow of a doubt that you are a numbskull.

Repairs, your fixing something that is not functioning properly, not regular maintainence. The only "repairs" my 130k mile honda has had is having the oil pan replaced because the original owner stripped the drain plug, and the negative battery cable replaced. That aside:
1 new battery
4 front brake jobs
2 rear brake jobs
new drive belts+timing belt/water pump+plugs/cap/rotor
2 tranny services
original clutch.
1 coolant flush
Set the valve lash (I was bored)
A recall on the floormat (yeah, WTF)
And of course oil changes and other stuff like bulbs, air filters, and wiper blades.

How many jags get away with that little after 130k miles?
I've fixed various leaks on post 1988 XJ6s, and replaced instrument clusters on a 1988 and a 1989 XJ6.
Diff leaks on your XJS V12s, Oil pan leaks, Water Pump leaks, basically another engine where every damn thing that can leaks (besides the head gasket) does. As well as personally seeing 3 engines be replaced due to common overheating problems (water pumps leaking?) that make is so that they can't hold compression and a nice thuck-thuck-thuck noise when they crank. Oh yeah and 1 XJS that the cruise control wouldn't disengage that we sent to a dealer that had to fix it for free (recall).
Remember, I don't work on cars for fun, I do it for a living.

Repairs, your fixing something that is not functioning properly, not regular maintainence. The only "repairs" my 130k mile honda has had is having the oil pan replaced because the original owner stripped the drain plug, and the negative battery cable replaced. That aside:
1 new battery
4 front brake jobs
2 rear brake jobs
new drive belts+timing belt/water pump+plugs/cap/rotor
2 tranny services
original clutch.
1 coolant flush
Set the valve lash (I was bored)
A recall on the floormat (yeah, WTF)
And of course oil changes and other stuff like bulbs, air filters, and wiper blades.

How many jags get away with that little after 130k miles?
I've fixed various leaks on post 1988 XJ6s, and replaced instrument clusters on a 1988 and a 1989 XJ6.
Diff leaks on your XJS V12s, Oil pan leaks, Water Pump leaks, basically another engine where every damn thing that can leaks (besides the head gasket) does. As well as personally seeing 3 engines be replaced due to common overheating problems (water pumps leaking?) that make is so that they can't hold compression and a nice thuck-thuck-thuck noise when they crank. Oh yeah and 1 XJS that the cruise control wouldn't disengage that we sent to a dealer that had to fix it for free (recall).
Remember, I don't work on cars for fun, I do it for a living.

lol pwned...

i think the new impala is a great deal on the market for just a good car

or if you wanna fast one for cheap you can get 93-97 camaro or Trans am ^^

or bird.

I also found a 1995 prelude si with 90,000 miles on it for 5 grand, not so bad..

Thats a terrible deal. I paid $5000 for my car, it's a '99 and had 25,000 less miles on it. Plus it had the same HP and more torque.

or bird.

Is a Trans Am not a Firebird?

Is a Trans Am not a Firebird?
many had different options. a couple of yrs they kinda differed a bit. (don't remember what yrs exactly) but u get my point

Repairs, your fixing something that is not functioning properly, not regular maintainence. The only "repairs" my 130k mile honda has had is having the oil pan replaced because the original owner stripped the drain plug, and the negative battery cable replaced. That aside:
1 new battery
4 front brake jobs
2 rear brake jobs
new drive belts+timing belt/water pump+plugs/cap/rotor
2 tranny services
original clutch.
1 coolant flush
Set the valve lash (I was bored)
A recall on the floormat (yeah, WTF)
And of course oil changes and other stuff like bulbs, air filters, and wiper blades.

How many jags get away with that little after 130k miles?
I've fixed various leaks on post 1988 XJ6s, and replaced instrument clusters on a 1988 and a 1989 XJ6.
Diff leaks on your XJS V12s, Oil pan leaks, Water Pump leaks, basically another engine where every damn thing that can leaks (besides the head gasket) does. As well as personally seeing 3 engines be replaced due to common overheating problems (water pumps leaking?) that make is so that they can't hold compression and a nice thuck-thuck-thuck noise when they crank. Oh yeah and 1 XJS that the cruise control wouldn't disengage that we sent to a dealer that had to fix it for free (recall).
Remember, I don't work on cars for fun, I do it for a living.

I used to drive an XJ40. Which my grandfather subsequently bought off me.
The only thing I did to that was oil changes, new air filters and a new set of plugs.
Since my grandfather has had it it has been treated to a new battery, a new cap for the power steering resevoir and a new Propshaft rubber dohnut.
The car is on 120k from new I was the 2nd owner my grandfather the first and current owner. Neither I nor my grandfather has ever had to top up the oil. It does not drip and does not use any up.

I have friends in the MGOC who drive XJS's as their every day cars and keep their classic MG's as toys for the weekend.

If a waterpump fails of course the thing is going to overheat however any numpty will hear the pump shaft eating through the bearing and get the noise looked at long before it actually overheats.

Im not prepared to argue about this any longer.
I have owned jaguars and have been around them since I can remember.
The Jaguar V12 is an excelent engine and I would continue to advise people to buy one. People that have done so upon my advise have been very impressed so long as they buy a good one that has been maintained properly from new and not one of the many old nails you see in the autotrader for 1-1.5k.

As far as hondas are concerned, hardley anything is accessable. its all hidden and a sod to get at.

Each to their own my friend.

VTEC, ir whatever, doesnt mean your little honder has somethin quivelant to a supercharger or turbo.. its for fuel economy. thats what all jap cars a for. just get something like a Chevrolet S10 or a Chevy Trailblazer. why chevy? idk a local dealership is going out and their having a BIG sale on them

Thats a terrible deal. I paid $5000 for my car, it's a '99 and had 25,000 less miles on it. Plus it had the same HP and more torque.

Wasn't that a grand am? I would never pay for one of those. A friend of mine had one and the engine was pretty much done 120,000 miles. I'm not sure how well they cared for it, but thats still bullshit. It had a very expensive amount of engine work around 80,000 miles too. I'd rather have a honda then a domestic. You might have had good luck with yours but i'm pretty sure I won't.

VTEC, ir whatever, doesnt mean your little honder has somethin quivelant to a supercharger or turbo.. its for fuel economy. thats what all jap cars a for. just get something like a Chevrolet S10 or a Chevy Trailblazer. why chevy? idk a local dealership is going out and their having a BIG sale on them

I know that, i'm not a ricer. I wan't a reliable car with good gas mileage, in other words, asian imports.

Wasn't that a grand am? I would never pay for one of those. A friend of mine had one and the engine was pretty much done 120,000 miles. I'm not sure how well they cared for it, but thats still bullshit. It had a very expensive amount of engine work around 80,000 miles too. I'd rather have a honda then a domestic. You might have had good luck with yours but i'm pretty sure I won't.

Funny, because my brother-in-law's Honda is a fucking peice. After the hassle he's been though with that, I would never buy one. My Grand Am is a fine car. Worth every penny.

Funny, because my brother-in-law's Honda is a fucking peice. After the hassle he's been though with that, I would never buy one. My Grand Am is a fine car. Worth every penny.

Shit happens. But less shit happens to hondas compared to something made by GM.

It all depends on how you take care of and mantain you car. If you maintain it properly then its going to run great, if you dont, its going to be shit. So dont compare Honda and GM, or any two car companies for that matter.

My friend has a 1998 Toyota Camry and i drive it when im with her and it drives pretty good

Shit happens. But less shit happens to hondas compared to something made by GM.
Think so? I bet I could kill any Honda/Toyota just as fast as anyone could kill a GM car.

Your a retard for defending a shitty car company

Plus your defense on this topic is pretty stupid as well.

i suggest something along the lines of what you were thinking, reliable and cheap to maintain. dont get a jag or a bmw or anything along those lines. a lot of money to fix, gas mileage sucks, and a pain.

get one of those smart cars and drop a 'busa engine in it. i dnt know where the video is but that thing hauled some major ass

Plus your defense on this topic is pretty stupid as well.
How so? I happen to like GM. And beyond all the shitty cars they make, they still have a lot going for them. Corvettes will always be the ultimate bang-for-buck sports car despite what anyone says, and the new Cobalt and Solstic/Sky are damned popular. GM can design a great car, it's just all the pencil-necked four-eyed bean counters that have to come in and fuck everything up.

Bang for buck... I would have said a Caterham C7 or a Pilgrim Sumo Cobra replica.
Around a 1/3 the price for relitively similar performance.

Alright dude your 20 years old, a music student, who pays for all these caterhams and MG's and cobra replicas, pardon the normal people here just cant spring for those, and besides a lot arent even available here in the USA. And the foreign/domestic topic, people are just stigmatized, cars made by GM and Ford or any us domestic are leeps and bounds better then 10 or even 5 years ago. The gap is small , but yet people wont give a domestic a shot, they would rather pay 10k more for a toyota or honda. Oh by the way did you know that each toyota employee over in japan gets a 15k bonus each year? What a bunch of saps we are here in America, and people wonder why we're losing jobs, buy domestic!

Aston_martin has a problem. He's British, and feels a need to justify that they make the best cars, when in all reality, they are worse than new American cars. You can sit here and provide all these examples of what your grandfather has had, or w/e bullsh*t you wanna throw out there, but in the end, British cars fail at life. This is why every car company that is commonly known as being British (Bently, Land Rover, etc.) only turned around in the quality department because they were bought and helped by German companies. Jags suck, and there is no way around them. I'd think that you watch Top Gear, and they even hate Jags.

While parts may be accesible in the UK, the arent in Amercian, so WHEN they break, and they will break, it will cost an arm and a leg to fix, which really isn't feasible for a teenager on thier first car. I personally love BMWs, but I'm not going to recommend a BMW to someone for a first car because it doesnt make economic sense. Insurance is higher, gas mileage is worse, and they cost more to fix, as not everyone can fix thier own cars. This is why I recommended a Honda, because if you find an unmolested one, they are the best first car you can get - good fuel economy, cheap to insure, and cheap to fix.

If you are looking at a truck or SUV, older Toyotas are quite reliable, as are Jeeps w/ the 4.0L motor.

Also, try driving a Caterham around America w/ all these dumb soccer moms in thier Excursions on the cell phone and see what happens.

Yes older Jags with the V-12's and what not are natorious here, the newers ones arent bad, and parts are easy to find because they are all shared ford engines, so parts are easy. I agree with the guy above, but you dont have to go to honda for a 1st car, plenty of other good options out there. If you go to a used dealer, which is stupid lol, they know people will pay more for something older with a million miles that says honda or toyota, which dosent make a lot of sense for the buyer, like the guy in this thread who thought 5k for a 95 honda with like 100k miles was a good deal? oh boy....

Yes older Jags with the V-12's and what not are natorious here, the newers ones arent bad, and parts are easy to find because they are all shared ford engines, so parts are easy. I agree with the guy above, but you dont have to go to honda for a 1st car, plenty of other good options out there. If you go to a used dealer, which is stupid lol, they know people will pay more for something older with a million miles that says honda or toyota, which dosent make a lot of sense for the buyer, like the guy in this thread who thought 5k for a 95 honda with like 100k miles was a good deal? oh boy....

Wasnt a good deal, but where I live, you can easily pick up a nice Civic w/ around 100k for 2-3k...

There is one reason and one reason alone that Britain does not have a mass production car company anymore and that can be summed up in two words: British Leyland.

British leyland was formed by leonard lord purchasing both Morris cars and Austin cars. This new company was known as BMC (british motor corp).
He then went on to buy a small company called Pressed steel.


At this time pressed steel produced the body shells for all of leonard lords rivals.
Once Lord had pressed steel he knew what the competition was doing and gradually bought up almost every car company in britain forming BL.
BL was so huge that it became impossible to manage it propperly. Cars produced by the same parent company were competing in the same sector for sales.

The company inevitably folded and only a few manufactures survived.

British cars do not "fail at life" for one they are inanimate objects and do not live in the first place. 2nd they are very much superior to any of the period competition.
Finally I do not bullshit. I have no need to prove myself to people over the internet. My credibility has been proved time and time again.

Alright dude your 20 years old, a music student, who pays for all these caterhams and MG's and cobra replicas, pardon the normal people here just cant spring for those, and besides a lot arent even available here in the USA.

Who said I ever had a caterham or a pilgrim sumo?
I definately couldnt afford to buy a BGT V8 now, and I certainly couldnt afford to run a 2nd car or a race car anymore.
Incidentally they are avaliable, you just dont know where to look.

Any car can be made reliable providing the owner looks after it correctly and performs regular, appropriate maintainance.
For example, I have to grease my suspension every 1-3000 miles but I havent had to top up ANY oil since I bought the car in august 04.
Its the first classic ive had that doesnt mark its teritory with engine oil.
... gearbox to overdrive seal and OD cover plate leaks like a bastard though. ;]

Wasnt a good deal, but where I live, you can easily pick up a nice Civic w/ around 100k for 2-3k...

The car i was referring to was not a Civic. It was a Prelude, its a much rarer car and it had 90k on it. Civics grow old on me.