Need serious help on what first car to get?

Question

Here are my options:
-Audi a4 96-01
-Honda prelude 97-01
-Honda civic si 00-01
-Honda accord 00-02
-Mitsubishi eclipse 00-05
- Volkswagen jetta 00-04

which one of these would be most practical for a 16 yr old, mpg, insurance, coolness, repair bills, and reliability wise

of course i would get it in a stick shift, low miles (under 100k) and most likely from a private seller, because most dealers are rip offs

comment for heythere- there is a 97 lude, 78k miles, 1 owner, leather, etc., is that a good deal for 6500

Answer 1

A 98-02 Honda Accord coupe would be a good choice. Sure, it's not as quick as a Prelude or Civic SI, but it'll pay off in spades when it comes to Insurance. Despite the V6 models having performance comparable to a V6 Mustang, the Accord is branded a family car in the eyes of insurance companies. Your insurance rates are already going to be high enough, so it's a good idea to snag as many discounts as you can.

For about the same insurance cost, you could get a 90-94 Toyota Celica. Maintenence on them is pretty simple and straightforward, but you MUST get Toyota oil filters. The oil filter is clearly visible when you open the hood. Because they're mounted on the top, they need to be anti-flowback, or you'll be starting the engine with no oil! My brother had one and let me know about that, since the same thing applies to my Mazda RX7.

As for repair costs, you can't really go wrong with a non-SI Civic with a manual transmission. And yes, stay away from the Eclipse like the plague! If you combine the 7-bolt 4G63's crankwalk with abysmal automatic transmission failure rates, you end up with a very 'special' car. As for the VW, it's no longer a german car. It's Mexican, just like most of the cheaper offerings from GM. Stick with something Japanese, and preferably made in Japan, with enough time passed to work out the bugs! For example, a mid-90s Civic. Sure it'll have higher miles on it, but knowledge is abundant for it because it has been out for awhile

Whatever one you end up with, be sure to get a shop manual and join the proper forums site for it. Car repair shop fraud is rampant all over, so arm yourself with a Factory Service Manual from the car's manufacturer, not one of those crappy (and often wrong!) Haynes manuals from Autozone. Besides, you'll make a few good friends on car forums.

Answer 2

Funny how when I saw your headline, I automatically thought of Honda Prelude and it was one of your options! It's the best handling front wheel drive car, fast and reliable.

Audi-don't buy it, unreliable and alot of audis motors are set up to cosume oil between oil changes, so you have to watch out.

Honda civic si-Very good choice, but when compared to prelude, prelude is better and has more room.

Honda accord-Great car, though there was a recall on the transmissions on the 2001 so make sure the transmission was replaced before buying one. The accord is not very sporty, unless you get the 2 door coupe, which still is slower than the prelude and the civic, so forget about it if you like speed.

Mitsubishi eclipse--one of the worst choices. Mitsubishi about a year ago really considered just stop making cars and stick to commercial trucks as they are good in that area. Mitsubishi has too many problems with the transmission, and the eclipse is even more unreliable. It is over-rated and WAY over-priced, especially starting in the 2000 years and up because of the new body style. Also, I don't know if you like that "G-ganster look."

Volkswagen jetta--German cars are so well-built (VW R32!!)but the jettas are problematic and alot of them have a standard turbo on them because they are so sloooowww!

GET THE PRELUDE IF YOU CAN, IF NOT THEN THE CIVIC. Yes, absolutely go to private sales. I knew you were smart. The dealer will rape you atleast by 3-4 grand!



to answer your followup question, you should be able to find a '99 for that price. I say that '97 is worth no more than $5,800. And I know some may say that the kbb is higher on this car, but they don't understand how it works. Kbb is good for a reference, but sometimes it can mean nothing. For example, go look at the kbb value for a '90 Nissan 300ZX, it would show around the $3,000 area, but can you find a good condition 1990 300ZX for $3,000? You won't! You will be lucky to find a good condition 300ZX for $5,000! Some cars are priced according to the market. The prelude may book for $7--$8k, But it's not worth it. Some say, "it's 10 years old!" That doesn't matter. Again, going back to the 300ZX example. A nice stock 1990 Nissan 300ZX TT is worth $13,000 and it's nearly 20 years old and kbb on that is around $8k. I know you can find better, even though what you found is nice. Good Luck!