Trying to buy a first car that is used

S

Steve Zhang

New member
Hi everyone. I am looking for a car I can buy. This will be my first car. I am only 13 about to be 14 but I don't wanna spend the best years of my life looking for a car. So I do it now while I have the time. So does anyone know a good car used or new I don't care, that gives good performance while still staying under a good price range. I REALLY wanna get this Toyota Supra on eBay for 19,000 but unfortunately I don't have enought cash:mad:. So can some1 help me in this?
 
I would not worry about it now, you are only going to be 14 and your taste will change real quick. I would wait till you are ready and have your license. Dont forget about insurance, that stuff ain't cheep for a new driver

Have fun and be safe!
 
Yeah I guess your right. Buying a supra will probably have some expensive insrance tagging a long with it. Well can some 1 still advise a first car anyways cause my sister is 16 and is about to get a car.
 
The car market is full of good used cars. The biggest issue that you will have to contend with is insurance. If you are going to be 14 and getting your first car, your insurance is going to be a bit high. If you want a Supra, your insurance will be very high.



My advice to you is to look at a good reliable used car (not too much), with a moderate amount of miles. There are many cars available. First of all, what cars do you like. If you get a car that you like, you are going to take much better car of it (that is just one rule of thumb).



Give some more specific details, as to what you want, and maybe we can find a car that would be best for you. Plus, you have the best forum on the Internet for detailing, so your car will look better than most cars out on the road today.



Best regards.
 
That Supra is junk, you don't want to buy a car someone has put all kinds of money into. It is probaly there speed car that they beat the heck out of it and you don't know what problems it has had or what they "patched" for a short period of time.



Your 13 - 14, you sound like me, I was looking at Corvettes at your age. It's cool, gives you a better idea of what is out there, the price you can expect to pay, all types of models through the years, any common problems. Then you get into a different car and you go nuts researching that. I must of spent years online around 8 hours a day at least (Im online now everyday of the week around 12 hours at least) though cars I liked and this and that. Look into turbos, superchargers, nos, how to fix this, how to fix that. Just learn alot so when you get a car you have the "basic" knowledge about the car you are hoping to get.



Keep looking, keep your eyes and mind open, don't get set on one thing, you never know what you may want years down the road and it is very very interesting and beneficial to look into all types of cars.



Have fun, I sure did.



P.S. One little funny story, one car I was DREAMING of getting wasa 1979 Corvette. After a whole lot of research I found the strongest engine made was the L-98, which was a really heavy V8 350 5.7liter with 225 HP. The car was heavy, the brakes stunk and all kinds of other things just added up to shy me away from that model. I would of got it if I had 10,000 to dump into it.



Now I have a 99 Camaro SS with the LS1 Vette motor in it.
 
Check out Edmunds.com and look for reliable used cars in the two-three year old range. Then scour the dealerships for something you've researched that has just come off of lease.
 
Now i'm looking at neons. I'm thinking of getting one of those. I would much rather spend my time rideing my car around instead of looking for a car when i'm 16-17. So i'm thinking of getting a neon. I have seen some that were tricked out. they looked real nice.so i'll probably get that first then once i get more money i'll get a custom paintjob, decals and rear/head lights. that would be the first thing i do in the process of hokking up a car.so what do u think about neons? and what I want in a car is exceptioanlly good speed, good handling, and a safe car just in case. also a car that will be ale to go fast after giving it the proper hook ups. on saturdays after 10, people with tricked out cars go to race downtown. i'll go there and ask them so quick questions. sorta like a survey.
 
I bought a Neon new in 1998 and my wife and I drove it for two years and 30,000 miles. It was driven hard both in town and out. Never had one problem with it and it was very fun to drive in town. Didn't feel quite safe enough on the interstate though. All in all I thought it was a very reasonable and reliable car. So did my little sister. She bought a used 1998 Neon last year with very low miles (14,000 I think). A blown head gasket and main seal (2 separate incidents) later she is not so sure. Neons were notorious for blown head gaskets up until 1998. Get a 1999 or newer. Sometime after 1998 they also did a little redesign on the body. If it is still available with the more powerful 4 cylinder (152 hp maybe?) get that one. There are a lot of performance mods out there for them, especially for the handling. If you can get one reasonable you could mod it up and have a real "rice-killer".
 
Good. That's exactly what I wanted. At a dealership they have 1996-2000's for low prices. I'll go look at em. Right now i'm too busy looking at buying a new bike. Or just upgardes for my current one.
 
Mountain bike or motor bike? I've got three mountain bikes and treat them like my children. One Raleigh and two Schwinn Moabs. My wife won't let me have a motorcycle though. I'm too accident prone, which in man language means lacking the judgement and self-control to keep from injuring onself in real cool ways;)



Again look at the 1999 and on Neons.
 
Don't do the paint job, all the money you'll be spending on that will really make the car look nice until you make one run with a souped up civic and he kills your car, then people will look at your car like it's all show and no speed.



Spend a little money on looks but most on speed if you want to go fast.



I would look at the late 1980's RX-7, they are rotary motor driven with a turbo charger, rear wheel drive, bucket leather seats, decent rims and wheels, they have a hood scoop, they are a BLAST to drive, they'll kill any of those little rice powered midget cars and they costs less than that Neon your looking at.



Ahhhh the sound of your tach at 8,000 rpm's!
 
Is it very easy to still find parts for the Wenkel rotory engines? The RX-7 Turbo was a true A-Kicker. Then he can tell the ricers "Real men drive RWD":D
 
My adivice to you is do a lot of research before you buy anything. Take the vin # down and run it at carfax.com, this will give you a better advantage when buying the car. Also know what the car is worth. checked out www.nada.com and www.kbb.com these two web sites should give you an idea on what the car is some what worth.
Dont go to crazy with you first car, i would wait for your second car. Be careful with a neon, they do not take good hits! everyone i have to see due to an accident they are always totaled.
Good luck with your search
Brian

PS.. here is my story, there was this neon all worked up with a real loud exhaust, it kept inching up next to me telling me he wanted to race. light turned green and he took off i caught up to him in 3 seconds and destroyed him. At the next light he wanted to know what i have in my car.. my secrets are never let out of the bag, all i can say is i have a 96 motne carlo.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by TBird [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Is it very easy to still find parts for the Wenkel rotory engines? The RX-7 Turbo was a true A-Kicker. Then he can tell the ricers "Real men drive RWD":D [/b]</blockquote>
If you do up the suspension in one of those RX-7's and go to town on the motor you go yourself a corvette killer.

Yes I don't like to admit it but those RX-7's are one of the best "small" cars to do up if you want to compete with the 4 bangers.
 
Neo,



As a first car, I wouldn't be so keen on buying something with mad horsepower. Speed and inexperience kills. Spending 200 hours driving the Supra on the track in Gran Turismo doesn't count. If you're only 14 and haven't had much time behind the wheel of a car, why not just buy yourself a beater for the first few years until your abilities are more capable of handling a high horsepower car. As much as everyone wants to drive a nice car, it's best to buy something suitable for your abilties.



That said, Civics, Integras, Preludes, Golfs, Jettas if you are into the import scene, or any old car that you can purchase for a decent price will give you some practice time behind the wheel. Once you feel that you've outgrown that car, then move on up to a better car.



Don't be surprised if insurance will be around $3-4K for a Supra for a 14yr old.



Also as a suggestion, if you are interested in a certain car, I suggest you search the web for various car club discussion forums. These websites tend to have a lot of 'For Sale' sections filled with enthusiasts' cars. These cars can be very well cared for or beaten to death...at least people with similar cars in that community can tell you what to look for in that particular car.



My 2 cents...



Huy
 
Huy



Nice advice but when you talk to a kid his age that talk goes in one ear and out the other. I was young and people said that, I didn't even pay attention, if he wants a car he will probaly get one. I think all of the laws now make you wait until 18 anyhow and by then he will think in a different manner. What I was trying to tell him is "if your going to go out and spend 1000's and 1000's of dollars, make sure you get something you wont regret after 3 months and be stuck with".



He will probaly get a car, I just hope he gets a good one.



Don't get me wrong, the beater idea is something I should of done, bob down the street should of done and harry should of done but when it comes down to it, no one does.
 
98's and newer neons are good as any other average car on the road. As with most cars, I would aviod the first few model years. I personally have a '96 neon with 80k and have less than $300 in repairs do to it. That's not including two sets of break pads and two and a half sets of tires.
 
Joed, basicly what ure trying to say is i made up this tpic just so that i could have someone agree with me on getting the Supra? well ure wrong if ure thinking that. I asked cause i wanted to get the Supra but considering my age i don't know much about durability and stuff like that about cars. i don't know much about cars. i'm into computers more. which is why i asked here so that i wouldn't get a car that will last only 3 years. well anyways i think i'mma get a neon. Now Huy I do agree with you that I will probably be better off getting the other cars that are cheaper, but you see, at my age the number ONE thing more important than my car is........CHICKS!!!!:D Having a car that makes people think i'm always burning out but really it's the tail pipe burning out my gas is not really a chick magnet. Althought maybe I can get a nice looking cheep car. Considering that 95% of all first year drivers get in an accident i think that me being as unfortunate as i am i will probably fall in between the 95 percent. So i'm really still not sure. Maybe I can find a used neon for 1,000. I will be working at a tobaco field soon which pays as much as my mom is getting now. So i should be able to get a pretty good car. then cut off insurance and get rid of my plates until i'm 17 and get my permit. Then i'll be cruisin' with some nice ladies in my car! I'll be the cool kid in school:cool:
 
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