Looking to spend around $2500 for my sons first car. Must be an import. High Miles ok. Any ideas for a sporty car? 90ish Integra? 90ish Toyota Ceilca GT or Supra? Your ideas and experiences are welcome.

 

get an early-mid 90's accord....they last FOREVER, they are pretty sporty, nice interior, cheap to fix, safe...

 

no supra thats not fair! lol i think you should get a GSR thats a nice car

 

I know ur thinking cheap and will get an old model but.... I wouldnt buy my child a sports car as his/her first car.

.02

 

If you find a supra for that price it will most likely be trashed. Nothing wrong with imports, they have always been my choice of car also. Just wondering why you state that it MUST be an import?

Oh yea go with an accord = cheap insurance, last forever, cheap to fix, tons of mods available

 

1990-1994 nissan 240sx.

RWD....nuff said

perfect for a cheap SR20det swap for your son or you just in case =)

 

The reason I pick an import is value for the money. I think they typically are better built and run/last longer than most of the american stuff. In general I have had great luck with my imports.

On another note my son is very responsible and I'm not looking to get him some screaming hot rod. The Integras/Celicas have 4 cylinders. I'd like a classy sports car that looks respectable.


Thanks - more responses please.

The Accord is not a bad option

 

Great recommendation - the 240 sx - that's the perfect car. You hit it right on the money.

 

240sx might not be the best for wisconsin winters though.

 

Hey! that was gonna be my suggestion and reason. RWD, and very 'modable'

 

2500 won't get you anything descent. Might as well get him an 86 corolla aka hachiroku

 

 

you can get a decent car for 2500. shit I just got rid of a 1994 mustang gt with 100,000 miles for less than that....not what this guy is looking for but that car was in great shape and will easily go to 130k.

you won't be getting a cls for 2500 but there are plenty of fine cars.

 

eagle talon tsi

 

early Prelude or Civic. Shop Ebay for sales in your area. You may get lucky...

 

toyota terecel 2 dr

 

your sons lucky to have parents like u i had to work nights to get a POS 92 Camry now 2 years later got my CLS selling drugs i mean computers is a great business!

 

3rd gen prelude or 3rd/4th gen accord (3rd gen accord coupe is nice)
Bulletproof, fun to drive, last forever, cheap to fix, low insurance

 

for $2500.00 I would recommend a kick ass Mountain bike...

How about a Father-Son project??... My first car was an 81 Reliant K-car painted with white house paint... I bought it for 200 bucks.... did the body work with my father and got it shot for 100 bucks by a local paint guy... everyone called it the SILVER bullet, because it looked like a Coors Light can... then I moved up to better auto's as I got older... trust me I know your trying to take (I am a cool parent route), i see nothing wrong with that but I am just trying to let you see the other side of the spectrum.
Those moments together with him are priceless, I respect my dad for bring me up that way.. nothing was handed to me... it made me a stronger individual..

Take care...

Smitty

 

It's unlikely you'll find an MKIII for around $2,500, but if you do, I'm not sure you'd want it, anyway. '90 Supras in excellent condition could be going for around $8,000 - $10,000, or more. At least, that's the asking price of a couple near me. Nice...pops lookin' for a car for junior.

 

90 accord ex

still pretty pimp cars

 

a nice 93-97 altima, GREAT car for the money.

 

Prelude or early model Accord Coupe. They can take a lickin and keep on tickin.

If you want to spend more money how about a later model Corolla "Type-S"?

 

first cars should be underpowered and slow. throwing them into a supra would be asking for trouble. It takes some time to mature your driving.

 

maybe get your son an older accord or civic (90-92). they're cheap to fix and you can find them for that price range.

 

I got a 98 Cambry for sale up in Boulder Juntion,, 28k miles,, It's alot higher at the $11k range but it would be a good option,, estate sale from Mom inlaw...

 

My 1984 Accord was one of my favorite cars. I got it with 40k miles for $2400 in 1990. It ran great and had the best steering I've ever felt. No power assist, wind up windows, no radio. still had a rear wiper though. May get a good find on something older. The next generation Accords with the pop up headlights were cool too. Especially the hatchback. I always wanted one of those.

 

you could go so many ways, prelude, civic, 240, maxima, crx, celica, VERY OLD BMW, a buick, a taurus/ ZX2 , a camry, a saturn ( i hate saturn cars)

i mean there are so many choices, if you decide you want to spend 1,000 or 2 more, there are A LOT MORE CHOICES...

with my expierence (being at a highschool with a BIG RANGE of types of cars, from brand new 7 series bmw's and landrovers to the shittiest CRX you can by) --truth be told, most of the people who buy their cars for $4,000 or more typically dont have many problems with their car -- there are a lot of cars that you'll buy for $2,500 that may not show problems now, but will so make sure you choose a well known to be reliable car

if you stay with $2,500, most popular choice for teens would probably be a honda- (civic, accord, prelude- all good), but if you can get a supra in good condition for that much- go for it.. but i'd be weary of the future condition of it

 

Thanks for all the advice - I agree with most of you especially with smitty. I figure spending 2500 I would have a few projects to take on with my son. My brother does body work and we could do a total paint job for around 300-500. Those times are priceless. I'll start looking for an accord coupe and let you guys know what I find. Thanks for the input. I'm also pretty sure he could keep this car for a year or two and we'd still get 1500 plus for it. especially if we paint it.


Later.

 

Older accord or civic would be good here.

 

FYI there are alot people with 240sx's doing the SR20det swap and selling their old KA engines. When i did my swap i sold my 1998 engine for $500 with tranny @ 60,000 miles and i used mobil one synth on it.

 

Celica's are bulletproof...less maintenance than the supra.

Integra is another good choice.

240's are awesome...very low maintenance...all three are fun to drive.

Could probably get a decent 85-89 300Z N/A for around $2500>3000.

 

For twenty-five hundred I would get an 87-93 mustang 5.0. It will smoke all those cars and is easy to make faster. You might be able to buy one already supercharged!!!!

 

Good to see a dad teaching his son how to be responsible with his first car. All the ones mentioned seem like good choices, my fav. choices would be an eagle talon tsi or the 240sx. If you go the accord route, get him a manual 4cyl...makes it much more fun to drive

 

Agreed. Makes sure its a 3rd gen accord coupe with a 5spd, the one with the flip up headlights 86-89 i think, the LXi is the modely you want, or the SE-i, fuel injected, better engines.

OR of course my personal personal fav the 88-91 prelude, the Si if not the 4ws si.

Both were great fun bulletproof cars and both are quite safe, believe me i found out the hard way in both of them and walked away. They are good on gas, live forever and arent too fast but quick enough to have to some fun, maybe get in some trouble And they are great cars to work on/fix up

 

Eclipses, Talons, or Civics are available at that price range.

 

Celica's is a femine car dont ever put your son in that