Long story short, my cousin needs a first car. I never knew it about him, but hes got a great eye for cars. That being said, he knows there are limits. His dad likes the idea of something they can either work on, or mod, together.

My cousin, Connor's, first choice is an E36 M3. My initial reaction was a) your insurance is going to be through the roof, b) parts are going to expensive and/or hard to find, etc.

I'd like to here what you guys (the experts) recommend.

I'd like to see him in a Mini S or a GTI, and of course I told him Miata. Easy to work on, easy to fix, not that much power, low insurance...relatively cheap to maintain.

Price to work with $5-12k.

Thanks in advance.

 

Miata

/thread

 

ha

 

Civic?

Easy to work on/mod, easy to fix, cheap parts, reliable, etc.


How old is he? Does he have a job?

 

I don't think he's got a job and he's 16.

Civic is a great choice.

Cheap. Fun. Reliable. Safe.

Here we're my top pics.

1) Mini Cooper S
2) Volks GTI
3) Miata
4) Civic
5) Accord

Anyone have any judgement on the E36?

 

If he's 16, I would get him something that's most reliable.

Civic
Miata

The Accord EX was my first car, I loved it. BUT if I were to do it again, I would have bought Civic instead.

 

20th Anniversary GTI.

Sounds like he likes German Cars?

 

Best used deals on hot car is G35(coupe) IMHO. Lots of good ones on the market. Base model is cheap and fast. <$20k

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

(If he can come up on the price a couple grand)

 

16 YO and a fast car?

Insurance is going to be $$$ too.

 

I would say Civic, Accord, or Miata also.

Personally I would move the turbo cars to the bottom of the list. With that budget, you're looking at older model turbos with decent mileage. If something were to happen, cost to repair would be steep.

 

His father has a G35 Sedan and loves it, but I personally think its too much car for him.

No real need for a super torque V6.

 

G35 coupe. My 16 yo. brother just got one, not a big jump in insurance, reliable, nice yet not over the top expensive. An 04 w/ 60,000K ran about 14 grand. You can go fast in any car, doesn't matter if it's a Ferrari or a Fiesta. If he gets an Accord and wants to hit 100mph, he will.

Edit--We met at Peter's S2K/TL meet Jordan...idk if you remember though haha!

 

sadly, nothing will get him girls like the BMW, course if that's his goal, probably better to go with like a e46 325. Maybe something like an IS300 would be more reliable?

 

I looked at IS300's before I got my CL. I think that'd be a great little car for him.

Id rather that than a TSX.

 

yea, the only thing IS vs. TSX, is RWD for a new driver can be a bit squirly. Well at least I had a few interesting experiences w/ my RWD cars as a kid, but i suppose none of them had traction control. TSX probably gets better mileage too. I know I'd probably rather have an IS too though.

 

He's 16 and it's his first car?

 

Oh look I found an M3 in his price range

 

Seriously though how about a nice Mazda 3?

 

I vote IS300. We just sold ours to a young driver (probably 16-17) and he loves it.
safe
reliable
quick
relatively reasonably priced
loads of aftermarket support

Although, the car is a bit feminine in my eyes.. maybe thats just me.

 

A first gen tl, i love mine

 

This is such an open ended question, get something you wont mind seeing wrapped around a tree. The last first car I picked for someone was a Sentra SE-R and within 6 months.. you guessed it around a tree. Get something lame like the volvo and it probably wont crash. It just works that way.

 

^That depends completely on maturity. A Volvo can go 100mph and get wrapped around a tree too. It makes NO difference what the car is.

 

^ fking

It's not the car. It's the driver.

 

+1 for Mazda 3...or even an RSX. Both small, cheap, good handling and efficient cars.

 

Ha!! My first car was an 84 Volvo with over 200k miles. That thing was slow as shit and I still found a way to drive dangerously. IMO get him a slow car that he can mod to mediocre speed. A Miata sounds good but the safety ratings are shitty, aren't they?

What about a 2G TL or CL. Not super fast but plenty of potential.

 

The transmission is a ticking time bomb on the 2nd gen tl and cl. I would steer clear

 

Or do a CLS 6, but then the power is a factor again...

 

for the shitty tranny to go out

 

How experienced is he driving/operating vehicles? When he has driven, how has he seemed? This may make a big difference in what he should get.

I ask because I grew up driving tractors, pick-up trucks through fields, riding dirt-bikes etc, so by the time I got my first car I had pretty well learned how to handle vehicles and had a respect for how easily they could kill me. Despite that, there were still close calls, teenage stupidity and a lot of learning.

But I'd also recommend a Miata (although an open top has concerns), Mazda 3, possibly an older Protege, as well as an older Civic or Accord. Non-turbo Imprezza or Legacy may be good options, as well.

 

@ 65 Fury Convert's string of posts

For what it's worth, a friend of mine is selling her 03 Mini Cooper S JCW and because of that car she will never buy or keep a BMW/Mini out of warranty.

A buddy of mine has an E36 M3 sedan, I believe the E46s had an issue with subframe bracing or something, but on the E36 the driver's rear shock mounting area broke off from the body. If you look up from underneath the fender, you can see the outline where the shock mounting bracket broke off part of the car. This is on a California car.

 

I vote MkIV Jetta. Meh on reliability, but it's a small enough car for him to be instantly comfortable with, and I hear they're easy to work on. Very nice inside, too.

Civic is an obvious pick, but everyone and their nephew has one.

What about an older Impreza? AWD, not too fast, and a bit different? They're still pretty pricey though.

 

or a Legacy.

 

It sure does.

How much maturity can you really expect from a 16 year old kid? Not much. I am not saying all 16 year old kid can't be mature, but we are talking majority here.
I can understand where you guys are coming, but also remember that having a faster car definitely can change people's behavior as well.

I would pick IS300 over anything.

 

My sister used to own an IS300. I loved it. Besides the things that you listed, I also like it cause its a short sedan, very easy to park in tight space in a crowded city streets.

 

for 5 to 12k miata or si would be ur best bet