Cheap and low maintenance car that isn't a P.O.S?

A 2006 Civic for $15K is horrible IMO, why would I want to pay 75% of a cars new sticker price when it only has less 50% of it's life left? That is why used car prices are out on control these days. 'Negotiable' doesn't mean you're gonna walk in there and walk away with it for half the asking price, either.

My suggestion? Guy seems to want a 'nice' car that is sporty, and doesn't have a lot of money (though $15K isn't beater territory) - I'd get a revised used 330Ci coupe with a manual, with however many options come on any given example/buyer can afford. Not too far off from the performance envelope of a used E36 M3, and about 7 years newer.



EMY said:

If driving a stick in LA traffic doesn't make much sense, how would having a 300hp car in traffic make sense. I drove a stick in LA traffic for a year and it wasn't that bad; I was more much more concerned of scraping my bumper on driveways or driving over potholes.

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So true.

Find Finn said:

Cheap high hp cars = money pits.
The more miles a car like that drives, the more expensive the repair costs get, so budget in at least the same you pay for loan in the for repairs.
I haven't read the whole thread, but have you thought about insurance?

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jenlain said:

It is typical to budget roughly 8% of your income toward transportation. I will assume you have done this and give some advice for a car (if you havent' done this, you will be just another one of the losers in this country who can't manage their finances).

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As others have said, get a used BMW. Or if you live/work in a decent neighborhood, a nice Wrangler - highest sex appeal (at least among white girls) for the lowest $.



FLMountainMan said:

Or if you live/work in a decent neighborhood, a nice Wrangler - highest sex appeal (at least among white girls BOIS) for the lowest $.

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Jeep = tool.



Spats said:

Jeep = tool.

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Quoted for irony. The only things I know about you are that you're overweight and unpopular (at least on here). Not sure you why you're picking e-fights.



FLMountainMan said:

Quoted for irony. The only things I know about you are that you're overweight and unpopular (at least on here). Not sure you why you're picking e-fights.

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Overweight? No, and who cares anyway. Popular/unpopular? On the internet, again, who cares? Thread was on cars. I know something about them. Have seen mostly horseshit advice in this thread on the simple topic of decent transport for a first time car buyer. You are another recommending one of the worst vehicles made and sold to mullets in search of "an image." Quibble on, I've said my piece.



Spats said:

Overweight? No, and who cares anyway. Popular/unpopular? On the internet, again, who cares? Thread was on cars. I know something about them. Have seen mostly horseshit advice in this thread on the simple topic of decent transport for a first time car buyer. You are another recommending one of the worst vehicles made and sold to mullets in search of "an image." Quibble on, I've said my piece.

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That buick isn't exactly a shining example of quality modern engineering and refinement either...

OP should buy something reasonably sporty and practical. Acura TSX?

Another option is to get something like a Corolla for every day driving and then pick up a 240sx and drop an SR20det or small block v8 in there as a project car.

Honestly though, if I were in OP's position. I'd suck it up and buy a POS for CHEAP and save cash until you know what you want to do post living at home with the parents. Maybe in 2 years a car with 300+ horses won't be at the top of your "must have" list.

impolyt_one said:

OP is kinda dumb for expecting to want a $15K 300hp used car that will last him 5 years, that is an attitude from 10 years ago when the dollar was worth a lot more; people ask $15K for a 2006 Civic nowadays.

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http://motors.shop.ebay.com/Cars-Tr...lsbx=0&_fspt=0&_flso=0&Make=Honda&Model=Civic

Topic title changed for reasons.

Honda S2000 all day long. You're in LA and you can get away with a convertible most of the year. No need to spend much on upgrades and they have Honda reliability.



BlacKidLA said:

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/Cars-Tr...lsbx=0&_fspt=0&_flso=0&Make=Honda&Model=Civic

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2006 Civic = people are asking $15K for the ones you would want to buy. You can't expect a car with 85K miles on the clock when you buy it to last you 5 years, that is going to be asking a lot of the car towards the end. You need to stick with the lower mileage, higher optioned economy cars if you want a car that's not gonna annoy the hell out of you in 5 years. They don't make them like they used to.

S2000 suggestion is dumb, you are forgetting OP's age and income. He will end up spending $3K a year to insure it - 22 year old male in LA, RWD 2-seat convertible with a unusually high proportion of accident claims (snap oversteer has killed many a good lightweight Japanese sports car - wonder why you hardly ever see many of those RX7's that people like anymore?) - That means he'll double his car payment with insurance. Add in at least a couple sets of tires, maybe a new vert top at some point, and then basic wear and tear, gas, parking - a used S2000 for a 22 year old would be a $40-50K experience - not really smart for a guy who said he's gonna make like $25K a year or something, and live with his parents in order to save up to move out with like $150(?) discretionary income leftover per month.



whiteslashasian said:

Honestly though, if I were in OP's position. I'd suck it up and buy a POS for CHEAP and save cash until you know what you want to do post living at home with the parents. Maybe in 2 years a car with 300+ horses won't be at the top of your "must have" list.

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^ this

I was in a similar position earlier this year. I decided to go ahead and replace my old Infiniti (180k+ miles) before it bit the dust. I wanted to buy a car that was no longer depreciating (preferably one that might have some collector's value one day), and borrow no more than I could pay off by the end of 2012. I've already paid off about $5000 of the $12000 I borrowed in August.

This will be the second time I've schlepped this car on this site recently, but I feel it is a vehicle of many virtues. Again, quite a bit of bias considering I bought one of these a few months ago.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...e=b&num_records=25&cardist=736&standard=false


According to almost all sources, and now limited first hand experience, these cars should be very reliable. The AMG drive-train in these cars is phenomenally well-built. The car only weighs around 3400 lbs, has a low, firm suspension, very composed handling, and is RWD with 342 HP and over 370 lbs of torque. Expect a 1/4 mile in the low 13's. Add pretty good fuel economy and a very roomy interior.

Same caveats as in the other thread though. My insurance is pretty cheap ($75/mo for a 23 year old male, clean driving record), though it may be much higher in different areas. Also, it's an older car so expect inevitable minor issues. There have been a few minor quirks with mine, but the only money I've spent on the car so far was $63 for a motor mount I replaced with my dad's help. I've been extremely impressed by the quality of construction and materials in the car, and I don't get the impression that I will have any major repairs in the near future. Looks and drives like a car half its age. Still, if you're not in a position to handle a major repair should something come up, do not buy a luxury car, especially not a German one.

For 15K you could buy three 80s vintage Porsche 944s. Keep two in reserve as each car when driven properly will last about three years. When they die strip the usable parts and sell them on eBay. Just leave the chassis on the side of the road. You don't even need insurance.



Andrewc2232 said:

I was in a similar position earlier this year. I decided to go ahead and replace my old Infiniti (180k+ miles) before it bit the dust. I wanted to buy a car that was no longer depreciating (preferably one that might have some collector's value one day), and borrow no more than I could pay off by the end of 2012. I've already paid off about $5000 of the $12000 I borrowed in August.
This will be the second time I've schlepped this car on this site recently, but I feel it is a vehicle of many virtues. Again, quite a bit of bias considering I bought one of these a few months ago.
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...e=b&num_records=25&cardist=736&standard=false
According to almost all sources, and now limited first hand experience, these cars should be very reliable. The AMG drive-train in these cars is phenomenally well-built. The car only weighs around 3400 lbs, has a low, firm suspension, very composed handling, and is RWD with 342 HP and over 370 lbs of torque. Expect a 1/4 mile in the low 13's. Add pretty good fuel economy and a very roomy interior.
Same caveats as in the other thread though. My insurance is pretty cheap ($75/mo for a 23 year old male, clean driving record), though it may be much higher in different areas. Also, it's an older car so expect inevitable minor issues. There have been a few minor quirks with mine, but the only money I've spent on the car so far was $63 for a motor mount I replaced with my dad's help. I've been extremely impressed by the quality of construction and materials in the car, and I don't get the impression that I will have any major repairs in the near future. Looks and drives like a car half its age. Still, if you're not in a position to handle a major repair should something come up, do not buy a luxury car, especially not a German one.

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you're mostly right about all of that, except for the part about it becoming a collectible that would appreciate - to become a collectible and gain value from that it'd need to be a) incredibly limited production/supply, b) in top nick, low mileage, basically unused for the next buyer, not you - so enjoy the car while you have it and try not to worry about it. It's very rare that anyone doesn't lose a huge bundle of money on a car, unless you're an artist with a penchant for bringing back dead old cars with some sort of licensed pedigree that can sell under your name.

You bought a good car though, so like I said, enjoy it while it runs nicely, take care of it, etc. They don't make them like they used to.

I said I wanted to buy a car that would appreciate, not that I bought a car that would appreciate.

Fair points though. Although the 55's are pretty low production (around 3000 CLK55 coupes were sold in the US in '01 and '02, only years for this body style), I doubt that this car will appreciate for many years. On the other hand, I doubt its value will dip too far below 10k assuming I take care of it. You can't really say the same for non AMG cars, which will decrease in value to a couple grand eventually.

My dad has a moderately sized vintage car collection. The only cars he might make a profit selling are a '59 Edsel he bought for 500 bucks 20 years ago, and a '55 Thunderbird with rare options he just finished restoring. Every other car has more sunk costs than its current value, including his other Thunderbird, a '57.

But back to the topic, depreciation is a killer hidden cost that I tend to avoid, regardless of what I'm buying. At least for this purchase, I will never owe more than the car is worth. I think that's a terrible situation to be in, especially if the cost of the car was a stretch in the first place.