Well my little sister turns 16 in May, so its time to start driving.
The thing is she would need to get a job to afford one. To get a job she would need a ride, which means depending on my mother (who is always late and has become very undependable). With me staying at school I wouldnt be able to help either. So she cant really move forward.
Parents wont be able to afford another car for her so I made her a deal. If she can get good grades (needs 3.0 for insurance break) than I would buy her a car. She would have to pay me back as she could but its really her only chance to start.
I am a little bias on what to get her. I love my fox bodies, and I love my 302s. Never let me down and can take the abuse of a 16 year old. I also love my SHOs, same deal but they are more expensive to maintain. So now choosing a car is the hard part.
Mt first car was the Cougar. Drove it 5 years, beat the piss out of it and it put up with it all. SO 5.0 is slow, but still has enough power to maneuver/pass when needed. Cheap to maintain, parts are a dime a dozen, RELIABLE! Down side is MPGs and insurance.
Ideally I want to find her a Fox Bird or Cougar, 5.0, lower mileage, decent shape, and close by. My problem is I need other options. What other cars would be as dependable and cheap maintain? Suggestion?
Price range is under $1000. Cheap is better, she is going to wreck it, it will get damaged, its a first car. I paid $400 for my car is amazing shape, I hope I can find another deal like that for her.
A taurus with the 3.0 motor. Keep fluids in it and it will run for a long time. I had one as my 2nd or 3rd car, and I didn't take care of it very well, and it lasted through my beatings for over a year, and I then passed it on to my dad, who drove it from Tampa Florida where we used to live to here in Tennessee without a problem and lasted him almost a year, and thats with well over 200k on the motor. Mine was a '92 model, and it was fairly cheap on insurance for me being 17. Parts are a dime a dozen on them as well, and the motor has a little bit of pep in it.
Yes. My buddy bought a wrecked one for $250, we straightened it out, put a radiator in it and beat the snot out of it hardcore, lasted near a year in his possession, and about 2 or 3 in the next owners. The only thing that killed it was a rotted out ass-end from years of neglect.
They will last forever if maintained.
I was thinking a stick-shift Escort. That's a perfect starter car with great MPG and insurance rates.
Thats what I forgot to add, no manuals. SHO is a hard car to learn in and Im not going to be here to teach her as much as she will need.
How are the Autos? Escort and Taurus are options. I am learning my way around a Taurus pretty well.
If your gonna get a taurus, do your self a favor and stay away from the bug-eyes. The early 90's with the 3.0 seemed to be the best choices out of all of them. I've had to work on too many of the newer ones, and most of them I've encountered needed trans work.
I know you like foxes but how about an escort? I've had a ZX2 for going on 5 years now and it's been a great little car. It get excellent milage and is really peppy. But ins. might be a little on the high side if you go with the ZX2, it's considered a sports car even though it's an escort.
Not a huge fan of the Gen III, but I have hear of a few trans issues. I just found a low mileage '95 for $1000 OBO, if I play it right I might get a good deal.
Escort is an option. I doubt she'll get a ZX2 with the price range.
Im glad to hear good new about the Vulcan 3.0. I dont know much about those since Im more in the Yamaha 3.0 game. Ideally I would like to find something with light body damage, something I could fix and still end up under budget. Always seem to get better deals when its ugly lol.
I have had bad experiences with a 96 (vulcan) and a 97 (duratec) taurus. Both had the transmissions go out at about 150k miles, even with gentle treatment.
I drove an 87 XR-7 in high school, and beat the out of it. Racing, jumping railroad tracks, brake bouncing, changing the oil once a year, you name it. It lasted 250k miles before I sold it to a guy who wrecked it. I would recommend the 5.0/AOD too.
I would also recommend an early 80s 3.8/c5 fox (back before the head gasket issues). Mustang, tbird, marquis, etc. I had an 83 3.8 cougar, and two 85 3.8 marquis, and a 87 3.8 tbird, all of which were a nice ride, and very reliable.
Start her out in a fox, get her addicted :)
I never had a problem with the tranny in my old '92, just kept up with the filter and fluid changes and it shifted great, even cold.
Chalk another one up for the 5.0/AOD. No other car I've ever owned stood up to the kind of beating I gave it. The only reason mine had to be put down was a rust issue that had taken out most of the front end's integrity. Otherwise, I ran that thing HARD. I did have to replace the tranny, but that's because I never bothered checking the fluid and eventually a small leak drained it all. My current car's AOD has 200K on it and after a fluid flush last year, runs good as new. As for mileage, it really isn't THAT bad as long as you keep your foot under control.
I would prefer an old Saturn SL.
Well from a younger POV, A Taurus isnt all that stylin' when your cruisin to school at 16 (No offense to anyone).
At that age it seems like most kids are more concerned about how a car looks than anything else. (other than actually having a car)
tempo/topaz,cheap, easy to fix, good on gas.
At her age she does not need power, on that note the tempo's go quite well anyhow.
Plus front wheel drive might be a bit easier for an inexperienced driver to manage in inclimate weather.
P.S. what does G.P.A. have to do with your ability to drive for a cheaper insurance rate,that's dumb and biased
I vote for getting her into a bird( I am biased though) To bad you are so far away, I will be getting rid of my 87 in the spring and would prefer it went to someone with a background in these. Even with the good grades discounts and everything else available my sons insurance is high and thats on a 83 Bird with a V6, you might want to check how much a V8 will cost. He doesnt even drive the car in the winter but if I take it off the policy it gets worse as then he moves onto one of my other cars policy which raises it even more.
festiva
indestructible
I told her right away, it might not be pretty but it will be a good car. She just wants some freedom and she needs it.
What it comes down to is finding the right deal. I would be happy with a Fox, Taurus, or an Escort. Plus its one more Ford in the driveway:mullet:. I should be able to find one of them for a few hundred and then be able to do a few things to it so its more acceptable for a 16 yr old girl. Some pink pinstripes or emblems, wheels, stereo, something like that.
When their "cool Fords" are in storage, my daughter drives a 91 Taurus 3.0L and my son drives a 92 Sable 3.8L. Both cars have well over 200K on them and still run like watches. We did HGs on the Sable a few years ago. Other than that, they've both been rock solid reliable and get decent mileage too. My wife drives a 94 Bird 3.8L, but that's RWD and not the best in snow. It's tough to beat the Taurus/Sable line for comfort, quality, mileage and reliability.
i would go with something that would last even if the matanence was below perfect. A festeva taurus escort focus would be really good. I know the 3rd gen tauruses had trans issues but was it due to the matanence why it failed or what? know one knows. But i had one and it lasted through my abuse.
While that may be, any car is
almost better than no car at all. I would much rather ride in my own beat up ugly hooptie than have to ride a school bus with a bunch of morons.
I had a Taurus as my first car. Wrecked it. Then I got a T-Bird, wrecked it. Then another taurus, and another, and even a taurus wagon. Then another T-bird. Watch out for the 3.8L's they are notorious for tranny and headgaskets.
first, i hate that sigma of wrecking your first car. it happens because everyone is telling you itll happen.
find another fox tbird or cougar, they are usually decent for under a grand. not because this is the forum but because they are generally in decent shape and youll know what to look and look out for already. either that or some beater honda.
i like the tempo/topaz but they have issues and wouldnt recommend them for a 16 year old.
they dont check anything and seem to only care how clean it is and how loud the stereo gets.
i think youll be commiting financial suicide if you get her a taurus or sable.
i believe they(taurus/sable) were recalled for something inside of the trans. probly recalled for everything else too.
i had a 92 sable 3.0 a long time ago it had low miles, had decent heat, road nice and was comfy with power everything. i couldnt excape trans issues with it. could only drive it from 1-5 in the morning because i couldnt get stuck in traffic with it.
go to any used car lot and check the trans fluid on the tauruses and sables and they will either be brown and burned up or dark, slimy and grayish from all the no slip additives choked in there. and overfilled ofcourse.
i hate to tell you this but youll never get your money back no matter what car you get her :P
I'm always on the lookout for a rust-free Festiva 'round these parts. I would jump on one in a heartbeat.
We had an '04 Taurus and they are great cars! We would still have it if we hadn't needed a bigger vehicle because of adding the grandbaby.
We seriously never had any problems with it. I wish we could have kept it to give to the kids when they go to college this summer.
Oh yeah, the Festiva's are great little cars! I literally beat the snot out of mine, it even burned and leaked oil like a siv. Where I worked at at the time I used to get straight 30 weight oil and put a 2 liter bottle in it every time the oil light came on. It wouldn't die!!! I loved that car! I think it was the most fun car I ever had and it only had like 55hp!!
Ever gen Taurus has had shiznitty transmissions. IT'shiznit or miss on them really. I've had several and all were great. I bought a 93 with a bad trans and put one in from the boneyard, and it lasted another 100K. They really are great cars. Nothing special about them. Being you have an SHO, I'm sure you're plenty familiar with them. I've also had good luck with 'bird's of all varieties.
I just sold my DD of 3 years, a '95 V6 Mustang, and I really loved that car. It was basic as all hell, but I put 27K miles on it and only changed the oil 3 times and it never gave me a problem.
Also look into an early to mid 90s GM with the 3800 series engine. All GM 3.8s are pretty much bulletproof. I've had good luck with those too.
Adding aspire to my previous post. Same as a festiva just a newer body. Safer with airbags and such. Slower due to more weight. Cuter looking for girl appeal. Still dead reliable.
I vote Gen III SHO, its auto, its cool, its safe, did I mention its an SHO?
Insurance, cam weld, trans, maintenance. Not a fan of the Gen III for the most part.
A really good car i think is the 89-96 Oldsmobile cutluss ciera. We got one in 2005 when gas prices shot up. We bought ours for $700 with 147,000km on it . It now has 309,000 km on it and we have not had to fix anything other than a flat tire . I also use the cheap oil and tune up parts from the department store , you can't kill the thing. The body has no rust and I notice in my city I see these old cars the time. Make sure it has the 3.3L Not the 2.5L.
The 2.5 isn't bad. Just severely under-powered and always sounds like it's ready to blow. Those things are hard to sell to people who don't realize GM makes noisy-ass 4 bangers.
I don't know much about Tauruses (Tauri? lol) but theres NEVER short stock of them in the junkyards when i go, So there gotta be a reason for that...
Festiva seems like it would be a great Learner/First car~Compact, Fuel efficient, Insurance should like it, And as mentioned before NEAR BULLETPROOF.
Anyone had experience with a Probe? (Hehe that sounds funny)
Ah, yes. The old "iron duke" motor. Those things are bullet proof if you can tolerate the noise and power (lack of).
My friend in town has the 90 pontiac 6000 with the 2.5L . It is reliable , basic and body holds up well on the car. you guys are right, sounds like a deisel or its about to die. I also hate the internal oil filter and coil pack way in the back of the engine .
I think I would stay away from the Aspire... while they are dependable, they are very small... if she were to get into an accident, there isn't much protection there for her.
We loved ours because it got great gas mileage, but it was like a matchbox on wheels.... being a parent, I would not recommend one for a teen with no experience. These little cars can zip right along and if you don't know how to handle it, it could be an accident waiting to happen.
Ss for tranny problems with the Taurus... we never had any, and we know several people who also had them, and never had an issue.
i had a 2001 taurus bought it with 25k on it drove it entill it had over 200k on it. changed the trans. fluid every year never an issue. it even survived a tree falling on it going 55mph . my neice owns it now it dont get the maintance like i did to it and it still runs good it has over 260k on it now. but any taurus,or escort would be a great starter car.
The Gen III's weren't all that bad. Trans and insurance wasn't all that high, maintenance was a minor PITA the main concern would be a quick cam weld but even that wouldn't be as difficult as you may think.
In all seriousness though you should look into a 92-95 Taurus with a 3.8. They don't have the trans issues that is so incredibly common with the Vulcan 3.0. The maintenance on them is pretty stand up and simple. I actually owned one as a DD car when I got my first car and it was a great car that took my constant beatings. I had done neutral drops (Before I knew it was so bad), rear ended someone, and completely torn that thing UP and yet it still ran like a champ.
a good point to take note of.
I beg to differ. The aspires were supposed to be the safest of the subcompacts. They had the highest safety and crash test ratings I think. Four or five star front impact. Im not sure what you mean by zip along, theyre slower than a 3.8 bird. Just because a car is small doesnt mean it isnt safe. The only time I would be scared is impacting a semi truck. Doesnt matter what you are in you are probably gonna die anyway.
I got wrecked in my festiva last year, girl hit me passing me on ice, spun me around and landed me in a ditch at 45 mph, both me and my gf were unharmed. The car had a dented up fender and busted turn signal. What a tank.
It was also very good in the snow. Even with junkyard tires. A set of snow tires (which in 12 or 13" are extremely cheap) would make one of these unstoppable in the winter.
Back when I had my Festieva my sister and brother in law saw an accident involving a festieva and a station wagon. The festieva T-Boned the wagon, the wagon was totaled but the festieva was still drivable. And speaking of tires, I used to be able to buy brand new tire for 19.99 each! I wouldn't be afraid to put my daughter in either the festieva or the aspire, I think they where both great cars. Of course her mom and step dad bought her a focus for her 18th birthday.
With the SHO network I have around here it wouldnt be hard at all. The thing is it WILL put me in over budget. Insurance would be higher than Gen II Im almost sure. Speaking of which there is a really nice red Gen II ATX that is wrecked the guy wants gone. I might look into it further depending on how bad the frame is. I think she would love that car. But then it goes into the cost to maintain, the tranny will fail, :blahblah:
If I could get her in a nice newer Escort I think she would be happy with style and all. Again it just comes down to the luck of the draw and what comes up.
x3, I had one with the vulcan 3.0/atx combo. Fun and still running well for my dad. It had 130k when I gave it to him and I wouldn't think twice about using it on a 250 mile trip back home. Gas mileage was okay (no od). 2.3s are soooo common though, 1k should get you a real nice one. Check out this site http://www.tempotopaz.com
where are you going to be looking for a car exactly, local papers, craigslist, the lot down the road?
i dont think looking at stuff thats wrecked is a good idea for a persons first car. unless i missed something important back there for a grand you should be able to do better.
Looking into the damage is what will decide that. If its not too bad Ill be picking it up. I rather find something not wrecked but some people throw cars away because of cosmetic damage.
Im looking on CL, and around town, plus word of mouth. Just came across 2 Foxes on CL! Found a Sable that needs a fender, probably an alignment, and tires, 850 obo. I might go look at that tomorrow too.
3.8? If not its pretty much a waste of time. The 3.0 Vulcans are fine, its the shiznit trannys that Ford mated up with em.
Ford would never do that...:rollin:
Went and looked the the ATX today. It was really nice. More work than I wanted to dump into it. I offered $400. Would hav been a low mile 3.2 for the Plus, and mint full leather. Aince he didnt call me back I assuming the other guy got it for 450. Oh well.
Not sure what area your in...
But here's some random stuff that popped out on the STL Craigslist:
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1565870508.html <> Was an Eagle Talon for $500
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1565854589.html
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1565504760.html
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1565447163.html <> XR7
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1564696881.html <> !!!, No title though ~ Was a 65 Mustang, Complete and Running V6 for $650!
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1564280710.html <> py Engine
alot of those postings are gone already, probly were good deals.
stay away from those intrigues, so many bad motors.
there were alot of tempos(2 door ones at that) around your area though.
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1547697630.html <> Offer a few hundred, And get your hands dirty ;-)
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1542401098.html <> Damage doesn't sound bad at all, But major lack of info.
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1540701931.html <> YES. :rollin:
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1529060139.html <> Goodies and Motivated to sell.
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1552475233.html <> :burnout:
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/ctd/1541840925.html <> :hick:
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/ctd/1565004986.html
Little pricey but well worth 1500.
I refuse to buy that XR7. The guy has annoyed the piss outta me for the last week about it. He messages me on yahoo, which comes through to my phone and wont shut up. Its not even useful stuff that he is saying.
Not a fan of MN 12s around here. Most are rusted to shiznit. I forgot about that turbo cat though...
Remember y'all, this is a 16 year old girl were talking about. A 25 year old old mans car isn't the best choice.
I'm not an old man :raspberry
Check this out:
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/ctd/1571983876.html
Or you could get an already "Lil' Sister Owned" V-Tech Integra w/ Issues for 300: :hick:
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1571960259.html
4 Bang Stang:
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/ctd/1571509272.html
Dirt Cheap Mercedes + Motivated Seller:
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/1571254609.html