Little Sister needs a car...

Topic: Little Sister needs a car... (Read 4546 times) previous topic - next topic

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #30 – January 20, 2010, 12:12:13 AM

Quote from: 86XR7project;307092

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.

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #31 – January 20, 2010, 12:28:20 AM

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.

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #32 – January 20, 2010, 12:30:12 AM

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.

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #33 – January 20, 2010, 12:39:03 AM

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)

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #34 – January 20, 2010, 03:49:03 AM

Quote from: tirefryr;307097

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.

Ah, yes. The old "iron duke" motor. Those things are bullet proof if you can tolerate the noise and power (lack of).

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #35 – January 20, 2010, 05:29:43 AM

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 .

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #36 – January 20, 2010, 07:02:10 AM

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.

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #37 – January 20, 2010, 07:14:30 AM

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.

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #38 – January 20, 2010, 09:24:07 AM

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.

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #39 – January 20, 2010, 06:00:39 PM

Quote from: LittleAngel1198;307114

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.

a good point to take note of.

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #40 – January 20, 2010, 10:34:11 PM

Quote from: LittleAngel1198;307114

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.

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.

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #41 – January 20, 2010, 10:46:27 PM

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.

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #42 – January 21, 2010, 07:25:13 PM

Quote from: 86XR7project;307131

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.

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,

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.

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #43 – January 21, 2010, 09:28:34 PM

Quote

tempo/topaz,cheap, easy to fix, good on gas.

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

Little Sister needs a car...

Reply #44 – January 21, 2010, 10:28:25 PM

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.