Ok, I finnaly pass my DL and I want a car.Fast.But I don't want to make a mistake and buy some piece of shit.I have 5000$ or less.My ideas are the following.I want a spacious car ,comfort matters more than speed to me.Something I can sleep into during my exploration road-trips.Any sugggestion, << do not buy this >> etc ? Thanks
- Mazda 3
- Chevrolet Lumina, Impala
- Pontiac grand prix

I'm a huge advocate of Consumer Reports. Check them out, it is about time for their annual auto issue where they rank some of the best used cars in certain price catagories. They aren't perfect, but they serve as another tool to help you narrow your search.

Of the three you chose Id only take the Mazda3.

A couple of the blowhards will rave about your other choices, but the other intelligent board members will steer you clear of those cars.

Posted by vince Ok, I finnaly pass my DL and I want a car.Fast.But I don't want to make a mistake and buy some piece of shit.I have 5000$ or less.My ideas are the following.I want a spacious car ,comfort matters more than speed to me.Something I can sleep into during my exploration road-trips.Any sugggestion, << do not buy this >> etc ? Thanks - Mazda 3 - Chevrolet Lumina, Impala - Pontiac grand prix

the impala and grand prix mechanically are pretty much the same car. if you get the 3.8 you have a pretty bulletproof engine. i have a 97 grand prix that runs like new.

Older Subaru Legacy GT with turbo can be had for under $5,000. Be advised if you are going for a bank loan that most banks won't issue a loan for a car older than 3-5 years.

Fast. AWD (you live in Canada), it's a sleeper, I think wagons are kinda _gay but the sedan's are still pretty roomy. I'm not sure if all models pre-05 have the fake wood dash but that's replaceable.

I'm gonna recomend a Jeep Cherokee (shocker I'm sure ). Reasons, its not slow, plenty of room, dead nuts reliable, easy to wrench on, ready for all weather, very capable in the brush straight from the factory, and decent mpg's. Get a 91-96 4.0 4x4 and never worry about it. Will come in way under your 5g budget. Get a nice nice one if you want to spend 5g's. The 97-01 are just as good but I feel they are to pricy really.

Blowhard.
Like nismo has been around long enough to know anything
ease or replacement parts- lumina w/3.8 (3100's like to leak)

ah, you know what...fuck it.
buy what you want.

i'd tell you a 2.2L Chevy Cavalier...oh but heaven forbid you look at a lowly Chevy.
they make excellent first cars.

Posted by Samurai Blowhard. Like nismo has been around long enough to know anything ease or replacement parts- lumina w/3.8 (3100's like to leak) ah, you know what...fuck it. buy what you want. i'd tell you a 2.2L Chevy Cavalier...oh but heaven forbid you look at a lowly Chevy. they make excellent first cars.

i got a low mileage 03 cavalier in november for 3200$ cad and its been a great car they are cheap and easy to work on and get parts for, you can do your brakes front and back for less than 150$

for whoever said they trust Consumer Reports, they're so importcentric and biased, it's blatant.

Why don't you buy a toyota given the recent recalls you should be able to haggle them down...

Posted by TheVicariousVadder Why don't you buy a toyota given the recent recalls you should be able to haggle them down...

Epic Win.

Well, since I have the consumers report buyers guide 2009 at home I did take a look it.Here is few cars that have '' much more better than average '' ratings. Buick le sabre 99,subaru impreza 98,corolla 98-00,grand marquis 98.That expand a little bit my choice.Any of those are good picks from your point of view ?

Since comfort matters more than speed, and if you can also delete image/coolness, I'd go for a minivan or Cherokee, (Grand if you are longer than 5'10)

Minivans are awesomely cheap, the space is amazing for sleeping and camping and UE gear etc. Oh, and Jeeps are cool, and minivans have their place. I'd rather be a happy geek in a spacious *Caravan than some disillusioned clown with a tin can on his Honda pipe making that phtttt retard noise. (no reference to anyone on here, or that I know

*Make sure the tranny's been done, or the price and mileage allow for it, and stay away from Windstars and MPV's.

Posted by Samurai for whoever said they trust Consumer Reports, they're so importcentric and biased, it's blatant.

Yup, their sample data is incredibly small for their car reports. Even if you look at rival Consumers Digest who CR says even is biased, their sample data is huge.

My vote goes for Impala.

Posted by vince Well, since I have the consumers report buyers guide 2009 at home I did take a look it.Here is few cars that have '' much more better than average '' ratings. Buick le sabre 99,subaru impreza 98,corolla 98-00,grand marquis 98.That expand a little bit my choice.Any of those are good picks from your point of view ?

The grand marquis is a rebadged cop car. The le sabre is nice but there are better cars for the money.My bets for mid-size "fast roomy" american cars would be an Impala, or Pontiac Grand Prix.

The impreza is small the corrola is smaller. The Legacy and Camry would be the midsized equivalents. But I would advise against Honda/Toyota, Nissan has my preference for a FWD overseas import. If you're looking at Japanese imports the Subaru Legacy or Nissan Altima would have my vote.

You need to go decide on what size engine/drivetrain you want and then go out and test drive a bunch of them.

I love Hondas, never had any trouble with one. My dad had an 86 Accord, it had only very minor problems (running the a/c would sometimes cause the car to overheat so you had to turn on the heater).

That being said, I have an 01 Grand Am that I love. Though with any GM product around that time frame, I'd stick with the 4-banger or V8, the V6 had a pretty big issue with an intake gasket blowing and leaking coolent into the oil.

get a honda accord, theyre affordable and great cars, roomy, descent looking and provide a nice amount of luxury

Posted by WarBird69 I love Hondas, never had any trouble with one. My dad had an 86 Accord, it had only very minor problems (running the a/c would sometimes cause the car to overheat so you had to turn on the heater). That being said, I have an 01 Grand Am that I love. Though with any GM product around that time frame, I'd stick with the 4-banger or V8, the V6 had a pretty big issue with an intake gasket blowing and leaking coolent into the oil.

that was when GM redesigned the 3.1L and it became the SFI 3100 and 3400... Oh what a headache.
the only bugaboo with the 3.8's was the oil pan tended to rot out in northern climates, or when the car was start-stop-start-stop all the time.

Posted by TheVicariousVadder Be advised if you are going for a bank loan that most banks won't issue a loan for a car older than 3-5 years.

Quite not true.

I've bought many a cars older than 10 years on car loans.

Posted by atomx Quite not true. I've bought many a cars older than 10 years on car loans.

Yes and no... really depends on the bank. In NYS, most banks don't like to do loans unless it's under a certain number of miles. Usually under 75K, or at least under the 15k/year "national average". They really prefer the car to be less than 5 years old, often less than 3 for them to consider financing at a low rate.

Banks also usually do not give out loans for less than 5K, because they can't make much money off of you unless you're spending at least 5.

Don't go too silly with "fast". If insurance or the police see someone fairly young (under 25) and newly licensed, you will get EFFED if you have a fast car.

I'm slowly but surely liking the Impala as a perfectly reasonable, still pretty quick car. 3800's pretty nice, or if you're willing to go a little newer and spend up to 8500 or so, you could probably get a decent 07 with the 3.9L flex fuel engine. same as the cop Impalas but with a smaller radiator, still gets about 28mpg highway in the real world.