Hey Veeky Forums, I'm getting my first car soon, and I need some help deciding. I have a 12k budget...

Something sort of in between. I don't need a speed machine, but I'd like something that looks nice and can go a decent speed. I've been looking at accords.

How old are you? Do you have a job?

>my grandmother decided pay for it
Oh shit really? Dude pick whatever the fuck you want then. You are in a position very few people will ever get to be in

Awesome Grandma, make it count, get something that will last a while that you can use for work or school.

I'm going to check craigslist for something

this looks like a great deal although 2k over budget, have someone cosign for you and build credit. Pay it off FAST and remember their credit is on line
>sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/ctd/6034106892.html

>San Fran
If you are not in a too hilly of an area or if you are and dont mind driving stick check these out

sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/6036546069.html
sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/6013799998.html
sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/6044411850.html

bonus if you don't need the cargo space and want something fun
sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/6012877408.html

below are all fwd automatic econoboxes that make great first cars
sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/6044185964.html
sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/6043864632.html
sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/6015814939.html
sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/6040256909.html

dont listen to this dude Op

why not, are you this idiot suggesting shitboxes. He has 12k he wants to spend on a car stop being a fag, if he wanted a shitbox he'd say 3k was his budget

dont get pic related especially if its the 4AT
the A20 is a vapor engine that near no one supports inexpensively and with the 4AT you get about 22MPG
If that didn't scare you off and you're hoping to achieve maximum aesthetic, then by all means lets talk CA5s. Im in the process of 'restoring' one

Senior in high school, turned 18 earlier this year. Getting something that will last me through college.

This is a good choice. Grandma would want you to build your credit score so you can make great grandchildren for her. Future girlfriends will become moist when they see that you have a mortgage on your own house and a kickass rate.

Get her to cosign the loan.

hey Op don't listen to this guy or this guy this is what he looks like

Fucking kek

DO IT YOU FAGGOT

sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/6035613860.html

OMG THIS

I want to, but don't know how to drive stick. It's a shame ik. All my family's cars are automatic.

>tfw on other side of country

fugg

that's nice

>can't drive stick
>asks Veeky Forums for recommendations

U HAD BEST LEARN BOY

manual is garbage stop with memes

this is coming from someone who has spent less than a week driving stickshift: it's totally doable to learn. Find a friend who has a stickshift, pay them to let you learn in a parking lot. It is not that difficult, and it's an awesome life skill.

Within the week of me driving a manual, I have already

>learned to rev match
>heel toe
>hill start and stop properly
>float gears

I'm not great at all of those things, but I'm getting better and better as the days go on.

You learn and get better with seat time, so don't let a manual transmission car scare you.

Hell, I'm in Sacramento, if you get a time to get up here I'll show ya. You can drive pic related.

I know right, I cant hold a beer, or a cheeseburger, or a joint with manual.

its just too hard for my puny, lazy brain

yup its a waste of time and effort

That car in ur pic is the best car you can buy for getting the most bang for your buck. 80's Honda Accords are beautiful machines.

>garbage

my front brakes took a shit on my on the first day this thing was on the road, I was able to safely stop using engine braking and the E-brake. I definitely don't think manual is garbage.

(the reason the front brakes failed was that the car sat for 12 years, and the brake lines took a shit. New brake lines for both calipers and I'm golden)

>implying it's a difficult skill to learn
I think your brain might be defective

Get an IS300 with the manual

funny you mention that, I've been eyeballing this (it's in your area OP)

It's some vintage Japanese steel, and it'll last you for a long, loooong time if you put even the bare minimum maintenance into it.

sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/6042254763.html

yeah its still garbage just like that car

nice projection

I learned manual when I was 12

its a useless skill and its fanboys sure are cringelords

1984 with 86k original miles? How the fuck?

>tfw might learn manual for the memes

Don't buy a 30 year old car as your only car. Especially not an SR5 to GTS conversion; they are shitfests. I owned a GTS for two years. Bought for $6800 and spent about $2.5k on repairs in the first year just bringing it up to pseudo-daily driver status. Stopped passing smog and I needed a more reliable car temporarily, so I sent it away to a friend for a better restoration than I could do in my apartment complex. Probably looking at an additional $3-4k for his work.

Don't fucking buy an AE86 as your only car unless you're fine with having a car go out of commission for shit like deteriorated 30 year old plastic clips causing your starter wire to shake loose just as you needed to drive somewhere desperately. Random electrical leaks. Failing rubber seals. Paint fading. It's not hard to fix, but it does take time and money to source parts.

Trust me nigga, I tried living with it. It's the best car I've owned, but the most frustrating one too.

two words: Grandma car. They exist all over Cali; my car was different in that it was a grandma who purchased the car new in '84, then drove the shit out of it. The Honda has 186,000 miles and still ticks great.

b8 better s0n

Im not the one driving a piece of shit with rotted brake lines

holy fuck you are a negligent driver

do it, its safer than what I did. I learned about manual transmissions on a motorcycle in Massachusetts

somehow im not dead

of course, id be more worried about an 86 than myself or my bike if anything ever happened to it.

>what is reading comprehension
replaced the brake lines, and all the fuel lines and filters, yadda yadda yadda. Learned my lesson to not drive with old plastic ever. Got a nice Energy Suspension bushing kit coming, and new KYB GR2's around all four corners of the car.

you can still down shift and use the ebrake in an auto......

do not care if you replaced it

fact is you still drove it fucktard

yup, first start got me too excited, learned a lesson. Happened on a backroad, nobody got hurt.

downshift an auto? Please. You can slam the trans into a lower gear, and hurt it at the same time.

The overwhelming majority of automatics have some sort of manual mode where you can push up or down on the shifter to select the gears, it's not slamming gears and it hurts nothing to down shift for engine braking. I do it every day in my car.

Wouldn't it make more sense to put it in neutral in that situation? Why downshift?

Okay guys, OP here. I'm looking at the 84 accord and 84 AE-86 corolla, but I don't know how reliable they will be. I know that if I get like a 2009 civic or accord that it will be more reliable with way better gas mileage. The 84 accord and eight six look way better though. I'm conflicted. I also can't drive stick, but now want to.

Well he was implying that you couldn't engine brake in an automatic to slow the car down faster, which you actually can do.

dude dont get a 30 year old shitbox as your first car

jfc I swear if this is bait
OP, if you're just out of high school and want something to last through college, you do not want an aesthetic shitbox no matter how much we tell you.

Let grandma buy you a civic/accord/corolla/camry and be boring for a year or two. During that time save up for an aesthetic shitbox that you can wrench on during free time.

Also, stick is very easy to pick up but difficult to master. You'll be good enough to drive it after a day, and you'll get the hang of it after 2 weeks. You'll probably still buck a little here and there and you'll smoke the clutch every now and then but you should be good enough to where you can traverse wherever.

Is the AE86 the only shitbox, or are they both shitboxes? And the only reason I'm leaning towards the AE86 is because of how rare they are and how hard they are to find in the US.

theyre both shitboxes

theyre 30+ year old economy cars

they will have problems especially the Corolla since not only is it old its modified

you dont want that as a first car

the Accord might be fine since it looks like who ever has had it took real good care of it tho

but damn you could get a much better car than a 1984 Accord

I'm the user with the beat to shit '89 coupe... with 438K. We talked when you got that thing. FWIW, I too get about 22mpg... with the 5MT and fuel injection. Though, that possibly could improve if I ever get around to replacing the fucked vacuum advance unit.

desu if you want a shitbox to get you through college or something, buy a late 90's manual Civic. It won't die and it will be stupid cheap to maintain, and it has EFI, so that's a major blessing.

The '84 Accord is something that would last you just as long as well, but it'll take a little more love to keep on the road for 10+ years. The bushings will be going bad and your ride won't be as plus, you'll have to convert the AC to work with R134a refrigerant instead of R12, and it'll need a litany of rubber parts soon (gaskets/seals/fuel line/brake line/etc, assuming this owner hasn't done anything)

Plus, the 90's Civic is much cheaper to buy in the first place ($2,500 will get you a decent example, whild the '84 Accord, while cool, is like $4,000)

Correct, they are both shitboxes.
If you're gonna buy a shitbox buy it with your own money and not money that has been given to you. Use that money to buy something reliable, because it isn't your money to spend.

How bad would your grandma feel if she bought you an 80's shitbox and it breaks down the next day? She'd feel like she bought you something that can't even drive down the street much less get you to school/work. Don't do her dirty like that.

ok i dont want to threadjack but hypothetically if i had 20k and wanted to build my credit, would it be smart to finance a 6k car thats already taken the major depreciation hit it and pay it off in a year or is that a waste of money?

Don't fall for the Veeky Forums memes. You want something with OBD2 for easier diagnostics. Get one of these. You have plenty of money to fix any issues that come up. You need to save as much money as possible for moving, paying for school, etc... Get a credit card and use it for repairs and gas and shit and pay it off every month. If you get a coupe you won't have to let as many people bum rides.

sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/6036968101.html

sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/6028151374.html

No. most reputable dealers don't sell cars that cheap so you'd be looking at a buy here pay here lot which frequently have shit cars and don't report to credit agencies. Buy a

Did you read my post? You'll love the 84 Accord or 86, but you'll hate that you have to give them up within a year or two. Absolutely guarantee it would be an overall negative experience for you. Get the 2009 Civic. Finish your school. Buy the car of interest as your second car when you have a steady supply of money. Yes, the AE86 will go up in price a bit, but they'll be around in 4-5 years, and you'll be in a better position to enjoy your glorious shitbox's positive aspects rather than the toll that all of its failures will take on your life if it's your only means of transportation.

But I repeat: don't get an SR5 to GTS conversion unless you've been around AE86s long enough to know a quality job.

Thanks for the insight my dudes. I did something and talking with a family member. I think I've decided that for now I'll get something like a 2000s honda accord or something like that and get an aesthetic shitbox as a hobby car when I'm a bit older. The user who said get a nicer car when it's someone else's money and use my money on the shitbox cheaper car is right. I'll wait until I have more time and space to be able to work on the shitbox in case anything goes wrong. On that note, are there any specific years that I should look for in accords?(if there is anything like an accord or just as good please tell me. I don't like civics)

Your post was a main factor in my decision change. Thanks for the experience.

>doesn't like civics
Get out. As if a 4-cylinder accord is any better. The only Hondas worth buying are Civics and V6 accords.

>Buy a

The reason I don't like them is because they look like priuses. The small trunk gives it a sloping look to it. It's big in the back and small in the front. I like the look of symmetry where the hood in flat in the front and trunk is flat in the back. Like the 84 accord. Modern accords still have this. New civics aren't my style. I can still get down with an early 2000s one though.

Nice. That's the right attitude. The one I wish I took, but I had to have the AE86 when I saw it and thought I could make it work.

You shouldn't totally discount Civics though. 8th gens are fun and in a good area of price vs age. Especially the Si. I just have a shitty LX sedan with 153,000 miles that I put HFP suspension on and have enough fun as a commuter and occasionally take back roads with it. But the look is weird. Like a bar of soap.

Should look out for manual Accords. Maybe a V6.

you'd have a shit interest rate.

this looks nothing

like this.

That's an 05. My dad had one of those. I'm talking about these. It may not look exactly like a prius, but it has a sloping back and a small trunk area. I like flat trunk spaces.

The '05 civic look similar to newer accords.

sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/6018094687.html

You're welcome op

I was dumb about the civics. I won't totally dismiss them, but for the majority I don't like newer civics. I will keep them in mind, especially the si. I like to go vroom vroom.

Also, what's so good about 8th gen civics? I always see specifically 8th gen. And what years are 8th gen?

I feel like the last 10 years, all Hondas have either been trending towards an almost liftback look without the liftback or sloping, small trunks. You can sort of fix it with a small decklid spoiler.

07-11. Nothing horribly wrong with the 9th. K20 engine revs higher than the K24 and is a more typical Honda VTEC experience, but the K24 has more torque so it drives more like a normal car with midrange power. K20 is (maybe was at this point) easier to mod. 8th feels lighter and more tossable. 9th is more refined, sort of, while the 8th can feel almost like an older sports car with more road feel and less sound deadening. For casual use, it probably doesn't matter.

Personally, I'm not a fan of how excessive the styling got on the 9th gens or how bland they felt, and I'm in the minority of opinion, but I dislike the 9th's interior. 8th gen is simple and sparse. Weird ass, really long dash, but you can grow to like it.

Mazda 3 could be worth looking at too.

newyork.craigslist.org/brk/cto/6030660774.html roast me before i buy this

>agree have fun replacing/ finding those parts

It's in shit shape. Buy a mint one or don't bother.

dont listen to these fags telling you to get new cars or old buckets; get yourself a nice 2010 VW jetta; the official college car, it pulls bitches cause its not a bucket and shit

dont insult daddy fat nick cunt

>22mpg... with the 5MT and fuel injection
mine is the FI and 4AT
I guess im not missing much with the same MPG
Thought I suppose you have more fun

If you have 12k cash in hand go on down to a toyota dealership and buy yourself a 86 - finance the rest.
Over 8k will get your monthly payments under $350

I have the 3G Accord and I will say that they are troopers and will hold their own but please remember that at their age it will be as if they have 75hp.
Do not beat on the car, learn basic maintenance like brakes and oil, have complete inspection by mechanic, and always let the fuel pump prime BEFORE starting the car

I'm not sure if you want comfy or sporty? Big Aftermarket?

Sporty, lots of trunk space and a pretty good aftermarket: Acura RSX
Comfy, plenty of trunk space: V6 Accord.

Either way, you want something reliable, as I'm guessing you're not going to have a whole lot of money to dump into it. Stay away from /new/ cars, and at the same time stay away form old shitbuckets. The reason I have for staying away from newer cars is that in this period, they aren't going to be reliable. I remember quite a few Jap companies had issues with their auto transmissions going out recently. I think most years were about 2011-2013.