Your first car

Great thanks! I'll try to keep all this in mind.

Typically they are better taken care of as they appealed to a higher end clientele.

They are basically the Euro Accord R. So a bit lighter, and smaller than an American Accord, with a much more powerful engine (at least the 4 cyl). They also have a multilink suspension front and rear, which is a classic Honda signature that sadly is no longer part of American accords. They also are assembled in Japan, where American accords are all built in Ohio. While American accords are well built, there is nothing as well built as a Japanese built premium car. They also I’ll likely have better options and features depending on the year.

If you can make the stretch to a tsx, go for it. But with your budget, you want to buy the car that is in the best condition and has the least deferred maintenance.

Camrys are good too. 07ish with high miles will be in your price range. Just keep an eye on the axle seals on all of these cars.

Those look cool but weren't they known for blowing head gaskets?

I had (have) one of these for my first car.

Thank you! I was originally just going off the sticky for low price and decent reliability but it's good to hear some advice from other anons

Owned an 08for almost 10 years. No prob good luck

86 Nissan Skyline, older than I am, I've had it for ten years now but I've upgraded it with Series 3 front end and brake lights, 18" wheels, GTS-2 bodykit and a new paintjob.

How do I check on that? I don't know how to tell the difference. Also what would it cost for me to implement that if it doesn't have it?

Volkswagen up or citroen c1 or kia picanto, cheapest best cars ever

If it is your first car I don't suggest buying something terribly expensive to buy and repair.

Ofcourse, the best "My first car" award goes to the Mk 4 Golf, since it's cheap, reliable, sturdy and can be fast. Maintainance costs potatoes.
It can withstand a lot of abuse and it is a fantastic beginner car.
Besides, at 3k euros price range there are few cars that out-match the Mk. 4 Golf, though 3k is for high end models.
A former coworker bought a 2003 Mk 4 Golf 1.6 MPI for 1900 euros and that car goes like a champ. Perfect for a 22 year old kid who drives a lot in the city ( he drove 450 km in the city in 3 days - he emptied the fuel tank ). His first acquisition was a subwoofer obviously, since he found out that the cables were already there.
>If you will be a city driver then go for the 1.4 MPI engine as it is extremely reliable, cheap to repair if something breaks down, and has a surprinsingly low fuel consumption.
>If you drive mostly in the city and from time to time you go on a roadtrip then the 1.6 MPI is magical. A bit thirstier and abit less reliable than the 1.4 petrol. Much faster tho.
>If you will do a lot of highway and outside of city driving, then the 1.9TDI ALH engine ( 90 bhp version ) is the engine to go for. This specific version of the 1.9TDI is the one which started the whole diesel craze in Europe. It's indestructible and fuel consumption is so low it makes the bus more expensive.

>VW Up
>cheap
>good

Why the fuck would I spend 5k on a used Up when for that money I could get pretty much any used hatch of my choosing?

Also, here are some maintainance costs and fuel consumptions on all 3 :
>The 1.6MPI does 10L/100km city and 6L/100km outside of city
>The 1.4MPI does 8L/100 km city and 4,5/100km outside of city
>The 1.9TDI 90 bhp does 7L/100km city and 3,5-4/100km outside of city

Timing belt job costs around 200 euros the whole kit. On the 1.6 MPI it is a timing CHAIN and that costs about 300 euros, but the timing chain has to be changed every 150k km, whereas the belt every 60k km or 5 years, whichever comes first.
>Suspension bushings cost around 60 euros for the front.
>The oil bay has a 4L capacity so you can calculate the cost of the oil change.
>If you somehow manage to bend the rear axle, it costs about 700 euros (new).
>If the turbo craps out, a reconditioning costs about 250 euros and it should be done every 100k km.

Do you honestly need a bigger car if you are by yourself or with your gf? You can get a nice one for 5k and a basic one for 3.5 or 4. All hatchbacks look shit to me anyway and the up still looks decent and sips on fuel

There's no way of checking if its been done unless the owner knows whether its been done or not. If not then don't worry. If the hg does go then its usually somewhere around €600-€700 for the work.

I had one of these bitches and boy howdy did I get jacked for it. Didn't know a goddamn thing about cars at the time. The cooling system wouldn't hold water, oil would leak out overnight, and for whatever reason there was no damn transmission fluid in it. Drove the bitch daily short distances for 6 months before I even noticed any of that. Took care of the issues and it lasted another 5 or 6 months before I crashed the damn thing.

I have alot of respect for that car being abused so bad and not quitting on me. Bitch taught me a hell of a lot of things I needed to learn. Kind of regret bailing on it after it did so much for me, but it just wasn't worth it.

>>If you will be a city driver then go for the 1.4 MPI engine as it is extremely reliable, cheap to repair if something breaks down, and has a surprinsingly low fuel consumption.
This is bullshit. The 1.4 MPI is know to have head gasket issues.

>perfect for who drives a lot in the city
>10L/100km city

..?

2001 Volvo S60 2.4T.

Would buy it again in a heartbeat. Only thing I'd change is transmission; could only find automatic in my area at the time and I love manuals.

3k is way too much for any mk4 Golf, even for a clean muh GTi.

Better than you would imagine.

...

No airbag, 140hp, automatic, 2 door. Not a great car. But impossible to kill.