TFW want to buy my first car and all the options are killing me

>TFW want to buy my first car and all the options are killing me

How the fuck do I decide.

Get a Miata

3k civic

whats your budget op?

look at the sticky too, it may be a few years old, but if youre looking at used cars, there are still good recs there.

you forgot the mods

buy whatever car you're ok with wrapping around a pole because it's inevitable.

>buying a new car
I'm going to step away from shitposting for a second and unironically ask you why. Why would you want to pay for something that loses its value by thousands of dollars as soon as you drive it off the lot? You can clean other people's smells from the seats, but no product will get that dealers cock out of your ass.

i think op deserted the thread

he doesn't say that hes buying new tho, but idk

i agree i have never bought any of my cars new

The meme is now past ripe. It will now begin appearing on reddit and, soon after, Jalopnik. We can still end it before it comes to that. Do your part.

...

>options
you're kidding right?

You said "all the options". That generally is talking about options (or features) you decide on when getting a new vehicle. Sorry I can't translate autism.

Also what the fuck are your options below $3000 anyways??? That's like barely running corolla territory where I live. If you're gonna go that cheap though get a volvo 240 or a civic. Easiest things on this planet to work on.

I love my 97 Honda Accord w/ 130k miles. Well, it's my third car this year.
First was an 02 Toyota Corolla w 50k miles and I loved it. Only thing was it didn't feel fast and wasn't very fa.
Car I'm trying to get rid of is my 00 Grand Marquis. It's not bad but I discovered I don't like heavy, large sedans.
So far my Honda is my fav. Engine roars like a lion and jumps like a kangaroo. Decent gas mileage too. And I've owned all of these cars this year.

Forgot to mention I never spent over 3k on any of these vehicles and my Marquis has 70k miles on it

3k is a barely running corolla
lol nope. You can strike gold with a 3k budget if you're patient and do your research

My advice is stay away from dealers and only negotiate with private parties. Look on Craigslist backpage autonation carfax, and any other site that hosts private party vehicles. And know what features (and cosmetics) you're looking for.

However... while 3k can eat you a lot of options just going a bit higher to 3500 will give you way more options.

Yeah I'm sure you're gonna be "striking gold" on a 3k budget. Unless you get really lucky and have all day long to shop around for cars, good luck with that

Good thread. Will be moving soon, need transportation. Cheap car that will start everytime and get me from point A to point B everytime. My default option is a panther-body, because i'm not good in american cars, all these pontiac sunfires, oldsmobile alero's, i be like what.

My >$3000 car history

$2500 - 94 m edition miata (stick, oem lsd, ran great)
$1000 - 89 240sx (ran like shit, but reliably ran like shit lol)
$700 - fc rx7 (flood damage, $400 at a shop and it was running again, runs fine now, didnt report flood so clean title, enough old school goodies to part it out and make back 3x the purchase cost)

$2000 - one owner integra dc4 with a fat book of records. Manual trans.

$1500 - 02 wrx w/ bottom end rod knock. Pulled motor and found spun bearing. Could fix motor for $700, but im just gonna buy another ej205 for 1200.


Gold can be easily struck for under 3k. Ive also got a buddy that got a lsvtec del sol (b1 block, c1 head) that also was already set up for nitrous for less than a grand, pulled from a field and running again for fairly cheap.

Don't rush into it. Wait until you fall in love with one or two specific models and wait for the right one to come along. Do your research. To me that's half the fun.

kys please

All of those are awful options, not "striking gold"
Striking gold would be to find a clean, low mileage and low maintenance vehicle that saves you money. You know... because you're poor.

>t. Having issues finding a decent car even with a 10k budget and tons of time to research

Miata had 113k, and was a miata, so no crazy maintenance.

240 had 107k, which was surprising, only needed an alt, motor mounts and upper rad hose while I owned it.

The integra had 160k, but come on, 90s honda, especially a one owner 90s honda is pretty much the defenition of "clean vehicle that is low maintenance and saves you money"

Get a ranger

>tfw mother isn't even a car person and she owned two 3k civics in succession because she liked them so much
>without my advice
>years before I found this place

The only reason it's not a normie meme over here in the UK is because they're associated with old women (stock) or teenagers (modded).

>derp a herp two door sports cars save money
What's your insurance like?

Spoken like a true poorfag.

What was the MSRP for a new STi in 2005?

How much does a clean 2005 STi sell for in today's market?

Dude if your priority is cheap reliable transportation buy a Geo Prism and be done with it.

$2999 civic

Unabashed poorfag redneck here. The only cars i own are cars i salvaged myself

Miata insurance is cheap

>Put maximum budget into car trading website
>Set the max mileage to 100k
>sort descending by Power
>buy first car on list

What "car trading website" has a power field?

dunno if theres on for burgers but autoscout lets you sort by hp.

What seating arrangements would be most convenient for you and your passengers?

What kind of hauling capacity are you looking for?

How much does fuel economy mean to you?

Can you work on your cars yourself?

A Geo prism isn't out of my scope of view, however I'm 6'5 and doubt I'd fit in anything that tiny.

>nane literally any other car from 2005 that's worth as much as its msrp
It's like you're trying to make this easy. No new car today will be worth anywhere near it's msrp in 15 years. STIs are cult cars, it's like using a Ferrari f40 as an example of why you should buy a new Ferrari.

Fair enough. A Miata isn't a terrible idea if you're a manlet. However your other examples were garbage boiracer shit

>first car
get whatever econobox is the best value in your area. You should be able to get something with around (or less than, ideally) 50k miles with just a budget of $5K give or take.

Herro.

not him, but depends where you live I guess. in my area, 3k isn't a half bad search. There's plenty of panthers, some GM B bodies, I can find a chrysler New York for almost exactly 3k, and a 77 chevy Silverado for 2.8k

3K isn't that low for a used car.

it helps, op, if you look at the sticky, and tell us what you like and any particular cars you are looking at.

With just liability my insurance hasnt been over 85/ month, and thatvwas the high when I was 19 and had the miata. Also the 240, fc and integra are 3 door hatches, so tons of room to do shit. The subie is a 4door, the miata was the only truly small vehicle.

Test drive all the cars you are interested in and find the one you love.

best options
>old civic/integra slap a turbo on it
>miata
>foxbody 5.0

w/ a 3k$ budget i would get a little trucc. D21 nissan or a yota. mebbe even ranger danger. '

having a good little truck is infinitely useful to a young guy just starting out in life.

fpbp

some people are destined to be busriders forever

I used to have friends like you

I wish I still had friends with your interests

fpbp

As long as you can find one cheap in your area at least. It became trendy for Veeky Forumstists and others to buy them a few years ago and now there's a ton of stancefagged ones that have been mutilated to the point of being undriveable. If the owner is younger than 35 do not buy. Either way they're a good starter car if you want something cheap to tinker around with that's still fun af to drive