17 year old niece, first car, $3500 budget....?

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Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Originally Posted By: Spartuss
No one has mentioned a Dodge Neon. I've never personally owned one but have heard great things about them from some owner's.


Absofrickinlutely not. I've driven a co-workers Neon. Too small, too light.



Well then ...may I suggest an Escalade or Excursion?


A Dodge Neon was the only car that I've been in, where I got the panicky sensation that "I've got to get out of this thing".

Too light, too low, too small.

A 5 foot 5, 100 pound, 17 year old in an Excursion. Yeah, right.


How about a 5' 5", 100 lb 17 year old in a Neon? She may not have developed the same phobias that you have and would appear to be properly sized for the car.

btw-My bulky son drives a Neon beater on his long commute. I've been both a passenger and driver in the thing. I'm not a small man, in spite of being in lifeguard trim (
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), and find it much more roomy than my Wrangler. No headroom issues ..no leg room issues ..ingress and egress are easy enough. It's much more comfortable than his 2000 XJ Cherokee and far easier to get into. It's not THAT small of a car.
 
Having owned both types of cars, I would say the Nissan Altima is lower maintenance than a Honda. Just from my experience and from other people's experiences that I know. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Hondas but I feel like you have to love them like I do to truly appreciate them. I purchased my Altima when I was 17 and it truly was a great car, decent amount of power but not enough to really get you in trouble. If you have any questions about the Altima feel free to send me a PM, since I used to own one I know quite a bit about them. I still miss that car.
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Gary -

I understand your point, but I'm not putting her in a Neon. If she'd get hit in something that small, I don't even want to think about it.
 
I may have missed it if this has already been stated, but who's going to be responsible for maintenance on the car? Is she going to have to take it in to get stuff fixed or will she or someone else being working on it?
 
Originally Posted By: duaneb9729
when i bought my daughters first car, i got her a VW jetta, a 1997 it had side impact air bags and abs brakes, i still own the car, and its been ok.

some what quirky but ok.

why not get her a full sized half ton pick up? it would have some size advantage, and limit the amount of friends she could bring with, granted there would be a mpg penilty compaired to some of the other suggestions, that could also limit the joy riding.


bad idea, my 17 yr old nephew, has got in 3 wrecks in 3 trucks in less than a year of driving. totalling two of them.
1st time, it was raining, totalled his 92 pickup by slidining to an embankment. 2nd one, he rearended an old lady borrowing his dad's truck. 3rd one, he totalled his 98 S 10 truck in a 3 car accident, he ran a red light. was on the cell phone and driving a stick in all vehicles wrecked. now, my sister is trying to get him one of those police auction vehicles
 
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Cavalier is the most unsafe car produced in 20 years. Where are you getting *your* car info from? Grand Am is totally miserable too. How about a Volvo 850? Pretty spanky for $3000 and easy to repair.


The sunfire I'm driving has been in the family since new. I survived semi truck pushing my car out of the way on the interstate. I spun out like in a nascar race with all the cars on the interstate flying by. I survived in one piece
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Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Gary -

I understand your point, but I'm not putting her in a Neon. If she'd get hit in something that small, I don't even want to think about it.





Fair enough ...but before you give any credit to the Altima over something like a Neon ..due to "small and light" ..do a little google on the curb weight(s) of the various suggestions here. I think that your impression of light may have to be applied with broader brush strokes.

2001 Altima Curb Weight, lbs. 2859
2001 NEON Curb Weight: 2559 lbs.

So ..I'd just ponder what scale you're applying to assign your divisions between too small/too light/too whatever.

Good luck in your selection process.
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I love our two Chrysler 300Ms. Looking quickly at cars.com you could obtain a 99'-'00 for the given amount. Mine have been very reliable, many bells & whistles, timing belt & water pump every 100K, if driven reasonably can obtain high 20's to over 30 mpg on the highway, automatic with autostick feaature, 3.5L, front wheel drive, mid size car, plenty of room for her friends, 4 door (usually a bonus on insurance), and I know an excellent forum where you can get pretty much any information you need about the car.

I personally own a 2000 and a 2004 with 157K and 116K respectfully. Might I add that they're get on oil. See my signature line. :)

If you go the Grand AM / Sunfire / Olds Achieva route and need tires, I have a rim and tire set that I need to get off my hands. 14" and hard to get rid of. Did I also mention, CHEAP! Less than 3K miles before I lost the engine. And I'm located in western Illinois.
 
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Originally Posted By: rationull
I may have missed it if this has already been stated, but who's going to be responsible for maintenance on the car? Is she going to have to take it in to get stuff fixed or will she or someone else being working on it?


All of the above, her Dad. Which means someone else will do it (unless I do some of the small stuff for her).
 
I had the chance to talk things over with the 17 year old and her Mom (my Sister) tonight. I know exactly what she wants now, and all I have to do is to call the used car factory in the morning and order it... She must think I can pull any make and model of used car out of thin air.

She wants a black Olds Alero, with a sunroof. Now, all that I have to do is find one.

OK, so I did ask her what would be the ideal car would be. Mainly because I wanted to hear what she thought it would be. Not impossible, and it got me closer to figuring out what she's thinking about.

I think an Olds can be had a little cheaper, since it IS a dead brand.

We also did discuss a Subaru Legacy sedan, since her Mom does drive an Outback. We all agreed that would be the best bet, since she's already comfortable with driving one. Her Mom and step Dad have about 750,000 miles on Subarus between them, so a Subie would be at home in their driveway.

So, the search begins. Target is mid-September, so I have 2-3 weeks to pull this off. She's a good kid, so I don't mind doing this for her.
 
^ I love it. A 99 with 160k (high, I know) and the 3.1 V6 (I know) was listed on craiglist near me for $750.

If you got one with 90k and a receipt showing the IM gaskets were done I bet you have a winner.
 
Quote:
She wants a black Olds Alero
Coworker bought one of those new. Had nothing but problems with it from the start. Finally got rid of it after two years.
 
From what i know about these cars is that they were made from left over parts. Olds stopped making cars soon after the Alero. I think they used parts from older cars....Opel might even have helped olds with the car
 
They might be but i'm not sure. I think this car was more like a caddy catera. i could be wrong i also know someone who had one and it was full of problems.
 
I'd look at an Infiniti G20. A nice reliable car. You can easily find a 91-96 for $3k, although it may be hard to find a well maintained one. If you search hard enough, you may also find a 99-02 but probably with very high miles.

These cars are very reliable (the sr20 engine is bulletproof)...easy to work on...and you get a little luxury (if that stuff matters to you).

Only negatives (at least to me) are it's a little underpowered (140 hp for a 3000+ lb car)...and gas mileage is average for a 4 banger (i would only get 31 mpg doing all highway on my 02 automatic).
 
Originally Posted By: JSWenzel_3
From what i know about these cars is that they were made from left over parts. Olds stopped making cars soon after the Alero. I think they used parts from older cars....Opel might even have helped olds with the car


Right. Opel needs help from Olds.
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Rangers might be worth a look if she is okay with a pickup. You can find decent trucks for $3500. I'd look at 1995-early 2000s models. An I4 with a manual should last for many miles if it has been maintained. They are very cheap and easy to maintain.

Rangers got a driver side air bag in 1995. The passenger air bag was optional until 1997 when it became standard. Any Ranger from that period should at least have rear ABS, and most newer ones have four wheel ABS, even on the base models. 1998+ models have had consistent 4/5 star crash test ratings from the NHTSA.

As for fuel economy, I4 2WD models have been capable of 27-30+ MPG on the highway. Low 20s can be expected around town.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/cto/814805026.html
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/811065579.html
 
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