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I passed my road test! Now I need a solid car and some good but cheap insurance ^_^.

Hummer

Hummer

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 3, 2006
1,012
0
Queens, New York NY-5
Any suggestions? I just passed my road test today. I'm so excited being I only had to take it once, while I've heard of people taking it multiple times to pass.

I am now looking for a good, solid, cheap car (I was looking at a 72 Chevy Nova, but I'm thinking that might be out of my range) with the cheapest but best coverage. I'm looking for opinions based on experienced and not what the stats from insurance companies say.
 
A new driver in Queens. Count on insurance costing you a minimum of $2,000 a year without collision.

Stay away from Bell Blvd. newbie. :p
 
Yeah, I was mainly joking. I can only imagine what the gas on one of those would run.
 
How about an older Ford Taurus or Honda Accord....neither will be very exciting but should get decent mileage, be fairly safe, and fairly reasonable to insure relatively speaking....if you want something bigger you could go for an older truck or something like that. :)

You could also go for an old Jeep, they are built like tanks, but I imagine that the insurance would not be very cheap and small annoying things always need to be done to older Jeeps, though they rarely leave you stranded....I have but many many miles on various Jeeps...:cool:
 
i'd look into older Camry's, Civics, Accords and the like. they're decent cars, built well and made to last. and they get decent milage and insurance shouldn't be through the roof on them.
 
Buy a cheap car, that is easy to replace.

Don't look for any insurance except the legal state minimum, until you start earning some money or buy a new car.

Save the money and stick it in the bank to buy a replacement car if it implodes.

---

Heck you may be able to buy a Pontiac Aztek cheap, or some car that people hate in your area -- but is reliable. :eek:

Basically, reliability and cheap to insure and repair. who cares if it is as ugly as an Aztek, if it gets you there every day without stranding you.
 
How about a few suggestions on what kind of cars you are into? It sounds like you are in to the American-made older muscle cars judging from your choice of a Nova, but I could be wrong. Also, a price range would be a good idea to include.

I also severely doubt you will be able to find any cheap insurance. I turn 16 in July and have a 2001 Toyota Celica with a supercharger strapped onto it and my insurance is going to be $190/month if I go with my family's current insurance company. My mom looked into a different insurance company and it looks like I can get $160/month from State Farm Insurance.

Hope I helped

P.S. Those prices are including a good student discount and a Celica is only 4-cylinder, so it is quite lacking in power, which also affects their decision.
 
Sun Baked said:
Buy a cheap car, that is easy to replace.

Don't look for any insurance except the legal state minimum, until you start earning some money or buy a new car.

Save the money and stick it in the bank to buy a replacement car if it implodes.

---

Heck you may be able to buy a Pontiac Aztek cheap, or some car that people hate in your area -- but is reliable. :eek:

Basically, reliability and cheap to insure and repair. who cares if it is as ugly as an Aztek, if it gets you there every day without stranding you.
Click to expand...

I happen to have a '83 Licoln Town Car with my name on it ever since my dad got it as a gift. I don't know if I want to be driving something that huge around everyday.

The Aztek seems pretty good, but what do you guys think about a 56-57 Studebaker Pickup.

jones14 said:
How about a few suggestions on what kind of cars you are into? It sounds like you are in to the American-made older muscle cars judging from your choice of a Nova, but I could be wrong. Also, a price range would be a good idea to include.

I also severely doubt you will be able to find any cheap insurance. I turn 16 in July and have a 2001 Toyota Celica with a supercharger strapped onto it and my insurance is going to be $190/month if I go with my family's current insurance company. My mom looked into a different insurance company and it looks like I can get $160/month from State Farm Insurance.

Hope I helped

P.S. Those prices are including a good student discount and a Celica is only 4-cylinder, so it is quite lacking in power, which also affects their decision.
Click to expand...

Great post. I've been looking for some actual insurance rates people are paying as of now or will be with a certain type of car.
 
Hummer said:
I happen to have a '83 Licoln Town Car with my name on it ever since my dad got it as a gift. I don't know if I want to be driving something that huge around everyday.

The Aztek seems pretty good, but what do you guys think about a 56-57 Studebaker Pickup.
Click to expand...

I drive a 4-door that huge around every day.

If the Town Car is in decent shape, drive it. Parts cost and reliability shouldn't be much of an issue if you can do some of it yourself.

Plus, some of the older cars without clearcoat can be made to look a lot better with a $3 can of auto touchup spraypaint. Especially if they are black or white vehicles.

However with the Ford 5.0L quite a few people do update the motor a bit if their area allows it.
 
Sun Baked said:
I drive a 4-door that huge around every day.

If the Town Car is in decent shape, drive it. Parts cost and reliability shouldn't be much of an issue if you can do some of it yourself.

Plus, some of the older cars without clearcoat can be made to look a lot better with a $3 can of auto touchup spraypaint. Especially if they are black or white vehicles.

However with the Ford 5.0L quite a few people do update the motor a bit if their area allows it.
Click to expand...

My dad is a mechanic and he knows how to do body work so the Licoln is in almost new condition. He has a 65 mustang also in the garage that he never got a chance to finish, but the body is in great shape. I really really wanted the mustang as its 70% done and I can finish it up the rest of the way, but he says not as a new driver can I have it.

I forgot to add the Licoln does idle quite a bit.
 
A Land Rover of Course... but obviously they do not fit your constraints

I would go with any american or japanese car. Taurus. Escort. Focus, Camry, Corolla, Civic, Accord, etc.

American cars will cost less to buy and fix. Japanese cars tend to have a longer life span.


Do you know what your budget is, specifically.
 
ErikCLDR said:
A Land Rover of Course... but obviously they do not fit your constraints

I would go with any american or japanese car. Taurus. Escort. Focus, Camry, Corolla, Civic, Accord, etc.

American cars will cost less to buy and fix. Japanese cars tend to have a longer life span.


Do you know what your budget is, specifically.
Click to expand...

$5k in all.
 
Hummer said:
I happen to have a '83 Licoln Town Car with my name on it ever since my dad got it as a gift. I don't know if I want to be driving something that huge around everyday.
Click to expand...

Town Car is too big to drive around but you want a Hummer? j/k:p

I know that this doesn't seem like your style. But it might be a good idea to try to test drive some of the smaller spunkier car and see if you like it. They are better on gas and usually are more reliable too.

If you're going with the older/ less reliable car I would suggest that you save at least $1000-$2000 in the bank for the car because you will need it. Even if you're able to fix everything yourself.
 
I would have to say Taraus. After thinking about it- you'll probably get the most for your money. Just make sure its inspected before you buy it.
 
ErikCLDR said:
I would have to say Taraus. After thinking about it- you'll probably get the most for your money. Just make sure its inspected before you buy it.
Click to expand...

And make sure you have them check extra hard for rust! Especially around window frames and the underbody.
They are awful for that.
 
I recommend a Saturn.

No rust exterior body (body will always look great). Easy to work on (parts are cheap too). Saturns are under rated cars, so you can get them pretty cheap. Low insurance rates.

That's my personal opinion. I love my Saturn.
 
If you want to be reasonable and have a good solid car for every day driving...stay away from older cars. They are fun, but require constant adjustments and it's very hard to find non-rusted ones.

I'm not sure what the market is like where you are, but up here you can get a great deal on a used Monte Carlo...lots of room, reliable (get the 3.1 if it's a 95-99, 3.8 if it's a 2000-2006) reasonably comfortable for what it is and decent on gas...if you are just doing city driving though a 4cyl would probably be better.

I do about 1000km's a week so I always consider highyway milage a priority over city mileage.

FWIW :)
Chad
 
Good cars can be had for not much... A 2002 Ford Taurus is like $4,000 with typical milage.

Or late 90s Honda or Toyota. Can't go wrong there.

Insurance will always be the killer. I pay $2,210 a year. Eeek.
 
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