Bad ideas for first cars for my daughter from Craigslist

"CalzoneGolem" (calzonegolem)
03/22/2019 at 09:26 • Filed to: None

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No offense to string bean, but I don’t want to care for this. My Dad owned one of these in this color.

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No way I could sell Mrs Golem on this.

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This is perfect but that air bag light is scary.

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This is p retty rusty which is a shame the interior is pretty nice.

DISCUSSION (49)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 09:47

I was going to semi-seriously suggest a Hyundai Tiburon, since the one my brother in law has has been relatively solid, but availability of automatic appears to be very slim.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 09:48

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/chrysler/sebring-4-door-sedan/2003

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/ford/mustang-2-door-convertible/2005

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/hyundai/accent-4-door-sedan/2007

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/hyundai/elantra-4-door-sedan/2005

Apparently the Mustang coupe wasn’t crash tested until 2010

Now that I have a kid on the way I’ve given more and more thought about safety, not sure what I’ll deem acceptable for my kid once they are at that point.

This coming from a guy whose parents let him drive a $500 Geo Metro 30 miles each way to school, I look back and cringe when I think about how bad an accident would have been in one of those. They are honestly barely a step up from a motorcycle.

M.T. Blake > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 09:53

Stick to the golden three for girls: Civic, Jetta, and 3-series.

OPPOsaurus WRX > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:00

the mustang is probably a bad idea. A first car should really be a throw away cuz chances are, that’ s whats going to end up happening to it. Then after her crash coarse in physics she can get something nicer. I’d go for mid 90's giant box of steel.

benn454 > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/22/2019 at 10:03

A V6 Mustang is a throwaway car.

CalzoneGolem > M.T. Blake
03/22/2019 at 10:06

I’d be happy to put her in a Civic but alas there aren’t many around in my price point under a million miles.

CalzoneGolem > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/22/2019 at 10:09

I’m shooting for a 2000+

CalzoneGolem > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
03/22/2019 at 10:10

Those all look bad, but they are all probably better then your Geo.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:11

How about the impalas? Big boats with a good drive train. I’ve seen plenty of them over 200k miles and still running. Might make a nice first car.

CalzoneGolem > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc
03/22/2019 at 10:14

I’d be open to that.

OPPOsaurus WRX > benn454
03/22/2019 at 10:18

yea but we dont need to accelerate the process. a V6 mustang could also be a good candidate for an engine swap. maybe electric?

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:19

That Sebring looks like it’s been through hell and back.

Jesus people, clean you’re shit before you try to sell it for almost $2k!

They are quite hardy cars if they’re taken care of though. Personally I’d go for an 04+ with the 2.7L that’s been well cared. It’s a fun, rev-happy motor in them while not being too powerful for a new driver. They ride nice and get decent fuel economy as well, while having cheap parts availability, and taking very well to mods if she so desired later.

CalzoneGolem > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
03/22/2019 at 10:22

This one was clearly cared for as well as my father cared for his so that’s why it goes in the nope pile.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:27

The real problem with the mustang is that it will cost you a fortune to insure. Older V6 Mustangs are primarily driven by teenagers as first cars and newer ones by 21 year olds who made assistant manager at a retail job and took out a high interest new car loan, and the industry claims experience on them reflects that. A few years ago I got an insurance quote on a new V6 mustang as 30+ year old with a clean record and good credit, and it was, by almost a multiple of 2, the most expensive insurance quote I’ve ever gotten for any car. I could’ve insured a brand new 911 for a lot less. By contrast, my Corvette was the cheapest to insure car I’ve ever owned. It turns a car(even a fast one) owned primarily by 50+ year old guys who don’t tend to crash cars often and with the claims experience to match are fantastically cheap to insure.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:34

Fiero?

https://maine.craigslist.org/cto/d/harpswell-1986-pontiac-fiero/6843513082.html

https://maine.craigslist.org/cto/d/milford-88-fiero-gt-sunroof/6830281562.html

BigBlock440 > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:37

The Sebring shouldn’t be too bad to maintain as long as it’s not rusty. If it is, don’t bother, but otherwise, maintenance isn’t bad on them at all. And being a 4-cylinder, even spark plugs are easy.

CalzoneGolem > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/22/2019 at 10:37

Not enough cargo space for field hockey goalie gear.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:41

I bet the airbag light on that Accent wouldn’t be too hard to chase down. You could always go look at it....there’s not too much to the airbag system so I am sure a dealership could probably figure it out.

If not, I imagine a whole replacement passenger seat with the occupant sensor for the airbag would be cheap and easy to get at a local salvage yard?

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:41

Subaru? Selling mine. Just have to travel a bit. M aybe not. It is a manual.

Kinja'd!!!

CalzoneGolem > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
03/22/2019 at 10:43

It might just be that easy, but it might not be. I don’t think MrsGolem would be willing to roll the dice on something like that.

CalzoneGolem > GoodIdeaAtTheTime
03/22/2019 at 10:44

Manual is hard pass for Littlegolem. She does not want to row her own and I’m not going to force her .

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:46

That’s what the luggage rack on the rear is for.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:46

Oh, I know they are all probably fantastic compared to my Geo (seriously, it died due to the a-arm deciding it no longer liked being attached to the car)

Just thought I’d bring it up because it’s something I never gave a thought about before until recently .

I think the side impact rating was added in the early ‘ 00s so I think everything around then did poorly in that category.

CalzoneGolem > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
03/22/2019 at 10:51

She wanted an OG Beetle until I told her in an accident it’d be like she was driving a tin can.

punkgoose17 > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:53

Here is a better bad idea car.

https://maine.craigslist.org/cto/d/biddeford-pool-infinity-i35/6847516046.html

shop-teacher > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
03/22/2019 at 10:54

This seems like a crazy and cliche thing to say, especially given that we aren't that old, but we really did grow up in a different era. My friends used to ride in the back of pickup trucks all the time. My survival instincts insisted I ride in the cab, but literally dozens of my friends thought nothing of riding in the bed. And the cops thought nothing of it either.

Shift24 > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:56

Or you know, something reliable?

https://maine.craigslist.org/cto/d/portland-2002-honda-accord/6845674193.html

https://maine.craigslist.org/cto/d/portland-honda-accord/6843096712.html

M.T. Blake > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 10:59

Bummer...

CalzoneGolem > punkgoose17
03/22/2019 at 10:59

That’s pretty nice!

CalzoneGolem > Shift24
03/22/2019 at 11:00

That A ccord looks sad.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > shop-teacher
03/22/2019 at 11:02

Yup, I rode in the back of a pickup plenty of times while working on a farm...though I always sat with my back against the cab just in case. It’s crazy that I’m really pretty young still but even my childhood feels like a different time. I didn’t have any gaming system until I was 11 or 12 and didn’t have a real cell phone until I was in college (I’m excluding the pay-per-minute emergency phone I had in high school) .

Shift24 > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 11:12

Which one? And to be honest I thought that gen was one of the more happy looking Gens

Kinja'd!!!

shop-teacher > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
03/22/2019 at 11:20

Same here for all of that . I should clarify, the reason I didn’t ride in the back of my friend’s truck, wasn’t that I thought it inherently unsafe, I just didn’t trust my friend. And it wasn’t around the farm, we were int he suburbs of Chicago.

CalzoneGolem > Shift24
03/22/2019 at 11:21

The one you linked to me that’s being partially consumed by the snowbank and has a different colored bumper.

Shift24 > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 11:27

Yeah that one is a tad rough, first one isnt bad though

Shift24 > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 11:27

Yeah that one is a tad rough, first one isnt bad though

CalzoneGolem > Shift24
03/22/2019 at 12:05

Other tha n it needs a new exhaust for a sticker.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 12:34

Don’t know your budget but this civic looks nice

https://maine.craigslist.org/cto/d/eliot-2004-honda-civic-ex-new-sticker/6846346244.html

Or for potential enthusiast seeds to be planted(2.0 and dsg) :

https://maine.craigslist.org/cto/d/north-berwick-2006-vw-jetta-gli/6846876608.html

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > GoodIdeaAtTheTime
03/22/2019 at 12:39

Which engine, where, and how much? I love GC coupes and yours still has rear fenders.

Shift24 > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 12:47

Ah read past that and didn’t know Maine had inspections.

H ere in Ohio we just take that as its going to be loud.

CalzoneGolem > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
03/22/2019 at 12:49

The budget is 2500 all in. That includes any repairs to make it roadworthy and probably registration.

These might be compelling reasons to up that though.

CalzoneGolem > Shift24
03/22/2019 at 12:51

We have inspections but they are pretty minimal. No emissions.

It still might be worth it if I can fix it within our budget.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 13:33

Understandable! Plenty more fish in the sea!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 13:39

https://maine.craigslist.org/cto/d/ocean-park-09-kia-rio-new-inspection/6842798518.html

?

Same drivetrain as the MC generation Accent you were looking at earlier...and a lot of other shared parts. Other than body and trim, they are essentially the same car?

https://maine.craigslist.org/cto/d/westbrook-09-hyundai-accent/6826699035.html

Funnily enough, somebody put the rarer 16" hatchback rims on this sedan, but it would be decent as well?

CalzoneGolem > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
03/22/2019 at 13:41

If it was going to be my car no problem.

CalzoneGolem > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
03/22/2019 at 13:43

Yeah, these are both on my radar. I think they’d both have to come down a little bit so I can get plugs, wires, fluids and filters.

But man that Rio is a ugly thing.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > CalzoneGolem
03/22/2019 at 15:42

I agree that the Accent had nicer styling by a long shot, in my opinion anyway....I may be biased :P

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
03/22/2019 at 15:47

2.2 engine. Louisville KY. Somewhere around the 2000 range. I have it listed at 2800 obo. maybe i shouldn’t post the link has my phone number....

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
03/22/2019 at 15:51

here is it: https://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/d/louisville-subaru-impreza/6847468800.html