Kids 1st car....

[Tooned Up]

So I’m on the hunt for my daughter’s 1st car. I am so over looking at Craigslist junk and peoples idea of good condition. It amazes me how I ask very specific questions as to what the car’s condition is, yet when I show up I can literally drive by and not even get out to look. I hate when people waste my time!! That being said... does anybody have anything they are looking to sell? I’m looking to stay in the $5k range and do not want anything that needs work. I’m open to brand and model as long as it’s something worth while. Anything out there???

 

[gqchris]

So I’m on the hunt for my daughter’s 1st car. I am so over looking at Craigslist junk and peoples idea of good condition. It amazes me how I ask very specific questions as to what the car’s condition is, yet when I show up I can literally drive by and not even get out to look. I hate when people waste my time!! That being said... does anybody have anything they are looking to sell? I’m looking to stay in the $5k range and do not want anything that needs work. I’m open to brand and model as long as it’s something worth while. Anything out there???

I have noticed in life that my idea of CLEAN and tight is NO WHERE near other peoples idea. Even stuff I have bought that is advertised as PERFECT is always a treasure hunt to find the real problem. Drives me crazy also. Good luck on the hunt, hopefully an inmate has a commuter here they are looking to sell.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

$5k and “needs no work” is a tall order.

You have some work ahead of you.

 

[RodnJen]

I had a dollar figure in mind when I started shopping for her first car. Once I started looking that dollar figure went out the window. Safety and reliability are worth a lot. Best of luck with your search.

 

[Tooned Up]

$5k and “needs no work” is a tall order.

You have some work ahead of you.

I’ve been close on a few gems from Sun City as I live in AZ, but on both occasions I was the 2nd guy in line as I watched the 1st drive away with it. I’m willing to travel to pick something up for sure. Years ago I used to love the chase of buying a car, but holy shit how times have changed!!!

 

[Carlson-jet]

Buy the safest newest car you can finance and insure. Thank me later.
That is unless, you have spare Daughters.

 

[Desert Whaler]

I recommend a 4 cylinder what ever it is. toyota, Honda etc. good mileage, a lot safer. My X girlfriend gave her son her Tahoe as his 1st car. Total 'Goober' of a kid, ZERO concept of anything mechanical, let alone any concept of reality. Straight A's w/ less than zero in the common sense dept.. So she put one of those apps on his phone to track his ass . . . 1st week she clocks him doing 85 down a city street. He got a tongue lashing, that was it. Second week she clocks him doing 96 down PCH with other kids in the car (which he wasn't supposed to have until after the 1st year), he got a light restriction for a few days. A few months later he wraps the thing around a tree w/ 5 other kidiots in the car . . . slid it out in the rain being a throttle jockey. Totaled it, luckily just bumps & bruises. ZERO punishment. . . . I bailed on her after that one, I couldn't take the the fact that she wouldn't punish him for the consequences of his actions. Could've killed someone ELSES kid. Irresponsible IMO.

 

[zhandfull]

Bought my daughter a gently used car from the dealer. About double my original budget but no regrets. Damn insurance is what is killing me. Then starting college next year.

 

[MonkeyButt70]

My son is going to be selling his very reliable Toyota Matrix that is in your price range is you are interested.

 

[Cdog]

I think the newer Mazda’s are a really decent car for a reasonable price. Perfect chick car

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

My son is going to be selling his very reliable Toyota Matrix that is in your price range is you are interested.

@Tooned Up

Do this. I was going to suggest a Toyota Yaris. They are near bulletproof and in your price range.

 

[Looking Glass]

@Tooned Up

Do this. I was going to suggest a Toyota Yaris. They are near bulletproof and in your price range.

Sure you were.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Sure you were.

Someone needs to calm down!

 

[DC-88]

Reliable stick shift with air bags was our hit list for 1st car/trucks. Gotta start her right with a manual . Something like this maybe..

2011 Mazda 3 stick shift - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle...

2011 Mazda 3 , clean title , runs great 6 speed manual transmission, very clean inside and outside Tags paid June 2021 Passed smog , title in hand Asking $6300 obo call or text

inlandempire.craigslist.org

 

[TimeBandit]

Used Vehicle prices have gone up in tandem with new vehicle prices.

Lexus es300 is common in that price range, usually a grandma car so not beat up.

The first car for 3 out of 4 of our kids was a stick shift. They were cheaper to buy because nobody can drive them... but sticks are getting rare, new or used.

patience....

 

[Gelcoater]

I think the newer Mazda’s are a really decent car for a reasonable price. Perfect chick car

My youngest is in a Mazda 3, we picked it up used for just a little more than the ops price range.
We needed to do a battery and a few months later struts. Other than that it’s been fairly solid. Oh, I had to do a power window switch, easy peasy deal.

 

[Tooned Up]

My son is going to be selling his very reliable Toyota Matrix that is in your price range is you are interested.

Send me info on it please, thanks.

 

[adam909]

I know the struggle.. My daughter is 15 1/2 and ive been doing the search.. The best thing is to be patient and really not care if you find one or not.. I have picked up a couple work beaters in the past and I can tell right away in there responses or the pictures they posted if its worth it or not.. No english, pass.. Ghetto pictures and slang in the email, pass.. I look for origanal owners and garage kept. I always ask to see a picture of the title before I take a look. Alot of salvage titles as well as people that dont have the title on them..

 

[RogerThat99]

Reliable stick shift with air bags was our hit list for 1st car/trucks. Gotta start her right with a manual . Something like this maybe..

2011 Mazda 3 stick shift - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle...

2011 Mazda 3 , clean title , runs great 6 speed manual transmission, very clean inside and outside Tags paid June 2021 Passed smog , title in hand Asking $6300 obo call or text

inlandempire.craigslist.org

I put my daughter in a 3/4 ton truck. I wanted her to get used to driving a larger vehicle and have more lug nuts then many cars on the road. I wish it could have been a stick though.

Of all the Friends of my 2 kids, only 1 drives a stick.

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[Tooned Up]

Used Vehicle prices have gone up in tandem with new vehicle prices.

Lexus es300 is common in that price range, usually a grandma car so not beat up.

I bought my 2nd daughter 2 ES330’s. The 1st she wrecked 3 days after she got her license, and the 2nd was hit by a drunk driver parked in front of my house!! The wife said a Lexus is a had no.... LOL

 

[Tooned Up]

I know the struggle.. My daughter is 15 1/2 and ive been doing the search.. The best thing is to be patient and really not care if you find one or not.. I have picked up a couple work beaters in the past and I can tell right away in there responses or the pictures they posted if its worth it or not.. No english, pass.. Ghetto pictures and slang in the email, pass.. I look for origanal owners and garage kept. I always ask to see a picture of the title before I take a look. Alot of salvage titles as well as people that dont have the title on them..

We are 100% on the same page on this. I think that’s why it’s taken so long to find anything!

 

[Gelcoater]

I put my daughter in a 3/4 ton truck. I wanted her to get used to driving a larger vehicle and have more lug nuts then many cars on the road. I wish it could have been a stick though.

Of all the Friends of my 2 kids, only 1 drives a stick.

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I wanted mine to get a truck as well. I had her driving my dually by 14 and when she got her license I let her take it to school a few times.
She didn’t want something that large. Or thirsty, lol.

 

[RogerThat99]

I wanted mine to get a truck as well. I had her driving my dually by 14 and when she got her license I let her take it to school a few times.
She didn’t want something that large. Or thirsty, lol.

Yea, the school parking lots are tight. Hers is a short bed, extra cab, so not too big. The GM 6.0L is thirsty also, but not as bad as a 454 (assuming you have an old school dually).

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[Gelcoater]

Yea, the school parking lots are tight. Hers is a short bed, extra cab, so not too big. The GM 6.0L is thirsty also, but not as bad as a 454 (assuming you have an old school dually).

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5.9 Cummins, she doesn’t really know what thirsty is

 

[Jimmyv]

Hmm, my kids are too young to think too hard about this yet, but here’s my though process:

I’ve driven some small crap cars over the years because they make great commuters (keeps the miles of my vehicles I like). Last one was a Honda Fit 5spd (manuals are always more fun and generally cheaper, kids today can’t drive em). Bought for $3400 drove for three years, added +30k miles, sold for $3200. Never paid for anything besides oil and a set of spark plugs (and got 40+ mpg).

I’ll drive something small, shitty and tin, but wouldn’t put my kids behind the wheel. New driver, surrounded by other new drivers, I’d be looking for something big/heavy. Used Tahoe, Suburban, 1500 truck.

Would rather buy gas for a guzzler and have my kids walk away from an accident.

 

[bilz]

You guys with 10 or so year old kids, buy yourself a new daily driver like a civic or corolla. Five or six years down the road it will be their first car. Worked twice for me, 02 and 07 civics. 02 is still being used. 07 was totaled, no injuries.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

You guys with 10 or so year old kids, buy yourself a new daily driver like a civic or corolla. Five or six years down the road it will be their first car. Worked twice for me, 02 and 07 civics. 02 is still being used. 07 was totaled, no injuries.

We have a 10 year old...my wife's current SUV will be he first car. We will also have a beater somewhere, hell likely on the side of the havasu house for insurance purposes when she hits that age. Same as my parents did for me

 

[Motor Boater]

I like single cab full size pickups. Sometimes you can find them with 6cyl. Bigger then a Honda, Toyota etc. all the safety stuff, kids can’t bring a bunch of friends along to distract them. You can lower them, put wheels etc cheaply to make them look cool. If you have to redo a bench seat to make it look nice it’s cheap.

As mentioned before my parents just sold a mint 2004 Lexus ES300. My mom drive it, my dad took amazing care of it, the back seat had been sat in 7 times. Those are good cars to find. 5K 6K they are out there and will run forever.

 

[SOCALCRICKETT]

I like single cab full size pickups. Sometimes you can find them with 6cyl. Bigger then a Honda, Toyota etc. all the safety stuff, kids can’t bring a bunch of friends along to distract them. You can lower them, put wheels etc cheaply to make them look cool. If you have to redo a bench seat to make it look nice it’s cheap.

As mentioned before my parents just sold a mint 2004 Lexus ES300. My mom drive it, my dad took amazing care of it, the back seat had been sat in 7 times. Those are good cars to find. 5K 6K they are out there and will run forever.

That would be my choice. Less passengers the better. Even if your not worried about the other kids for moral reasons, the liability nowadays is scary enough. If they are not family, they can catch their own ride

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[JayBreww]

Getting ready to sell my wife’s Hyundai Elantra. 2015 with like 85,000 miles. Gets 35 MPG. We have the title, just upgrading before the baby arrives. Probably looking around $8,000 though.


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[troostr]

I bought my oldest (15) a 97 Suburban 4wd, Loaded w/ leather about 6 months back. The whole rig was really clean, old man daily driver, with 200k on it. I paid $2000, we put a level kit on it, cut and polished it, cut the cats off and put in a flowmaster and used an ebay window film kit to tint the windows. Great learning experiences for him. We did all the work together. I originally bought it so he could bomb around the dairy and farm, we let him drive it (with us- in NM they get their learners permit at 15) to wrestling and such.
One of my guys on the dairy was in a pickle last week and needed a ride pretty bad, knowing what we put into it, and that I'm not going to put my kid in a road side waiting room, the guy offered me 4k cash. I talked to Carson about it, he was like " ya, flip it and we'll find another something, fixing it up was fun!" Made my heart happy!
So the hunt is on for the next "something".

 

[Joe mama]

I think the newer Mazda’s are a really decent car for a reasonable price. Perfect chick car

Both my mom and girlfriend have the cx5 84k on one and 94k on the other. These cars are basically trouble free. They get tires and oil changes and just keep going.

 

[DEEZNUTS]

There are still a ton of the VW buyback TDIs on the market for cheap, golfs and jettas especially, even some audi A3s. Most have Really low miles, can find 6 speeds easily (preffered over the DCT), great engines that last forever. Lots of safety features

Realistic low 40s mpg average.

 

[Cdog]

Both my mom and girlfriend have the cx5 84k on one and 94k on the other. These cars are basically trouble free. They get tires and oil changes and just keep going.

After seeing a Miata roll 3 times, almost come to a stop then roll and restart to go and finish the last 4 laps in a race without going a lap down......I’m a believer

 

[HBCraig]

$5k and “needs no work” is a tall order.

You have some work ahead of you.

Agreed

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

After seeing a Miata roll 3 times, almost come to a stop then roll and restart to go and finish the last 4 laps in a race without going a lap down......I’m a believer

My current 2017 Toyota Yaris commuter car is a rebadged Mazda 2. Not a bad little car at all. The 6 speed manual is fun to drive. I put on some better wheels and tires and had some aftermarket sway bars imported from Japan.

They are discontinuing them this year though. 2020 was the first year of the 4 door hatch.

 

[25Elmn8r]

I bought a Ranger xcab for my son thinking along the lines of limiting the amount of friends he could take along. Took out the rear fold down seats, filled half of the xcab with sound equipment. Took the bench out and replaced with buckets. Turns out you can still fit 5 teenagers in the damn thing! We also had a Scion XB that was my daughters first, my son drove that while we were finishing his Ranger. I don't remember how many he said he had in that, but it was way more than 5 it had seatbelts for. thankful for no accidents or tickets.

 

[67Charger]

You guys with 10 or so year old kids, buy yourself a new daily driver like a civic or corolla. Five or six years down the road it will be their first car. Worked twice for me, 02 and 07 civics. 02 is still being used. 07 was totaled, no injuries.

EXACTLY what we're doing for my oldest daughter. She's 13, and her first car will be my wife's commuter 2014 Ford Focus 4cyl. We've put 125k on it so far, and it should be at about 165 - 170 by the time my daughter gets it. Flawlessly reliable except for that silly torque-matic whatever trans they put in there. Works fine but a little jerky and needs shifter motor replacement every 75k. Not expensive or hard to change. Not much resale in a high-mile commuter, but perfect for a new driver. Lots of airbags, no hidden damage, reliable, vanilla.

 

[Halvecto]

There are still a ton of the VW buyback TDIs on the market for cheap, golfs and jettas especially, even some audi A3s. Most have Really low miles, can find 6 speeds easily (preffered over the DCT), great engines that last forever. Lots of safety features

Realistic low 40s mpg average.

Yep. TDI is a good bang for the overall cost. Back before dieselgate, I found a clean 5-speed Golf TDI. I wanted a manual for my daughter in order to limit her ability to text and drive. Keeping her feet and hands busy made her a better driver. Gas mileage and insurance cost made it a great first car. Wish I would have done the same for the first two kids when they started driving, especially my son. I'm convinced manual makes the kids better, more alert drivers. I sold the Golf when she went away to school and regret it. Fun to drive, cheap to own and easy to maneuver. The older models are heavier and feel safer than a light Toyota, etc..

 

[Backlash]

Get any GM truck you can find with an LS engine or the 4.3. They are reliable, easy to repair and simple to work on. Won't break the bank when you buy it and you can teach them the simple skills to vehicle maintenance without he need for a computer.

 

[sintax]

Turns out you can still fit 5 teenagers in the damn thing!

you'd lose your shit if you heard how many people we crammed into a buddies VW Cabriolet when I was in highschool. Looking back.... not wise

 

[yard dog]

So I’m on the hunt for my daughter’s 1st car. I am so over looking at Craigslist junk and peoples idea of good condition. It amazes me how I ask very specific questions as to what the car’s condition is, yet when I show up I can literally drive by and not even get out to look. I hate when people waste my time!! That being said... does anybody have anything they are looking to sell? I’m looking to stay in the $5k range and do not want anything that needs work. I’m open to brand and model as long as it’s something worth while. Anything out there???

Here is pictures of the Ranger , ac , auto transmission, 4cyl , new tires, Sony Radio system, 2011 yr

 

[bilz]

Neighbors kid has some sort of single cab chevy. I saw 3 kids jump out of the cab, grab skate boards out of the bed. They skated to the house and two rode in the truck. All depends on the kid.

 

[DWC]

There are still a ton of the VW buyback TDIs on the market for cheap, golfs and jettas especially, even some audi A3s. Most have Really low miles, can find 6 speeds easily (preffered over the DCT), great engines that last forever. Lots of safety features

Realistic low 40s mpg average.

Thanks for the tip. Plan on picking up a commuter car soon...

 

[Mandelon]

Airbags make sense for new drivers.

 

[troostr]

Here is pictures of the Ranger , ac , auto transmission, 4cyl , new tires, Sony Radio system, 2011 yr View attachment 956079 View attachment 956080 View attachment 956081 View attachment 956082 View attachment 956079 View attachment 956080 View attachment 956081 View attachment 956082

How much?

 

[Joe mama]

Here is pictures of the Ranger , ac , auto transmission, 4cyl , new tires, Sony Radio system, 2011 yr View attachment 956079 View attachment 956080 View attachment 956081 View attachment 956082 View attachment 956079 View attachment 956080 View attachment 956081 View attachment 956082

How many miles? great little trucks

 

[jetboatperformance]

This was My Son Joshs first car, 408 windor C4 , We built it together when He was a junior in HS , bought a "hulk and worked it from there , looking back it was a lot of car for a kid

 

[Bowtiepower00]

Mileage is 111,500 , 7000.00 or obo

location? Old man has been looking for a truck as a 2nd vehicle.

 

[rivermobster]

I recommend a 4 cylinder what ever it is. toyota, Honda etc. good mileage, a lot safer. My X girlfriend gave her son her Tahoe as his 1st car. Total 'Goober' of a kid, ZERO concept of anything mechanical, let alone any concept of reality. Straight A's w/ less than zero in the common sense dept.. So she put one of those apps on his phone to track his ass . . . 1st week she clocks him doing 85 down a city street. He got a tongue lashing, that was it. Second week she clocks him doing 96 down PCH with other kids in the car (which he wasn't supposed to have until after the 1st year), he got a light restriction for a few days. A few months later he wraps the thing around a tree w/ 5 other kidiots in the car . . . slid it out in the rain being a throttle jockey. Totaled it, luckily just bumps & bruises. ZERO punishment. . . . I bailed on her after that one, I couldn't take the the fact that she wouldn't punish him for the consequences of his actions. Could've killed someone ELSES kid. Irresponsible IMO.

You sir are a wise man.