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Initial D World - Discussion Board / Forums > Automotive Discussion > Options for buying a car in about 4 years

Posted by: schouppeke Jun 18 2017, 05:36 AM

Hey IDW! I recently joined the forums and to start off i'd like to ask you all a question about what you think would be a great car for me. I am currently 15 and i really can't wait to get my license and then my first car. Of course, as i can use every € i need, i already looked over the options on the cars i could eventually buy as a first car. I've been searching 2nd hand cars sites and such, But as i do realise i don't even have a budget because i don't have a job. (Altho i recieve money from parents or grandparents often.) Resulting in me searching cars at a cheaper price. I am planning to do a student job as soon as possible to keep money aside for the day i have to buy a car, But the thing is... Insurance, mpg and taxation are big obstacles for a young driver. I'd like to get a neat little car which is also both fun and a bit sporty, As i want to keep it for further use and customisation. I also want to use it daily which is maybe another obstacle in my way to choose a car. I really hope you guys can help me find a suitable car! Thanks in advance c;

Posted by: Nomake Wan Jun 18 2017, 10:00 AM

Honda Beat. See you in four years.

Posted by: xiao Jun 18 2017, 11:28 AM

I really reaaaaally wanna recommend the Toyobaru T8Zee but..... I MUSN'T！ AHHHH！ ・ But seriously welcome to the forum my dude, Nomake knows his K-Cars so listen to him. Although personally I'd recommend to get into mechanics and car design. Video Games are awesome especially nowadays with fast computers, and there's nothing wrong with lighting the burden on your parents that are probably working really hard to help you go to school. I'd recommend to start becoming more RL social and join a local car club, but also keep us here your friends in internet-land posted. Belgium is the home of the infamous Spa ERR F1GP corner ~ so I'm sure you'll find enthusiasts if you just surf around for them. I know it seems like an unbearable time at 15, but take it easy & find a nice job you enjoy doing. Then when you're steadily employed, invest in a nice affordable sports car you can start modifying & wrenching away at it. If you want to be a signer, you don't need to study music production & sound design, cause that's tuff's for Dr Dre Skrillex Martin Garrix & David G right...? Wrong. So if you have dreams of being a race car driver like Hamilton, Schumie, Collin, Loeb, Solberg, or Takumi ~ indulge in the beautiful art of mechanical design. That passion, even if you become a famous F1 driver or just a gaijin tuning shop in Yokohama modding BRZed's, will carry you through life more than a drive in best car money can buy. Yukkuri little Padawan ★ life's just begun to unfold before you this very day！ https://youtube.com/watch?v=Kxn6RJEwZwI

Posted by: Sensation! Jun 18 2017, 12:10 PM

Don't know who you are or what you want. Go get a Honda Civic, make sure it's not a piece of shit death trap. Edit: Fanboying a 30K USD GT when the dude wants cheap in price and insurance. Get the fuck outta here with that.

Posted by: xiao Jun 18 2017, 01:43 PM

QUOTE (Sensation! @ 1 hour, 32 minutes ago) Edit: Fanboying a 30K USD GT when the dude wants cheap in price and insurance. Get the fuck outta here with that. Too early...? I should've recommended an AE86 Hatch! When I got my first car it was a 2001 Corolla with very few miles & chugged along great, but it got totaled by a careless F-150. I used the insure money to buy a cheap Saturn SC1 coupe, but hit my head on the table EVERY day when I saw how much my friend was having fun with his Civic. As you mentioned, Civics are great！

Posted by: schouppeke Jun 18 2017, 03:17 PM

Haha thanks guys, I'm really enjoying the replies! I've looked at a few kei cars here in Belgium, Turns out they're expensive af. I stick around car enthusiasts alot tho, And i also do small repairs on my parent's cars sometimes > i want to study car mechanics but not in high school, currently in economics. I've looked at a few Civics too but the cheaper ones are just plain rustbuckets, As i have a weak spot for Honda i'd love to get one, But that would be around the €4.5k range... I could eventually make that without any problems with an OK job. Atm i am just trying to finish school, and possibly doing a few jobs in summer holidays. I could eventually ask my mum if i could drive the Corolla if i have my license. But oh well... Anyways, thanks alot guys! Really made me smile. [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

Posted by: Nomake Wan Jun 18 2017, 09:31 PM

Whatever you do don't listen to Xiao when it comes to recommendations for a first car. I thought you were in the UK for some reason, but if the Beat is too expensive where you are then I default to Sensation!'s response. A cheapass Civic or Corolla or Legacy or some other beater that you can get for relatively low cost, has four doors (should keep insurance down), has a relatively small engine (should keep insurance and registration costs down, if I'm remembering overseas displacement laws correctly), and most importantly is safe and something you can both wrench on fairly easily and hate yourself in. The point here is it's your first car. Do not spend oodles of money on it. Do not get something crazy and then drown in peripheral costs. We've had members do that, and the result was not pretty. It'd be even worse somewhere that cares about engine displacement and stuff like that. Drive the shit out of it, learn everything you can, and utilize it as you find employment that will let you get something you actually want and at that point can actually afford to have. Best of luck.

Posted by: Sensation! Jun 18 2017, 11:43 PM

QUOTE (Nomake Wan @ 2 hours, 11 minutes ago) has four doors (should keep insurance down), has a relatively small engine (should keep insurance and registration costs down, if I'm remembering overseas displacement laws correctly), and most importantly is safe and something you can both wrench on fairly easily and hate yourself in. The point here is it's your first car. Do not spend oodles of money on it. Do not get something crazy and then drown in peripheral costs. We've had members do that, and the result was not pretty. It'd be even worse somewhere that cares about engine displacement and stuff like that. Drive the shit out of it, learn everything you can, and utilize it as you find employment that will let you get something you actually want and at that point can actually afford to have. Best of luck. This. Minus the hate yourself in. Well, maybe the hate yourself in part. There's a lot of neat post 2000 European cars that are quite good and very safe; Mondeos, Fiestas, and Focus come in mind. Euro Accords and Civics are also extremely cool as well. It doesn't have to JUST be a boring appliance, there's a lot of hidden gems even among cars you think are mundane. I stress that a daily driver needs to have side-curtain airbags; but as you're in europe, the amount of massive pickup trucks and SUV's are low, so that might be a luxury you can afford to skip. Side impact airbags however are a must for a daily driver in this day and age. If you choose to daily a car made before the mid 90's, it's a risk you accept that you may sustain injuries of a higher severity when someone who's drunk or otherwise impaired runs a light. It's the same risk that motorcyclists deal with each day. If you're okay with that, feel free to get something older.

Posted by: The Sixth Element Jun 20 2017, 08:01 AM

In about 4 years, you're probably gonna hit a fork in the road. JDM cars are cheap and (somewhat) reliable, but the same can be applied to the european cars as well. The most popular daily cars as well as a fun weekend car in the car community is -FR-S -Honda Civic (EG - FD) -Integra/RDX -S2K -BMW 3 series (from 91 to 04) -Mitsubishi eclipse and lancer -Subaru Impreza and Legacy. There are more options but these are the ones some to most people get and daily. Some people would disagree with the european car as a daily, but I've been doing it since I got my car. I didn't spend over a grand with it when it had problems.

Posted by: Nomake Wan Jun 20 2017, 10:19 AM

There are a lot of things on that list that might not be fiscally responsible. I mean, yes, it does depend on his own financial situation in four years--which is incredibly nebulous, that's a long time--but still. I dunno. Maybe I'm just jaded. lol

Posted by: Spaz Jun 20 2017, 06:14 PM

The best answer I can give, especially as someone who's spent time in the automotive industry and monitored the life cycle of your average consumer cars, is that this conversation is relatively pointless now. The climate in the industry is under constant change, and it's tough to say now what cars will be in what price range in 4 years, let alone which will depreciate, or which will appreciate during that time, let alone what surprise issues can crop up in an entire model run after X number of years go by, even if they're fine now. Plenty of things drive the shifts in the market including but not limited to fuel prices, emissions laws, recalls, etc. I mean, who knew that a year and a few months ago the S2000 prices would be at their lowest point? The same cars are going for minimum $3k more now than they were then, and people are paying it unquestioningly! Demand is high because the economy is getting better and more people can justify a fun car, and also because of the strong shift in grassroots motorsports to the chassis due to an increase in successes over the past few years as development for the chassis matures. The Nissan S-chassis saw a massive increase in price across all genereations as drifting became a thing as they are hands down one of if not THE best chassis to enter the sport due to a wide number of factors. You get the picture. But I agree with N1 one getting something basic. Doesn't have to be boring, but basic is best. Plus, it's way more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow because you're scared of it.

Posted by: RalliKai Jun 21 2017, 06:51 AM

For a first, out-of-the-gate car? Honda Fit/Jazz.

Posted by: The Sixth Element Jun 22 2017, 01:38 PM

QUOTE (Nomake Wan @ Jun 20 2017, 10:19 AM) There are a lot of things on that list that might not be fiscally responsible. I mean, yes, it does depend on his own financial situation in four years--which is incredibly nebulous, that's a long time--but still. I dunno. Maybe I'm just jaded. lol I'd agree as well but since the economy will shift from good to bad(vice versa), it all depends. The list does have cars that doesn't seem "fiscally responsible" but most share common ties, which is aftermarket parts and cheap prices. Craigslist has these cars up on sale and most of them are cheap. Yes, some are money pits but thats why you always check up and have a second opinion. I myself was in the same process, but now that its somewhat reachable, its not impossible. But then again, everything can change in 4 years

Posted by: Nomake Wan Jun 22 2017, 01:59 PM

Well keep in mind that he also specified MPG, insurance, and taxes. Having a coupe is probably going to hurt the wallet more over time than a sedan or a wagon. Now, to be fair, a Beat is a coupe too...but it's also tiny with a tiny engine. I thought that might counteract the potential insurance bump, but it looks like the actual problem with the Beat is that it's not readily available in Belgium. Thus falling back on 'boring' things like a Civic, Corolla or Legacy sedan/wagon.

Posted by: Spaz Jun 22 2017, 06:29 PM

Not all sedans are cheap to insure... One of mine definitely isn't.

Posted by: Nomake Wan Jun 23 2017, 07:04 AM

Well yes, but generally if the word 'turbocharger' goes anywhere near a car, the insurance rate goes up by default. Whereas my '74 Maverick sedan was the least I've paid in insurance ever.

Posted by: The Sixth Element Jun 25 2017, 09:51 PM

Any sedan that has over 300 bhp, German or Japanese, or has M , AMG, Evo, Sti, or Type R is not an easy car to ensure or afford anyhow.

Posted by: RIT_ninja Sep 23 2017, 05:21 AM

As a guy who just bought his first car (GT86), I highly recommend getting a second hand sports car because you can swap out used parts without feeling wasting money and new cars depreciate too fast for young drivers to afford them. Try to look for: Nissan 350Z/37 Toyota GT86 Infiniti G35/G37 Impreza WRX/STI Honda S2000 Honda Civic Type R Honda Integra Type R BMW 3-series or 5 series Porsche Cayman (Will be around 10 years old, make sure you know a mechanic or two)

Posted by: Nomake Wan Sep 23 2017, 02:42 PM

>I recommend a second-hand sports car Factoring in the things that OP actually said he was concerned about I couldn't disagree any more strongly. [ Post made via Mobile Device ]

Posted by: kyonpalm Sep 24 2017, 04:11 AM

Get a manual 6th gen Accord sedan. Relatively good MPG, very comfortable and spacious, fun enough and easy to work on, and they look pretty nice to boot (imo, at least as long as you're lucky enough to find one not beat up these days).

Posted by: Tessou Sep 24 2017, 03:47 PM

QUOTE (RIT_ninja @ Yesterday, 9:21 AM) As a guy who just bought his first car (GT86), I highly recommend getting a second hand sports car because you can swap out used parts without feeling wasting money and new cars depreciate too fast for young drivers to afford them. Try to look for: Nissan 350Z/37 Toyota GT86 Infiniti G35/G37 Impreza WRX/STI Honda S2000 Honda Civic Type R Honda Integra Type R BMW 3-series or 5 series Porsche Cayman (Will be around 10 years old, make sure you know a mechanic or two) This is probably the worst advice to give to a first time driver/owner. That entire list is just asking for trouble. Porsche anything as a first car? Get the fuck outta here, dude.

Posted by: Seri Sep 24 2017, 04:04 PM

QUOTE (kyonpalm @ Today, 7:11 AM) Get a manual 6th gen Accord sedan. Relatively good MPG, very comfortable and spacious, fun enough and easy to work on, and they look pretty nice to boot (imo, at least as long as you're lucky enough to find one not beat up these days). Gonna piggyback off that with an EP gen Civic manual or a Prelude. I would recommend my generation, the EK, but uh, good luck finding one. Alternatively, you could get a Saabaru 9-2X.

Posted by: Nomake Wan Sep 24 2017, 10:15 PM

QUOTE (Seri @ 6 hours, 11 minutes ago) Alternatively, you could get a Saabaru 9-2X. >turbo Insurance would bite him in the arse.

Posted by: Seri Sep 25 2017, 08:54 AM

QUOTE (Nomake Wan @ Today, 1:15 AM) >turbo Insurance would bite him in the arse. Yes, if you get the Aero trim, which has the WRX's 2.0L Turbo. The Linear trim was naturally aspirated, with a 2.5L.

Posted by: Nomake Wan Sep 25 2017, 01:06 PM

Oh, I was not aware there was a non-turbo Saabaru. My bad on that, then.

Posted by: Seri Sep 25 2017, 01:32 PM

Yeah, most people don't. The best part is, because of that, you can get better insurance than an Impreza wagon. Saab looks better than Subaru, after all. Though insurance is obviously a case by case basis, to cover my arse on that statement.

Posted by: The Sixth Element Sep 26 2017, 12:34 AM

QUOTE (RIT_ninja @ Sep 23 2017, 05:21 AM) As a guy who just bought his first car (GT86), I highly recommend getting a second hand sports car because you can swap out used parts without feeling wasting money and new cars depreciate too fast for young drivers to afford them. Try to look for: Nissan 350Z/37 Toyota GT86 Infiniti G35/G37 Impreza WRX/STI Honda S2000 Honda Civic Type R Honda Integra Type R BMW 3-series or 5 series Porsche Cayman (Will be around 10 years old, make sure you know a mechanic or two) I would agree ..... if you have a great knowledge and study of them. Since I actually go to a trade school and studied the basics and myself have studied the 90s BMW engineering, I'm decently comfortable with BMWs but I wouldn't buy a second hand sports car. As I said previously, some of them have cheap liability insurance and good ways to fix up issues. Also, OP is looking for something thats technically not a sports car but something similar. (This is all the BMW issues that get its stereotypes) -I can tell you that the e36 BMWs have bad wiring which can end up a the car not starting after you turn off the car. (This problem is solved by replacing a blown 15 amp fuse for the brake lights) -Most BMWs have Plastic parts for the cooling system. no other brand uses plastic unless you're pretty cheap -the vanos system in the 2000s bmw are awful after 80K miles. The job to fix the Vanos system is pretty pricey. -BMWs V8s has great power and torque (the vanos systems really help out with that) until you get to the 2000s and over in which its strong point is its weakness. -V10 = great but why would you even buy it to drive it as a daily? Don't be stupid and NOT BUY THE V10 One more thing about bimmers, most of the people that were originally first owners that sold off their cars didn't take care of them. BMWs aren't delicate but its not bulletproof if you don't care of them.

Posted by: schouppeke Oct 14 2017, 11:15 AM

Oh damn. That Saabaru looks good. Sadly there's only 1 here in Belgium and it costs 9000€ D:

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