First car to buy

[Majorharper]

Hey guys, now I know I made this thread a while back, but I chose to do my pilot license instead of getting a car. I had a few problems with the law last summer and I kinda lost my license.. I am getting it back in feb and I was thinking of purchasing a car towards the end of march. I was thinking of a few types:

Volkswagen Jetta 2006 model (mk5) or Volkswagen Golf (mk4) both diesel. (Why Volkswagen? Because I know a mechanic that specializes in Audi/volks.) why diesel? Because gas is a little bit cheaper and double the mileage.

I also thought of subaru's for the impressive AWD for the harsh Quebec winters..

What are your opinions with first cars and brands?

Keep in mind I am 6ft4 (193cm) and 275lbs (127kg) so a Hyundai accent is a big NoNo for me...

My budget would be 6500-7000$ (Canadian $) simply because I don't want a shit box or a car that I will be scared of going from A->B with...

[I Am Vegeta]

Spoiler!

[*BlackFox]

Why not buy a "cheap runaround" to start with.. eh?
Anyway... Happy car hunting!

[Avalanche]

Just because you know a guy who specializes in those cars doesn't mean it'll be cheap. The parts alone are at a premium price for German cars, more than parts+labor for other cars.

[omier]

Sierra ftw.

[Ger_slayer]

Easy question get an s10

[Majorharper]

Just because you know a guy who specializes in those cars doesn't mean it'll be cheap. The parts alone are at a premium price for German cars, more than parts+labor for other cars.

He charges cost + 10% which its 25-50$ more expensive than other car parts roughly and he charges 45$/hr so it is cheap.

The reason why I don't want a. Cheap runaround is that I want a car thats going to last me 4-6 years off the bat..

[Ger_slayer]

Get a honda, or a acura.

[Love]

Ferrari or gtfo.

Spoiler!

http://www.dodge.com/en/2013/dart/

doesnt look too bad.

[Majorharper]

I did see the dart yet I don't have the money for a brand new 2013 car, and I don't want to lease a car either ...

I did have an eye on a few Acura RSX, but the turnoff is the 2 doors... I'd like a car with 4 doors...

[Mayumi]

Best advice i can give on your first car would be Jap car, Honda, Toyota the reason why i say this is there built to last not like Ford or Vauxhall where the body of the car starts to rust (especially around wheel arch and door sills) within 6-7 year from new. Parts are cheap for Jap makes also, hope this has helped.

[Majorharper]

Best advice i can give on your first car would be Jap car, Honda, Toyota the reason why i say this is there built to last not like Ford or Vauxhall where the body of the car starts to rust (especially around wheel arch and door sills) within 6-7 year from new. Parts are cheap for Jap makes also, hope this has helped.

Yeah especially in Quebec, cars rust like no other, and I was defenatly not looking at fords, and there aren't any vauxhalls here.

Many honda's and mazda's here rust a lot though... certain "bad" years...

[Mayumi]

Best advice i can give on your first car would be Jap car, Honda, Toyota the reason why i say this is there built to last not like Ford or Vauxhall where the body of the car starts to rust (especially around wheel arch and door sills) within 6-7 year from new. Parts are cheap for Jap makes also, hope this has helped.

Yeah especially in Quebec, cars rust like no other, and I was defenatly not looking at fords, and there aren't any vauxhalls here.

Many honda's and mazda's here rust a lot though... certain "bad" years...

Majority of the time the owners dont take car of the cars, hence why there start rusting, the missus has a toyota yaris (from new) its 10 year old now and there not a mark on it it still has original exhaust system and cat converter, i always keep on top of our cars making sure there serviced, changing plugs ,filters, oil, brakes every 25k milage,and so on.

[judemars]

Get the new model of Lamborghini! However, the most renowned car to use crowdsourced vehicle style was the Local Motors Rally Fighter, which is still available and totally awesome. Numerous major vehicle corporations are using it too, so the possibilities are near endless.

[Aristocrat]

i'd get a saab for that money theyre fast n pretty and rare in the states.

[Majorharper]

i'd get a saab for that money theyre fast n pretty and rare in the states.

Saab's aren't popular here, and they are pricey, and there are not many local garages that specialize in saab's.

Im starting to seriously look into Volkswagen jetta's and golfs mk4 (2000-2005) in the 3000-5000$ canadian dollar range, since I will probably go back to school in late august and I will have made limited amount of cash from here to august.

So far my research has led me to cross out the 2.0L automatics because of frequent transmition problems. I was looking at the 1.8T models, although finding one that hasn't been beaten up by a kid, or modified with useless shit such as lowering the suspension, chipping the engine e.t.c. Is really hard....

But I am not in a hurry so I will keep looking for some deals on kijiji, lespac, and auto trader. I dont know if craigs list exsists for montreal region..

[omier]

What about Volvo?

[Aristocrat]

my first car was a saab crashed it at 100km/h after 1month and bought a hummer h2 instead, I can't come up with any idea, prices varies alot depending on where u live

[Majorharper]

What about Volvo?

Volvo is the same, they didn't really pierce the market here in Quebec. I mean yes there are a few dealerships but they are very scares and the parts are hard to come by and usually more expensive.

From what I have read, Volkswagen parts being very expensive is only a myth, and they are in fact not that expensive.

[Aventus]

You seem dead set on vw's.

[Majorharper]

Myeah well its a reliable car that is good looking and not American. It's hard to find something else here for same quality/price

[Aventus]

Vw's aren't all they are cracked up to be and repairs tend to be pricey atleast in the states.

[Majorharper]

Yeah same here, if you don't know anyone. VW charges 125$/hr for repairs, plus the part. But the guy we know charges 50$/hr so its a much better deal

[Aventus]

I mean your getting a diesel so you obviously arent looking for speed so what are you looking for in a car?

[Majorharper]

Well, stability, longevity, good mpg, and I certainly don't need speed right now.

I know I said I was looking at the diesel models, but the 1.8T engine looks very promising, although its like finding a pearl in the ocean, (talking about a non-modified 1.8T engine). It doesn't mean that I want speed, I just want a good engine that wont let me down, and I know that I have the power under my foot if I ever need it. I have made big mistakes before with fast cars, and that is the main reason I can't do any sort of speeding anymore. So even though I am not looking for speed, I like the 1.8T and the 1.9 TDI models, because from all the forums I have been visiting the 2.0L engine has a popular surname of the 2.slow.

Another thing that I am looking for, is having a well equiped car for a reasonable price. Which is what most of the MKIV volkswagen's give. Most of them come with a lot of standard equipment such as electric windows, sunroof, heated seats e.t.c. Which is very appealing for a car that is under $5k.

I did look at the subaru's AWD system which is a huge winner for our harsh winters, but the gas consumption (because its AWD) is far greater than a FWD car.

My only concern with the 1.8T engine is the type of fuel I have to put. Is it mandatory to put higher octane gas, or will the unleaded regular gas be fine? What are the pros / cons to that?

[Avalanche]

You only use the octane rating that is said in the owner's manual. If they say put 87, put 87. Don't be putting 91 octane because you think it gives you better mpg or burns cleaner or any other false reason. Each engine has different compression ratios and timing degrees.

If you put 91 in an engine that uses 87, you can cause pinging from detonation because 91 octane gas needs to be compressed more in comparison to lower grades.

[Aventus]

Subbies arent that Terrible on gas and they are awesome in the snow. Driving my grandma's outback in these Michigan snow storms is like a dream. Looks, mpg's and all that are important but not anywhere near as important as practicality. If your area gets a shit load of snow and they don't plow it well then you really should look for awd.

[Majorharper]

You only use the octane rating that is said in the owner's manual. If they say put 87, put 87. Don't be putting 91 octane because you think it gives you better mpg or burns cleaner or any other false reason. Each engine has different compression ratios and timing degrees.

If you put 91 in an engine that uses 87, you can cause pinging from detonation because 91 octane gas needs to be compressed more in comparison to lower grades.

Thats true, and boy could that screw up an engine...

Subbies arent that Terrible on gas and they are awesome in the snow. Driving my grandma's outback in these Michigan snow storms is like a dream. Looks, mpg's and all that are important but not anywhere near as important as practicality. If your area gets a shit load of snow and they don't plow it well then you really should look for awd.

Well usually when there is heavy snowfall I don't go out at all and just wait for plowing to be done before I leave.