I totaled my car and am now looking for somethign new.

[Spillages]

I'd like to get as many opinions as possible about these different cars. Right now my first choice woudl be:

1984 Pontiac Fiero
http://spokane.craigslist.org/car/752574743.html

and yes I am a young kid still in the eyes of most others (18)
and i'd have to rush out and try and grab this if possible as I went through a year of school for autobody and woudl love cutting and fiberglassing this to fit
http://spokane.craigslist.org/pts/739446806.html

So, I know all my stuff abotu interior and exterior of cars and it'd be a really nice looking car for me, but unfortunately I lack the knowledge in mechanics such as engines and whatnot, I mean I can fix them withotu much problems if I know what i'm doing because I like to ask as many people as possible for advice. But I can't seem to find much history on these cars or what sort of things generally like to go wrong with them. So hopefully someone here stumbles upon this and can assist me.

Also, here are the other cars I have seen. The celica has been my dream car for quite some time now, but keep in mind I turned 18 less than a month ago and have a job for 20-25 hrs per week @ minumum wage so Money is a BIG issue. Right now I have about $500 saved up and my next paycheck is a week away, hopefully to be about $350-$400 and I have the stero from my old car I am trying to sell, so there's another $150 and sellign the car itself to the junkyard is another $125 So I have about $1000 to spend on my new car and not much more. Recently I also applied for a credit card through my bank and am waiting to see if I was approved and for how much.

Here is a list of the other cars:

1990 Toyota Celica
http://spokane.craigslist.org/car/745119114.html

1984 Honda Prelude
http://spokane.craigslist.org/car/752244400.html

1993 Geo Metro
http://spokane.craigslist.org/car/751537771.html

1993 Mazda MX6
http://spokane.craigslist.org/car/709965477.html

1991 Mazda MX6
http://spokane.craigslist.org/car/702385810.html

[Torkess_theCommie]

I have a 1988 Pontiac Firefly which is pretty much exactly the same shape as the Geo Metro except the '93 is probably AT. I know virtually nothing about cars but I love these things because they can pretty much fit anywhere and parking takes no skill with these things.

If you get the chance, drive a car with manual transmission. They can save you money on gas and are fun to drive.

Some of these cars look pretty beat up. You can ask for a cheaper price because chances are you might be the only person who even has interest in their car. Look out for rust on body, good way to get a lower price.

[nitefyre]

you should get a Flintstones vehicle

would avoid the totalling

[BarbaricAvatar]

Hmmm..

The Prelude in the ad needs a new clutch which is probably going to cost more than the car is worth itself. Plus i get the impression from 'the transmission is already out' that the car doesn't even work at the moment.
The two MX-6's require new transmissions so ditto with parts costing more than the car is worth.
The Celica will probably be the most reliable, I still see lots of that model shape around today unlike the other cars mentioned. It's out of your price range though if you take into account the cost of the water pump that it needs.
The Metro is overpiced for what it is, and it's not good for a car to leave it sitting for a year without turning the engine over from time to time.

From the list i think the Fiero's probably the best choice, but you'd need to find out if there's anything wrong with the it as nothing is mentioned in the ad.... which can be a bad sign.

I think you'll be able to find a Metro or similar small car in better shape for less money though.

[Spillages]

Here is the Fiero from above, found this while searching, seems it was a bit higher a month ago and he has put 1k miles on it since, so it seems to be a daily driver and running well and is wanting to sell it, possibly offer him $700 cash and see where goes.
http://spokane.craigslist.org/car/724442136.html

Also another reasonable with excellent looking interior
http://spokane.craigslist.org/car/714974709.html


I'm kinda liking these Fiero body styles, maybe even a decent del sol. http://spokane.craigslist.org/car/755413396.html
http://spokane.craigslist.org/car/755409770.html

[fishfin]

Just out of curiosity how did you total your car if you don't mind me asking?

[formerly known as hf]

Don't buy a car.

Get a bike. Use public transport. Use the limbs you were born with. Stop polluting our planet.

[Antichrist_Online]

I second HF... less of you burning fuel, the more there will be when I can finally afford that 1979 Trans Am... (which is mainly for sitting on the drive and being used for... well you know .

[BarbaricAvatar]

I prefer the '78 myself.

Get a bike. Use public transport. Use the limbs you were born with. Stop polluting our planet.

Stop inhaling burning plants.

[Crosshair]

That is HAWT! (I've got my eye on a terrible Chrysler across the road... it's 800 quid but what with insurance being so expensive and fuel as well...)

By the way, How much is fuel in America? cause here the most expensive i've seen is £2.10 a litre.


Also, most cars in the UK are manual... the Chrysler is automatic... which is a bad point considering the ammount of fuel.

[Spillages]

In my city gas is currently averaging $4.25 per gallon

Current conversion rate would be
1 US$ = 0.500876534 UK£
1 US gallon = 3.78541178 litre

and my math is seeming so bad at the moment because it is 2 AM so i'll let you figure it out.



As for how I got in the wreck, There was a stop sign hidden behind a bush which was not visible long enough to react at the posted speed limit. The other car did not have a stop sign which automatically made it my fault by law. I wrecked a tiny little 1986 dodge 600 convertible (chrystler K-Car/Lebaron/etc...) with a full size chevy van, which unluckily belonged to a big church and was hauling 15 5-10 yr olds + the driver.

[fishfin]

Oh. That makes me think of all those 'speed traps' in small towns. You're sailing along at highway speeds, enter a town, and the speed drops from 65 to 25, and the worst part is that there is ussually a police car sitting there.

[frenchfisher]

In my city gas is currently averaging $4.25 per gallon

Current conversion rate would be
1 US$ = 0.500876534 UK£
1 US gallon = 3.78541178 litre

and my math is seeming so bad at the moment because it is 2 AM so i'll let you figure it out.

That works out to approximately £0.56/liter or €0.71/liter.

[Spillages]

In my city gas is currently averaging $4.25 per gallon

Current conversion rate would be
1 US$ = 0.500876534 UK£
1 US gallon = 3.78541178 litre

and my math is seeming so bad at the moment because it is 2 AM so i'll let you figure it out.

That works out to approximately £0.56/liter or €0.71/liter.

That is what I was getting but doesn't seem right if he is paying over £2.0

[frenchfisher]

In my city gas is currently averaging $4.25 per gallon

Current conversion rate would be
1 US$ = 0.500876534 UK£
1 US gallon = 3.78541178 litre

and my math is seeming so bad at the moment because it is 2 AM so i'll let you figure it out.

That works out to approximately £0.56/liter or €0.71/liter.

That is what I was getting but doesn't seem right if he is paying over £2.0

We complain that gas is over $4/gallon, but it's rather more elsewhere...

I'm not sure if they use the same grade of gasoline, though, so that could account for a bit of the difference, along with the fact that he used the highest price he could find (while you used an average). Still, gas is perhaps 2-3x more expensive in Europe.