Buyin a Car..any suggestions?

[Ryo]

I got my eye on the new 04 Toyota Celica. But I was wonderin if u guys had any suggestions for other new cars that are fast and reliable and look pretty nice that are at or under 20,000. Explain a lil bout it if i am not familiar wit it.

[Guest Sean]

Mmmmm, the Toyota Celica, lucky, i wish my dad would get it, lol. But what really are you wanting to do with it, you wanting to mod it or just leave it.

Cause when am old enough am just getting a Ford Escort, cheap on insurance, and you can do them up pretty nicely. Mmmmm NOS, lol.

If you look about though you'll find other cars, e.g Honda Coupé, Nssan Skyline (oh yeah) but i don't know how much you can buy the Skyline at now, seeing as there bringing out the new version.

But a Toyota Celica would be a brilliant choice, i think cause of the way it runs, plus it looks really nice, lol.

[Transtic Nerve]

You can probably get a decent Mazda 6 for under 20. You may have to dabble in the 2002 or 2003 models. It's sporty, its 4 door so it'll cost less on your insurance, V-6 to your 4 cylinder in the Celica... it won't get as good gas milliage as the Celica, but you can't really expect it to.

You can pretty much buy any Honda for under 20 grand. It depends on if you want to leave the car stock or mod it up. Its always cheaper to mod up Japanese cars, or crappy American cars like the Ford Escort. But if you wanna stay away from little crappy American cars (cause thats about all you'll get with 20) I suggest the Mazda 6, the Subaru WRX or Gti or whatever that Impreza model is, Celica is a good car, The Ralley Edition of the Lancer (although I don't recommend anything but the Evo for the Lancer)... or you can look for used cars and find yourself a really decent 1 or 2 year old car. You can ever buy yourself a new Mustang, although it'll be the low model end, or an older Camaro or Firebird. Lots of option, all depends on what you want or need in your car.

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[color=darkviolet]I'd recommend buying used because in most states you have to pay collision on a car you're making payments on and insurance can be a real you know what to take care of. Of course, if you can afford new, more power to ya.

I'd also consider taking any vehicle you look at to a mechanic you trust. Tehy can tell you how much the parts would cost if you have to replace them. (foriegn cars sometimes have parts that are harder to find than domestic cars and therefore are more expensive to replace.) Also , if you're buying used, the mechanic can tell you if there are any problems that the dealer may not tell you about.

If buying a used car, pick up a Kelly blue book to see if you're getting a good deal on the car. My car was sticker priced at $11,564 the blue book vaule was around $14,879 (or so).

When buying any car try to talk the guy down a bit either by getting a bit off your price or getting a bit extra. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, bring someone who does. We all use my dad because he can be pretty emberassing, but he brought my car's sticker price down to $11,464 and they were reluctant to do that. Also, if the sales person is unwilling to go down, don't hesitate to walk away. You could end up getting a better deal on that same car tomorrow.

Other than that I really don't know what advice I can give you since I honestly don't know about much cars when it comes to speed and such. Saturns and Fords are pretty cheap and so are Hyundais. But that's all I can really help with.

[b]edit[/b]While my brother and I were looking at cars, he almost got a 2004 Chevy Cavoleir (can't spell that) which was priced a bit over $10 grand. Of course, that was just a two door and I don't know what options it had.The only reason he didn't get one is becuase the insurance would have killed him. (Under 25 male with quite a few violations on his liscence)[/color]

[Falkon]

Ugh. Well, since my parents are gonna make me buy my own car, im lookin at something about 12.5 and under. However, with your limit, i would have to say get a used Mitsubishi Eclipse. They run about 22 new, but used im sure you can find one at about 15. The celicas are nice. My friend just got one (dont know what year) and hes real happy with it. It drives nice and has a nice sporty feel to it. However, if you are going to put more than 2 people in a celica... its not comfortable for the people in back.... way cramped, as my friends will tel you.

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

Eclipses are no faster than Celicas, and I can't say their build quality is better. I'd pick a Celica over an Eclipse for those reasons, although I think the Eclipse looks slightly cooler. There's also the Tiburon; nobody's mentioned that. It's under $20 and is pretty much in that same class of cars. Not quite as fast, but not quite as expensive.

As far as modding an Escort, you'd have to replace the engine altogether. No Ford engine's gonna live through heavy modding for long. In any case that's the impression I've gotten from the various Ford's we've gone through.

[Harry]

Buy a used car for two reasons:
1) New cars cost more for insurance, which will suck till you're 25. Then it will be a little better.
2)You're probably going to wreck it.

Also don't buy a car because it's "faster" than another. That will only lead to problems.

[Transtic Nerve]

[quote name='ScirosDarkblade']Eclipses are no faster than Celicas, and I can't say their build quality is better. I'd pick a Celica over an Eclipse for those reasons, although I think the Eclipse looks slightly cooler. There's also the Tiburon; nobody's mentioned that. It's under $20 and is pretty much in that same class of cars. Not quite as fast, but not quite as expensive.[/quote]

Well in all fairness, thats because it's a Hyundai. I don't think any kid, no matter what the cost, wants to say "Hey I got a new car! Its a.... hyundai...." ANyway, you'd have to get a Tiberon thats atleast two years old. And the GT model. Those look the best, the newer ones are nasty.

Anyway, About your Eclipse being slower than Celica.... it depends on two things, whos driving and how far your driving. The Eclipse has 2 cylinders less and much less weight, therefor it can jump up to 60 pretty fast, while the Eclipse has 2 extra cylinders and a bit more weight, it probably can't jump up to 60 as fast, but once it gets there, say goodbye to the Celica. 4-Bangers got the bang indeed, but they lack the longevity that V6s and 8s can run ya. If you went a quarter-mile, I honestly believe that between those two cars stock, it would be a toss up. Anything more than that, the Eclipse has it, anything less, the Celica. And yeah, you have to have a good driver too.

And some more adviceon buying a car, stay away from Neons. I always laugh when I see some punk kid driving a sooped up Neon. Yeah it's all cool and not, but it's A FRIGGIN NEON!

[Vegitto4]

I would recommend taking a look around eBay, and vehix.com. Those kinds of places tend to have reliable cars. Volvo is almost perfect for any situation. If your looking for speed, they have it. If you buy a little older model, and want to upgrade, it wont be to expensive. They are also built to last, and the insurance will be lower than other cars. Guessing here, but it seems as if your a under 25 driver. Your insurance will be through the roof, because your a liability. If you trust your driving, I would say get Liability insurance only. Also, get something that has great gas mileage, that always helps.

[Ryo]

Haha there is no way im gonna leave the stock body kit and the stock spoiler on it. I found an MR2 in my area. Its 2001 and passed only 19K. I was wondering if i should get that or the Celica. But the Celica is looking pretty nice about now lol no bad reviews