Yeah, I'm indecisive.

Ok, the more I talk about a first car with my mom the more open she gets to other vehicles other than econoboxes (not saying there's anything wrong with those) . I do want to make a definitive thread where I lay out my criteria and have the great minds of GRM help me out here. I want my first car to be important to me, I want it to be memorable.

1. Has to be reasonably fuel effiecient. No big block muscle essentially
2. Reliable, easy to work on, or both. Sorry Saab.
3. Sub 8-10k price tag
4. Relatively cheap to insure. I know that's an idividual thing, but something like an s2000 isn't gonna solve the financial problem.
5. Kinda practical, miata out.
6. Manual Trans

Things I wouldn't mind it having:

1. Large aftermarket support, cheap parts would be awesome. Or lots of comparability with other cars.
2. Big backseat

Econobox-ish, but not a penalty box. Should serve you well as a first car and relatively easy to find in a manual.

In reply to Matt B:

Don't 3s come in 2 flavors? 2.0 and 2.5? What's better in terms of a middle ground between power and economy?

You are doing yourself a big disservice to discount SAAB.

In reply to Rusted_Busted_Spit:

Hahaha if it were my choice I would have a 900 turbo already. But my mom has spoken, and Saab was sent to the guillotine.

Says the guy with what appears to be a Saab boost gauge as an avatar....

though really, Saabs aren't actually that bad from what I've seen.

That gen Mazda3 is a 2.0 or a 2.3 I think. Sport package got the 2.3, which is a plus. They also rust, which is a minus.

I vote turbo Volvo wagon.

4 cylinder/5 speed minitruck.

Cheap to buy, plate and insure.

Super easy to work on.

25-30mpg.

Tons of aftermarket. Lower it. Lift it. Make it your own.

Bench seats make it easy for your date to slide right over next to you. If it's a truck with manual locks, it gives you the chance to open their door for them and really impress them too.

Has a bed to haul stuff that can be used as a table, workbench or an actual bed. For activities. How much more practical can it get?

Station wagons have a heck of big and carefully romantic back seat. Just say'n. In fact, the Cavalier wagon that I didn't own, because I would never have a vehicle like that, was a wonderful date car.

In reply to gearheadE30:

A Volvo 240, turbo wagon, with a 5-speed is a bit of a unicorn 'round these parts.

In reply to STM317:

Ford ranger / Nissan Frontier has crossed my mind. Easy to find with a 5-speed and the ranger has an endless aftermarket.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/mopar3ddxOM

Find and watch all of this.

As far as "date" cars go. I had the most action in a 1985 Subaru Wagon. Update 20 years and I'm gonna say Outback.

gearheadE30 wrote: I vote turbo Volvo wagon.

2nd! Cheap to buy, cheap to repair, reliable as a brick, quick, cheap to insure and theres an aftermarket for them but most the stuff is diy (and cheap)

Maybe im biased cause ive owned 3 redblock turbo volvos by now, but also over a dozen other cars and the volvos are most fun to me

NoPermitNeeded wrote: In reply to gearheadE30: A Volvo 240, turbo wagon, with a 5-speed is a bit of a unicorn 'round these parts.

Add the turbo to a 240 (last year for turbo 240 was 85) or get a 740/940, way more common. Oh an the manuals arent as strong as the turbo autos

Depends on just how fuel efficient you need to be. I'd opt for the 2.3 if possible.

He did not rule out FWD.. so I am going to throw the Volvo 850 out there. The Sedans can be had with a 5 speed.. the wagons could be found with in "R" flavour

Have a mazda3 2.0. For a brand new driver, plenty of power, don't need the 2.3. Will outrun a 1.6 Miata, merge onto a highway ahead of everyone else and cruise at 85mph if you want to.

However I THINK the 2.0 was only in the sedan?

Focus SVT?

In reply to foxtrapper:

Cavalier..... Wagon?

Mazda 626 gt hatch. F2T goodness and space for a Christmas tree in the boot.

Or if you want something newer Mazda 3 or duratec focus.

You can do like I did. I learned to drive in a 2004 Suburban and an '89 Dodge 1 ton. Every single normal car I drove after that felt like a race car... until the PT Cruiser on sketchy tires that is. My only advice is that 8k is way too high for a first car budget, because for 8-10k I'm looking for an LS1/T56 4th gen f-body. If that doesn't work because of insurance and practicality (it has a hatch, what more do you want?) Roadmaster wagon.

Or like... a Neon, or a Civic. I guess. I'm not very good at this am I?

NoPermitNeeded wrote: In reply to foxtrapper: Cavalier..... Wagon?

Yep. They made one. I never had one. It was never at my house. I never went camping in it and such. Insurance on a station wagon is probably about as cheap as you're going to get, being a young male.

Volvo wagon has the same sex appeal. Which, judging by the success I had in the Cavalier wagon I didn't have, was pretty good actually.

In reply to NoPermitNeeded:

Oh well, I had to try. I still am surprised, many many years later, that my parents let me get a 64 Spitfire as my first car. It was in 1989 and on the way to pick it up my dad mentioned that he had never bought a car that was older then he was.

If I were you I would look at some of the "Hot Hatch" cars from the 80's 90's, but I have had an Alfa, a Spitfire and a slew of SAABs so I am a little warped.

I think that wagon has won me over as what I need to get... Now to figure which one. Volvo wagon's are enticing, but as I said I'd have to wait a while until one that wasn't a total POS popped up for sale with a manual. An outback or legacy wagon would be much easier to source with a 5-speed.

What about Jetta Wagons? Am I totally wrong for bringing up VW when reliability is concerned?

Corolla Wagon? Civic Wagon? Tercel 4wd???

Mazda 626 gt hatch. F2T goodness and space for a Christmas tree in the boot.

Good luck finding one, though. I'm not selling mine..

The definition of sex appeal: