Need to find a car for an 18 y.o. girl.

Saturn something or other.

WilberM3 wrote: In reply to fast_eddie_72: if they arent all gone, a civic del sol could accomplish that same task without the lift throttle possibilities.

True. If you're worried about it on an MR2 though, the big ST bar makes them push. I don't understand why Toyota didn't just put on a bigger stock bar rather than redesigning everything for '93.

I thought you meant a car someone was willing to TRADE for an 18 year old!

I don't think the question of "not boring to an 18 y.o." has been addressed.

You guys are all answering with cars that would not be boring to the GRM crowd. I don't thnk that works.

I'm betting VW Beetle, or NYG Neon would be high on her list.

I second avoiding the S-10 pickup truck.

18 you say? How about my car. With me in it.

$3500 worth of civic, and maybe a AAA card.

Keep in mind, as a further plus point for the G20 over the Celica and MR2 being pitched (good alternatives, tho)...the G20 has a timing CHAIN so no worries about the timing belt snapping and turning the engine into a large paperweight. Other than that, another good suggestion, but she won't like it, is an Escort/ZX2.

Most of the 18 year olds I know could give a crap about the car, as long as her and her friends look good in it. How else do you explain my cousin getting a v6 slushbox stang at 18. No one should want that car.

"Did I mention that the tank is a tank?"

Hello Kitty seat covers

mndsm wrote: Most of the 18 year olds I know could give a crap about the car, as long as her and her friends look good in it. How else do you explain my cousin getting a v6 slushbox stang at 18. No one should want that car.

Yep, here's the thing about "not boring. It will likely depend on how it looks. For this, there's no substitute for asking her.

integraguy wrote: Keep in mind, as a further plus point for the G20 over the Celica and MR2 being pitched (good alternatives, tho)...the G20 has a timing CHAIN so no worries about the timing belt snapping and turning the engine into a large paperweight. Other than that, another good suggestion, but she won't like it, is an Escort/ZX2.

The only saving grace for the Celica is that its a non interference engine. When we had ours I did not even bother to keep track of when the belt was done last. When it broke the car stopped, called tow truck and had it replaced.

chuckles wrote:

mndsm wrote: Most of the 18 year olds I know could give a crap about the car, as long as her and her friends look good in it. How else do you explain my cousin getting a v6 slushbox stang at 18. No one should want that car.

Yep, here's the thing about "not boring. It will likely depend on how it looks. For this, there's no substitute for asking her.

To second my own previous statement, I bring you the case of the girl I work with. At approx 18, she bought a 2g Neon because it was "cute". Has since traded it for an HHR since that was "cute". Sometimes you just cannot learn em.

G20 is a very good idea IMO.
A del Sol wouldn't be bad either, but would likely be nixed because she can't take any friends (other than 1) with. I doubt many 18 yo grls would consider a compact pick up not boring.
The not boring part is very subjective. I happen to enjoy driving my old altima and don't consider it boring. she probably would. I currently have an 01 SL1 parked outside that belongs to a 20yr old girl. She wrecked it even though it is a boring car.

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: The only saving grace for the Celica is that its a non interference engine.

The other saving grace for the Celica is doing a timing belt is a doddle compared to the MR2.

fast_eddie_72 wrote:

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: The only saving grace for the Celica is that its a non interference engine.

The other saving grace for the Celica is doing a timing belt is a doddle compared to the MR2.

Assuming we're talking about the 2.2, it can also go much longer than the indicated 60k replacement period. Mine has 114k miles on it and counting. I haven't bothered replacing it because 1) i HOPE that motor has a spectacular failure, and 2) reasons said above, it won't hurt it. Worst case scenario, you get stranded somewhere and spend a day fixing it tomorrow.

no one has mentioned Nissan Altima. Built solid and totally reliable. I have no opinion what an 18yo girl would think about it other than hopefully just happy to have a car.

My 18 yo daughter decided on a 5 speed V6 Camaro all on her own. Mid 20s gas mileage and parts are cheap. She loves it because she is the only girl at school not driving a crappy econobox. We are putting a clutch in it Saturday, but other than that no problems. Well, except for the time she put it into a curb and busted two wheels and bent the rear axle.

I have no recommendation other than letting her pick the car and reserve the right to veto. If she doesn't like it you will never hear the end of it.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

JFX001 wrote: Saturn SC?

Also a good choice, but i wouldn't wish it upon Synthetic Blinker Fluid to work on the damn thing.

I'm fairly certain a monkey could figure out how to change a clutch on a Saturn S-series without even trying. And then it'd be able to do it with only 10, 13, 15, and 18mm wrenches and a floor jack.

S-series is a really good choice. More reliable than any other car that's been named, save for a small Toyota or Honda. Not fast enough to really get into trouble, plentiful cars built with autos. Also plentiful in junkyards for cheap parts. Good on gas. Easy choice.

Well the verdict is in. She wants a Ranger. To please her sister (who is buying the vehicle), I am throwing in a couple 4-cyl Jettas and the G20 I found into the mix.

I have found a couple late 90's 4-cyl Rangers with a little over 100k on them. It was actually harder to find an automatic 4-cyl Ranger than one with a Manual.

I'm all for the Ranger. Easy to work on and cheap parts.

I have one last recommendation. Before you buy anything, call her insurance agent and ask, "how much would it be to insure a 18yr old on this specific make model of car?"
Insurance rates for the young vary greatly just on what type of vehicle it is. Try to make no assumptions here, it can vary a lot.

In reply to jrw1621:

I will leave that to her sister, that's why I'm giving her links to about 6 cars I found. I am just looking for the car not anything else (except working on it). I will pass that advice on, but that is not my problem.

They had already added her to their insurance for their Ion and TrailBlazer, plus my friend is OCD about numbers, figures, facts, etc. So I'm sure it will be covered.

Arghhh, the G20 and the '99 Ranger (which were the two best vehicles I found) have already been deleted by the seller. They both went quick, being that they were both posted on Monday.

is it Mayham's Daughter?

I'm surprised you found a it difficult to locate a Ranger with 4 cylinders and auto...in my area it's about 40% automatics when you look at Rangers with the 4 cylinder.

Having owned a '94 Ranger with the 4 and manual....I would have to think the auto equipped truck is really SLOOOOOOOOOW.

BTW, a look for G20s turns up next to nothing anymore. I had one of those, and they are good safe cars if yours has ABS, mine didn't, but it was still a good all around car.

In reply to integraguy:

Almost every Ranger in my area was either a 4-cyl/5-speed or V6/Auto. Also for an 18 y.o., slow isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I'm trying to convince her to drive manual.