Do you remember your first car? Not many of us broke the bank back in those early days. My dad let me use his 1976 Buick Skylark, which my friends and I drove down to Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium.
It isn’t easy to find a great starter vehicle, so Zach Shefska of CarEdge gives us his recommendations here, highlighting models known for their reliability and low insurance costs. A breakdown:
Toyota Prius: A 3-5 year-old-model typically costs around $21,000 and has great reliability.
Honda Civic: A popular choice for under $20,000 in the 3-5 year age range.
Toyota Camry: Excellent reliability, and can be found for roughly $21,000.
Subaru Forester: For those interested in an AWD SUV, this model has a reliability rating of 80/100 and a price range of $21,000 - $22,000.
Lexus UX: A value luxury-oriented option for teen drivers.
Volkswagen ID.4: Recommended as the best electric vehicle option for teens.
If your budget is really tight, Brad Danger of the Ideal Race Team highlights a bunch of sub-$5K cars that might surprise you with their style, luxury, or performance:
Lexus IS-300: Described as a "four-door Supra in a dress shirt," it features the legendary 2JZ-GE inline-6 engine.
Nissan 350Z: A pure rear-wheel-drive sports car with a 3.5L V6, popular in the drift scene.
Ford Mustang (5th Gen): Classic American muscle; V6 models are common under $5k, but V8 GTs can be found with careful searching.
Audi TT (1st Gen): A stylish coupe with a 1.8L turbo engine and available Quattro all-wheel drive.
Acura Integra: A front-wheel-drive JDM icon, particularly the GSR and Type R models with high-revving VTEC engines.
Honda Civic: The "ultimate budget tuner car," praised for being ultra-reliable and infinitely modifiable.
Mazda Miata: A lightweight rear-wheel-drive roadster known for magical handling.
Mitsubishi Eclipse: Specifically the 1995-1999 GST and GSX models with the turbo 4G63 engine.
Volkswagen GTI: The original "hot hatch," offering turbo performance and practical hatchback utility.
Subaru Forester XT: Essentially a "WRX hiding in a family SUV" with a turbo boxer engine.
BMW 135i: A small, powerful coupe with a twin-turbo inline-6 (N54 engine).
Scion tC: A reliable sporty coupe with Toyota DNA that "runs literally forever".
Infiniti G35: The luxury version of the 350Z, sharing the same engine but with more upscale features.
Toyota Celica GTS: One of Brad's favorites, featuring a high-revving 1.8L engine and agile handling.
Hyundai Genesis Coupe: A modern rear-wheel-drive sports car available with either a turbo-4 or V6 engine.
You definitely want to get these cars inspected. There’s no sense in saving money on the purchase, but getting hit with a ton of maintenance costs on the back-end.
Thanks for reading everybody!
-Paul