Budget = $6000

I'm lookin' @ a 97 Diamante, a 97 Caddy DeVille Coupe, and a couple others...Any recommendations or warnings from any of the car experts here...?

*cough* *X L* *cough*

LoL

Yea, don't get a Caddy unless you don't care about crash saftey and I don't believe they are too reliable. Go with a Toyota, I think Corrolas are decent but many hate them. Regardless a Corrola is reliable and feul efficient. Anyway, if you want style and performance at that price then you probably won't find it in a sedan and you definately won't find it in a large one. I've been in a Diamante and it's nice although it's hard to imagine one of those for that price range unless it has a ton of mileage. That's a hard price range to shop for if you're not looking for small car or coup.

I would suggest these for a smaller car or coup:
- Honda Prelude
- Honda Civic (avoid any tuned car)
- Acura Integra (careful with these as well, make sure that it was well maintained and not tuned)
- Dodge Neon (XL hates these :( but I like them, heard that they do bad in crash tests though. DO NOT get a tuned version, make sure that it was well taken care of.)
- Toyota Corrola
- Mazda Protege

If you find anything else in that price range that you may want, just post it and I tell you all about it.

Before you buy your used car make sure that you fully inspect it. Look under the hood, under the front and rear, in the wheel well, in the seats, in the trunk, glove compartment, everywhere. Also make sure that the lights, brakes, windsheild wipers, and turning signals work. If you find any problem with the car, or if you find that its dirty inside (or outside) then make sure that the dealer fixes that. My mom bought a car from a rental place and it had dirt in the glove box and ash tray. You are paying for that car so it should be spotless and it is should work perfectly just as advertised. Also, do not give them any information that they do not absolutely need. Some dealers try to jack up your credit when you are buying your car with that info so they can get a high commission. Know what you are getting and how much you are going to pay for it before you buy. Also, do not let them lure you into another vehicle if you don't want that vehicle. Once they see that you want such a low price they will try to pass off their cheapest vehicle in stock on you and sell it at more than its worth. Chances are that the prices you see online are not what you will get from the dealer, so be prepared for those numbers to go up.

This is the Diamante he's looking at: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=184215669&dealer_id=1089903&car_year=1997&search_type=both&make=MIT&transmission=&model=&distance=50&address=98117&make2=&advanced=y&certified=&max_mileage=&bkms=1125942895305&max_price=6000&min_price=1&end_year=2006&color=&start_year=1981&drive=&isp=y&engine=&body_style=COUPE&body_style=HATCH&body_style=SEDAN&doors=&fuel=&lang=en&cardist=17

It's a nice ride, V6 even. But I knew it117,969
^ That is a lot of miles, it still seems like a good deal but you want to be sure that everything still works right. You should try to get a repair history on it if you can. I just noticed that the cars I suggested are 2-3k above your budget but that's for 99-04 models. If you were going to choose one of those at that price range you'd be looking at 90-95 models which has around the same mileage or more. So that is a good deal if everything on it works. Actually it seems like too good of a deal, so asks questions and make sure that you get answers.

Anyway I would follow these tips if you do look for other cars.
1) Stay away from the 80's those cars are ugly and they are probably going to be more trouble in repair than they are worth (if you find them under 4k it may be worth it) especially if they are American cars :(
2) Avoid tuned cars
3) Avoid anything that says Geo/Hyundai (although newer ones are better)/Daewoo/Kia (accept for the Sportage although that is rough too) on it.
4) Avoid German cars (sorry VW) they tend to be expensive to repair and they probably cost too much anyway
5) Avoid Chevy Cavaliers (they are former Geo Metros)
6) Lincoln's may run better than Caddilacs but I doubt you want something that slow, eitherway it will probably be older than a 1990 model.
7) You could probably go for a Saturn but I don't who would... they probably are taken good care of since the owner obviously isn't the racer type and likely wanted a grocery getter
8) Avoid Bronco's, actually avoid all Ford trucks except for the F-150 for anything older than 1995. A lot of them have bad suspension and roll over problems.

Anyway, if you choose something else in that range then you probably want to start with cars who's original prices were 14-10k (like an econo car, or small coup). Those vehicles will be newer and more reliable.

buy a tonka

Get an accord or a civic bro... stay away from mitsu... no good

^ I was thinking the same, but I haven't heard much about Mitsubishi's not being reliable. They don't perform too well, but the Diamante looks nice and it has a nice interior. When it comes to Japanes brands I would rank them like this:

1) Toyota - slower and more stale than Honda's but good performers with excellent reliability (probably the best in terms of reliability)
2) Honda - some of the best engines period in terms of performance/fuel economy ratios. Good performers with great reliability.
3) Nissan - the older one's are not too reliable but they do make the fastest cars in Japan. The new ones seem reliable all of the "long term" reviews that I've read gave them good remarks.
4) *edit forgot about this* Subaru, they are a wierd company but their cars have all wheel drive and decent handling. Unfortunately they are expensive, probably because of the all wheel drive and turbo charging.
5) Mazda - this is far down the list, they are owned by Ford, although some are nice they lag behind the rest. The Miata and RX-8 (and the old RX-7's) are the nicest things in their inventory. However, those RX's burn a lot of gas, rotary engines still need work before they can be called "revolutionary."
6) Mitsubishi - Mazda's outperform them. Except for the Diamante and Eclipse (the older ones) they have bad styling and compete poorly with the competition.


I never owned a car, but for my first I would be looking for a used Honda or Toyota. Unless I saw a deal on an appealing car that was well taken care of.

import a honda civic type-r from japan/uk------0-60 in 6.6 seconds

I recommend a Honda Prelude / Civic

screw hondas and screw acuras. I hate them so much because all over my area people take those cars and turn them into rice buckets from hell. Besides, in that price range your looking for, the hondas you will get will most likley be Torqueless cause they kick in around 7,000 rpm..lol..but to tell ya the truth, they are reliable.

Get a 240Sx like me lol..
Or get an old vw
If you doubled your money you could get an older rx7, or a 300zx, or an eclipse (dont get the rs), look for Gs T if you can lol..

i dunno, my advice giving skills are kinda fucked up right now, cause im at the library and i have to take a huge shit.

the hondas you will get will most likley be Torqueless cause they kick in around 7,000 rpm

They may not have much torque untill then, but at the end of the day mate, power to weight ratio determines the final outcome. Plus you can drive it like a normal car uder 7,000 rpm and when you feel the need, i changes into a demonically fast sports hatch. Loads of fun and i wouldn't swap it for any other hot-hatch.
But you cant get the type-r in the states anyway lol :p

changes into a demonically fast sports hatch

..::..dies..::.., ive ripped so many of those so called "fast sport hatches" of yours.

and yeah, no type r for u.s, but i have seen a few real and a bunch of fakes.

This is the Diamante he's looking at: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=184215669&dealer_id=1089903&car_year=1997&search_type=both&make=MIT&transmission=&model=&distance=50&address=98117&make2=&advanced=y&certified=&max_mileage=&bkms=1125942895305&max_price=6000&min_price=1&end_year=2006&color=&start_year=1981&drive=&isp=y&engine=&body_style=COUPE&body_style=HATCH&body_style=SEDAN&doors=&fuel=&lang=en&cardist=17

Figured ide chime in, my mom has a 97 Galant with around 140k miles, its currently experiencing some very serious electrical issues (she turned on her right turn signal and the car turned off, along with other crazy things). The car has been maintained very well since she bought it new.

Some other things, the AC has needed work several times, in one instance requiring a whole new compressor at about 130k miles.

Aside from that, its been a pretty solid car.

ive ripped so many of those so called "fast sport hatches" of yours.

Really??? like what

Also you cant have cuz you dont have them over there

Unless you have something rediculously fast then you may have trouble ripping a euro civic type-r :)

get a skoda.......

^ word.........

yes, but skodas are basically veedubs now.

nah...fuck a civic...buY an old school skoda:D

no dont fuck a civic, it will burn your bellend

^ Now that's good quality advice

haha....lets get them micra's going!!....team Hunt is gonna rip up the track..

yes!!!!!!! i cant wait to rag the souls out of those puny nissans

ima rag it so hard I'll open up a hole in the time/space continuum..

ill crash into gary so hard that his torso will twist at an almost impossible 283.7degrees

causing his body to corscew upwards like a rejected wood-shaving

lmmfao....this will leave the lower half of him juddering about aimlessly in a practically false 8-bit digitized manor while blood spurts pointlessly from the top of his thigh

*he then looks down and screams..completely out of sync with the movement of his mouth as his feet begin to spiral in an awkward anti-clockwise fashion..ejecting a luminous green gas which fills the car...

this causes his fucked corpse to unceremoniously go forth and win the nissan micra BANGER RACING trophy and get shafted sadistically by a bush dweller watching these brutal acts

*Gary Pops off the end of the evil bush dwellors mushroom headed cock like a cheap champagne cork..he begins to dance..completely limp as if every bone in his body has been broken..like a ghoulish puppet..

You guys are fucked up :(

get a golf gti xx he he

Get a Mini Metro mate... they are rapid...

Motherfuck that. I'd rather die an uninteresting death than drive a Metro.

Honda Civic Type-Rs are so uncompromisingly good that if you ever got in one, you would get cancer of the soul, leaving you as lifeless as a dinosaur. I know this because, like Kry-Siz I have one.

Too bad you Americans can't get the Civic Type-R in your country, owned to dust.

everyone shut up already