My Lifelong Dream, My First Car

Lets take a look back at our lives a bit, lets say 6 year old you. Your young, innocent, without a care in the world and then one day you find a passion that will carry out and shape your future forever. This moment is when you first see your dream car. Your old enough to realize that certain things cost more than others and just because its shiny doesn't mean its worth a lot, speed is the name of the game and the guy with the fastest car is going to be you when you grow up someday. Those were the moments that caused me to fall in love with everything that had an engine and wheels. So lets fast foreword to my life currently, Im finally old enough to start driving and that 6 year old me is awaiting to see the first car that will kick off what is a lifetime of driving. But there are some problems. There is a little issue called money and it happens to limit the possibilities of what you can get, this is the real world after all. No more asking for charity and money from your parents to buy the new toy you want, your old enough to work so your old enough to pay for the things you want. So what the point in all of this is, is that I have a $12,000 budget and have rattled my brain to near insanity trying to make a decision on what my first car will be so I would appreciate for your guys' input on this.

Some things I would enjoy in my first car are:

-Good performance on both the street and the track

-Readily available parts support

-A platform that I can grow with and continue to use and tune in the future (I am pretty mechanically inclined and have a decent set of tools already)

-Relatively inexpensive maintenance (obviously abiding to the fact I will be modifying it in the future and breakages are bound to occur)

-Something that will get up to speed quickly, top speed is not a major priority

-Needs to be able to fit me (I'm currently 6 1" but estimates show I will continue to grow to 6 4")

-I need to be able to drive it from school and work at times, not regularly

-Something that looks decent and is unique on the road, modified Honda's get old after seeing them on every other street light

It can really be any type of car ranging from a kit to a small restoration. I'm not really picky when it comes to what my best bet for a good car would be.

I know its a lot to ask for but suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I think its something many people would be able to relate to and will help me make the right decision.

You know people here are just going to start screaming miata at you like some form of Mazda induced tourettes right?

What sort of cars did 6 year old "the dude" list after? What would be on the shopping list if budget was just a figure of your imagination ? It'll give a better idea of your tastes.

In reply to daeman:

The problem is I don't fit inside of a Miata haha! And to be completely honest 6 year old me loved sleek and refined, earlier on I was very much into how a car performed on the track or on a canyon road so Lotus was a what drooled over until I realized I wouldn't fit in that either. But up until then and now I guess if budget was out the window I would say a Ferrari 599 GTO since its so amazing in both a straight line and the curves. I have also always been a sucker for the Skyline R34 since it was a car I grew up with.

Corvette C4/C5
or
Corvette of 1984 - 1996 and Corvette of 1997 - 2004 if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

"Is this your homework, Larry?"
"You see what happens Larry..."

TheBigLebowski wrote: In reply to daeman: The problem is I don't fit inside of a Miata haha!

That's just like your opinion, man.

Miata with racing seats and a turbo.

Now you fit.

And working on a corvette has driven many in the the arms of the "answer".

JohnRW1621 wrote:

TheBigLebowski wrote: In reply to daeman: The problem is I don't fit inside of a Miata haha!

That's just like your opinion, man.

Check and mate. Thread's over folks, nothing to see here.

@ OP; 75% of people who say they "don't fit in a miata" have never actually been in a miata. I'm 6'1" I fit with room to spare.

If your requirements are "track capable" + "extreme budget" then your answers are miata, E30, or some sort of early Honda

Porsche 928. Sleek, fast, breathtaking. Fits tall people, too.

$12k can buy you a real nice 4th gen fbody. Hell, $10k can buy you a real nice 4th gen, and spend the other 2k on suspension parts. And from what i have noticed, there is not many people under 6'2" that own those cars. has plenty of room, real quick (LSJuan!), parts are easily available, and look just damn sexy...but thats just me.

G_Body_Man wrote: Porsche 928. Sleek, fast, breathtaking. Fits tall people, too.

He'd need $12k just to keep it maintained for a few years.

Yup, answer is Miata...and yes, you will fit just fine unless you're 300+lbs.

If you have to have something else, you can get a sweet E46 for that price.

Outside of the Corvette my dad owned (and stuffed my brother and I into the small comparment into on short trips), the first car I remember "wanting" was a Trans Am- because of seeing Smokey and the Bandit. My buddy would drive the trucks, and I would drive the car from city to city as part of the NHL.

I lusted after screaming chicken shajer hood trans am as a six year old.

I would honestly suggest an s10 or 80's elky. Plenty of room to grow with those, plenty of examples to choose from, parts are cheap and easy. And the bed makes it more useful than a convertable.

I am 6'2" and fit into my Miata. People tend to stare as I get out or get into it. Owned MGBs for years so I know how to enter/exit low sports cars.

6'4", and I fit in Miatas.

I found my 6 year old dream car when I was 13, got it for free, and still own it. 1964 Triumph TR4. Meets NONE of your criteria except being unique. Keep looking, keep doing your research, you'll find the one.

TheBigLebowski wrote: -Something that looks decent and is unique on the road, modified Honda's get old after seeing them on every other street light

This tells me that your answer is Mazda RX-7 1992+

At your price cap you're going to have to do some serious digging, but I would buy the cleanest, stockest example you can get your hands on.

http://victoria.craigslist.ca/ctd/4796900169.html

Very easy to look at, not too common, not too uncommon, lots of aftermarket, plenty of room to grow.

I am 6'1", 200 lbs, 13 size shoes and I fit in my Miata. My 6'3" cousin fits in my Miata even with the top up!

S52 M coupe, E46 ZHP, GTO

Ok, so you are 15 or 16 and you mention that you have $12K in a Capital Budget, but what is your operating budget?

Before people can give a serious recommendation we need to know what on-going costs you can sustain. I was going to say SN-95 Mustang or F-Body like others but insurance, gas and maintenance can E36 M3 all over your dreams real quick. Especially in something with a V8 or a higher end car like a BMW.

Yeah, what NGTD said. Insurance will kill you on most of the cars mentioned here (except maybe Miata). Honestly, I'd put your budget at about $6K and spend the rest on driving schools, autocrosses, & track days.

Yeah, I'm that guy. Someone was going to say it eventually.

The first car I remember dreaming about as a kid in the mid-70s was a Corvette. Over the years the desire has diminished somewhat, but it's still there.

Matt B wrote: Yeah, I'm that guy. Someone was going to say it eventually.

You're out of your element Donny!

In reply to Matt B:

I would agree except he found this corner of the internet to ask and he mentioned performance on the track (and I'm assuming that straight line wasn't what was meant). I don't think finding this corner of lunatics was by accident, I can think of plenty of other places that where the question could've been asked and the wrong answer given (Nasioc:WRX bro! for example)

Where the OP is located my be of interest as then we might know whether rallycross is active nearby, what the home track is for HPDEs, what the rust situation is on 10+ year old cars etc.

I was thinking Miata too, when you said you don't fit an F-body also came to mind. You might just be able to squeeze a C5 into that budget, but keep in mind that the consumables for those are expensive...and it might not be a good choice for a first car. Also since this is your first car, you might not have a good idea of what high consumable costs means.

$12k is also crazy money for a first car unless you're loaded. So I'd say you should get yourself a nice Miata or F-body for half that money or less and keep the rest of the money for actually going racing with it, or worst case scenario getting another mode of transportation if it breaks down.

That brings me to another thing a car newbie should learn - cars are like computers and toilets, you should have more than one, otherwise the one you have will break down and then you'll have none!

GameboyRMH wrote: That brings me to another thing a car newbie should learn - cars are like computers and toilets, you should have more than one, otherwise the one you have will break down and then you'll have none!

insurance becomes killer at the age with more then one vehicle, otherwise I'd be recommending an IT class car and cheap tow rig.

Lexus IS300.