Help buy car for 19 yr old college student?

My 19 yr old nephew will be off to first year of college next fall.

He desperately needs reliable and economical transportation as he will
be in college abt 4 hrs away.

What vehicle.... model and brand....would be a good bet for him to
buy? We are thinking brand new vs used....so that he will have a
warranty and can fully concentrate on his studies at school (he wants
to become dentist) ... and not have to worry abt a used car and
breakdowns. But we are on a budget.

he has worked hard and has a good savings.... plus his family (uncles,
parents) will help him with cost a new car as well.

We need something that will help keep his insurance costs low as he is
in that high risk "bracket" at his age level.

Advice?

Thanks in advance!

 

USED for a college kid...they can buy new when they get their own job.

Parking on campuses is horrendus and it'll be damaged, plus parking spots
are usually smaller, so a smaller vehicle is WAY easier to manage. He'll be
broke as well, so it has to get decent gas mileage. Plus price wise, you
can't beat the deal on slightly used. (2002/2003/2004)

Honda Civic/Accord/Element/CRV
Toyota Corolla/Camry/Matrix/RAV4
Mazda 3/6/Tribute (essentially a Ford Escape)
Nissan Sentra/Altima
Pontiac Vibe (essentially a Toyota Matrix)
Subaru Impreza (if in the snow belt)
Ford Focus/Escape
Chevy Malibu

I would AVOID: Hyundai and Kia due to they still rank with less quality to
me, though some people swear by them now.

Keith
'99 Accord V6

 

Mitsubishi Galant. It's HUGE, inexpensive and comes with 10 yr/100K mile
warranty.

Second best is Toyota Corolla..... w/ auto & air go for under $11K here.

Third is Nissan Sentra..... w/ auto/air/pwr wind/locks go for under $11K.

Camry is a great choice too.... for under $15K.





How to turn off 'Maintenance Required" light:

1. Hold trip/reset button on dash
2. Turn key to "ON" or start engine
3. Hold button til light goes out

 

oh yeah, I forgot about Mitsu... great cars and small SUVs.

Keith

 

College is a "high risk" car environment - lots of beginner drivers and
many just don't give a shit about fender benders, bump parking etc. I
wouldn't go new here unless you're rich enough to have the same attitude -
scars are just part of the game here. For dependability I'd probably favor
a Toyota Corolla - probably big enough for shuttling the usual college
clobber back and forwards and has a low theft profile.

For my kids, they both inherited a family car which was ~5 years old and
which had been maintained by me, so I knew they were in decent condition.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

Parking on campuses is horrendus and it'll be damaged, plus parking spots

Good point!

Maybe used is the way to go.....as per your remarks abt poor parking
on campus

 

College is a "high risk" car environment - lots of beginner drivers and

No.... we are not rich....sadly. lol

Good point on the poor parking. I will print this out and let him
read it

 

No.... we are not rich....sadly. lol

This is ridiculous. I had a new car while in college and never got any damages
while parked on campus. Students aren't the inconsiderate, reckless aholes that
most adults are. For example, my car was parked in a shopping center parking
lot, when I came back, I found a note saying "I'm so sorry about hitting your
car!" I looked around and found a huge dent the size of a basketball.



How to turn off 'Maintenance Required" light:

1. Hold trip/reset button on dash
2. Turn key to "ON" or start engine
3. Hold button til light goes out

 

My reply didn't make it here. Odd.

My criteria for a college student-to-be and first time
driver(that is, without your supervision/driving family
cars where they are naturally on good behavior)

1: Must be a wagon or have a cargo area of some sort. Life
was major suckage without the ability to move my stuff around
easily, pick up bikes and tvs and speakers and other items,
and of course, sleep in in a pinch.

2:Must be simple, reliable, and free of crummy electronics.

3:Must be low but adequate powered. They want speedy. We
as parents know better.

4:Cheap to repair. Well built. Bulletproof drivetrain.

5irt-cheap to insure.

6:Stick. It is good to learn now, and it helps maximize
driving efficiency. You also get better power and speed
in 4 cylinder engines. Most of all, though, is that it
requires interaction. Most young people with automatics
tend to phase out and listen to the radio. Stick forces them
to interact with the car every minute or so. They spend
their time driving and not goofing off.

Manual transmissions are also hlaf the cost to fix and repair
of automatics, can be push-started if the battery or starter
is dead, and when they fail, there's months of warning as
opposed to maybe 2-3 days for an automatic.



At the top of my list is a Volvo 240 Wagon. They are solid,
safe, and yes, a bit stodgy, but they are exactly what a
college student needs for their first car. If that's too
old, get a 940 wagon - it has the same engine.

Finding a mint condition one shouldn't be too hard, as
a LOT were sold to yuppies and elderly people.

Features you want to look for: ABS and R-134a A/C if
possible. IIRC, the 1992/1993 240s had this - it's
a snap to fix the A/C compared to the older systems.

Sunroof? I'd pass. Never seen a sunroof in any car
that didn't need fixing or that closed tightly.

Turbo? The I-4 in plain form is the perfect mix of
speed and reliability with a manual transmission.

My 240 cost me a whopping $300 in maintainence in one
year. $200 of that was new tires. $50 was a new
Speedometer. The other $50 were oil changes and an
air filter.

Got munched, though. Looking for a nice 960
to replace it.

 

Manual transmissions may be cheaper to repair PER BREAKDOWN
OCCURRENCE,but in my experience they were always breaking down more
often than any automatic transmission I have ever had.I would say that
automatics have a higher rate of reliability overall due to the fact
that you are not over-revving or under-revving the power bands as much.I
guess it has more to do with the driver and his driving style.Just an
opinion,as this can also vary by make and/or model of vehicle.

 

Need to look at insurance too. A Civic coupe will be high. I would look at
a used Accord 4-door (LX) with auto. Manuals can be a problem for some
youngsters -- either can't drive them well, or play sports car. I had one
young man boast to me how he could run his Prelude to 8500 rpm and it would
stay together. Dangerous living when the redline is 1000 rpm less. On the
other hand -- find a $ 4,500 domestic -- Buick Regal or the like and put
liability on it only. When it's ruined, the loss will be unimportant. I
guess it depends on how responsible your nephew is in taking care of car.

 

A used 3.4L Chevy Impala (unless you can find a new one for under invoice,
which shouldn't be too difficult). Good Highway Mileage. Big back seat for
extra curricular actives. Tons of space for cargo. Good at giving and
taking hits. If the kid wants a more exciting car, he can work on that
when he starts making the big bucks. Also, they usually don't get into
accidents, since other drivers are always looking out for them (cop cars).

If the kid's a driving enthuiast (not a car enthuiast) and is not on the
concervative/safe side. I would get him a 2000 Civic with upgraded
shocks/springs (tokico&pro-kit) and good tires. With this setup, there's a
better chance that the car will save his ass when he overdoes it.

Pars
98 Civic Hatch

 

My Volvo was on its original transmission at ten years and 230K miles.
Yes, the clutch was barely there, but it still worked fine at 250K
when it got totalled.

 

"Aholes" don't leave notes... unless there was no info to get insurance
stuff?? This kind of thing happens everywhere occasionally - in
school/college parking lots it's an everyday occurence; most are
under-insured and many not properly insured... they generally do not leave
notes.

Here's a couple for you:

1) LI princess after gouging someone's car, denting door and ripping off
mirror, in her brand new Lexus SUV: "Huh, $1000. ta fix it?... It's only a
fuckin' Honda Accord!"

2) Passenger: Melissa[driver in traffic], your brights are on.
Melissa: Whaddya mean?
Passenger: The blue light on your dash - you're blinding everybody.
Melissa: Nah that's always on - s'pposed to be like that.

How someone can get a driving license without knowing about low and high
beam headlights is beyond me. What else might she not know... which could
be umm, critical at 80mph on a freeway? Those are just a couple of
examples - the scars which were on the cars, plus a minor case of malicious
damage(surfboard oil on windshield), were evidence enough for me.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

My 240 cost me a whopping $300 in maintainence in one

Joseph.... I tend to agree with everything you said abt requirements
of a good student car. heck maybe its what I should get as well...
i.e. Vovo1

But.... I think a Volvo might be a had sell to my nephew. He is
wanting something a bit sportier looking than a boxy Volvo.

He is currently driving an old K car..... name escapes me.... Dodge
Aries that his grand mother left him when she died. This was his very
first car ever. And its kinda boxy and ugly looking. But he so far
has been a very good driver.... very responsible.

I will try and make him "see the light" on the Volvo thing.....and why
such features are good. But I also recognize his desire to have
something a bit better looking. After all he is 19..... lol

 

Manual transmissions may be cheaper to repair PER BREAKDOWN

He cant drive a stick anyway. My nephew that is.

Im sorta ambivalent on the manual vs auto thing as well.

I agree manuals are easier and cheaper to repair..... better gas
mileage, etc. But Im like above poster in that a good manual often
goes 100k plus mileage BEFORE it needs repairs.

Plus he cant drive a stick ....and will be in heavy Kansas City
traffic.

 

Need to look at insurance too. A Civic coupe will be high. I would look at

Well so far he is very responsible driver

However....Im surprised to hear that a Civic coupe would be higher
insurance. I would have thought any small compact car to be fairly
cheap to insure.

But yes I can see th logic on a Buick Regal or a Volvo as far as cheap
to insure

But its gonna be a hard sell to convince him to go for that as he does
want a better looking car. He has been driving a Dodger Aries..... so
he has been practicing "self denial" so far.

 

"Aholes" don't leave notes... unless there was no info to get insurance

Aholes leave meaningless notes instead of insurance information and/or their
name & phone #. Plus, this is a well known "scam" that people pull, where they
pretend to leave their insurance info. Think about it, If you hit a parked car
then flee, a witness might report you for hit & run. If you get out and pretend
to leave your insurance info, then you probably won't be.


This kind of thing happens everywhere occasionally - in

A ding or a scratch maybe... but a HUGE F'N DENT????? I don't even know how
this damage was possible, considering where my car was parked.



; most are

Why da hell are you so hung up on them leaving a meaningless note? How is "I'm
sorry" gonna help pay for the $1000+ in damages? So if someone is under or
non-insured, they shouldn't be responsible?

How to turn off 'Maintenance Required" light:

1. Hold trip/reset button on dash
2. Turn key to "ON" or start engine
3. Hold button til light goes out

 

Excellent advice. We made the mistake of buying our son a Civic coupe
and pay big bucks for insurance. Look into rates for the car you are
considering!

Excellent points again. Said son has been itching for a manual shift and
you give good reasons for the change.

 

Trust me when I say it's high. I'm ready to pay the 6 month premium, 17
year old driver, SoCal, full coverage, $1459./6 months. Oucheemama!

Think again. The Civic Coupe is a ball buster.