Best first car for a car guy?

Posted by RaggyTheRagingRuggy@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 23 comments

So I love cars. I’m a big motorsport fan and admittedly I’m not your typical car guy who knows every nook and cranny of a car. I just love them. The speed, sound, the look. Everything.

I just passed my test today and will be looking to get a car but my budget to be 100% honest isn’t super high. I guess no more than 5-6 thousand pounds (I’m from UK)

I want to learn how to mechanically upgrade my car and just work on a car in general. A car I can spend a weekend afternoon just messing with and slowly upgrading too. I have a couple dream cars but one of them is having an older 911 and ‘restoring it’ and modifying but that’s a dream so I want a few cars under my belt before I even think about that.

This new car too needs to be a car that is able to be a daily driver. I’ve thought about a MX-5, sporty and sound like great fun driving. However my only concern is the practicality of it. I play golf and cricket which require big bags which is fine for myself but then also helping people out by giving lifts etc… means I can only give a lift to one other person. But at the same time I bet it would be so fun to have. A convertible car for the summer too.

I’m just looking at budget options that are cheap to run, plenty of parts available and would be fun to just tinker and mess around with to learn the ropes. Any help would be appreciated

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itsgreatreally@reddit

Clio renaultsport

Background-Bid-8149@reddit

Mazda 3 sport it's not flashy but it's solid and drives really well for first car

GeordieStreaker@reddit

Old Yaris T Sport. 1.5, cheap insurance and everything else. Old Honda parts are fortunes, insurance isn’t cheap and you want a vtec. Wait and save for a CRX !!

_EnFlaMEd@reddit

Fiesta ST.

stacksmasher@reddit

How much money you got?

jolsiphur@reddit

I don't know about the UK market and prices, but I'd suggest checking out the prices on a 1st generation Scion Fr-S/Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ. They're great driver-oriented cars with great aftermarket support for mods. They aren't "fast" by today's standards with 200ish horsepower, but they're very playful and engaging to drive. They still have trunk space and can be dailied. I daily my 2nd gen BRZ.

Other cars worth mentioning: VW GTI, Ford Fiesta ST, Subaru WRX/Impreza WRX, or Honda Civic Si. All of these have great aftermarket part availability and fun factor.

Skate_beard@reddit

You won't get a GT86 in OPs budget, and any WRX would be a rusty money pit at £6k.

Fair. As I said I don't know what prices are like in the UK. The equivalent amount of money on Canada is about $12k and that will get you a few decent options for both of those models.

Cheapest GT86s start around £8k ($15k CAD), but they're likely to be pretty rough.

For a good one you're looking at £10k+ ($18.5k CAD+)

fastzibi@reddit

Civic or golf that’s older than 20 years. Go for that 1.3 or 1.4.

Good economy, no turbo no problem, it’s better to start with low power it teaches you more at the start. And most importantly it’s cheaper. Once you drive it for a while you will have a better idea of what you want in the car.

I had better economy in my starlet 1.3 going hard to rev limiter, than regular slow driving in e39 2.5l I have now. So yea lower displacement will be more fun to you, big displacements are expensive and let me tell you cars are more expensive than you think they are.

BurningFarm@reddit

Also look at the Toyota MR2 Roadster.

Never_mind_honey@reddit

You can’t fit a pitching wedge into that car lol

True. I didn't read the whole post!

Miata always gets the support but it isn’t always the answer. In my 1999 model I could take the drivers out of the bag and it fit, but the design after 2015 can’t fit golf clubs at all. I doubt it is the answer for you. Lots of fun alternatives already mentioned, but I am partial to the BRZ/86. I drive a Miata, but I have the wife’s car if I go golfing or need to pick up anything.

CarGullible5691@reddit

Insuring a performance car as a new driver will probably be a problem. One of the most fun cars I’ve owned is a 172 Clio

R2-Scotia@reddit

MX-5

Ch0singRnN@reddit

MX-5, GT86/BRZ (GR86, of course), Toyota MR2, BMW Z3/Z4, Fiesta ST, Hyundai N models, VW GTIs, etc.

I don't know the prices in the UK, but if you're on a budget, I'd probably go for an NB or NC Miata. If you need the space (carefully think it through), the Fiesta ST Mk7 seems to be a great option too, or a Golf Mk5 GTI (just be aware of rust).

I think if you're a beginner and want to have some very cheap fun, go get a rust-free EJ9 Civic. A friend of mine bought one a year ago as his first car, and it's such an enjoyable experience. It's not fast, but it's very light, you basically sit on the floor, and it happily revs to the moon. I've driven some performance cars, but in terms of fun factor, it was pretty much up there. Afterwards, you can always upgrade.

If you're more of a driver than a car enthusiast, you'll pretty quickly learn that slower, but more purposefully built cars are the way to go.

Chrispy248@reddit

A 350z is a great car that has instructions on the boot lid explaining how to fit a two golf bags in the boot, I'm on my second, they are great cars, although for your first carnmaybbe a tad on the expensive side, but they fall firmly in your budget for a decent one, insurance may be a killer though, but it's not the classic first car so may be cheaper than you'd think.

jrileyy229@reddit

It's the Miata.

No-Sentence5570@reddit

Don't buy a car to please others. I'd love an MX-5 but I got my car specifically so that I could move large stuff around. If you can fit your golf bag, get the Miata that you clearly want.

It's okay to prioritize fun!

Miniatimat@reddit

If your idea is modding and turning some wrenches, you'll want a reliable, manual shitbox. If trunk space is an issue, go for a hatchback.

Old Honda Civics come to mind. As reliable as they come, plenty of aftermarket parts, and a hatchback for your bags and whatever else you need.

Fair-Huckleberry2187@reddit

the best first car is not the one you can afford to buy, but the one you can afford to maintain. Personally Id pick an old Renault, cuz theres plenty of sporty ones like the Megane/Clio/Twingo for not a lot of money, and wont break the bank if you tried fixing them up or modifying them

ZimaGotchi@reddit

You want the Miata. It's always the answer. There are other options but you're literally a Miata person. You can fit a fucking golf bag in it - let somebody else be the bus-the-gang-around guy.