What car should my husband get my son?

Question

my son is 18 years old and he is a very calm and he told me he wanted any car that would last him for many years; doesnt matter what type of car and he already a attends college and he barely got his license.. and since his 19th birthday is cming up i want it to be a good surprise... he usally walks to college :)

my husband wants to get him a nissan,honda or toyota...

i want to get him an old bmw 90-99 must be under the budget of

$10,000... im not sure what series but its looks nice the one im thinking..

what are your opinions? maybe with your answers I might reconsider

thanks :D

Answer 1

I own a Toyota Celica, and I have to say, I get awesome gas mileage, its got a 100k worth of city and highway driving...4 times from Georgia to Wisconsin and back, and I have not had one problem with the car.  Most of the import cars like the honda or toyota last for ever, and they are really inexpensive to fix compared to a BMW.  That is an expensive car to begin with, and if anything goes wrong with it its going to cost more for labor and parts.  Not to mention its almost 2009, you're considering buying him a car that is almost 10+ years old already.  You're definitely not going to find one with less than 90-100k on the engine, and it probably won't last as long as he's wanting it to.  I also work at a car dealership...if you go into a dealership and find a car that is what you want...pretty much assume that the mark-up on the sticker price is $4000 from what they really paid for it, just a heads up for haggling with difficult salesman, 9 times out of 10 they'll give you the price you want, just argue...but don't tell them how much you're looking to spend.  Good luck!

Answer 2

for reliability, i'd look at a honda or toyota first.  a bmw is a good car, but on a college budget, uses more gas and costs more to repair than the other two.  it also would need repairs more often...

BUT, you could also look at a mazda 3, nissan sentra or Mitsubishi lancer for that price range.  you could go much newer than the honda or toyota and with alot less miles.  the 3 is the sportiest car in the bunch, gets good fuel economy, has enough room and is reliable.  at that range, an 04-06 would be doable for him and my first choice.

Answer 3

well you can find 03-05 nissan altima for cheap. bout 8-10K dollas.

Honda accords are nice too.

toyota corolla are relaible cars too but kinda girlish.

BMW's are great cars But an older car like tht would have a high mileage and high mileage brings alot of problems down the road. i would suggest going wit a nissan altima.

If you happen to be in the US and in AZ i have an altima for sale

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/82...

check out tht website and if you like you can give a call :) its a lil more than 10K but its worth it and everybody likes this car

Answer 4

For reliability i would go with a honda civic. Those littel suckers last forever and with a 10k budget you can get a newer one with less miles. A honda will easily last you over 200k miles with regular scheduled maintenance and are also very good on gas. They are also very easy and cheap to modify to make it look a little more sportier if that is what your son might be looking to do.  

Answer 5

go with a honda can you afford the repairs on the bmw? or do you really want to blow that much on a car that old? go with a later model honda,he's only gonna wreck it sooner or later,no matter how safe he is.save a bmw if he makes it through college and takes care of the other ride you buy him

Answer 6

Get him a 4 door car.  Get a Honda or Toyota.  

Answer 7

I'd say Honda, Nissan or Toyota in that order. Reason being they last longer than any German or American car.

Honda sounds best for a "calm" person since 90s Hondas have unbeatable fuel efficiency (30+ mpg on most models) but not alot of power. I've heard of plenty of them making 300K+ miles as far as reliability is concerned.

Nissan has similar and possibly longer lasting cars but fuel economy is sacrificed big time for extra power. My car is a Nissan and can keep up with a V8 Mustang of similar age but has an engine only 3/5s as big and has 2 more doors. Pretty much any Nissan will get in the 20mpg range if driven reasonably easy.

Toyota is really reliable as well but most of the Toyota's I've seen end their lives in the 200K mile range. Until recently they were probably in the middle of Nissan and Honda when it came to fuel economy and performance across their respective line ups.

edit: do not buy that guy's Nissan Altima...it has absolutely the worst engine Nissan has made in my lifetime. It's known to have the intake butterfly valve screws fall out and get sucked into the engine ruining the cylinders, pistons, rings, and valves. The pre-cats also are known to do the same thing (get in the cylinders and mess them up) to a lesser degree.