Well, I'm going to be buying my first car soon and was looking for opinions from other drivers out there with a good knowledge of cars. I'm looking at many different cars and would like some opinions on the best.

1. Mitsubishi Lancer
2. Mitsubishi eclipse
3. Ford Mustang
4. Honda Civic
5. Volkswagen
6. Dodge Stratus

Would like opinions on these cars and feel free to add your own. Try to stay below $10,000 and I would like if possible to stay away from a 4 cylinder. V6 is good and V8 is ok if good mileage. Would like over 22 mpg highway if possible.

I'd suggest you stick with a 4-cylinder for a first car, good gas mileage and plenty of power for a first car. Just IMO.

Out of the ones you listed, I'd recommend you stick with Honda's and Mitsu's. Honda has bulletproof reliability, I can say from experience. Good luck and have fun buying your first car.

I'll go with a 4 if i have to but always seemed a bit slow to me. I drive a 24 valve V6 ford daily and it seem a bit on the low power side. Maybe I'm just a bit eager on power but I love cars and I love speed. Its an addiction, cant help it.

Quote from f4sttr@ck :

Well, I'm going to be buying my first car soon and was looking for opinions from other drivers out there with a good knowledge of cars. I'm looking at many different cars and would like some opinions on the best.

1. Mitsubishi Lancer
2. Mitsubishi eclipse
3. Ford Mustang
4. Honda Civic
5. Volkswagen
6. Dodge Stratus

Would like opinions on these cars and feel free to add your own. Try to stay below $10,000 and I would like if possible to stay away from a 4 cylinder. V6 is good and V8 is ok if good mileage. Would like over 22 mpg highway if possible.

Honest opinion?? Get a VW..preferably a Polo for your first car...failing that, a nice SMALL Civic that hasnt been riced up.
Get either of those and drive it properly, and you will have a MUCH better chance of still being alive to think about a second car some time in the future.
If new drivers were limited to the power of vehicles they were allowed, a lot more of them would see their 21st birthday.

If however, you can find a Mustang that will any V8 that will return better than 22mpg, will you send it to me please?

not the Dodge, as its unreliable(automatic transmission failures, engine head gaskets), the older VWs aren't that reliable(and rust like heck) and have poor crash test ratings on older cars. I'd say an older Honda Civic or Accord, or some other Japanese import that is cheap to insure and is reliable. I'd recommend Lemon Aid Guide by Phil Edmonston: http://www.lemonaidcars.com/ to find a used reliable car.

I would choose the Mustang V8 BTW I would recommend you the Civic, and please don't make a ricer car of it once you'll have one. Vtakk engine, spinners, dice..

Quote from f4sttr@ck :

I'll go with a 4 if i have to but always seemed a bit slow to me. I drive a 24 valve V6 ford daily and it seem a bit on the low power side. Maybe I'm just a bit eager on power but I love cars and I love speed. Its an addiction, cant help it.

Trust me, a 4 cylinder engine in a light car (like a civic or golf or something) can be way more fun than you think. Nothing like throwing around a light car with responsive engine.

Not to poke fun at american V6's (or most of them anyway), but I can't resist: the Japanese and European manufactured engines are much more efficient than the American ones. The power-to-displacement is amazing on most Japanese engines, as you might already know. All I am saying is that a 4-cyl can be plenty fun, especially for a first car.

Töki: you do know that VTEC is an useful technology, especially for a street car, right?

I would get the mustang. Even special edition V8s are very often available for 9K or less. Don't listen to those british guys, their government and insurance agencies have brainwashed them. They would probably pay 2-3 times more than you for insurance so for them power=bad. just keep it on the road like 95% of all other mustang drivers.

Quote from flymike91 :

I would get the mustang. Even special edition V8s are very often available for 9K or less. Don't listen to those british guys, their government and insurance agencies have brainwashed them. They would probably pay 2-3 times more than you for insurance so for them power=bad. just keep it on the road like 95% of all other mustang drivers.

Have fun with horrible V8 gas mileage though.

eh. I drive a camaro that gets at best 15 mpg, so I know how it is. If he has expendable income it doesn't hurt too bad.

Quote from flymike91 :

eh. I drive a camaro that gets at best 15 mpg, so I know how it is. If he has expendable income it doesn't hurt too bad.

Each to his own, I prefer something at least a little more efficient. I think most people enjoy buying other things as WELL as petrol, right?

Quote from flymike91 :

eh. I drive a camaro that gets at best 15 mpg, so I know how it is. If he has expendable income it doesn't hurt too bad.

/me wonders why we are running out of oil.

Quote from Bladerunner :

/me wonders why we are running out of oil.

Don't bother, Bush will find out something. Or Barack Obama... in the future

Have you thought about a pick-up? Pick-ups are great
With the smaller cab size, not too many people will bum rides from you and if you're short on Gas money, you can always help somebody move or something. I don't mean a...a dodge ram 4X4 Extended cab Dually Diesel. more like a Toyota. We have a 6cyl. toyota as part of our fleet of vehicles at my job. the thing's great.

LOL "brainwashed euros"... Is that why so many of us "unbrainwashed 'mericans" are swapping out our V8s for V-twins? Sad thing is I'm paying as much now for gas to ride on a bike as what I was paying three years ago to drive my suburban the same distance

Quote from Racer Y :

Sad thing is I'm paying as much now for gas to ride on a bike as what I was paying three years ago to drive my suburban the same distance

You still pay less than a half of what we here in Europe pay for fuel. So stop whining
3 Days ago they showed in TV how shocked the Americans are that the fuel price went up so heavily. For us it goes through the roof too. Maybe the price is increasing in the same percentage figures on both sides of the world, but you still pay just the half of what we pay. There is no reason to whine

Get a Mustang V6 convertible. Cool car, good mpg and they are very reliable.

Here in belgium new drivers can't get above 75kw/ about 100-110hp untill your 23 or something, but that also has to do with the insurance

Quote from Scrabby :

Here in belgium new drivers can't get above 75kw/ about 100-110hp untill your 23 or something, but that also has to do with the insurance

But you can drive at 16, wright? Here in Romania you can drive anything with an engine if you've got 18 or more.

Quote from f4sttr@ck :

Well, I'm going to be buying my first car soon and was looking for opinions from other drivers out there with a good knowledge of cars. I'm looking at many different cars and would like some opinions on the best.

1. Mitsubishi Lancer
2. Mitsubishi eclipse
3. Ford Mustang
4. Honda Civic
5. Volkswagen
6. Dodge Stratus

Would like opinions on these cars and feel free to add your own. Try to stay below $10,000 and I would like if possible to stay away from a 4 cylinder. V6 is good and V8 is ok if good mileage. Would like over 22 mpg highway if possible.

Hello , well gratz on the upcomming first car , make it clear that as a first car it wil get bruised up pretty bad from whatever the cause. so consider repair cost for part , mechanical longivity y, and such whats the $ ur willing to put on a car , and what will u car be mainly use for ???

Thats pretty much the question that will narrow ur choices

V6 or v8 are good yeah , on heavy cars/trucks that can cary a load, , if ur gonna tow up a Fifthwheel or ur Boat behind , 4bangers are out of question, but if u wanna have great time with ur First car , being able to floor it down and not kill yourself , then , 1.5 1.6 1.8. 2.0 and 2.4 4Bangers are very capable and very easy to maintain efficiency/over repair cost .

Quote from BAMBO :

But you can drive at 16, wright? Here in Romania you can drive anything with an engine if you've got 18 or more.

nope gotta be 18 to get your license BUT when your 16 and 9 months u can start driving (learning) with an adult next to you

my first car was a Fiat 126! If you remember It you're probably thinking of the larger 127! It had an automatic sun roof that is to say, it popped open by itself over 50mph, the throttle would sometimes stick open and the brakes where as effective as an ant pushing wet mud at the wheel rims.

Still, got off with my first girl in it

Quote from Becky Rose :

my first car was a Fiat 126! If you remember It you're probably thinking of the larger 127! It had an automatic sun roof that is to say, it popped open by itself over 50mph, the throttle would sometimes stick open and the brakes where as effective as an ant pushing wet mud at the wheel rims.

Still, got off with my first girl in it

Lol, Fiat 126....i had one of em. Bought it of my gf's Dad for 50 quid when my Vauxhall Viva finally bit the dust.

What a ballistically insane little car that was. Rev the nuts out of the engine till the piston heads were dancing on top of the bonnet, then change gear. Drive everywhere at at least 15,000 revs, shouting at the top of your voice when talking to your passenger, (even though their shoulder would be in the middle of your chest). Floor mounted throttle pedal which kept getting stuck under my foot, so gear changes where a hit of miss affair. Mine had a max speed of about 45 and lasted for two whole months, bright red it was !....wow, never again.

Quote from Becky Rose :

my first car was a Fiat 126!

Hehe. That was a very popular little car here in Hungary in the mid 80's

Quote from Scrabby :

nope gotta be 18 to get your license BUT when your 16 and 9 months u can start driving (learning) with an adult next to you

We have the same system here. But from what I know, correct me if I'm wrong, in Australia you can get your license at 15 and in Canada at 16.

GRRRRRR Sometimes i wish i lived in America, insurance in England is a load of w**k