what to see in LA is different for a lot of people. Yes, for the first timer, maybe the usual tourist sports would suffice. For many UCLA students, Westwood Village is their world with maybe an excursion out to Beverly Hills and Hollywood, or to Santa Monica. But LA proper is fascinating. Koreatown is fascinating as is the small Japantown and Little Armenia. Downtown area around Staples Center is pretty neat, definitely revitalized. Chinatown isn’t really Chinatown anymore, that’s really in Monterey Park and the surrounding areas.
Places like Koreatown, the USC campus, Staples Center and Hollywood you can get relatively easily via Metro without a car. Maybe other places too. Unfortunately there are so many other places where the time difference between getting there by public transportation versus car will be too great.