<p>Okay, so I'm gonna get my license next month and I reallllly want a car. I'm a senior and originally my plan was to take my dad's car and get him to buy a new one for himself. He says he can't afford that 'cause we're not too sure about where I'm going to college. If I go to a UC, he says he'll be able to afford it, but the only reason I want a car (I'm in carpool BTW because I go to private school) is 'cause I HATE waiting an hour after school just because our carpool was a stupid bunch of kids our freshman year and we came like 1 minute late. Also, I wanna take a few just-for-fun classes on like sewing and crap at night and it would just be way convenient for me to drive myself, and I REALLY don't wanna go around in my mom's minivan. I don't wanna have to rely on borrowing his car over the weekends, especially when he might end up having to use it. </p>
<p>BTW, our family's well off, the only reason he's saying we can't afford it is cause I applied to some pretty pricey schools, and my bro goes to a private school that costs 15K a year.</p>
<p>My plan is to buy a used car. My budget's under $10,000 (a little bit over is fine too). I currently have $2,000 in the bank and I'm sure my dad won't mind paying the difference. </p>
<p>So do you guys have any suggestions about good models, prices, mileage for a first car? I'm looking into Honda Civics, Honda Accords, and Toyota Camrys, but I'm open to any other options (=</p>
<p>Well I applied to all the UC's except for Cal and LA.
I really wanna go to either Irvine, San Diego, or Davis if I do end up going to a UC.</p>
<p>I already got into Chapman and San Jose State (HAH.)</p>
<p>I'm applying to USC and that's HELLLLA expensive, but it's in LA, so I probably won't even need a car anyway. Northwestern and St. Louis are my other two privates. </p>
<p>I don't even think my parents will qualify for financial aid. They're not the type to let me get a student loan either, so it's all very complex.</p>
<p>I've actually been looking around (I'm supposed to be doing homework hahahah, and I've got a final due tomorrow and I've only done like one paragraph of it) and I've found some relatively new cars for 7000-9000. I think this plan ACTUALLY may work out. </p>
<p>I don't mind handing over my car to my brother after I'm off to college either, but if he totals it, he buys me a new one.</p>
<p>I have a 1996 Honda Accord with a blue book value of 4000 dollars. It was actually recently totaled, but it's fixed now. It got hit by a bus, go figure.</p>
<p>It's a good car, it gets over 30 mpg, it seats four fairly comfortably, and I have never had it break down. It's been hit/has hit many things, including a school bus and a fire hydrant, and it's recovered from those well. It had 97000 miles on it when I got it, and now it has about 110000. There's no sign of engine trouble.</p>
<p>I'd recommend a honda. Maybe a little younger than mine, if you can afford it, and with mileage closer to 75000 miles if you can afford it. Mine has a new muffler and a patched... place where you put AC fluid, but other than that (before the bus hit it) it hasn't needed anything replaced. </p>
<p>A good thing about Hondas is that if you do need a part for a Honda from the mid nineties to the mid 2000s, it's no trouble to get them, b/c there are so many on the road/in junkyards.</p>
<p>If your dad knows anything about cars, I'd have him go with you during the car hunt. It's always good to have an experienced eye.</p>
<p>If you can borrow your mom's minivan for now, why not? It's a car and it will allow you to travel to and from school much easier. In the meantime, keep searching for a really good used car. Toyota Camrys definitely look nice but I'm not sure about how much better they are compared to Hondas.</p>
<p>My S's friend was given a 2003 Honda Accord for his December birthday. It's a reliable car.</p>
<p>My S will inherit the 2000 BMW 323i once he passes his driver's test in February. We'll need to throw about $2,000 at it to fix the tranny, a rude surprise to us last year, when we opted to get a Prius.</p>
<p>Not if they get hit by a school bus. You know how hard/expensive it would be to find parts for your car compared to mine?</p>
<p>Haha, kidding. I love being able to pull out the "I GOT HIT BY AN EFFING BUS" card now and then. Makes it almost worth not having a car for a month.</p>
<p>Since your going off to college next year and you probably won't need the car then, spend little money on a car now and keep the money for college. :)</p>
<p>deeptin...you probably can't go wrong with a Toyota or a Honda. Look for one with low mileage and do have a mechanic check it out first before you hand over your money. You and your parents will be happy with their dependability if you do wind up driving up and down California for school next year. FYI...the Toyota Matrix is available as a hatchback (good for hauling all your stuff to school) and has excellent crash test ratings.</p>