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If you have to ask YC for an idea of what car you want to buy, don't spend $50k for a car. Buy a decent used car for $6 to $10k, or a new car for $15 to $20k (I

If you have to ask YC for an idea of what car you want to buy, don't spend $50k for a car. Buy a decent used car for $6 to $10k, or a new car for $15 to $20k (I bought a Honda Fit; it's nice), bank the rest of the money, and wait. I won't say you shouldn't blow $50k on a car -- I have friends who drive autocross and are really into cars -- but if you don't already have a short list of performance cars that you lust for you should just drive a compact Honda or Toyota for a while and be done with it. What's wrong with the two-seater, again? Can't you just rent or borrow a car when you have to pick people up at the airport? You can rent a lot of cars for $50k. ;)

icey 18y ago
This may end up being the answer, to be honest. I am very into cars; but my tastes lean strongly towards the impractical (hence the two-seater).
- ruslan 18y ago
  Why two-seaters ? For $50k you can buy a fscking big SUV :-). I myself am a happy owner of 3-doors Mitsubishi Pajero (Montero) 3.2 turbo diesel with climat, GPS navigation, TV/DVD and rear-veiw camera. It fits everything in it pretty well, including my huge fridge I once tranported to repair-store :). And it's very moderate on fuel consumption as any other diesel made in japan.
  - Zak 18y ago
    Many car enthusiasts like cars with quick acceleration and responsive handling. Since A=F/M, that tends to mean cars that weigh less than average. Cars with fewer seats and less, well... car tend to weigh less.
- mechanical_fish 18y ago
  Impractical, eh? My racing friend has a trailer that he tows behind his Honda S2000. Get one of those and your luggage problems will be over, in a gloriously impractical fashion. Incidentally, the Miata and the S2000 seem to be pretty fun cars, although I'm too tall for one and too cheap for the other. When I lived in CA I owned a 1986 Toyota MR2; that was lots of fun too, and with a gloriously quirky mid-80s dated look. Bought it for like $6k, and it ran flawlessly, perhaps because it was a Toyota, but more likely because it had been cared for by an obsessive car person for a decade and a half. I salute that guy. Gratify your tastes! To hell with mere practicality! Give a cabbie $100 and have him to go pick up your friend at the airport! ;)
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KiwiNige 18y ago
My advice is to buy a used Volvo. I'm currently driving a 20 year old Volvo wagon and have to say there are not many cars that could be in such good shape for the age and miles, and same is true for my last Volvo. With a car that old I'm spending more on maintenance than I would like but I reckon any Volvo up to 10 years old with a good service history is probably going to be the best deal around.
pistoriusp 18y ago
I would personally recommend a Honda Fit (Jazz in other parts of the world). Incredibly reliable, very good fuel economy, it's pretty cheap and has loads of storage space. It's also been rated in the top 5 for several years in Top Gear's Car Survey, (I can't seem to find the other years). http://www.topgear.com/content/carsurvey/2006/features/01/1.html http://www.topgear.com/content/carsurvey/2006/features/01/1.... http://www.honda.co.za/main.aspx?ID=128 http://www.honda.co.za/main.aspx?ID=128
cmos 18y ago
I've had the Fit for over a year now and I worship it. It's as if Honda put the smartest engineers on some of the more 'mundane' things you find in a car. For example, the back seat design is brilliant. They fold all the way down for an entire flat space in the back, or flip up for putting in tall objects, like a bicycle.

icey 18y ago

This may end up being the answer, to be honest. I am very into cars; but my tastes lean strongly towards the impractical (hence the two-seater).

ruslan 18y ago
Why two-seaters ? For $50k you can buy a fscking big SUV :-). I myself am a happy owner of 3-doors Mitsubishi Pajero (Montero) 3.2 turbo diesel with climat, GPS navigation, TV/DVD and rear-veiw camera. It fits everything in it pretty well, including my huge fridge I once tranported to repair-store :). And it's very moderate on fuel consumption as any other diesel made in japan.
- Zak 18y ago
  Many car enthusiasts like cars with quick acceleration and responsive handling. Since A=F/M, that tends to mean cars that weigh less than average. Cars with fewer seats and less, well... car tend to weigh less.
mechanical_fish 18y ago
Impractical, eh? My racing friend has a trailer that he tows behind his Honda S2000. Get one of those and your luggage problems will be over, in a gloriously impractical fashion. Incidentally, the Miata and the S2000 seem to be pretty fun cars, although I'm too tall for one and too cheap for the other. When I lived in CA I owned a 1986 Toyota MR2; that was lots of fun too, and with a gloriously quirky mid-80s dated look. Bought it for like $6k, and it ran flawlessly, perhaps because it was a Toyota, but more likely because it had been cared for by an obsessive car person for a decade and a half. I salute that guy. Gratify your tastes! To hell with mere practicality! Give a cabbie $100 and have him to go pick up your friend at the airport! ;)
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KiwiNige 18y ago

My advice is to buy a used Volvo. I'm currently driving a 20 year old Volvo wagon and have to say there are not many cars that could be in such good shape for the age and miles, and same is true for my last Volvo. With a car that old I'm spending more on maintenance than I would like but I reckon any Volvo up to 10 years old with a good service history is probably going to be the best deal around.

pistoriusp 18y ago

I would personally recommend a Honda Fit (Jazz in other parts of the world). Incredibly reliable, very good fuel economy, it's pretty cheap and has loads of storage space. It's also been rated in the top 5 for several years in Top Gear's Car Survey, (I can't seem to find the other years). http://www.topgear.com/content/carsurvey/2006/features/01/1.html http://www.topgear.com/content/carsurvey/2006/features/01/1.... http://www.honda.co.za/main.aspx?ID=128 http://www.honda.co.za/main.aspx?ID=128

cmos 18y ago

I've had the Fit for over a year now and I worship it. It's as if Honda put the smartest engineers on some of the more 'mundane' things you find in a car. For example, the back seat design is brilliant. They fold all the way down for an entire flat space in the back, or flip up for putting in tall objects, like a bicycle.