Most TA are between the age of 16 to 21 and thinking of buying a car.
To ensure you won't be disappointed but drive away in nice reliable set of wheels, I made some guidelines which will help you a lot.

Let's set an example: An 19 year old European TA saved 2500 euro and likes to spend it on a second-hand car.

What to do?

-Never buy a car from relatives, friends, people from work or from the streets. Get a car from a reliable dealer or second-hand carshop. Why? People will never sell a fucked up car to an official dealer. Dealers also check basic stuff like brakes, suspension and engine before selling. And: a good dealer will give you some kind of guarantee (mostly 3 months).

Off course you'll pay a bit more, but there's ways around that. Will talk about that later.

Well, where will I buy it then?

-There are tons of internet sites like Autotrader and Autotrack which have thousands of cars with pics and info. No need to drive around, just type what you want to have and watch the results. It's so simple yet so effective!

But what should I buy and how much should I spend?

-Some parts of cars will need to be replaces on a regular base: for example tyres, spark plugs, air/oil/gasoline filters, oil. Older cars sometimes need new brakes and suspension. Therefore, don't spend all your money! Keep 500 Euro in your pocket for small repairs.

People like good looking cars with big engines. When you first buy a car and don't have to much money, other things are way more important: reliabilty, insureance costs, fuel efficiency and taxes.

-Don't buy any GTI cars until you're 25. Insureance is hard to get and all but cheap.

So: don't buy with you heart, buy with your brains! You'll hate your good looking GTI after it breaks down somewhere far away in the pooring rain. On the other hand, you'll love your average looking sedan which even starts in mid-winter and 30 cm of snow.

The money you save on a reliable average looking car can be spend on some great looking allow wheels and stereo equipment. That will make a difference!

-What type/brand of car should I buy?

General rules:

*Better buy a car that always had it's service every 20.000 miles but has 200.000km on the clock, then some car with 100.000km you don't know the history of. A servicebooklet should come with the car.
*Don't buy Italian or French cars unless you're a mechanic.
*German cars are more expensive to drive and less reliable. They might feel solid and they don't rust. Still: no real value for money
*Better buy a middle class car with a small engine than a small car with a big engine. They cost the same, but you'll feel a lot saver and don't forget all the space for your (girl)friend(s).
*Sedan (4-door) cars look average, but are cheaper than 3 or 5 door cars of the same model.
*Just look for Japanese cars (Toyota, Suzuki, Subaru, Daihatsu, Mitsubishi, Mazda and some Honda's) They are cheap, well-build, have some nice gadgets and great engines.
In the German, English and Dutch reliablity test the top 10 consists of 9 Japanese cars.


Tips:

Small cars:

-Toyota Starlet: even 15 year old ones still drive around without problems. Parts are cheap, engine is powerful.



2500 euro, 1992, 1.3XLi, 170.000km. So it's white... who cares! It has power stearing, 75 horsepower and reasonable room inside. It's a Toyota, so start and go! Only 805 kilos. Drives way better than it looks!

-Suzuki Swift: the sedan is ugly but very cheap to drive! 1.3 engine has quite some power. The 3 door version is a much wanted car, so a bit more expenisive to buy (and smaller)



2500 euro, 1994, 1.6 GLX. The color is awful, but you'll get 4 doors, central door lock, 92 horsepower engine. The car weights only 850 kilo so cheap insureance, tax etc! Off course you could get a nice looking 3 door version, but it probably be an older car with less power. The former owner of this model is mostly a senior with a garage, who loved his car like a child. A Volkswagen with the same specifications is probably twice the price

-Subaru Justy: nobody wants to drive it. So cheap to get! Will drive forever, even available with ECVT automatic and 4 wheel drive.



2500 euro, 1992, 3-door, 120.000km, full service history, 55 horsepower. The choice if you really want to spend a minimum on fuel, insureance and service. Even tall people fit inside, but less room in the back. Small enough to park anywhere!

Middle class cars:

-Toyota Corolla: 22 million sold worldwide. Very reliable and good engine. Quality! The 5 door is ugly. Get that one (cheap!)



2450 euro, 1991, 5-door ("liftback"), 140.000km. Enough room for 5 people, great car for holidays, reliable, powerfull 105 hp engine. It's not a beauty, but just drive 1000 km and you'll love it! It feels solid like a rock. But some nice wheels and a subwoofer from all the money you save!

-Mazda 323: more average looking isn't possible! But: never ever breaks down. So buy one of these (especially sedan), buy some alloys and a real spoiler and the smile on your face is guaranteed. There's also a sporty F-version. Don't buy that one if it hasn't got all it's service intervals!



2450 euro, 1993, 100000km. Nice metallic color, 90 horsepower. Again a reliable car which does 177km/h. Only need one small check-up every year. Not interesting to thiefs so alarm not needed.

-Daihatsu Applause: Who would want a car with such a name? You! Everything electric, powerful engine, cheap to drive!



2450 euro, 1994, 16Xi, 150.000km. Saving the best for last: Blue metallic color, electric mirrors + windows, power stearing, central locking, alloy wheels, rear spoiler. Just remove the ugly striping with a blowdryer, spend 500 more on a check-up and some stereo equipment and you're the (wo)man!

So they laugh at you? Well, this baby does 185km/h and goes 0-100km/h in about 9.5 seconds. Bye bye Golf GTI!. Reliable as a Swiss bank, and the former owner must have been some 55 year old family father that waxed it every month. Finding a car which the same performance and specifications for this price is almost impossible.

The testdrive:

-Break a few times at high speed to test brake stability
-On the highway, let go of the stearing wheel and accelerate: the car should not go sideways (too much)
-Stop the car to some parking place and take a good close look: exhaust, to much oil under the engine, rust.
-Strange wear on the side of the tyres means abuse (or bad parking skills)
-The way the stearing wheel looks says a lot of the former user.
-Be sure everything works, from electric windows to rear lights.
-Take a friend for a second opinion, but YOU decide!

I hope this small guide is usefull to you. You will always remember your first car, so don't get disappointed. Look around, and don't buy the first car you see! If possible, ask for some sort of guarantee (on paper!). If you have any second thoughts, just don't buy it!

Last edited by jp on Jan-03-2003 at 00:42