Which car would be best first car??

The one that was best treated when it was new. Ask the owner for a maintenance log... find out how often they did oil changes. Pick the car that was more aggressively maintained when it was new, and you'll know the car that will be more reliable when it's old.

--scott

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Scott's advice is good, but hope it's the Subaru that was treated better. VWs have poor reliability ratings. Cool cars, but they suck.

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* I would not get either. First cars always get wrecked. VW's are unreliable.

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Is it for a 17 year old girl?

This would be a good bet, except for the back seat...

A Nash Airflyte. cuhulin

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I disagree. For the most part, _all_ cars these days have pretty good reliability ratings. Sure, there are occasional bad models here and there, but you can't just tar an entire car manufacturer with one brush.

--scott

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The CV makes an excellect first car being cheap to buy, operate and insure. When they have the first crash, the CV offers some of the best protection on the road to help them survice to crash again if they didn't learn anything from the first crash. Down side is the damage it can inflict on the other vehicle in a crash. Some danger of fuel fire if struck from rear by another vehicle at 70+ MPH (probably safer than 95+% of the other vehicles on the road). The back seat problem for females can be avoided with a aspirin held firmly between the knees.

Lugnut

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I don't think I'd buy a Suburu and I sure as hell would never buy another VW. I bought my daughters #1: Ford Explorer with a couple of small dings. It now has several bigger dings and the headlight has been replaced. #2: Ford Ranger pickup with a few small dings. So far it looks the same but hasn't had a chance to get new dents. I want them to be in something solid when they get in a wreck.

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ROFLMAO! I had forgotten that remedy! ;p

DAMN! MOre than 25 MPG! Where do I get one?!?!

I know where there's a Neopolitan, but that's not a good first car at all...

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When it comes to VW, I can.

With a lot of car companies, if you get a lemon it's an irregular happening. With VW, getting a GOOD one is irregular...

A few weeks ago I bought a Black & Decker compound miter saw/chopsaw at a pawn shop.(I don't believe that saw had ever been used before) When the guy who works at the pawn shop was bringing the saw out to my van for me he said, Look at that little car! It was a Nash Metropolitan car sitting at the traffic light.It looked brand new, as though it had been completely restored.I know where there is a nice looking 1950s Rambler car for sale, only a few miles from me. cuhulin

I know a lot of serial/multi Subaru owners and have a 2000 Forester in the family fleet myself. They're great cars in a lot of ways.

You'll pay a bit of a gas mileage penalty for the AWD, so you might ask whether you need that feature. They also like to have all four tires in about the same type and size and wear state. The "boxer" engine is less tolerant than most cars of neglected oil or coolant changes, and doesn't care to be overheated (well, what engines do these days?). Take it in to a local mechanic with Subaru experience for a good going-over before you plunk down your money.

Actually a similar statement could be made for all cars. In particular, be sure whether it's for sale because there's something particular wrong with it, or perhaps it's due for a costly maintenance interval or something. (You're paying for objectivity as well as expertise. By this point it's a given that you want the car!)

In this case, that's even more important. A cursory look at kbb.com suggests that (insofar as one can judge from the limited information provided) the car is significantly underpriced. Theories include: motivated seller who needs cash; a make and model that is not highly prized in your area; and a particular car with a checkered past or something expensive wrong with it. Go into this potential deal with your antenna up, and keep telling yourself that There Are A Lot Of Used Cars Out There. (One of the older tricks in the book is convincing the buyer that there's something unique and wonderful about this car and you'd better jump on it before it's gone. The book is

Best of luck,

--Joe

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I must be a very irregular person then. I loves me my VeeDubs.

nate

I have owned three VW death traps before.The first one was a 1961 VW van.Second one was a 1963 VW beetle.Third one was a 1970 VW van. No heat in the Wintertime, not enough power to get out of it's way, the clutch cables break.I don't ever want to own anymore VW anythings. cuhulin

You aren't in Mass, are you? ( I think I asked before...)

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I bought mine brand new in 1985. Bought the Jetta because the trunk weight helped it 'settle' on the road. 85HP with room to spare! I was blowing the doors off other cars!

Why, I could pass everything but the Service Dept!

(Also had a 6 year old Corolla. After two years the stack of work orders for the VW was almost three times higher than the 6 year old SR5...)