MNman

Hey everyone, before i ask my real question a bit of additional information is most likely needed. I am 17 years old and have always had an interest in cars. Now that i will be able to afford to buy myself a car i have some questions i would like answered or at least some help. Is it better to buy a beat up with with some body damage/rust and fix it yourself? or is it a better idea to spend the extra initial money and get a car that is for the most part "clean". would the cost of fixing it myself be more then getting an undamaged car? I don't really have any experience in working on cars but i would love to learn, about everything that has to do with cars. including fixing a beat up body. In fact i think i would enjoy it more then a good condition car, that may sound a bit weird though. Anyway all input is welcome thanks a lot, hope you can help.

NotAJDMFanBoy

Clean cars definitely fetch a premium that is kinda hard to justify unless you plan to keep it a long time and have a good place to store it.

Most people don't keep their first car that long. Either it's not for them, they have economic issues, they upgrade, etc. Just get something solid and use it as a learning opportunity.

Kohen

How much money you got to blow?

jchope

get something that runs good and has minor problems thats the way i started hondas are cheep and easy to work on so they make a good first project

MNman

I hope to spend about 2 grand on the car initially and maybe another thousand dollars on some mods, not to sure what ones if you have any ideas that would also be a big help. thanks for the input so far guys.

jchope

for 2 grand you can get a nice hatch or coupe and have some money left over

mike:

Let the "thousand dollars on mods" be maintenance: brakes, drive-train, balljoints, suspension, belts, gaskets and other routine service to bring it up to date. Certain things need to be checked/replaced at certain mileages, start there and then go for appearance 'mods.' The first thing you should do after you get a car is get the manual for it, readily available on the internet or in parts stores.

MNman

Thanks for the reply, yeah the maintenance would defiantly seem like a very good idea, after all that alone can improve the performance of a car all on its own. thanks for the help once again.

CleverChang2012

Start off clean.

axis11

When I go to buy a used car, I search for something that still looks good in the outside but not so good on the inside( underchassis) but only to the point that I know I can do myself using hand tools. I just point to the seller one by one the things that needs to be fixed and bargain for a steal price. Mechanical works, many people can do. Body repair and painting, only a few people can DIY. I go then to buy the tools and parts needed to fix the car. It will depend on how much work and time you are willing to put on the car to select the car you want. There is of course the option to buy a nice car in and out especially if you can get it at a fair price and might be cheaper compared to having a junk car fixed by a workshop.

dirty19

iTrader: (1)

Buy the best possible car for the money you have in your budget.
Less hassles for you all the way around.
Be patient.

jbpnoman

Minor body damage is no big deal. Frame damage, walk away. Rust, walk away. The amount of work involved in fixing frame damage, or rust damage, is not worth the price difference.

You're young. You're probably going to make mistake #1, but I'm still going to tell you not to. Don't buy the first car that you like. Impulse buys never end well.

Kohen

Everyone said some good things on this post, but I really like what was said here. $1000 wouldn't be any improvement in HP really anyways. So I'd definitely use it on a tune-up and all that and learn how to do those things.

But as someone said before, frame damage or rust, walk away. Not worth it. Make sure the body lines line up. Google some guides on what to look for when buying a used car. I've read some good guides before. Good info out there!

speedjunkie_g35

IMO it is worth paying a little bit more for a clean car with few to no problems. I bought my hatch which was completely stock for $1000. I have spent over $4000 making it safe to drive and I still haven't touched any body work needed. I have way more than I could ever sell it for. $5000 would have bought me a 2 really nice hatch's.

mike:

This is a very good point. I bought my last car which appeared to be in good order, didn't spend enough time going over the little details which have ended up costing quite a bit of money, just received the last of the important bushings in the mail today, and I still need a few hundred or so to get rid of the leaks. Save up twice your original budget and get something in better condition

MNman

wow, thanks a lot guys, i guess you all sure know what your talking about. I will definitely use your information to my advantage. I really appreciate it.

redm3turbo

If I was buying my first car again, Id care 100% how it ran, and 0% on how it looked. If it has some minor body damage/rust, then so be it. More likely then not you'll have the car 2-3 years before you head off to college/or start life / work fulltime etc.

No 16 year friend of yours is going to care if your car has a small bit of rust near the rear wheels, or if there is a dent in the door etc. What every teenager cares about is going to see people, or generally just not be at home, lol.

Go over the mechanicals of the car. You want something that you turn the key and go, and go safely. Timing belts/headgaskets/major repairs are alot to have to worry about, esp at 16 yr old. Either buy a car that has had them changed, or buy it a few months prior to getting your license, buy a helms manual, and learn to turn a wrench. Parts aren't that expensive, and learning to work on your own car is pretty valuable for your lifetime. For $200 you can basically rebuild the top end of most D series, and it isn't very hard. I see EG and EJ civics around NY metro area for 1500....that'd leave 500 to do maint on it.

Go over the eng and the suspension/brakes/tires.

Safety first.

A friend of mine in H.S. had a tercel wagon 4x4. It was ugly. It was rusted. It ran amazing. He bought it for $500 bucks because it had been in a slight wreck (only the passenger side doors were hit) He got 2 new / used ones and matching colors, lol for 50 at a junker, and literally drove the car 5 years with never replacing a single thing aside from oil and tires. Then 5 years and 90k miles later, sold it for 2k. The car never broke down, got 30 + mpg, was brutally beat on by 8 different 16 year old boys and never gave a problem. We off roaded that thing....endless hours of parking lot donuts, etc etc etc. It wasn't a pretty car, it sure was an absolute tank though. Those are the best kinda cars, lol.

Kohen

Love it!

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

I waited 6 months to find a clean un-molested civic. All I could find were civics all fuct up by 16 year old kids. 1500 here 1800 there..

I wanted a Hatch in either black, silver or white. couldnt find one..

I ended up with my EX coupe with 144k, clean, for 3200. I didnt want green, but waiting 6 months i said what the hell.
To date i have around 15k wrapped up in it. with swap, boost, suspension and interior

9honda5civic

i am always a fan of someone who does work themselves even if the cars a little beat up lol

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

yea, i can understand that..

but fixing up a 15-20 year old car that is only worth 1500-2000 just to get it to a clean status will cost $$$ over finding one from a 60 year old woman in a clean condition.

just a paint job runs 2k

redm3turbo

Wait, 15k on a EJ civic? lol. I dont think anyone should be taking money advice from you.

Lol.

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

Yup.. i agree

im not a fan of ebay junk.

click my garage and youll see why

redm3turbo

yea, I was just kidding esoteric.

I have no clue what I got involved in mine...however I know I saved a fortune on car payments, insurance, and having the dealer fix it. (I estimate I saved at least 10k by doing the work myself b/c of this forum) I use the honda oem parts, just install em myself and save 75% of the cost of the job on it.

I respect your desire for speed and performance. I personally want mine to just stay OEM and exactly like it rolled off the factory line yesterday.

similar goals ( to get the best out of the EJ) my path is just alot cheaper, lol.

I wish K series swaps would drop to 4-5k....as soon as that happens, Im doing a heart transplant on my daily, lol.

speedjunkie_g35

I know how that goes. I waited over a year to find a hatch that wasn't gang raped by ricers.

Well I thought I had 5k in my hatch but after thinking about it, it is almost 8k. And that will probably double when I go FI. I would hate to think how much I would be spending if I didn't do everything myself.