Hola from Orange County!
 

Hey guys,
So, how to write this and not make it sound like a job interview...
Basically, I went along with John AKA blackax in his CTS-V on the latest GMR ride and had a great time. I'm a newbie when it comes to cars and just got my license in October. I'm currently looking for something that can keep up with you guys on the road, but won't break the bank considering insurance for a 16 year old male is crazy expensive.

I can't wait to see some of those vids from the ride! I have a couple photos I'll post to the thread.

EDIT: Crap, I forgot to put my name's Sean.

Hi Sean. Clever screen name. You’re a brave soul riding with John. (just messin with you John, your burnout at the bottom was awesome)

Welcome aboard. As for recommendation, a pretty decent choice might be a Cobalt SS. Great handling car, fast enough to be fun, insurance is reasonable (I think), etc. In stock trim they're ho-hum looking, but decked out, I think they look pretty good.

If you think that was awesome, you should've seen what happened a couple minutes later :censored:

An interesting choice, but usually the name of the game with insurance is the older the cheaper. I don't think the Cobalt has been around long enough to get those prices down.

I'm currently trying to convince the parents that $230 a month to insure a 94 Z28 is reasonable :nuts:

Welcome Sean


ah oh more Seans.... :inout:

Mmm, Gen II camaro might be good. You can pick them up sorta cheap and they really are a great platform. You probably could get the insurance way down from there.

I'll keep an eye out, but the ones that show up on craigslist in my ~$4000 budget are usually beaten to holy hell. If anyone finds a good car in that range be sure to lemme know.

too bad I still had stability control on

Welcome ! I agree, second gen Camaros are not that cheap. The " Cheap" ones are beat to hell. And every Bubba thinks it is worth it's weight in gold.
It is a good platform (for me anyway) but, the 4th gens handle and stop way better in stock form.

I'm thinking a little fiero gt or a vw with a vr6 would be nice

Welcome

Bob

Welcome, Bugatti Veyron I think that would do the trick and it meets all criteria both insurance and price range.

No third-gen F-body love? Cheap car, cheap insurance, maybe a touch down on power but a great handling car with tons of aftermarket support. Plus the 87+ T/As just look good :thumbs_up:

Welcome. Start with something that doesn't have too much power at first so that you can learn to control the car. Something that can slowly be upgraded. Then start taking it to tracks like Adams Motorsports Park, Irwindale and California Speedway for the street legal drags. That way you get both the experience and a baseline to build upon to beat.

WRX, AWD so it'll be harder for you to lose control/ total the car/ get hurt.

Yep, and I think this paint job would be fantastic.

(Oh god, the horror)

I don't think I could grow the mullet to do it justice. And interestingly my insurance hates 3rd gens as well for some reason.

Take your best shot at something around $3000. :D
Bit too pricey.

Seriously, buy this. He's down to $2700. It's a steal.

Hmm, I don't know much about Fox body 'stangs but that one looks interesting. Such a small car with so much power (and cheap insurance!). Looks like he's only a city away from me, so I'll shoot him a text. Thanks Sean!

No problem.

Fox Body stangs are excellent first cars. Not too much power stock, but suspension and drivetrain parts are cheap and they're easy to work on :drink:

:iagree: and there are several people here expert on what you can do with them.

K, looks like I'm going to check it out tomorrow with John. Hope it's a match!

One thing to consider. If he hasn't done the smog for the car, you're going to have to and it won't pass with that offroad x-pipe. You'd have to get a stock exhaust (should be cheap) or have the smog done...

Yeah, could not having a cat be a problem even if he "knows a guy" and we get it to pass?

If it were me, I'd try to find a stock mid-pipe and put it on the car. I'm sure you can pick one up relatively cheap and then you're smog legal again (in theory).

Here is another car in your price range.

Check out the classified sections on these boards:
www.corral.net
www.mustangforums.com
www.stangnet.com

I found lots of potential exhaust parts for you, and also some cars for sale too ;)

Ron,

It has a MAF conversion, but it's still a 4-lug. What do you think?

NOOOOOO sean you cant get a ford :inout:

MAF should not be a problem if you have the proper tune. My SHO has a Lincoln 80mm MAF. I have a tune so the EEC-IV understands the curve the different MAF is outputing.

Bob

you can get a ss/sc cobalt for pretty cheap nowadays a lil more than 10k but depends on what your price range is lol

No bueno on the 'stang. Too many things fishy about it. Keep the suggestions rollin'.

Yep, waitin' on a call back from him. In the meantime, I've been looking at Mitsu 3000gt vr4's/Dodge stealth t/t. Seem to get nice power from those twin turbos and I could always use the AWD, haha.

LOL, I was just looking at DSM's for you.

This one looks interesting.

Eclipse.
Nissan 300ZX

If you want to be different.

This is the only RWD car Ford made with the 4.6 DOHC motor besides a Mustang. Very similar to the 99/01 Cobra motor. They can definitely be made into a great sleeper car.

Wow, that Talon looks badass. I'll be sure to call that one.

If it's an '88 California car it would have come from the factory with MAF. That was the first year for MAF and it was only in California cars. In '89 all Mustangs had MAF.

But they're ugly and heavy.

That Eclipse looks good plus it's AWD. The only thing that bothers me is the sellers comment "and she's up and running again". This gives me the impression that he has had issues with it and has to keep fixing it and now that it's currently running he wants to dump it before something breaks again. Make sure you get the history from him and look it over really good.

Wow, that Eagle Talon costs less to insure than the 88 mustang. I also get a kick outa the fact that the eclipse cost $20 a month more to insure.

Kinda digg'n on the Talon. They're pretty slick, and the Mitsu motor is an extraordinary platform.

Stay away from that Lincoln ! They are prone to very expensive electronic air suspension problems.