What should I get for my first car? - 1

Hello I'm 14 years old and looking for a first car. I'm a car guy and I have loved cars ever since I can remember. My dad owned multiple classic cars so I guess my love of cars came from him. I really like old VW beetles and have been researching them for a while. For my first car I want an older car because I do not like new cars. I like old hatchbacks but I've looked at a lot of cars (old Ford f150, Old VW Bug, Ford Pinto, Plymouth Valiant, Honda CRX, Dodge Omni.) I like cars from the 70s and 80s but would be willing to drive a car from the 60s if it was in good condition. My budget is up to $7000. I need something pretty cheap and reliable but would be willing to work on it. Speed doesn't matter to me I just care about the character the car has. Any recommendations for my first car?

You're too young.

An older VW Beetle would be a good start.

You're 14. Nothing is going to happen for a long time. Ask again closer to the time.

Bookmark https://www.hemmings.com/

You have time to check out the market of what you can afford, what is available.

With $7K you will be looking at a unrestored with a lot of stuff needed to make it a reliable daily ride.
Get one, get help from Dad, have the car worked on before you get your license.

Old cars are not good first cars. If a '70s car is still around it is either in rough shape or expensive now. There were a lot of issues - you won't find a Beetle with an automatic transmission or air conditioning.

Generally, a first car is not the time to get the car of your dreams. You are likely to wreck it: according to a past insurance agent, a new driver has a 50% chance of wrecking their car in the first year, 80% in the first three years. I don't know about the three year thing but the 50% in the first year matches my experience with friends and family.

Reliability is not going to be part of any older car. A lot of the 1970s cars had specific problems, besides the general problems with poor brakes, carburetors, Kettering ignitions… Pintos and VWs had a problem with fires (rear impact for the Pintos, carburetor leakage onto the distributor for the Beetle); the Chevy Vega was a nightmare, plain and simple. I had a 1970 Mercury Capri (the Mercury variant of the Pinto) that frustrated me repeatedly with stupid design problems: the cable-operated clutch loved to judder, the u-joints were swaged into the driveshaft so the (expensive) driveshaft had to be replaced every year after I drove through flooded roads… Our 1970 Maverick still haunts my nightmares, as does the 1970 Duster. There's literally no 1970s car you could pay me enough to take. If you ever have the misfortune to have a 4-wheel drum brake fade on a long downhill you will agree. I remember both feet braced hard on the brake pedal on a long, shallow downhill in California, and the car sailed along at 50 mph until it ran out of hill. Pure trash by today's standards.

63 studebaker turismo hawk

If you can find a decent old Datsun 510 or rear wheel drive Toyota Corolla they were almost bullet proof and super easy to fix.

Early Ford Mustang.

My state allowed driving at age 14.5 back in the 1960s. I'm not sure what the minimum age is now. Things have changed.

Your first car to drive as a daily driver needs to be something that will not bring tears to your eyes because it has been totaled!
Because of advances in technology and the lapse of quality for about a decade I would suggest you stay away from any vehicle made between 1975 and 1985.
If I was 14 right now I would be learning to weld and studying "Locost" cars. The most popular of which are Lotus Seven clones. These are home constructs and some have classic lines.
If I had deeper pockets I would be looking into "roller body shells" or just body shells for classic cars. These are new car bodies (often unibody) which can be used to construct a car using reproduction parts.
Pinto's and the like are already up in price. Mustang II's are the same way.
If you can find a Chevette, consider it. Great sleeper potentual