Deciding between my first car?
So I have come down to two cars that I'm considering buying for my first car and would like the opinions of others before I make my final decision. The first car is a 2002 Ford Focus SVT 6-speed manual with 145k miles. The car has had the transmission replaced, many mods added (such as halo headlights, body kit, ect), 5 previous owners, and according to carfax, minor damage done to the left side but was repaired. The price for this car is $1,990. The second car is a 1995 Jeep Wrangler 5-speed manual with 147k mile. The car is coming from a private seller so I don't know as much about it as the Focus. There's some rust on the car which I would have to take care of. The price for this car is $2,900. What do you guys think I should go for? I know jeeps last a really long time but I don't like the fact the the body of it has some rust. On the other hand, the focus has a lot of miles for a focus svt. Also, the jeep only had 2 previous owners compared to the focus which has 5. I'm not looking for a perfect car for my first car because I don't really have much money to spend considering I have to pay for insurance as well. What do you guys think? All opinions are welcomed and appreciated!
Wranglers kinda suck as on-road vehicles. They are loud, (especially with the soft top fitted), ride harsh, are gas hogs, and don't handle all that well at speed. Unless you like off-roading, I'd avoid the Wrangler.
That being said, they are tough as nails, hard to kill, and easy to repair.
And if you do decide to go offroading sometime, it's hard to beat a Wrangler!
I wouldnt buy either one.
The ford will have been ragged out hard by some of the previous owners. Who knows what mods were done and have since been removed. And the accident there would worry me more than the rust on the jeep. You can do better for $2k.
Jeeps are easy to tip over if you haven't driven them before. They arent the best on gas, and with that many miles you will be fixing things again soon. They go forever if you can fix them yourself.
Both are going to be expensive to insure for a first time driver.
I suggest taking that money and looking for a used Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, or a Mazda Protege/3. Small cars, LOTS of them out there, cheap to insure. Go forever.
I would go for the Ford; Older Jeeps require more repair, and are more expensive to repair! I've been a mechanic for over 50 years!
So a boy-racer Ford Focus or rusty Jeep?
The Ford sounds like it was beat on, my rule is to never, ever buy a car that has any "mods" it means that it was beat to hell 99% of the time.
Jeeps are great for offroading, suck on the road.
Get the SVT 6 speed, more fun, it's your first car, you'll have more to come, if runs good, has str8 body, good shifting, not falling apart… What can go wrong for $1,900 bucks
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