First car??

So I'm 9 days from my 17th birthday. I'm planning on buying my first car in July, as I'm sitting on $1500, but want to keep saving a bit longer. I think I want a 3rd gen 4Runner, preferably 4WD so I can take my girlfriend and friends camping and adventuring. But my issue is finding one in decent condition for a reasonable price. My other ideas were a classic beetle, NA miata, Gen 1 RX7, an old muscle car of some sort, or some other fun thing. Whatcha think? If I went with the 4Runner, what should I look out for? Should I care about mileage? Pros and Cons?

-Tristin

 

You should be concerned about mileage if your at all tight with money (who isn't at 17?) a weekend of adventures/camping any kind of distance away will be 100.00 in gas alone. Be prepared. Buy a decent 4 cyl Honda they run forever and sip gas. Just my .02

 

I work about 25-40 hours a week, and my friends have offered to chip in for gas on our adventures, so gas isn't too big a worry. I've only been working a few months, and already pay my phone bills, so money management isn't an issue. Thank you for your advice though

 

For that price range it might be hard to find a used 4runner as they really hold their value even with 300,000 miles. An older Jeep Cherokee might be a better choice. Easy to work on and fairly reliable. Or just keep saving your money and invest it instead of blowing it all on a vehicle. Which I had done that at your age...I would be a millionaire right now. Time is your best friend.

Anyway, check out some Jeep Cherokees in your area and see if they fit your budget better.

https://www.edmunds.com/jeep/cherokee/2000/consumer-reviews/

 

Is high mileage an issue? Cause I found 4 stock ones with 170K-250K miles on them. I thought about investing but I doubt my father would approve. I'll be saving until July before I really start looking for a car

 

1st car should be old reliable. I vote for the 4 banger car.

2nd car is toy where you can fall back on car 1 if its down for a while.

$1500 honestly isn't going to get you much.

 

I don't understand how your father won't approve of you saving/investing money but that is another discussion for another day....The 4 is usually good if the maintenance has been done up to 300K plus. But you have to really check it out or it may nickel and dime you to death.

 

He wouldn't approve of investing. He thinks it's too much of a gamble.

 

I used to feel this way also....dam I have really hurt myself cuz now I don't have time on my side. If was your age and knew what I know now...I would be a retired multimillionaire at 50 years old and wouldn't have to work the rest of my life. I would suggest you keep reading and researching the subject, learn all you can. Then you can decide for yourself what will be the best for you and your future. Good luck in your car search...you will always remember your first car, I remember mine, too funny.

 

But buying an older 4x4, taking it "adventuring" as your first car is not?

Man I'm confused now.

 

I'll try talking him into letting me invest. I'm researching it myself now

 

Unless is a classic where value is guarantee going to go up a vehicle is one of the worst "investments" to make. If I'm understanding you correctly.

 

Regarding investing, I wish to hell I'd done more of it in my 20's. Even through market ups and down, good mutual funds have historically doubled in value about every 8 years over the past few decades. Yes, 2008 sucked, but anyone who left their money in there got it all back and then some.

Example, if at age 17 you put $1500 into a mutual fund (figuring 8% annual return, which has proved to be totally doable over the decades), and add just $300 per month, you would have $2.3 million by age 67.

 

Investing as in stocks

 

What are some good places to look into custodial accounts as I'm 17 so I can't open one myself until next year.

 

That I don't know, but if you can't do it now, do it next year. And when you get a job that offers 401K matching contributions, always put the max in.

 

This is a must. Too much young guys I see blowing their money and not saving. Not that I'm old (34) but I've had a 401K since I started working full time at 18.

 

Once you have had a job for awhile get ur dad to co-sign a loan for say 15k and that will get you a NICE one and it’s only like 300 bucks a month for five years to pay the loan off....

 

That will be awhile this kid sounds like he's going to college. For the older used jeep good luck there unreliable and you'll be having something fixed or replaced weekly so good thing they are easy to work on. Jeeps are not known for reliability. Any jeep owner I've ever known curses the thing weekly haha.

 

Well every Jeep I have had has been very reliable. The older Jeep Cherokees are everywhere, they are reliable. That 4.0 motor and trans is practically bullet proof. If you are talking about a JK, I agree, stay away. Any 4.0 Jeep, as in TJ, Cherokee, reliable.

 

I am planning college. IDK if I want a jeep. They are also extremely overpriced in my military town. You're looking at $4K for a rust bucket with a blown motor and 4 flat tires.