Escapists, I need car help

[Dys]

I'm looking to get a used car, but there are a few qualifications. I would rather it be 4 cylinder for gas economy, it needs to be somewhat cheap to insure (I'm a 20 year old male btw), and it needs to be right around $4000.

I have looked at things like jettas and civics, but does anyone else have any options?


Edit: Also, I'm not looking to buy from anyone on here or anything, just ideas as to cars that would meet these standards


Edit #2: Must be a car, no bikes, motorcycles, skateboards, etc.

You're from the UK eh, unlike in Australia you will probably be able to get something sensible with 4 cylinders. Golfs are cheap over there aren't they? They are decent cars if you can stand the small chasis. If you need to drive people around things like mitsubishi lancers or ford focus are a little more appropriate. Difficult to give advice on the make as british prices are going to have a whole lot less of the europian markets whole "you're australian so we're charging you triple".

Basicially, the useful advice I can give is try not to get anything too much smaller than a 2L (and stay away from turbocharged, bad for unsurance..over here 4 door is better than 2 for that). A bigger engine means less fuel economy (depending on driving conditions), but smaller than 2L tend to be really lacking in power, especially with larger cars (and nobody wants to be driving around in a car that is physicially too small for them, small engine in heavy chasis defeats the purpose of a small engine as you lose the fuel economy as the engine has to work harder). Most modern cars are fairly reliable, so I wouldn't be too worried about the mechanical reliablity of any of the major brands (though stay away from the cheap korean cars where possible).

No, i'm not from the UK, I'm from the States

That would be a pretty major profile check fail on my part :S
I'd imagine then that europian cars are far more expensive to keep than others, I'l probably look at getting something american (I don't actually know of any American 4 cylinder, so I can't give an example) or japanese (subarus and hondas are popular with good reason).

 

[Simalacrum]

Use a bycycle. And public transport.

Don't live in a city? Move to one, fool.

 

[A Weary Exile]

Here's what you do: go in your backyard and catch one of these

Spoiler: Car Advice Sage

He'll tell you everything you need to know about car insurance!

 

[Ph33nix]

hey I just got a 1998 audi a6 for $3.5k i love it. its less than $1k a year to insure (young male) 170k miles though

 

[Ph33nix]

Vauxhall Astra. You get can get one of a decent age and reasonable engine size for about £1000 over here so in the US I'm sure you could find something of similar if not better quality within your price range. I know very little about cylinders but trust me when I say that they can be pretty damn rapid and very economical too. Don't get a Honda Civic... It's an old man's car.

vauxhall doesn't exist in america, infact most car companies don't

 

[VanityGirl]

I'm looking to get a used car, but there are a few qualifications. I would rather it be 4 cylinder for gas economy, it needs to be somewhat cheap to insure (I'm a 20 year old male btw), and it needs to be right around $4000.

I have looked at things like jettas and civics, but does anyone else have any options?


Edit: Also, I'm not looking to buy from anyone on here or anything, just ideas as to cars that would meet these standards


Edit #2: Must be a car, no bikes, motorcycles, skateboards, etc.

1. Don't go for Civics, their prices have been driven up thanks to movies like the Fast and the Furious.

2. Don't go for jetta's, if you find a cheap jetta, don't buy it.

try autotrader to find the car you want.
http://www.autotrader.com/

I got my Chevy Cobalt for 10K, it's a great car and it gets awesome gas mileage. I've had it for 2 years now.

 

[Helgi]

1996 Toyota Corolla.

 

[inflamessoilwork]

I'm looking to get a used car, but there are a few qualifications. I would rather it be 4 cylinder for gas economy, it needs to be somewhat cheap to insure (I'm a 20 year old male btw), and it needs to be right around $4000.

I have looked at things like jettas and civics, but does anyone else have any options?


Edit: Also, I'm not looking to buy from anyone on here or anything, just ideas as to cars that would meet these standards


Edit #2: Must be a car, no bikes, motorcycles, skateboards, etc.

1. Don't go for Civics, their prices have been driven up thanks to movies like the Fast and the Furious.

2. Don't go for jetta's, if you find a cheap jetta, don't buy it.

try autotrader to find the car you want.
http://www.autotrader.com/

I got my Chevy Cobalt for 10K, it's a great car and it gets awesome gas mileage. I've had it for 2 years now.

I am trying to stay away from anything GM, because my parents have owned multiple, and they have ALL had major problems before 100k miles. Also, $10k isnt anywhere near a budget of $4k