My first Japanese car, what to get?

[CraigiousIV]

Okay, this is my first time posting on pistonheads, but from what i've seen this forum seems full of great people, so i came here for some advice.

i'm 18 currently driving a fiat 500S, (not mine, it's my mam's) as its all i could really afford the insurance on. my insurance runs out when i turn 19 in a few months so i'm looking to buy myself a birthday present. something in the form of a japanese semi-performance car.

Now the million dollar question is what would you recommend for a 19 year old, with one years no claims?

i haven't got money coming out of my ears so cheap is cheerful! (bare in mind insurance aswell please)

Any help is appreciated ladies and gents!

[nitrodave]

Best budget bang for buck jap motor I've ever had was a civic 1.6 vvti ek9.

Bought it for £500, used it for a few months then sold it on for twice what i paid. It was indestructible and for what it was, it was quick! It certainly felt as quick and the integra dc2 type r i had a the same time.

It loved to rev the the red line, pulled really hard, accelerated from a standstill amazingly and handled like it was on rails.

it's one of very few cars i regret selling and should have kept it as a track day slag.

[SaqibCTR]

nitrodave said:

Best budget bang for buck jap motor I've ever had was a civic 1.6 vvti ek9.

Bought it for £500, used it for a few months then sold it on for twice what i paid. It was indestructible and for what it was, it was quick! It certainly felt as quick and the integra dc2 type r i had a the same time.

It loved to rev the the red line, pulled really hard, accelerated from a standstill amazingly and handled like it was on rails.

it's one of very few cars i regret selling and should have kept it as a track day slag.

Must have been an EK4 VTI for that money. But yes, I was going to suggest this.

You can get a fairly wallet-friendly EK4 Civic with its punchy 160hp 1.6-litre engine. Reliability, lots of fun to drive, half-decent performance, cheap to run, the list goes on. So much car for the money.

You will have to check insurance though. Old Civics can be surprisingly expensive to insure.

Prices will vary depending on whether it's a rough but mechanically sound car to a pristine limited edition Jordan Civic.

You may also want to consider the Toyota Yaris T-Sport and the Suzuki Ignis Sport. Both are cracking little cars to my knowledge.

[Scooby84]

Almera GTi?

[LasseV]

SaqibCTR said:

You may also want to consider the Toyota Yaris T-Sport and the Suzuki Ignis Sport. Both are cracking little cars to my knowledge.

This!

[TotalControl]

Other cars to consider:

Toyota Paseo
Honda Civic MB2 VTi
Toyota Celica gen 7 140 model
Honda Accord 1.8 sport
Nissan Primera GT
Mazda MX5

All can be had for about a grand or less.

[vx220]

If it's your mothers car, and assuming you're on your mothers insurance, do you have a years ncd?

Worth checking...

[toddler]

Mk1 Suzuki Swift Sport?

[CraigiousIV]

thanks for all the suggestions,

i'm in the process of checking if i gain no claims, even if i don't i've noticed that a years driving experience significantly drops my insurance prices anyway.

pretty much set on an older civic, just looking for the right one to come up now

thanks again!

[NinjaKarateChop]

CraigiousIV said:

thanks for all the suggestions,

i'm in the process of checking if i gain no claims, even if i don't i've noticed that a years driving experience significantly drops my insurance prices anyway.

pretty much set on an older civic, just looking for the right one to come up now

thanks again!

Years driving sure does drop insurance. I was away living abroad and came back to the UK and got my first UK car last years at 30 years old. MG ZR 1.4 and was paying £130 per month insurance. Nightmare. Paid $75 a month on two V8 cars in the states. Thankfully with 1 years NCD I now pay £60 a month. Scrapping the MG for a Jap car so wishing to obtain another year on my insurance before getting an Impreza or similar.