What are good quality but cheap first cars?

I just turned 15 but I need to start getting an idea of what kind of cars I want for a first car.

My dad wont go over $7,000 what kind of cars are there that suits the price but is good quality?

Toyota / honda you can't beat for reliability, in terms of needing scheduled maintenance, repairs, etc.

So you might consider a honda accord, or toyota camry (or their less expensive versions, aka, the honda civic & the toyota corolla).

My first car was a Ford Fiesta 1.1 engine. Any kinda of Ford (fiesta or escort) is a good starter because it gets you used to driving manually. A bigger engine could be in hand say about 1.3 or 4 so it is more powerful.

A manual choke would be idealistic at first as automatic ones tend to stall you a lot.

You will develop your own preferences but a good first time buy car is the nissan micra with NCVT ( Nissan's own auto-gearbox )

Wow I wish my mom would have even thought about buying me a car when I was 15. I would have to say go with a honda. Less chance for it breaking down.

Wow.. your parents are nice.

I bought my first. It was a 1985 Chevrolet Silverado. Solid steel, saved my life 3 months after buying it (got t-boned at a red light).

Anyway...

As far as reliability, and gas.. god knows it's not getting any cheaper. I would go for a Toyota. Toyota Corolla, Camry, Avalon, you could probably pick one up that's about 6 or 7 years old for that budget. The good thing about Toyota, is that they will last you FOREVER if you take care of them properly, they get great gas mileage, and it takes a long time for a toyota to lose it's value, so even when you're ready for a new one, you could probably still take it in and use it as trade-in value.

your parents are way nicer thn mine... I can have a car till I get my license! and I have had my permit for almost 2 months and it sucks not having a car... but my parents said I can pick a car no matter wht price when I get my license as long as I pay 1/4 of it... I would say a v.w. passat or jetta. but get a used one. they have great mpg and very nice

It is true that Toyota and Honda break down less than most makes but on the other hand when they do break down they are quite expensive to repair. I've owned both. My mileage record is 172K miles on a Toyota Starlet that was totaled by a hit-and-run driver. No telling how long it would have lasted if it wasn't for this.

How about a Mazda Miata? You can get a 2000 Miata for about $7000. These cars are extremely fun to drive, tough as nails, and look great. Remember that these engines require a costly timing belt replacement at 60k and 120k miles so factor this into the price of you are buying a car near these intervals. Of course there is no back seat so you might have to trade cars with your folks when you need more than one passenger. As fun as these cars are to drive this should be an easy sell. If you don't know how to already, have your dad teach you how to drive a standard. Shifting your own gears is so much more fun (especially in a sports car).