What would be a good project car I can buy to learn how to fix cars?

[Anonymous]

I really liked cars all my life. I did buy a brand new mazda that i have as my reliable daily driver. But i really want to learn how to fix cars myself and would like to buy an older project car. Probably under $5k. What would be a good place to start?

[abc3643]

A Chevrolet Vega.

When I was a kid, most men could do lots of repairs on their own.

A Vega is a great car to learn on because so many things went wrong with them! ;)

However, they stopped making Vegas with the 1977 or 1978 model. And this was back in the day with carburation; most cars did not have electronic fuel injection then. So, finding parts for a Vega may be challenging.

Yet, they were fun cars. I wish I still owned one.

However, I just need to tell you...

Modern cars have waaaaaaaaaay too many microprocessors now that regular people cannot fix them without having many lots of money for specialized tools and diagnostic equipment and manuals or training classes. At a minimum, get a device for reading the "Check Engine Light".

[hypojoe]

Depends on what you know and how much you want to learn any classic basket case muscle car will keep you pretty busy my first project was a 1964 1/2 mustang when i looked at the car i just imagined driving it i did a ground up restore on it and it took a lot of time and moneyi learned about old cars but rarely is anything on the road now days compares but it gets you your basic skills honed in keep this in mind about really fixing them newer cars yourself maybe is not touched on these youtube videos never portray the struggle when shit goes wrong skills i would strongly suggest are
Damage and broken bolt removal and repair
Working in situations less than ideal like cold or nite time
learn to weld mig weld
learn to walk away when frustrated that one is harder than you think
learn diagnostics and understand them and learn about what your working on and go for it a cheap corvette will keep you busy every day even when it sits its braking shit

[MrOracle]

Definitely an older Honda or Toyota. Make sure that the body is in good shape - never crashed and free of rust. If you are in a snow state, but one from the southwest.

These cars are relatively simple and fairly easy to work on. Lots of YouTube videos for anything you might need to know. And if the body and interior are in good shape, they are usually worth fixing.

[Anonymous]

For sure an older Honda Civic because Honda parts are cheap. The cars also cheap themselves and easy to fix. Very user friendly car.