Im 15 turning 16 in a month, and im looking to buy an f-body Preferably in the firebird market, I was wondering which car is a better deal for your money, I have about $6000 and was deciding between a Firebird formula, a Trans am, or a V6 firebird, Cause the V8's would be more on insurance but I don't know how much, (plz tell me if you know), and plus Ive been searching around the net and Ive been noticing certain years are slower that others ex the 93-94 f-bodys seem to be slower than the 95-96's, exclude the 96 cause of the hp gains that year, but I still can't decide which I should get, I want a trans am (any year) 4th generation'', 93-97, but Im not sure if its right for the money, anyone have thoughts??

 

dont waste time or money on a V6

 

V6 F-bods = all hair no *****, they suck
i got my Z for less than 5000 and my insurance differance from my old car (1986 pontiac 6000 2.8 V6) only went up 100 i was 18 at the time so dont get a V6 look for a good V8 with a good price there out there youll find them. It took me 3 months.

 

depends on how mature you are

 

I wouldnt say 93-94's are the slowest. Some of the fastest lt1's ive seen are 93-94. My car ran the times in the sig with a coldair intake, small torque conveter(2400) and 3.73 gear. I plan on breaking 12's with a better converter on stock heads/cam/manifolds. Just a little comparison for you.

And Id buy a Grand Prix or something before I bought a v6 f-body.

-Mark

 

agreed, the 93-94 are not slower. If you are only 16, you might re-think what you buy. These are fast cars, and can get you in a lot of trouble.

 

Well I'm 21 now and have had the car for.. hmm.. let's see three or so years. Before that I had a series of rags (ford courier pickup, 72 pontiac grand safari wagon, 83 ford ltd II, 89 f150, and a 4 cylinder 93 (new style) ford probe - yes I drove an import (mazda hybrid) with a body kit nonetheless (on there when I bought it). Some cars were and still are family cars that I borrowed.. the ltd was really my first car and the probe my second.

I can honestly say that I beat on those cars badly but only mustered one traffic infraction - a speeding ticket in the probe. I was certainly a much more responsible driver in comparison to my friends also.

I am confident however that if the v8 camaro I now drive was my first car I would not have nearly such a clean record.. in fact I would likely be dead now.

So you may want to reconsider what you get as a first car.. save being a badass for your senior year in highschool at least or wait till college.. I say keep saving your money for a good high performance vehicle and buy a $300 rag for time being (daihaitsu for example).


If you do decide to go the route of the fbody don't get a v6 - that's just wrong in my mind somehow.. the car just screams speed and badassitude but lacks the ***** to back it up.


My vote goes for the rag.. but if you do get a sports vehicle please don't buy the watered down version.. do it right or don't do it at all.


My .02.. and I don't mean to offend you.. remember I'm young too and was right where you are now not to long ago.

 

WOW, I can't beleive how bad you guys are knocking v6 f-body's. There's nothing wrong with a 16 year old having a v6 as a first car. Hell, I didn't get my first car til I was 20. I've had my 97 RS for the past 2 years now, and that had more power, torque then Irocs i've owned or been in. I'm in the process now of an lt1 swap, but I am 25, have more money now, and insurance is cheaper. But again, there is nothing wrong with a 200 hp v6 f-body for a 16 yr old as a first car. Last, you can't even compare a grand prix apparance wise. How do you compare a grand prix to this???

 

I almost bought an LS1 to commute in.

 

Wouldn't even bother wasting my time on an LT1 unless it was highly modified. But that's just me

 

If you buy the v6, don't bother modding it, it's not really worth it.

 

The LT1 has a lot more power than the V6, but there is nothing wrong with the V6 at all (just make sure you get one that has a 3800 in it-late 1995 and up). A V6 f-body would be a good car for a 16 year old and cheaper on insurance/upkeep. Also, there is very little difference (if any) between 93-97 and how fast the cars are.

 

You shouldn't knock the V6. Yeah, I got a Z, but I know some V6's guys with some pretty quick cars. Don't get me wrong, get the V8 if you can, cause man, it's fun, but don't think the V6 is a p.o.s.

 

I had a v6 because my dad thought I wasnt mature enough and I dont know why he even bothered because I got a 94 z28 6 months later. I am probably one of the few teens who can respect power, but dont waste your time with a v6. My z28 cost 5800 and the guy through in a whole bunch of stuff with it, plus it has a 1500 sound system in it so I wasn complaining.

 

Nothing wrong with V6, but you'll always wish you had a V8.