Best Cheap car to Learn Driving

Harry00FF00 · November 9, 2021

Hi All.

Looking to learn driving - and with current situation prefer to learn driving on an own car with my cousin bro. Family car and all relatives cars are now auto so not much use for a learner. Looking for a decent Manual around 5-8 hundred thousand.

As long as it starts in the morning and is not a total rust tub I'm ok. Plan to use it for 6-8 months might go away for studies so need it to be sellable without having to keep forever.

Many options like Nissan Sunnys, Lancers Box + Older modles and Lancer wagons -not really cool but seems widely available. Easy to sell?

Volskwagne beetles are cool but over 10 laks 😟 Peugot 504 with Toyota diesel engines 😟 also cool but are they problems? Is it even legal? Is Diesel better?

So what would be ideal learners car for this budget?

iRage · November 10, 2021

I would say old Sunnys and Lancers will be the perfect choice for you. Cars like Corollas (KE72 vans/sedans, E80 sedans) are also a decent choice but are pricey even for rust buckets. Another option would be Mazda 323/Familia sedans and wagons from the late 80s...ironically the same car with a Ford badge seems to go for a little lesser than that.

The Lancer and the Mazda/Ford has a much better feel. More steering and brake feedback and a gearbox that has a crispier gear change feel to it. Not sure if you are in to that, but you should as when learning it will give you some sense of understanding how to feel the car's balance, limits at the wheels, etc... The Sunnys like B310 (relatively) and B11s have very soft and light steering so you hardly feel what is going on. The B11 is the worst and most boring to be honest....an electric sewing machine has more feel than that thing and driving it as as tintilating as eaating a three month old frozen cucumber (fyi...cucumbers that are frozen for a long time just tend to get watery and yucky...so not very nice). If you go for a Sunny I would stick to the B210/211s and the B310s.

The Mazda/Ford option is not very common so you ar enot going to find replacement body parts that easily, etc...in case you need to fix and damage. Which is also the reason why you will find a much newer Mazda/Ford for the same price of an older Sunny/Lancer.

I would say all the cars are sale-able, just that the Lancer and Sunny will have a bit more interest from potential buyers.

matroska · November 11, 2021

On 11/9/2021 at 2:16 AM, Harry00FF00 said:

Volskwagne beetles

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ugh...as a second generation VW fanboy I hate when the name is mistyped

On 11/9/2021 at 2:16 AM, Harry00FF00 said:

also cool but are they problems? Is it even legal? Is Diesel better?

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If legally updated on the CR Diesel swapped cars are ok but the swap itself should be a proper job. Can't say diesels are 'better' but from a learners perspective : I have found diesels are easier to drive specially with regards to stalling until you get the hang of clutch balancing. But for your budget I don't think you can find a decent diesel.

On 11/10/2021 at 12:31 AM, iRage said:

The Sunnys like B310 (relatively) and B11s have very soft and light steering so you hardly feel what is going on. The B11 is the worst and most boring to be honest.

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For some reason the B11 is quite popular among the local community - not the retro enthusiasts but people who look to use a reliable cheap car. Maybe it's cheap to run? Or is it the light steering and the overall lazy vibe that the average Sri Lankan prefers?

B310's imo are underrated - you can find a good one for much less that what you'd pay for a Lancer of similar vintage.

Cheapest of the lot would be a Lancer Wagon for around 400,000 you can get a decent specimen. Not everyone's cup of tea but I think parts etc are not too hard to come by. You stand to lose less if you want to get rid of it.

B211's are a good idea - they're basic spartan cars and due to the appearance (for some it's a shrunk muscle car) appeals to the local ricers so you'll have trouble finding an unmolested specimen but once you do it will be easy to run and easy to sell. Again B211's are more popular than the B210.

Since this is for learning don't go for an overly ancient car like an old British car or even a KE20 - go for something that runs well has disc brakes and overall is as close as possible to a modern manual car : B310 would be my pick. But if you want to reduce the budget get a Lancer wagon - can haul stuff or go on a camping trip too

P/S : two left field choices that I do not have any experience about within your budget and newer is the Daihatsu Charade and the Isuzu Gemini though I don't really know how easy it is to maintain one in 2021 - specially the Gemini being a turbo-diesel. Maybe other members can shed light on those two models.

iRage · November 11, 2021

On 11/11/2021 at 10:08 AM, matroska said:

Isuzu Gemini

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Maybe I am being a little bit too mean here....but since this car is going ot be used to learn driving, the very first assumption I am making is that it is going ot get a LOT of dings and there is a high change that things like lights are going to need replacing. You are not going to find those things for a Gemini or even an old Familia/Laser that easily.Which is why the B211/B310/Lancer option actually is a bit more appealing as finding trim peices for them is a tad bit more easier.

Harry00FF00 · November 13, 2021

Thanks all for the initial sugfestion.

Today I started to look for cars and have to say it is not promising.

Lancer box 7,50-8,00 range all have bad inteeirior most have no door cards just fabric stuck on the doors and massive bubbles on paint. Also noticed lancer advertised above 12-15 laks. Is that the normal price for good ones?

For 4,00 range B211s have poor body shape basically බොඩි ඇදයි. චැසි ඇදයි.

I know this is for just learning but these cars are terrible. Our wheelbarrow in garden has better condition 😟

Also checked vw just for fun...they are all 10+.

Not discouraged but searxh goes onn

iRage · November 15, 2021

Sadly, the prices these days are crazy....and I have a feeling it will only get crazier. Yes, most of those older cars are not in the best of shapes (as they were bought because they were cheap and someone wanted a low cost vehicle..thus low investment in fixing it up and maintaning it). Keep looking...there are diamonds in the rough out there. You are not going to find a prestine car that is 30+ years old. Those are going to cost you an arm and a leg because they have been restored and whoever has them do not want to get rid of them nless the price is right.

Go for the car that has a lot of potential. Mechanically best and physically the most sound.

Edited November 15, 2021 by iRage

Harry00FF00 · January 22, 2022

2 months later and I'm still learning on an Auto! Search for a cheap manual goes on.

Most cars are on open book. Everyone says they bought it 6 months ago ...like wtf???

I need at least good running condition im ok with bad paint but not a complete rust bucket

B210 are like gold dust

B310 are ok but for some reason they are not appealing - the cars look depressing and even owners look depressed.

Lancer Box has to be the most overrated. 1Mil+ for ones in running condition. Evrything else does not start on the first go.

Now I thought of shifting focus.

Are 32- Daihatsu Diesels good? There seem to be 2 modles the "bitthara" one and the older more boxy one? Parts? Maintnenace? Can a noob live with one for a year?

iRage · January 23, 2022

I am guessing the non-biththara boxy model is the older, 2nd gen G11; and the biththara one is the newer 3rd gen G100.

They are really good cars ! Very nippy body with a peppy little engine. The mechanicals are robust (as most are from Toyota and swappable with a Starlet). This is what I would say if it was 1989. Sadly, thes cars have been hacked and are no better than any other car of its age in SL. to add to it...body parts ere not very common in SL so people seem to have fixed them up with random parts.

You are not going to find a mechanically perfect car. What you need ot do is get the best mechanically "together" car and fix it up. So...even if it does not start on first go..look in to why and then get it fixed (sometimes the car might not sart on first go because of something small fuel filter gone bad or spark plugs worn out which are literally like 30 min fixes).

matroska · January 25, 2022

On 1/22/2022 at 11:00 AM, Harry00FF00 said:

B310 are ok but for some reason they are not appealing - the cars look depressing and even owners look depressed.

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B310's are actually decent cars for what you pay in the local context. The fact you said they look depressing is probably because it's one of the few fairly priced old cars (sans the hype that cars like lancer boxes and beetles enjoy) that a person on a budget can afford : of course at that budget they don't think of alloys or paint jobs or fancy stuff. I think 400,000 will get you a good specimen. I'd say not to splash the cash with this - go for a functional cheap car. B310's are fairly priced. Lancer Wagons are also fairly priced.