Is it a good idea to look for a 'classic' muscle car or pony car for a first car?

Those particular cars you picked are all great the only real problem is if you make one a daily driver it gets the wear and tear of a daily driver and in a year or two its not going to be as nice or worth as much money as it was when you bought it.

Keeping it in a garage and taking it out on the weekends is a lot better and smarter idea and having a daily Toyota or Nissan will give you the gas mileage you are looking for. Most all of the small v8 motors and transmission in the 60s and 70s were strong dependable and much better than the aluminum and plastic crap they sell today. I have had muscle cars and trucks and can tell you the nicer it is on the outside the more work it was to keep it that way.

On the other hand there are 60s and 70s cars like the impala for one that had 4 doors. you can find one for less money than a 2 door and its a great way to have a older ride and still enjoy it without paying 20 grand or more for a car. Here are 3 websites you can use to see what is out there for sale and available. I bought a number of older muscle cars and trucks where the owner rebuilt the motor and tranny and front end and brakes had the interior taken care of but life changed or something else happened and I bought the car in primer. This is actually a good way to have a nice car inside and not have to worry about a 5 or 10 thousand dollar paint job too.

Nada.com is a good website that has a classic car section and is a helpful guide.

http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars I also like a web site based on hemmings motor news. This is a web based site that has thousands of free links is well known around the world by car lovers and you can look at cars for sale from classics to newer ones and get a great idea whats out there.

http://www.hemmings.com/ and auto traderclassics has a find section you can check the lower 48 states type in the year or years you like the make and model skip the amy miles box and put in your zip code and see what each state is selling your dream car and how much its worth.

and here is some food for thought. A lot of the older stuff from the 30s and 40s and 50s will have a chevy 350 engine with a 4 speed automatic transmission. It is more dependable cheaper to get parts for and there are millions of them around it does not matter if its a dodge or a ford it likely has a chevy under the hood.

Those old mopar big blocks like the 440 magnum got 3 to 5 miles per gallon across town and the older it is the more electrical problems it will have if its original. I would stay away from the older mopars unless its been restored. the 60s and 70s fords have some great engines for power and gas mileage. a ford with a 289 v8 or the 302 v8 could be built up to 600 plus hp it depends on how much you want to spend. But a stock motor with a 3 speed or 4 speed actually did really good on gas even with a carburetor. look through the cars for sale and when you find the one you can live with focus on finding the one you want save your money and take your time use a Toyota or Nissan or whatever 4 cylinder 5 speed you can find and keep your muscle car dream alive.

Well to start I'm currently in college now but bought my first car at 16. It was a 1977 corvette with a performance upgraded engine so over 350hp on a fiberglass body. Definitely not a safe car to say the least. But I've been driving since I was about 11 years old (When I lived overseas; they aren't as strict). From what you've been saying it seems you don't really know too much about the cars. That being said everybody has to start somewhere. The thing about these older muscle cars is that the get problems. No actually they always have problems. There will ALWAYS be something that needs to be tweaked, adjusted, tightened, fixed etc etc etc. I couldn't take my Vette to college for that exact reason :(. I personally loved to do the little things on my car but it does get annoying eventually. Also, coming from personal experience, long car rides are not fun. You constantly watch your gas tank and the air conditioners more of move the air then actually cool it down haha. They also have a tendency to be very "tail happy" in the rain. I've spun my car out in the middle of the road at least 4 times (never crashed but it' scary). They have no ABS, traction control, limited slip, or airbags. Of course you could install those but that's a couple thousand dollars and a complete rebuilt. And by then you've lost the real spirit of a classic muscle car.

Stepping away from the negatives, that Corvette was the funnest car I have ever driven in my life. Period. It was loud, gas guzzling, and flashy but WOW what a car. I loved it and I loved driving it.

Anyways, for a first car if you want something fun and cool look at a convertible mercedes clk230 or 320. They're not very expensive and they are really fun to drive. If you don't want a modern car at all a late 80s or early 90s corvette is tons of fun. The early-mid 90s have most safety features as well. All in all you should follow your heart, and wallet, just remember that the car is not a toy. If you push it you will crash and in those old cars you will get hurt. Sorry to be blunt but of all the feeling I felt driving my car safe was never one of them.

Classic Pony Cars

As a 40 plus year driver I would not recommend this type of car for your first car.

Some of them are very powerful and do not have the safety features we are used to like power steering, power breaks, A.B.S. braking, disc brakes, air bags, seat belts. You get the idea.

They are simply to much vehicle for you at this point in your driving career.

As far as a daily driver goes, only if you have the funds available to keep up with the maintenance. Old muscle cars have a bad habit of breaking and they are not cheap to fix or maintain.

They are huge fun to drive but you need to know what your doing first.

Good luck.

You never specified your age so let's take in count you're 18, alright? First, these cars are gas sucker, so don't expect them to get a "fairly affordable gas mileage". Second, don't say you're responsible behind the wheels of a car. I said the same thing...and I'm not safe sometimes. Third, These muslce car are realy realy realy expensive because they are all rebuilt to live longer and they are rare cars. And also, don't get old cars like these

I personally love older Citroens with hydraulic suspension. Just finished a 93 BX. Mine was a 1905 diesel (45mpg and 100mph+) but there are a range of models petrol turbo diesel and a 1905 16 valve fuel injection flier (known as a valver) there is even a 4x4 version .

sounds interesting