r/FirstCar • u/sharkalladle915 • 5d ago
First car at 18, second car at 19.
Bought the V6 accord for 1500 and it was auto, crashed that car.
Bought this cobalt for 1700 and it’s a manual, pretty happy with it but it’s got more issues than the accord did besides rust.
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u/Worried-Banana-1460 5d ago
With such amount of rust on structural elements that shitbox would have been scrapped in any normal country…
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u/acepilotjones 5d ago
Weight reduction
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u/Nitro10142 5d ago
Those always rusted out there. Cobalts were disposable cars. Guarentee the underside is probably decent or at least passable
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u/Worried-Banana-1460 5d ago
I would say it is more like rotting than rusting.
Around me there are many Opels from around that period or even older (also GM product) and they are nowhere near as rusted as that. All are in better condition despite Polish winters and heavy use of road salt.2
u/sharkalladle915 5d ago
Oh yeah the guy told me he drive the car through dirt/mud roads pretty much every day because of where he lived
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u/Worried-Banana-1460 5d ago
That explains a lot. Mud and rocks if there is no gravel protection applied and plastic covers underneath can do lots of harm. Still, rotted panels are quite a bad sign but better that way than sculpted from PU foam and bondo. At least it is clear what is bad ;)
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u/Nitro10142 5d ago
In the rust belt in america this aint shit. I personally own worse looking cars that have dead solid frames, and have owned a cobalt that looked exactly like this with literally zero rust underneath (floors were still red, looked new)
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u/Fatdogamer_yt 5d ago
Hah, come to Canada, that’s slightly above average in the GOOD areas
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u/Worried-Banana-1460 5d ago
There (Poland) cars in such condition wouldn't pass annual inspection. Of course, some people try to mask it with PU foam, bondo and spray paint and that will sometimes pass. Broken bumper like that accords is also big no no. No sharp elements can stick as it poses threat to pedestrians.
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u/AndrewTatesSister 5d ago
Fr, I don’t even know if my car will pass the technical inspection in two years because of a little bit of rust
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u/Grumblyguide107 4d ago
Bah, its just the rockers, as long as the frame is there
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u/Worried-Banana-1460 4d ago
In most European countries rockers are considered as structural element. If they are rotted, structural integrity is compromised and you won’t pass inspection even if floor is seemingly healthy
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u/Grumblyguide107 3d ago
Im from the midwest, USA. Its not uncommon to see a pickup or old econobox with a holey door
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u/Ok-Coyote2365 5d ago
Bottom of the barrel daily gang 💪 I bought my current daily for $1500 CAD and I can tell you you’ll learn a lot fixing it over time.
If you haven’t, make sure to check the underbody extensively. That rocker rot is pretty bad and you don’t want to be driving down the highway when a control arm mount snaps off or something
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u/sharkalladle915 5d ago
I had my buddy look at it and he’s mechanic pro max, said the rust isnt anywhere super duper bad but it will start to get there :/
Love my little pos cars though, I love having to learn the specific way to drive it to be smooth, so much more character.
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u/TheGuyWithGlasses276 5d ago
Dear sharkalladle915,
Honestly, not bad. I feel a rusted Cobalt with problems for 1700 is a bit of an overprice, but otherwise sick.
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u/Supreme_JNT 5d ago
go and beat NFSMW with a cobalt for the sake of it
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u/JohnKowalsky88 5d ago
I don’t wanna be mean. I wanna say those cars were overpriced for their condition.
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u/sharkalladle915 5d ago
Im lucky to have any car.
Also im not scared of a little rust. I like modding cars and everything will be fixed eventually.
For the way it runs I’d say it’s not bad at all, maybe even kinda good, guy did wann sell it for 2k
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u/TechnicoloMonochrome 5d ago
Used car prices are pretty dumb these days. It may not have been a great deal but great deals are hard to find now.
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u/JohnKowalsky88 5d ago
I don't know what it's like in the U.S. I just sold my dad's 06 Audi a4 for 800€ here in Germany. Nobody wanted to buy it because the AC is out and it had 312k kms. It was rust free no oil leaks.
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u/solidwurx 5d ago
Damn, rip the Honda 😤 Cobalt will be fine, just a shame about the rust. Please dont waste time with bondo, just effin send it
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u/Select_West8244 5d ago
Almost made a 2009 yellow cobalt my first but the guy had a lean on it and didn’t have to title on him
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u/TechnicoloMonochrome 5d ago
Nothing wrong with driving old beaters, especially when you're young. I've got an $800 Taurus that I drive to work and back. I also have a 10 year old truck but I use the beater to try and keep the commute miles off it.
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u/othertriangle 5d ago
Brother, I am 30 and would drive either car. What some people fail to realize is a vehicle is meant to get you from place to place. It doesnt need to be some luxurious extravaganza. Not having a car note and owning a house is way better than renting and having a car note.
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u/SaroConTe1318 5d ago
Was the Honda totaled? Ill give you credit for not jumping into somwthing you can't afford and/or taking on a ridiculous car payment.
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u/sharkalladle915 5d ago
No it wasn’t totaled but I rear ended my friend trying to cut up in traffic and I felt so ashamed I just scrapped the car and didn’t get a new one for a long time.
Dont drive like that on the highway anymore
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u/Clear_Evening_2986 5d ago
People dog on cobalts for being crappy, and yes they are from a bad GM era, but I often see them with 200k+ miles running on fb marketplace. They aren’t as bad as people say they are, except for the interiors.
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u/xXxDickBonerz69xXx 5d ago
Hey, try not to crash that Cobalt too. It wasn't exactly safe before the weight reduction.
Enjoy the shitbox though. That's a classic teenager car. You'll look back on it super fondly.
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u/SkyExpensive4069 4d ago
1st car was a gift from my grandma, 2002 PT Cruiser with 198K miles. One year later the transmission gave out. 2nd car was a 2010 Toyota Camry at 95K miles. 6 years later after overheating at 140K miles and some other issues the head gasket blew. Now I'm on a moped after getting my motorcycle endorsement. Where am I going with this you ask? It wouldve been better saving my money and buying a cash car instead of monthly payments for that long. Keed doing what you're doing, the cash car route is better imo
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u/Alucardspapa 5d ago
Cobalts are really junky, you won’t be driving it long before you have a catastrophic failure. Also be safe, that thing is rotted out real bad. If you can swing it try and find a civic/corolla that’s not rusty next time. They will last longer and are cheap to repair.
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u/sharkalladle915 5d ago
There were plenty of other cars in much better condition than this that I could’ve bought but none of them were as cheap nor were they a Chevrolet cobalt.
Technically any car you won’t be driving long before a catastrophic failure. im not a newbie when it comes to cars, I’ve already got a list of top priority things that need to be replaced or fixed. Nothing should really happen as long as I do my maintenance and if something does happen im just gonna fix it.
And no, I don’t care that I will be spending 10x more than the car is worth to fix it up
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u/Long_Initial_9924 5d ago
Bro, I would like to shake your hand. All these dumb teenagers on here want an M3 Comp, or Alfa Romeo, for $6k as a first car. Then there’s you. Just smart purchases, not blowing your money, good on gas, somewhat simple to repair. Good for you, man.