so one of my kids is getting ready to start driving.
there are no real cheap cars anymore, but I started looking at cars that are cheap to fix, just due to layout and common parts etc.

mostly this leads to fords.
full size from 1995 to around 2011ish
the mercury and Lincoln cars with the 4.6 v8.
since that engine is pretty common so parts should be easy to source since they put them in mustangs too.

looks like 2001 and up are the way to go as some stuff got fixed that were problems before.

I figured that worst case a drop out engine and rebuilding the soft parts up front would make it a decent daily driver.
I originally thought I would give it to the kid, but I think I would rather they have all the airbag stuff, and I will give them my 2016 sonata to drive.
barring insurance being crazy to add them.

I have been seeing these full size fords for around 6 to 8k.
figure another 2k for a new motor if needed, as most have nearly 200k miles on them.
maybe another 1k for a suspension rebuild up front.
so worst case maybe 11k total.

anyone see a flaw in my plan?

It is true for around 16k we could probably pick up a subcompact new. but those little squish boxes seem like a poor choice. then I would give that to the kid. stripped down version of course.