My reply didn't make it here. Odd.

My criteria for a college student-to-be and first time
driver(that is, without your supervision/driving family
cars where they are naturally on good behavior)

1: Must be a wagon or have a cargo area of some sort. Life
was major suckage without the ability to move my stuff around
easily, pick up bikes and tvs and speakers and other items,
and of course, sleep in in a pinch.

2:Must be simple, reliable, and free of crummy electronics.

3:Must be low but adequate powered. They want speedy. We
as parents know better.

4:Cheap to repair. Well built. Bulletproof drivetrain.

5irt-cheap to insure.

6:Stick. It is good to learn now, and it helps maximize
driving efficiency. You also get better power and speed
in 4 cylinder engines. Most of all, though, is that it
requires interaction. Most young people with automatics
tend to phase out and listen to the radio. Stick forces them
to interact with the car every minute or so. They spend
their time driving and not goofing off.

Manual transmissions are also hlaf the cost to fix and repair
of automatics, can be push-started if the battery or starter
is dead, and when they fail, there's months of warning as
opposed to maybe 2-3 days for an automatic.



At the top of my list is a Volvo 240 Wagon. They are solid,
safe, and yes, a bit stodgy, but they are exactly what a
college student needs for their first car. If that's too
old, get a 940 wagon - it has the same engine.

Finding a mint condition one shouldn't be too hard, as
a LOT were sold to yuppies and elderly people.

Features you want to look for: ABS and R-134a A/C if
possible. IIRC, the 1992/1993 240s had this - it's
a snap to fix the A/C compared to the older systems.

Sunroof? I'd pass. Never seen a sunroof in any car
that didn't need fixing or that closed tightly.

Turbo? The I-4 in plain form is the perfect mix of
speed and reliability with a manual transmission.

My 240 cost me a whopping $300 in maintainence in one
year. $200 of that was new tires. $50 was a new
Speedometer. The other $50 were oil changes and an
air filter.

Got munched, though. Looking for a nice 960
to replace it.