Is the Pontiac Fiero a good first car for someone on a budget?

I can only repeat fierotim's response. The Fiero is not for the faint of heart. It's old, it has problems, but it is safe and it's cool! If you want to blend in and have a hard time finding your car at the grocery store parking lot, buy a Civic or some other cookie-cutter type car you could step outside, close your eyes and throw a rock and hit one. Otherwise, buy a Fiero. you will most likely spend time tinkering with it, overhauling it and falling in love with it. The Fiero has a rep it does not deserve. There was a problem with engine fires... in like .07% of them. The Camry has a higher burn rate and the Acura NSX was at like 5%. No joke. The Fiero was also second in its class in collision safety only behind a Volvo (who spends more time designing their cars for safety rather than eye appeal). I have yet to crash one, but I feel safe in my Fieros! The jist of it: it will depend on the Fiero you find. It will depend on how much the previous owner took care of it, like any other car. I have a 1987 GT with over 250,000 miles on it and other than replacing the clutch and battery and refilling the gas tank, it has never given me any problems. The Fiero is easy to work on, do not let the mid-engine design fool you. I'd rather work on a Fiero rather than my cousin's Accord (again) or even my Silverado. The choice is yours. If this is your first and only car... maybe not a good choice. But if you're not scared to work on your own car and want to stand out from the crowd, then try a Fiero.

I had a black 1984 Fiero with the "Iron Duke" 4 cylinder motor that was very reliable.I also had a Gold '86 Fiero SE with the 2.8 V-6 engine.Though it had substantially more power,the V-6 seemed to have slightly more maintenance/reliability issues.I currently have another '84 Fiero,in (non-factory) blue,with the 4 cyl engine.Mine is carbureted,instead of the normal fuel injection and computer.I exchanged the factory intake manifold/throttle body and computer-aided distributor for a carb,intake,and non-computerized distributor off of a 1979 Chevy Monza 2.5 duke motor.Works great,except I needed to purchase a low pressure aftermarket electric fuel pump (6 psi) for the carburetor-the factory fuel injection pump is too high (14 lbs).I simply blocked off the main fuel line,and used the factory fuel return line to supply the gas.Runs great.There is an enormous fan base for these cars,and many mods can be done to them,ranging from engine swaps (everything from Quad 4's to 400 c.i. Small Block Chevy V-8's) to numerous body/interior mods.They also use many parts from other existing GM based cars,so parts costs aren't that much of an issue.As for styling,they are hard to beat,as they were moderately based on the Ferrari 308 design scheme (Pontiac purchased a couple 308's when designing the Fiero).They are beautiful,handle like they are on rails,have a very safe "space frame" design,and (if you learn how to work on them) not complicated at all.As mentioned,there were a few problems with engine fires in the 84's,due to wiring issues and bad connecting rods in some motors,but all have been repaired by now due to the recalls issued back then.My advice,if you decide to buy one,get a 4 cylinder model (2m4,4 cyl SE,'84 Indy Fiero-which is rare).The engine bays are much more roomy and engines easier to self-maintain (spark plugs,etc).Then after some experience with them (if you still like the car) graduate up to the V-6 models ('85 and up GT,2m6,SE V-6,and Formula).At first,it may be a little harder to find a mechanic to work on them,because the motor drops out below the car,like a Ferrari,but they are out there.After some studying,you will be maintaining them yourself-it isn't as difficult as it may seem,just takes practice.Any car that dominated the Chevrolet Corvette in sales figures from 1984-1988 has to be cool,right? (It is said that was the reason the Fiero was discontinued in 1988 because of that issue-ironically,it happened in the car's most refined year).If you do decide to buy one (some can be purchased for a few hundred dollars),study up on the them,and,most of all,enjoy.They still turn heads after 20+ years.

That is not a very good starter car. The rear mounted engine makes it really hard to work on. They are also known for oil leakage issues causing fires and coolant issues.

NO!!! Cost of matinance is extermly high and parts are hard to find. Get a Nissan Skyline instead!

NO NO NO NO NO this car went out of production years ago it had many problems it was a mechanical nightmare to work on, which means the mechanic can make a fortune fixing it, parts are no longer available, and rear engine cars were never any good even when new. A good starter car would be a front engine rear wheel drive toyota a honda or a nissan, and any subaru, which is an all wheel drive. Any front engine front wheel drive car does not hold up well to higher mileage, and it costs twice as much to rebuild everything when it is crammed in the front end. parts are about double that of a front engine rear wheel drive,

Not a good choice. They went out of production for a reason. In response to the comment about front engine front wheel drive cars being no good....Ask the owners of Hondas and others that have over 250-300K miles on their cars. Most manufacturers stopped making front engine rear wheel drive back in the 1980's.