Lotus Odyssey 1986
 

Hi, I'm a college student trying to buy his first "real bike". Anyway, my budget isn't too large and I've been hunting for deals on craigslist. I came across this post today and wanted to ask for opinions http://palmsprings.craigslist.org/bik/3902224306.html
It says that it would need new tubes and rims(which i guess they mean rims) which i'm a bit wary of considering that the size is 27 x 1 1/4 which is a bit hard to find from what I understand. What does everyone think?

I'm a big Lotus fan--but even at $40 I'd pass on this one; unless you already have a lot of extra parts lying around. Also, it looks like a size 51cm--that's on the smaller side of bike sizing and the current handlebars would make it feel even smaller. I suspect you'll spend another $200+ to get it rideable--assuming it even fits.

ah thanks very much I'll keep looking then!

You could offer something like $10 and take it to the local bike collective to fix it up. Assuming the bike fits you, it's a nice bike that can be turned into a good bike with some elbow grease and a source of used parts (like a bike collective).