pits200

I am 32 and married but don't have children yet and driving home from work yesterday I saw this kid who didn't look more than 18 driving a new vette.

I live in Pittsburgh which is always congested and there aren't a lot of open highways. During rush hour traffic, this kid was letting a gap open up and then burning them out. I must have watched him do this 10 times while sitting in traffic.

My question is, I think back to my high school days and I can understand the kids excitement even if it's misguided. I use to get giddy when my dad would let me take out the Taurus SHO, ha.

So as I waited in an hour long traffic jam, I thought to myself, what kind of car would I give my son (If I have one) when he's in high school. (And he'd need to have a job to get a car)

I had a 2.2l dodge shadow turbo and that was dangerous.

Just curious what everyones input is on this matter.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

when I was 16, my first car was a GT-R.

pits200

I hope GT-R stands for Grocery, Taxi and ..... I can't think of anything for the R, sorry, I'm not that witty.

AZuser

For me, it will be not how much HP but how much it will cost to:

- insure
- purchase
- maintain
- run (MPG)


My first car was a Chevy Citation. Got me from A to B which was the most important thing at the time. Freedom!

bouncer07

Hyundai for the 16 yr old. Or anything 34+ MPG works. I'd buy my son an entry level sports car like under $25K if he goes to college.

For a kid to be driving a vette, the parents will see a body bag for the choices they make to their kids.

AZuser

Rollerskates

Will Y.

Used Yaris or other HP-challenged, high MPG vehicle.

After the kid completes an accident avoidance/high performance driving course and gets auto-cross experience, I'll help pay for whatever is reasonable-- whether it's a VW Bug, Miata or Corvette.

mrstak

iTrader: (1)

it would depend on how responsible i feel they are. but yea, insurance cost and gas mileage would be the decision maker. they're definitely not getting a car if they don't need it.

pits200

Wow, chevy loved that design of car, thats like a 4 door chevelle(the bad years) if I recall correctly.

I agree with your 4 points above, I guess I was just assuming that some higher hp cars(250hp+) can now meet all of those criteria.

I know in the end it's more about teaching driver responsibility but sometimes peer pressure can be a bi$ch if you give your kid a car to tempt fate in.

Best race of my life was with me driving my friends geo tracker with 4 other guys in it. Pulling up next to us was a geo prism with 5 total guys in it. Now the red-light was uphill and this was at 2 in the morning. That race went from 0-60 but took about 45 seconds. Sometimes going slow can be fun.

CCColtsicehockey

^

IIDXholic

iTrader: (5)

I had an 1994 Acura Integra when I was 16, and I though that was a little excessive. I had it around the time the B series was hot shit, so yea hauling ass everywhere getting tickets ect. When my childern get older, which will be 10 years from when by the time they are able to drive, cars that time might be in the "low" 200 HP range, so who knows? Maybe a Civic or something reliable

pits200

Ya, my college car was a 91 integra ls special. Loved that car, it was the last manual I owned and damn that clutch was tricky. Tried teaching my wife (gf at the time) how to drive that thing, I got whiplash from as many times as we stalled.

Bdog

I had a 1980 Trans Am Turbo (210hp) back in high school. The major accidents I remember with other in school was a Dodge truck rollover and a MGB losing it around a turn and hitting a pole. The kids with the faster cars took care of them.

gdcwatt

My father bought me a classic 1955 TR2, likely to teach me that life is expensive, and that if you want to get anywhere, you have to know HOW to get there -including how to pull sparkplugs when the engine flooded. When I needed heat, I'd lift up the shift boot...perhaps a bit too primitive, because 4 drum brakes barely had one good stop in them - you used the transmission to slow down. Hmmm...it was the '70's.

All people are different, but a manual transmission was just too much for my daughter to handle, on top of everything else. I dumped a 12yr old but much loved, lightly modded, Civic Si (even I could do 1:52's around Mospost in it, top speed 205kph on the hwy), which I'd been saving for her.

The replacement Mazda Protege ES sedan, with autotrans manumatic, seemed to fit the bill for a replacement: affordable, good outward visibility, strong 4wheel disc brakes and ABS, minimal understeer and great steering feel, central door locks and window & mirror controls (I wanted different drivers to be able to easily adjust mirrors), enough room for weekend runs to the cottage - and tough!!!!!! That car survived a major hit at the A-pillar, while the other car was written-off. It's been nailed in the rear bumper 4 times. Parts are cheap enough, and there's enough Internet help around, so my soon-to-be 16 yr old son has helped me rebuild the struts, replace calipers, rotors and pads, oil changes, etc...it's a good car to learn on.

The Mazda's only worth $1,000 as a trade, but the five of us are all glad to still have it. As a car goes, it's cheap enough, so that new sets of summer and winter tires don't seem like a burden.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

My son may get my wife's 2003 Civic if he's lucky when he turns 16 in 2023.

pits200

Good man, having your son do all that work with you. My father taught me the same way even if I'd had rather been outside shooting hoops. But fastforward 20 years and when I hear a friend tell me that pep boys just charged them $600 for rotors and pads. I think of the time I spent in my garage with my dad and how lucky I am to have some automotive knowledge.

Also, I think my generation is going to have a harder time with car reliability for our kids since electronics are probably the hardest thing to work on with modern cars. I worry that with all the nannies (Which are helpful in many cases) that the cost of keeping a car over 7 years might deter from buying too old of a car for our kids regardless of the mechanical reliability.

dallison

150 hp or less, but then they would just beat it.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Can't say it will be an HP number. Thing is, if my child wants a car, he/she will be buying it, insuring it, and maintaining it. Same way I did. So we'll see what their resources are when the time comes, then pick a vehicle. It will be a while though b/c we don't have kids yet...

khannie112

First car was a 1989 Chevy Beretta - probably 128 hp? but I got that thing up to 100 more often than I'd like to admit.....doesn't matter really nowadays since almost every car is capable of going 100

StreetKA

iTrader: (8)

Anything above 150hp is dangerous. I know that because i know it would be dangerous for me...

Stoianoff31

mine was a hyundai sonata. my future kid will ride the bus lines for a few days before he gets a car

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

How much HP does a city bus have?

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

used 5 yr old car under $5-7k that runs, is reliable, and limited worries on whether they have an accident or beat the crap out of it. they want a nice car....go to college, get a real job, then pay for a nice car themselves (IE...earn it with their own cash). they will appreciate it much more. you do the kid no favors by enabling them and buying them $25k+ cars b/c they got into college or graduated from college. haven't you already paid enough by paying the obscene tuition costs??

the kid will learn a lot more if they have to earn and pay for it themselves.

pttl

If you make your kid buy their own car, 95% of the problems will be solved. The kid will learn that:
1. cars are expensive...and in the rush to get a car they will get a less expensive car. OR if they save long enough to get a "nice" car they will certainly know........
2. money has value...it doesn't actually grow on trees.
3. respect THEIR investment...maybe they won't be so quick to trash their car, and therefore themselves.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

BMW

B - Bus
M - Metro
W - Walk

CLpower

my first car had a fully built SBC 406 with about 400 hp........that said, the car didn't run till I was about 22

DigitalEmpire22

My car when I was 16-18 was a 1992 Subaru SVX. H-6 with 230hp and 224 ft-lbs. of torque. WAAAAY more than I needed. I got some tickets yes, but I also LOVED my car and learned to take really good care of it. (This car was handed down in my family from my Dad, to my sis, to my bro, to me)
I might have been a little more reckless because of the extra power but I prolly would have been driving like a bat out of hell in a Geo Metro. Just don't think I would have taken as good of care of the Metro

My niece just turned 13 and all we could talk about at her party is what she would be driving soon. Needless to say her parents want to give her their Kia and she wants a Corvette.

chill_dog

I bought an '89 Ford Probe in mint condition in 1994 when I turned 16 because my parent's philosophy was this:


The only help I got was my dad got a loan for the car that I paid. Hated it at the time, but appreciate it now. It will be the same philosophy I use if/when I have kids.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

I know it sounds pretty bad, but I will probably pay for my kids' first cars. My parents did it for me, and I will do it for my kids.

esco115

My 1st car was a 1984 Toyota Celica GT, biggest rust bucket in the world! But was dependable and never broke down. I see it this way, a kid is going to try whatever it takes to push the car to its limit regardless of what it is. Give them a 50hp car? I bet they will try to (if auto) neutral drop it in Drive just to see the tires burn or shirp or drop the tranny either or but they will try just to impress thier friends! Its just a young kids mentality when they are into cars at a young age.

Will Y.

It's amazing how fun go carts can be at 20 mph.
I don't think that counts for this thread...

Friends and I did that in high school, when we were stuck with autos in various V8s. The guys with the 4 speed manuals were in much better shape-- they burned out clutches first...

I think my first teen is going to get a CVT POS first.

Aman

A good friend of mine has a 2007 GT Mustang that he didn't pay for himself. Does great in school, and he uses his car just like anyone else. Commutes, goes home every few weekends, doesn't beat up on it at all except for the occasional on-ramp blast.

Another friend of mine has a 2001 Malibu that he bought himself. That thing has been beat to hell and back. I don't think I've ever seen him drive it normally, and it shows.

Just goes to show that the working for it doesn't always mean you take better care of it.

I'd have no problem buying my kid a boring commuter car for $4k, but if they can afford it themselves than I'm all for it.

Sarlacc

Before the car, I will have my sons in precision driver classes. I hope to have them racing karts when they get to be old enough.

My hope is they already KNOW HOW to drive and handle certain situations when turn 15.5/16.

From there...i don't know, a modest car...nothing fast...but I wouldn't go too slow either...freeway onramps around here...

Hell, its 14 years away...It could all change tomorrow.

Sarlacc

Before the car, I will have my sons in precision driver classes. I hope to have them racing karts when they get to be old enough.

My hope is they already KNOW HOW to drive and handle certain situations when turn 15.5/16.

From there...i don't know, a modest car...nothing fast...but I wouldn't go too slow either...freeway onramps around here...

Hell, its 14 years away...It could all change tomorrow.

Aman

You cold-blooded monster

PortlandRL

My first car was my mom's hand-me-down 1993 Toyota Previa LE All-Trac.

Horsepower: 138
Curb Weight: 3,955 pounds
0-60 time: 14.1 seconds

Did I still do stupid shit with it? Oh yeah...like going 95 MPH down I-5 in Vancouver, Washington in the middle of the damn day. Man I was stupid. But I stand by the belief that if I'd had something like my 2010 Santa Fe, I would not have lived to be 17. Fast cars and teenagers simply do not mix.

Ken1997TL

When I first got my license I got to drive the family wagon until I could buy my own car.

Giving kids anything but an education is just plain dumb at that age. Make them work for it, even if it happens to be stuff around the house or in the yard.

But to answer the OP, i'd say keep it under 150 hp. And never buy them a new car. Get them a 10 year old family vehicle. It'll be still be safe and cheap to maintain.

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

^ I agree with everything Ken said. I had to work for my first car, a 1972 Buick Skylark, which I ended up putting into a guard rail.

Sarlacc

I had to buy my own first car as well...but I don't think that is the point of this thread...

Saintor

I am considering a MkVI Jetta 115HP for my 17yo now. Test drive scheduled tomorrow.