CarbonGray Earl

To be honest, I could get myself into trouble with just about any car when I was 16-20. Doesn't help when I lived in a somewhat rural city in California, with access to plenty of country roads.

I had a 91 civic that I jumped, neutral dropped, brake turned, and raced (and lost) 1 too many times, haha. That thing had 92 hp, but weighed ~2300 lbs.

it depends on the kid and your situation. If I were to give advice to my parents back then, I might have suggested a volvo or something that would have protected me from me.

speedemon90

same, well for me the car was passed down. I took my moms tl.

I'll probably do the same. Hope I need a new car when they turn 18ish and pass down whatever my current or wifes car is to them.

Reasons for not making them buy a car. If my kids into some extra curriculars and school I dont want him to get overloaded and thus let school suffer so I wont force him into a job when he's 16. Seeing how college is getting much harder to get into now with the overpopulation school is a priority and if that means me supporting him for a car with insurance and so forth, so be it. Lastly they only get a car if they actually need it.

I know most of you say bus/metro and stuff. The city my family lives in now, Chino Hills. There's no such thing as a bus stop in the whole city. Never seen a bus (thats not a school bus) pass through here.


edit: to answer the OP question it all depends on how much money I have and how responsible i think my kid is like others have said. I got a 225hp car for my first car. I say I handled it responsibly. Never got in an accident and got my first ticket (in my moms accord after 5 years of driving)

ttribe

My 13 year old recently asked me if there was a chance he could have my car when he turned 16 (under the guise that I'd be "ready" to move on to something else). I just about passed out and let him know that NO 16 year old should be driving a 500hp, high performance, car. He said - "Dad, I won't use the M-button." I LOLd and let him know that the HP on his first vehicle will start with a "1" and only have two digits after that.

jspagna1

Gave our daughter my wife's 2003 Maxima when she was a senior in high school and bought my wife the 2010 TL. Now my second daughter is going to be a senior soon and she will be getting my 97 4Runner as I just bought a new 2011 4Runner. They are both doing very good in school and getting good grades and stay out of trouble and that is all I can ask for.
The next cars they get will be the ones they buy for themselves so I think they will takes very good care of these cars for now.

kid spartan

My timing was lucky - my dad was looking for a new car right around the time i got both my license and a job, so his 01 RL is just going to stay in the family. I've been driving the car almost a year now, no problems. The RL is a great learner's car. Lots of glass to see around, so very little blind spots. Large and heavy, so visible and reasonably safe in the case of an accident, and also has very easy steering. But about that gas mileage....

It's not about the horsepower, it's more about the hoonability for a teenager (more likely a son ). I would never try hooning this very nice RL but if I bought some civic or other cheap econobox , I'd bomb my fair share of corners.

CAgine

regardless of HP its still a 2 ton machine you're giving your kids responsibility to.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

I had a 73hp Civic and I still got into trouble with it.

Horsepower doesnt mean shit. If it has wheels and a seat, a kid will find a way to do something stupid in it

Jiggy2dmax

iTrader: (1)

x2, a 100HP car can still hit 100+

asianspec

iTrader: (1)

A bike to get them to work. If they want a car they buy it themselves.

PortlandRL

Hope springs eternal....

chill_dog

Aman

It'll definetely be harder though

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

I worked my ass off to buy my own cars, paid for the insurance and any repairs. You either buy it on your own or earn it thru school, my philosophy.

OperationDarkie

iTrader: (1)

My first car was a 1993 Geo metro handed down to me by my mother while she got an Acura, I only got one ticket in the car and yes it was coming down a hill, I drove it to 265k miles on the original 3 cylinder engine, and after a while I got the HP bug so I swapped a Honda ZC motor which ironically bolted straight in and from there I turned it into a rally car since it was so light weight, I recently sold it because frankly it was beat to hell.

But on the flip side man that sucker would literally barely sip any gas, I used to be able to go 2 weeks before filling the tank on that sucker, back when gas was 99 cent, 12 bucks was enough to fill it up. But the best thing about that car was onramps for the highway, if you had no momentum be prepared to die.

Aretardedorange

iTrader: (2)

It all depends on the kid IMO. If my kids are responsible, get good grades, etc, I will get them a nice first car like my parents got me. Lexus IS250 type car....328i, A4, nothing too fast, but nothing bland either.

asianspec

iTrader: (1)

What's wrong with a skateboard and a perfectly good leg.

Canadian144

+1 all depends on that. I bought my own first car... 92 Acura Legend that I've just about finished restoring (new motor, 5 speed swap, etc etc). I never "needed" a car to get to school in high school, as my parents always drove me in one of their 4 cars. Next year in university I will need one, and I will be getting my dad's 09 STI.

I've had my licence for 2 and 1/2 years now, still no ticked or close calls of any kind... no matter if I'm driving the STI, my mom's G37 coupe, or one of my dad's trucks. Sure it's fun to open up the STI every once and a while but it's all about using your judgement. I love the STI and my Legend so much, I could never imagine getting into an accident and ruining either one. Nor getting them taken away for reckless driving.

Really it all depends on the kid. I know two kids with E46 M3s from my high school... one is on about it's 4th front bumper from smashing into things, and has gotten the kid pretty close to losing his license. The other is driven by one of my best buds and he hasn't had any accidents or tickets with it.

Brandon24pdx

1 Horse. And a saddle to go with it.

But seriously, I wouldn't buy a teenager a Corvette or 911 or any other big boy toy type car even if money wasn't an issue and think people who do are absolutely crazy. Too much power at the wrong end of the car to be safe for a youngster. High probability he'd wreck the thing or worse. I was barely able to keep my MR2 Turbo on road when I was 19 and damn near wrecked out coming around an off-camber corner one night. If somebody had been coming around the other way I might have been dead.

ttribe

He's an ambitious young man.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

I didn't get a car till I was 21. When I did it was a old Ford truck with 150hp.

asianspec

iTrader: (1)

I think all kids under 21 here have no saying in this thread.

NwTSXmt

No it does not sound bad at all...they are your kid/s and its money/choice

pits200

I don't think there is anything wrong with getting your kid a car in high school. Albeit, he/she would need to be a fairly good kid (Not expecting an angel) and have at least a part-time job to pay for the insurance and gas. It seems nowadays that high school is much more demanding then when I was there. And for a kid to be involved in extracurricular activities and get good grades, I wouldn't put an extreme focus on asking your kid to save $5-10K for a car, but that's just me.

Now about the car, ya, you can get in trouble no matter the car even if it has 88 hp. But it's like if you have a supermodel gf, you want to show it off more often than if you were dating the local math league champ. By getting a lower hp car, I just feel it lowers the likelihood of your kid causing issues on the road but in no way do I feel it completely eliminates the possibility.

If the doc tells you not to eat a lot of red meat and a lot of cholesterol because it helps reduce heart attacks. I'll take my chances and follow that diet vs trying to go against the norm, thats all.

NWSTL

I had the most fun of my life with 180hp. It was a 1997 Jeep Wrangler and it wasn't fast, but it was modded and the girls loved it. Who needs speed when everybody is topless?

Rockstar21

iTrader: (1)

a kid can flip an 80's civic with < 100 hp.

its more of a "how responsible is your child" discussion.

TSXy Luster

my kids wouldn't get a car until they can afford to buy/own one themselves.... so around 25 years old.

speedemon90

yea that is true... and if your kid loves cars as much as say most of us do. If he/she is on an empty stretch of road that can be seen for miles, there is no doubt that he will push it a bit past the speed limit. Probably something most of us here would have or have done myself included.

Lol now ask yourself this ttribe. Would you have your kid doing 115 in some weak civic or your M5! lol Food for thought....

crispone

...a SINGLE HORSEPOWER can result in catastrophe if the byproduct of releasing it's force is misguided or otherwise wrought with misfortune or ill applied...


Inasmuch as AGE is neither a factor of favor nor foe inherently, neither is POWER a measure of risk nor margin in and of itself.


That having been said, there IS NO SUBSTITUTE for good judgment. HOWEVER, it should be noted that said "good judgment" begins with the question from the OP coupled with the wisdom of the assessor and the variables which are being dealt with.

- Maturity of the "youth" in question
- Capability of this individual
- Conditions inherent to the driving and environment to be performed
- Margin of "safety" that is being targeted
- Etc...

Let's face it, there is NO SINGLE solution to the question, but from a pragmatic standpoint, it is reasonable to say that putting a high-performance machine in the hands of a low-performance mind is a recipe for scrambled eggs...

...so it's all a matter of good judgment that starts with the parent and is culminated in the product of both the vehicle selected, the individual to whom it is assigned and the combination of expectation coupled with provision from a capability -vs- execution -plus- circumstances that are beyond control = output.


With FOUR (4!) younger children (not YET of age to drive), this matter will certainly manifest itself in MY personal life experience soon enough... but one thing is certain, my NEWLY LICENSED YOUNGSTER will NOT be "awarded" a CORVETTE or the like for his/her first vehicular variable of transport.


-crisp

speedemon90

just made the cut!

Note, i didnt get a car till two years after my license. I never even asked for one even though I wanted one. I was allowed to drive either of my parents cars if I wanted to go out and if my parents werent using it. Then two years later it came the time for my mom to buy a new car, and I just asked my dad if he can keep the acura for me and well he did!

parasitius

What is with the beat-down on kids in the abstract? Is it really such a big percentage that are idiots? Cause honestly, I didn't make any decisions after the age of 15 that I would go back and change -- except things I didn't do (asking certain person their phone # etc.). Basically I had my full adult decision-making capabilities at that age.

When I rolled around to 16, I despised the idea of getting my license because that was the "trendy" and "popular" thing for teenagers to do. My parents had to force me to get it and handed me the keys to a Buick Skylark -- they were tired of driving me to school every day, it was my turn to drive myself.

Being a V6 I did drive it fast, but to this day I still haven't been caught. My life goal was always to get to a city where you don't have any use for a car and be car free from then on... until that all changed ~70 days ago when I got my TL-S. Friends all thought I was planning suicide or something and threatened to call for an intervention... that's how shocked they were I'd buy a shiny car lol.

I guess it just shocks me that there are parents out there who don't buy their kid a car. I mean -- you made the decision to live in a super socially isolating country where everything is 100s of miles apart, kids in other countries can go off on their own and hang out with friends starting as early as age 13 or 14. It isn't healthy to make them prisoners in solitary confinement just due to the ill circumstance of the nation's poor design.

ttribe

My plan is to not allow him access to the driver's seat of a vehicle even capable of reaching 115...prolly won't work.

pttl

So much failed thinking here.

PortlandRL

If you look back at the things you did as a teenager (14 to 18 or so) and don't regret a single thing, I hate to say it but you haven't matured yet.

Black Tire

At 16, I drove a 1989 Ford Tempo, next car I got in university mid day through was the 1999 TL. Still driving the TL. Added a motorcycle in 2005. Any car feels slow when you have a bike.
Next car I would like to have more room.

pits200

Lets take this one step further. With all the advancements in car technology, the idea of most cars coming with some sort of restrictions for certain drivers is gonna happen. I know they already have it, for example drunk drivers having to blow into the tube.

But what if you could govenor your kids car and impose a speedlimit restriction, would you do it? I hate to say it, but I think I'd put a 75mph max on the car . I wonder why we haven't seen this become more common on cars. And ya ya, I know you can still get in plenty of trouble under 75mph but it can't hurt.

And just like my parents, I'm all for one for kids for learning from their own mistakes but I'll keep it to things where their life isn't on the line.

Moog-Type-S

Just make sure the car has ESP.
It's Efficient...and of course 95%

ttribe

Costco

A speed limiter won't really help either. You can easily kill someone or get yourself killed at well under the speed limit. Hypothetically, ask yourself this if it's safe.... give your kid a car with a 75 mph governor but the car is RWD, has 500 horsepower, and no traction control.

My first car was an automatic Civic. When it hit VTEC, all it would do was make more noise - it still didn't go anywhere. I admit the car did have some influence in me not driving like a jackass because it wasn't all that fun, but I took turns faster than I should have anyways.

Personally I'd either make my kid but their own car or split it 50/50 with them depending on how much they want a car, how mature they are, how well they do in school, etc. Then I'd make them pay for insurance, and they either pay for any ticket they get or I drive their ass around. A kid who is immature enough to do something stupid with their car is probably going to be immature and embarrassed enough to not want to be seen having their parents drive them around so I figure it's either behave or take the bus.

The only ticket I have is a moving violation and I was actually going under the speed limit.... and it was something real stupid.

Deerole

I live in the city sooo id get em a bicycle. as fast as he can peddle is as much hp he'll get. or take the train

Type34

Respect! My 1st was a 1988 Berreta GT (2.8L V6, all 125hp of it) - and yes those are an Air Jordan shirt and shoes I'm wearing...ha



Considering my son is only 2, his first car will probably be something electrical or a hybrid, but definitely not new, not expensive, and hopefully something we can work on together.