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Your Teen's first car?

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You're going to want something that's truly reliable (ie, still works without frequent repair after 10-20 years after manufacture). Ignore all of those reliabillity reports of brand new vehicles. It's pure bullshit.

You'll also want good milage, and safety.

Something affordable.


Honda Accord
Honda Civic
Toyota Camry
Toyota Corolla
 
Older Subaru's (legacy, forester, impreza) - Very reliable, decent gas mileage, found for cheap, very safe.
Ford Crown Vic - should be really reliable and safe, dunno about gas mileage.
 
Definitly not an SUV. Teens seem to think they're super cool in them, and tend to drive very stupidily in them since they think they're invincible, and even though the common belief is that they'll be safer in them, since they can't roll, the truth is they can roll just as easily as a small car, plus the insurance is a buttload for them.

Edit1: Oh yea, and make him pay for it, that way he'l treat it with a lot more respect, and he doesn't get the additude that you guys will pay for all his cool toys in the future. It's a privilage for a teen to drive, not a right.
 
i got my first vehicle about 14 months ago. its a 92 ford explorer XLT 4WD 4 door. it was rusted out to the point where it couldn't pass inspection anymore and parents were going to junk it. i rescued it, hacked on the body until you couldn't see the rust anymore, and now i have myself a vehicle. don't see why ten years down the road my kids can't have something similar.

 
Originally posted by: ghost recon88
Definitly not an SUV. Teens seem to think they're super cool in them, and tend to drive very stupidily in them since they think they're invincible, and even though the common belief is that they'll be safer in them, since they can't roll, the truth is they can roll just as easily as a small car, plus the insurance is a buttload for them.

Edit1: Oh yea, and make him pay for it, that way he'l treat it with a lot more respect, and he doesn't get the additude that you guys will pay for all his cool toys in the future. It's a privilage for ANYONE to drive, not a right.
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Fixed.
 
http://images.google.co.uk/images?svnum...r=&safe=off&q=1998+ford+ka&btnG=Search

coz i have one, 3 stars on the euro NCAP tests

3-4 stars is all your gonna get on the euroNCAP crash tests, thats not bad mind. i dunno what crash test body you have over there, so i dunno how they compare. 3 stars is average here, 4 is good and 5 is brilliant

obviously the luxury brands like BM and Merc have 5 star safety (in the new models) but its the french car makers renault who kicked it off....first car with 5 stars, now their entire range is 5 stars, and they are very very impressive in crashes, alot of the time the driver can basically open the drivers door and walk off. (tested on fifth gear, renault espace vs land rover discovery 40mph head on, 80mph crash speed, driver of disco would of died, driver of the espace could of got out and walked home)

very very impressive, even their clio is 5 star and thats a super mini.

its a shame they dont sell them in the US, fiats new punto is also 5 star crash rated, but they dont sell that either do they.
 
Used Mercedes-Benz. Cheap, and you come out on top in a wreck with a similar-sized car. You're going to lose with an F-650 no matter what you do.
 
Used avalon - they're the safest cars ever, rated by jd power from statistic reports.
I thought my 5speed 92 corolla was a good car.
SUV's may be safer if you run into a small car, like a mini, but they are FAR less safe if they ran into a wall or something. Just check the crash test ratings yourself. Ford F-150 is one of the least safe vehicles in america.
 
I didn't read the thread, but my 2 criteria would be:

1) Safe. Obviously.
2) Stick Shift. Teach them to actually drive.

Something fuel efficient is nice, but IMO these 2 are more important than saving a few bucks on gas.
 
Originally posted by: byosys
I didn't read the thread, but my 2 criteria would be:

1) Safe. Obviously.
2) Stick Shift. Teach them to actually drive.

Something fuel efficient is nice, but IMO these 2 are more important than saving a few bucks on gas.
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Stick shift is good. It makes them focus on the road more and be more proficient. However, it does make them have a tendency to drive faster.
 
First of all, I wouldn't allow my teen to own a car. Too much money, too much responsibility. Kids have enough to worry about without the hassle of car ownership.

That being said, buy the oldest Suburban you can find that has airbags. Wouldn't you rather find out that it was the other kid that died instead of your own?

My parents bought a red Pinto station wagon that they allowed us to dirve. Plastic bucket seats, no A/C, no way we were going to look cool no matter how we drove. None of us (six kids) ever had a wreck in any of our parents' cars.
 
Originally posted by: ironwing
First of all, I wouldn't allow my teen to own a car. Too much money, too much responsibility. Kids have enough to worry about without the hassle of car ownership.

That being said, buy the oldest Suburban you can find that has airbags. Wouldn't you rather find out that it was the other kid that died instead of your own?
Click to expand...

Well, I'm glad my parents didn't think like you.

<-- bought his first car at eighteen

Unless by "teen" you mean "minor." 😉
 
Originally posted by: ironwing
First of all, I wouldn't allow my teen to own a car. Too much money, too much responsibility. Kids have enough to worry about without the hassle of car ownership.

That being said, buy the oldest Suburban you can find that has airbags. Wouldn't you rather find out that it was the other kid that died instead of your own?

My parents bought a red Pinto station wagon that they allowed us to dirve. Plastic bucket seats, no A/C, no way we were going to look cool no matter how we drove. None of us (six kids) ever had a wreck in any of our parents' cars.
Click to expand...

You're assuming gas won't be $50/gallon by the time our kids are driving age. Hell, we might have solar powered cars by then.

I was 16 when I got my drivers license. My first car was a 1973 SAAB 99 with a 4 speed manual transmission. Whatever my son's first car is I think it will be a stick.
 
I just spoke to two of my friends today. One of them got a new Audi A6, and the other got a new Civic Hybrid. Glad I'm friends with them 🙂

EDIT: Both 17.
 
As someone that use to run a auto repair shop I say look for a good used Buick with a 3.8L motor. Very safe and reliable that and are pretty cheap as most people don?t even think about them.
 
I'm going to suggest my car, a Chevy Cavalier. It is small enough to get good gas mileage (25-City/30-Highway), but not too small to be excessively dangerous. Find one with ABS and airbags, and it makes for a pretty safe vehicle. The car is pretty reliable too with GM's standard small 4-cylinder engine.

EDIT: Cavaliers are also pretty easy to get a hold of and the parts are pretty cheap.
 
my first car was a 89 hyundai excel.. (at that time it was 10 years old).. it taught me a lot.. then i moved on to a 94 Toyota Tercel. Now i have a 2000 Focus.

Start with soemthing small, under powered and safe.. and relatively good mileage (25mpg +)

 
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