Teenagers first car?
- Thread starter Expat
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The guy across the street gave his son the wife's Mercedes 190E (not sure of year model, but I believe 1993 was the last year for them). Solid, reliable, inexpensive, and not too fast for someone learning to drive (and the guy's kids are more level-headed and responsible than a lot of adults I know).
By the way, his wife got a brand new 420E out of the deal. Not too bad.
By the way, his wife got a brand new 420E out of the deal. Not too bad.
Gryphon
New member
IMHO: get her a $500 pos, make her help pay for it and let her learn and trash it. Not something nasty like my old '73 VW Dasher, but something mid to late 80's, a Civic or 626 or some such. Read: disposable.
Ok, so this may be better advice for teenage boys, but the thought process holds true: first timer car owners who are given the vehicle and have teenage "logic" and experience have tendancies to trash things (see the Jeep Liberty Carnage post!)
I am not insuating anything about anyone's children, just my opinion.
If they prove trustworthy with or without wrecking the pos car, then help them buy something decent.
Ok, so this may be better advice for teenage boys, but the thought process holds true: first timer car owners who are given the vehicle and have teenage "logic" and experience have tendancies to trash things (see the Jeep Liberty Carnage post!)
I am not insuating anything about anyone's children, just my opinion.
If they prove trustworthy with or without wrecking the pos car, then help them buy something decent.
Bill42
New member
Safe would mean mid-size and up. Such as Camry, Accord, Altima, Taurus, etc.
Reliable would remove Taurus and other US mid-sized vehicles.
Easy to drive would mean automatic and which one she likes the best.
Under 12k means, hmm, how about up to 15,000? Go to kbb.com to surf through their inventory to give you a good idea of what is out there.
For under 15,000 you could get her a 2002 Accord/Camry/Altima with all the goodies and probably one with relatively low mileage.
Good luck.
Reliable would remove Taurus and other US mid-sized vehicles.
Easy to drive would mean automatic and which one she likes the best.
Under 12k means, hmm, how about up to 15,000? Go to kbb.com to surf through their inventory to give you a good idea of what is out there.
For under 15,000 you could get her a 2002 Accord/Camry/Altima with all the goodies and probably one with relatively low mileage.
Good luck.
I had an Accord and it is still going. It has over 250,000 miles on it and is 15 years old. That is what I learned on. My buddy had a Supra Turbo.....I guess that is out of the question. My vote is for a used Accord or Civic.
I also saw an interesting thing the other day on the "Fifth Gear" on Speed Channel showing a crash test btw 2 cars. They were the same car, just different generations (if I recall, there was a 10 year spread in age...a 92 and 2002). They crashed them offset, head on, at 35 mph. The older car was trashed and they said the driver would most likely be dead due to the cabin being severely damaged. The airbags went off, but the dummy still got mangled. The new car, with it's crumple zones, looked bad, but the cabin was unaffected. Not all cars are created equally, but I guess the lesson is if you can go newer btw similar cars do it.
I also saw an interesting thing the other day on the "Fifth Gear" on Speed Channel showing a crash test btw 2 cars. They were the same car, just different generations (if I recall, there was a 10 year spread in age...a 92 and 2002). They crashed them offset, head on, at 35 mph. The older car was trashed and they said the driver would most likely be dead due to the cabin being severely damaged. The airbags went off, but the dummy still got mangled. The new car, with it's crumple zones, looked bad, but the cabin was unaffected. Not all cars are created equally, but I guess the lesson is if you can go newer btw similar cars do it.
Mark86
Super Moderator
How about a used 2001-2003 RAV4? Those are very reliable vehicles and should be around your budget (maybe 2k over). Also, at least she will have 4WD just in case she needs to get anywhere in the bad weather and it is a safe vehicle. They are not that wide in the event that she has to parallel park either! In my opinion, a RAV4 would be easier to drive than a Camry or Taurus.
Bill42
New member
Here in California there are stringent rules regarding whether a teenage driver can have other minors in the vehicle. For the most part, they can not have other minors in the vehicle without an adult or after certain hours in the evening.
BTW, those prices on kbb.com are for mostly dealer used cars. I wouldn't be surprised if you could get a better priced one through a private owner in auto trader.
I like the Rav4 but your daughter will grow out of it. If you're thinking that she might want this for a bit of time then a nice sedan with goodies like a sunroof, v-6 (accord), good sound system, leather and of course her choice of color might be a better long term choice.
BTW, those prices on kbb.com are for mostly dealer used cars. I wouldn't be surprised if you could get a better priced one through a private owner in auto trader.
I like the Rav4 but your daughter will grow out of it. If you're thinking that she might want this for a bit of time then a nice sedan with goodies like a sunroof, v-6 (accord), good sound system, leather and of course her choice of color might be a better long term choice.
Northof49
New member
Too bad you guys don't get these little basterds in the states:
For $12K you could buy a brand new one, and never have to worry about reliability. They get a real 45+mpg, easy to park, easy to see out of, really easy stick shift (or auto).....and they're actually quite peppy and fun to drive!
For $12K you could buy a brand new one, and never have to worry about reliability. They get a real 45+mpg, easy to park, easy to see out of, really easy stick shift (or auto).....and they're actually quite peppy and fun to drive!
NoSpeedLmt
New member
My first vehicle was an 88 Toyota Pickup. 2 wheel drive, regular cab, 4 cylinder, stick, long bed. I wish I never got rid of that car. I went from that to a Pontiac Grand Prix. :smash: At the time it seemed like a good idea.
peter78
Super Moderator
I remember reading a article and it said a perfect car would be a used Honda Civic. It is small, easy to control and if they hit something it won't cause as much damge as a bigger car.
I kind of agree with some of the members that like the Camry and Accord, a little bigger in case of a accident. My Son who is 14 wants my 4Runner when he can drive........:nono: :nono: FAT CHANCE
I kind of agree with some of the members that like the Camry and Accord, a little bigger in case of a accident. My Son who is 14 wants my 4Runner when he can drive........:nono: :nono: FAT CHANCE
Northof49
New member
And said BIG SUV will need a pancake flipper to get it on the wrecker after a transport truck creams it....Bill42 said:
Buying cars on the basis of crash-worthiness is somewhat silly, because it all comes down to (I always asked people this when selling Echo's and such) "What do you plan on hitting?"
If you plan on running into a wall (how the ratings are obtained) or something immovable, that Echo is safer than most trucks and SUV's on the road, and just as safe as most mid-sized cars. Also, it would be very hard to roll it over.
On the other hand, if you want to run into a fully loaded Peterbuilt.....well, it probably won't fair as well (of course, no passenger vehicle would). So by that logic, we should all be commuting in (at least!) 5 ton cabovers....
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