What's the best new car for a college student?
08-20-17, 12:36 PM
#46
Lexus Test Driver
I'm 23, college student (will grad at the end of this year with a MIS degree), working 1 job and 1 internship. I bought a '16 IS350 fsport about 2 years ago. Financial Mistake, lmao.
My other thread here, I wrote about my gf buying a car. She picked out the '17 Honda Civic Touring, very nice car for its price point. She is also a student, 23 yo, and has a job. Financing a Honda is easier for a college student imo. Cheaper monthly, Cheaper maintenance, BETTER FUEL ECONOMY!
Also, you have to look in terms of feature and technology, youngsters like myself are drawn into the cool tech in the car. I think Honda did a good job with their Honda Sensing and CarPlay.
Overall, from personal experience, a college student should be driving something within the 20-30k range, no need for an expensive car (Learned from experience
).
My other thread here, I wrote about my gf buying a car. She picked out the '17 Honda Civic Touring, very nice car for its price point. She is also a student, 23 yo, and has a job. Financing a Honda is easier for a college student imo. Cheaper monthly, Cheaper maintenance, BETTER FUEL ECONOMY!
Also, you have to look in terms of feature and technology, youngsters like myself are drawn into the cool tech in the car. I think Honda did a good job with their Honda Sensing and CarPlay.
Overall, from personal experience, a college student should be driving something within the 20-30k range, no need for an expensive car (Learned from experience
).
08-20-17, 01:11 PM
#47
Too long, didn't read lol.
I went to a big university and lived on campus so I didn't need a car. My school was 30 mins from home so during the summers, I just borrowed one of my parents' cars or rode the bus to get to work.
I think a used Japanese car is the best bet for a teenager or college student. My car in high school was exactly that, but the FWD was dicey on wet roads. A Subie would be a good option. Don't go for brands like Lexus or Infiniti, kids just need the basics.
I went to a big university and lived on campus so I didn't need a car. My school was 30 mins from home so during the summers, I just borrowed one of my parents' cars or rode the bus to get to work.
I think a used Japanese car is the best bet for a teenager or college student. My car in high school was exactly that, but the FWD was dicey on wet roads. A Subie would be a good option. Don't go for brands like Lexus or Infiniti, kids just need the basics.
08-20-17, 01:46 PM
#48
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
I'm 23, college student (will grad at the end of this year with a MIS degree), working 1 job and 1 internship. I bought a '16 IS350 fsport about 2 years ago. Financial Mistake, lmao.
My other thread here, I wrote about my gf buying a car. She picked out the '17 Honda Civic Touring, very nice car for its price point. She is also a student, 23 yo, and has a job. Financing a Honda is easier for a college student imo. Cheaper monthly, Cheaper maintenance, BETTER FUEL ECONOMY!
Also, you have to look in terms of feature and technology, youngsters like myself are drawn into the cool tech in the car. I think Honda did a good job with their Honda Sensing and CarPlay.
Overall, from personal experience, a college student should be driving something within the 20-30k range, no need for an expensive car (Learned from experience).
My other thread here, I wrote about my gf buying a car. She picked out the '17 Honda Civic Touring, very nice car for its price point. She is also a student, 23 yo, and has a job. Financing a Honda is easier for a college student imo. Cheaper monthly, Cheaper maintenance, BETTER FUEL ECONOMY!
Also, you have to look in terms of feature and technology, youngsters like myself are drawn into the cool tech in the car. I think Honda did a good job with their Honda Sensing and CarPlay.
Overall, from personal experience, a college student should be driving something within the 20-30k range, no need for an expensive car (Learned from experience
).
Good luck on your upcoming degree. You're worked hard for it.....now, hopefully, it will work for you.
08-21-17, 08:24 AM
#49
drives cars
My college car was a 2001 Buick Century. At the time it was about 7 years old, only 35k miles. My grandmother gave it to me after my uncle convinced her to buy a new car, for whatever reason. It was extremely reliable, with the only issues being the power window regulators and a false-alarm Check Engine light that seemed like it wouldn't go away no matter what. I had a four-hour drive home when I went to visit family, and because it was nice and roomy, it was generally a good car for that trip. Also, it got about 30 MPG on the highway in spite of its size. It wasn't very stylish, and it had a long front overhang, meaning it got a couple scrapes here and there pulling up some steep inclines. Overall, it was a good car though, and I sometimes remember it more fondly than it actually deserves. I put another 30k miles on it over about 4 years before moving on to a much newer 2010 Camry, which I honestly just bought because I had a job and could afford car payments. 
I honestly considered getting a Buick recently before I got my IS just because of the fond memories I had of that vehicle.
Not sure if newer Buicks are as worry-free as this one was, but hey, a midsize, FWD sedan is probably not a bad choice for a first vehicle.
I honestly considered getting a Buick recently before I got my IS just because of the fond memories I had of that vehicle.Not sure if newer Buicks are as worry-free as this one was, but hey, a midsize, FWD sedan is probably not a bad choice for a first vehicle.
08-21-17, 08:49 AM
#50
Lexus Fanatic
It's kind of interesting....my buddy's 2 girls go to private school, and as the older was turning 16, they bought a 2014 Nissan Versa. When the Audi broke, his wife who is 100% on the road was driving the Versa, until they bought the NX200t this weekend. I said if she's driving the Versa, how's the daughter getting to school? Anyway, the Versa was such a turn off that she stalled as far as getting her license. BRILLIANT!!!
I need to get with the times...20-30k for a college student, I'm in the working world, and I spent $14,xxx on my last car! And as 10cc says (on now XM70)....
I don't like Lexus.....oh no......I love it! ah yeah....
Keep on truckin' right!
I need to get with the times...20-30k for a college student, I'm in the working world, and I spent $14,xxx on my last car! And as 10cc says (on now XM70)....
I don't like Lexus.....oh no......I love it! ah yeah....
Keep on truckin' right!
08-21-17, 10:15 AM
#51
Lexus Champion
AWD is NOT needed, even in wet, snowy weather that is prevalent here.
08-21-17, 10:24 AM
#52
Lexus Fanatic
How did you find that FWD was bad on wet roads? Your tires must have been bad -- old and dry, or tread worn. If this was an excuse to get AWD, you would expect that AWD would be the ONLY option on cars sold here in Canada, yet, strangely, it is not! Most of the cars on the roads here are FWD. I have never had a problem driving FWD cars in the wet or even snow here in the Great White North.
AWD is NOT needed, even in wet, snowy weather that is prevalent here.
AWD is NOT needed, even in wet, snowy weather that is prevalent here.
08-21-17, 10:27 AM
#53
Lexus Fanatic
I think the bottom line is, nobody is saying you "have to" or you "should" buy your kids new cars or used cars or give them any car. Its up to each parent and family to decide what they can afford to do, and what they think the best thing for them to do is. All I'm saying is I don't think you hurt an otherwise well raised, hardworking kid by setting them up with their first new car, I just wouldn't buy them a luxury car.
If I look at myself, I'm a hardworking person, I was a hardworking kid too. My parents gave me their hand me down but almost new $40k Ford Explorer Limited when I turned 16, I didn't work when I was in high school. In fact, I have never been employed by someone else in a job, I have always been self employed since I started my first business at 19 years old. Being given that car did not "ruin me". I was however raised with a good lifestyle, and it made me want to have that lifestyle for myself going forward at an early age, which is largely what drove me to start a business vs get a job. However, I paid a heavy price for that lifestyle, I worked hard all through my twenties when my friends were out having fun and traveling and having cool experiences, I worked to have a nice home and a nice car and a nice life. Now that I'm in my second half of my 30s, all of my friends have settled down and I'm ahead of them financially, but they had a lot more fun than I had. I'm not as ahead as you'd think either, because when I was 25 I lived like a 35 year old with a mortgage and car payments, took higher end trips, etc. My friends made dramatically less money than I did, but they lived like 25 year olds and ate pizza and travelled and stayed in hostels and such, backpacked places. My advice to my kids? Live your life for life, not money...things aren't as important as living and experiences. Don't let your kids be saddled by a desire for things, and you set them up for that by handing them luxuries that going forward become the "status quo".
My FWD minivan spins the front wheels on any heavy acceleration from a stop in the rain. With traction control, and good tires.
Personally, I really have grown to dislike FWD cars.
If I look at myself, I'm a hardworking person, I was a hardworking kid too. My parents gave me their hand me down but almost new $40k Ford Explorer Limited when I turned 16, I didn't work when I was in high school. In fact, I have never been employed by someone else in a job, I have always been self employed since I started my first business at 19 years old. Being given that car did not "ruin me". I was however raised with a good lifestyle, and it made me want to have that lifestyle for myself going forward at an early age, which is largely what drove me to start a business vs get a job. However, I paid a heavy price for that lifestyle, I worked hard all through my twenties when my friends were out having fun and traveling and having cool experiences, I worked to have a nice home and a nice car and a nice life. Now that I'm in my second half of my 30s, all of my friends have settled down and I'm ahead of them financially, but they had a lot more fun than I had. I'm not as ahead as you'd think either, because when I was 25 I lived like a 35 year old with a mortgage and car payments, took higher end trips, etc. My friends made dramatically less money than I did, but they lived like 25 year olds and ate pizza and travelled and stayed in hostels and such, backpacked places. My advice to my kids? Live your life for life, not money...things aren't as important as living and experiences. Don't let your kids be saddled by a desire for things, and you set them up for that by handing them luxuries that going forward become the "status quo".
My FWD minivan spins the front wheels on any heavy acceleration from a stop in the rain. With traction control, and good tires.
Personally, I really have grown to dislike FWD cars.
Last edited by SW17LS; 08-21-17 at 10:41 AM.
08-21-17, 10:40 AM
#54
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
My college car was a 2001 Buick Century. At the time it was about 7 years old, only 35k miles. I honestly considered getting a Buick recently before I got my IS just because of the fond memories I had of that vehicle.
Not sure if newer Buicks are as worry-free as this one was, but hey, a midsize, FWD sedan is probably not a bad choice for a first vehicle.
Not sure if newer Buicks are as worry-free as this one was, but hey, a midsize, FWD sedan is probably not a bad choice for a first vehicle.
Yeah, I too had a six-year-old Buick when was in college...loved it. I ordered a new Lacrosse myself, also partially on memories....and the fact that larger sedans may soon be an endangered species.
According to Consumer Reports, Buick quality is almost in the Toyota/Lexus range, so, while it is possible to get a lemon from any brand, the chances of getting a defective Buick are not good.
08-21-17, 10:40 AM
#55
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
08-21-17, 10:43 AM
#56
Lexus Fanatic
08-21-17, 10:45 AM
#57
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Doesn't necessarily mean that he has a lead-foot. I've reviewed several newer vehicles lately that had a relatively jumpy throttle from rest, even with normal pedal-pressure. Could be the way that the engineers program the ECU, fuel-injection, or TPS (Throttle-Position-Sensor). That's sometimes done to try and give the driver the impression that he or she has a larger engine underhood than is actually the case.....especially in this age of downsizing engines.
08-21-17, 10:46 AM
#58
Lexus Fanatic
Doesn't necessarily mean that he has a lead-foot. I've reviewed several newer vehicles lately that had a jumpy throttle from rest, even with normal pedal-pressure. Could be the way that the engineers program the ECU, fuel-injection, or TPS (Throttle-Position-Sensor). That's sometimes done to try and give the driver the impression that he or she has a larger engine underhood than is actually the case.....especially in this age of downsizing engines.
08-21-17, 11:09 AM
#59
Lexus Champion
And you live in a country where people routinely mount 4 snows with steelies on 2wd cars often fwd (and by law in Québec). Dunno why but we don't seem to be able to get steelies, prolly we're just too **** vain here in the States....heaven forbid someone sees us driving on steel rims
There is truth to that. The only time I spin my tires (hard, low-rolling resistance tires) is in the rain and if I lead-foot it in a turn to try to quickly get out of an intersection. I hardly ever have a problem in my FWD car, on all-season tires, even in the winter.
08-21-17, 11:18 AM
#60
Lexus Fanatic
Ontario drivers routinely mounting winter tires? Absolutely NOT! Most drivers here in Ontario where I live drive on their all-season tires all-year round.
There is truth to that. The only time I spin my tires (hard, low-rolling resistance tires) is in the rain and if I lead-foot it in a turn to try to quickly get out of an intersection. I hardly ever have a problem in my FWD car, on all-season tires, even in the winter.
There is truth to that. The only time I spin my tires (hard, low-rolling resistance tires) is in the rain and if I lead-foot it in a turn to try to quickly get out of an intersection. I hardly ever have a problem in my FWD car, on all-season tires, even in the winter.