Htony

+++. Until driver gains basic driving skills. i put through 3 cocurses for my kids.. Basic course for license, defensive driving, racing course all with stick shift in high school.. They are fine drivers with basic knowledge of how car engines work.

mmarshall

Don't automatically assume that kids will dislike "Old Man's" cars. I've seen numerous cases where it wasn't an issue.

That would be the present-generation Ford Focus. I would not recommend the automatic version, though, with the dual-clutch automatic....that transmission is unrefined, has had clunky shift-problems, fails prematurely, and has been the source of numerous customer complaints.

joedaddy1

iTrader: (1)

I don't think an IS would be a bad idea. It's not like you are buying him a $50k new one.. a $10k-$20k car would be nice... one less thing to worry about in college.

Lex_Giorgio

I guess we're part of the few that thought getting the IS250 would have been a good idea... if his son sees this thread, he'll know who to blame for not having an IS250 :P

Duck05

An '07 or '08 Honda Civic coupe is not a bad idea for a reliable and easy to keep car..... I put 240K on a 2007 and it is now in the hands of my nephew....
A truck has all kinds of things going for it....
May come down to budget and the insurance costs involved....
I will chime in and agree that an IS may not be the best option based on the information provided. An SC, which I have some hands on experience, is a cool car but not for a teenager's first ride....

We will all want to see where you end up......

arentz07

Don't rule out "old man's car" as an option. At first I didn't like my first car being a 2001 Buick Century, but I grew to like it pretty quickly when I realized how it was very quiet and comfortable to drive. It also helped that I basically got it as a hand-me-down from Grandma, so I wasn't complaining. Yes, I did get the occasional smart *** comment about it being an old person car, but it was truly a good first car - reliable and roomy.

ST430

We have 2 kids, that are now 24 and 20 respectively.

My sister gave the 24 year old an old 1998 integra as her first car at 16-17. She promptly got into an accident with it and the car started getting transmission issues over time. We decided to buy her a new Civic when she turned 18. That was a big mistake as she promptly destroyed that car not taking care of it and eventually getiing it totalled (although not her fault). Afterwards, we gave her our own 2009 RAV4 with about 60k miles on it. Of course, she gets into several (stupid) accidents, and trashed the interior, but she loves the utility and it has survived her thus far withiut breaking hers/our wallets (too much).

Our 20 year old received his sister old integra as his first car, which broke down after the abuse his sister gave it. We eventually bgouht him an older 98' SC300 when he was 18, in great condition with 55k miles on it. He proceeded to rack up another 15k miles in 2 years and customized it to his liking. It was a great car, however one of the speed sensor broke on it and it costed him $600 (!!) to repair. He was scared to drive that thing from then on because of upcoming maintenance costs (like shocks, LCA, water pump, and timing belt) and the fact he had to maintain it (our agreement in buying it). We sold it soon afterwards and got a 2005 MR2 Spyder 5-speed w/ 55k miles as his daily driver for the same price. Its relatively cheap, sporty enough for him, and is teaching to drive a stick to boot.

Lesson learned: get them as cheap as they will tolerate but as modern as possible to lower maintemamce costs. Getting something reliable doesnt hurt either.

mmarshall

Another lesson learned: Teach your kids (like my late father did when I was a teen-ager) to have respect for what they drive, and take care of it.

ror105

That is great advice ST430.

have been looking at 2 door Civics in the last couple days. Reasonably priced, and somewhat sporty. Both of my son's are car guys and I like the thought of buying him a 5-speed as a first car. After I got out of the Navy and before going to college I drove big trucks for a while and I have always liked manual transmissions. As you all know, they are going away as an option in cars. The paddle shifters in my Subaru just aren't the same and I haven't let him use those yet. He's still trying to keep from crossing the yellow line!!

ArmyofOne

10-20k for a car for a 16 y/o? My first car was $800 and I had to buy it myself!



Stay away from the Si models. For 3 reasons:

-The transmissions have an internal flaw. The synchronizers are plastic, so they strip out. They were good when they were new but as they age they dry out and crack/fall apart/strip. A 16 y/o learning to drive standard is liable to need a transmission rebuild after just a few days of trying to drive it. The non-Si models have a different transmission with steel synchronizers and as such don't have that problem.

-Si models require premium fuel. EX models do not.

-Si models carry a higher insurance premium as the Si designation comes up in the VIN and indicates a "sports car".

I had a 2006 EX sedan and they are bulletproof. My recommendation is a 2006-2010 EX or EX-L coupe with a 5 speed manual. They have 150hp so they are relatively quick, and won't break the bank if they need repairs.

The drawbacks: paint quality sucks-stay away from the black ones and the light blue ones. The clear coat peels. any other color is generally ok. That's really it...The coupe has some excessive road noise, but not sure you would care about that for a teenager...so..yeah.

I havent ever liked paddle shifters. I have driven many cars with them, including high performance supercars, and they are a pain in the *** to me. Even the Lancer Ralli-Art with them I drove was just not easy. The Ferrari 458 Italia? Forget it.

SW17LS

I don't have a problem buying a kid a good, safe, enjoyable car. I want them to be safe, and I want them to have something that they'll like...its the providing kids with "luxuries" I don't think is a good idea.

Johnhav430

I hate to mention my first car because I think people look down at you, but it was $700 and I drove a hard bargain and got the seller (salvage yard) to install the rear left door that he was throwing in, since the one on the car was severely rusted. I used duct tape to cover the holes on the fenders and sprayed it white to match the car. I felt happy driving that car as it had ice cold air and was a 4 spd stick, so I pretended it was one of them fancy 740 Turbos with the sweet 15" 5 spoke rims. btw I grew up maybe on the wrong side of the tracks in a fairly well to do town, so there was one kid who had a 928 given to him in HS (he was prom king, varsity soccer star, Ivy league school). He turned out to be pretty successful, so maybe his parents' love had something to do with it. We went to the same undergrad but were never friends, that's life. Guess I'm playing devil's advocate to what I believe in my core--you can buy a kid a fabulous car and he/she can turn out just fine. But why, that's been my question all these years.

SW17LS

Why would anybody look down on you for that? Lots of similar stories posted here.

No doubt, a kid's future isn't set in stone because they are given a car. Whats most important is to instill a good work ethic, to teach kids to respect other people and to be good people, and instill in them a desire to to the best job they can at anything they do. Look at me, I was given a great car (not a new luxury car but close, my mothers year old loaded Explorer Limited), I never had to work when I was a kid, I had everything I ever wanted, I had money to go out and have a great time with my friends. I wasn't spoiled though, when it came time for me to go out and work, I did that and attacked it like I was taught to do with everything in my life.

My concern about giving kids a "lifestyle" item like a luxury car is one downside that I did experience from how I was raised. When it came time for me to go out and support myself on my own I had a lot to replace. I was accustomed to driving really good cars, eating out in restaurants, basically doing whatever I wanted without being concerned about money. Once you're used to that, its hard to just say "okay I'm going to stay in my crappy apartment and eat ramen noodles like my friends". This is how kids get themselves in a lot of consumer debt early in their lives. I was fortunate that didn't happen to me, but the result for me was I spent my 20s working really hard, long hours building my business so that I could have the life not only that I wanted, but that I had always had, and basically missed out on most of the fun of being a young twentysomething.

I want my kids to be successful, but I want them to enjoy their youth too. So I want to make sure they don't feel like they have to go from 22 straight to 35 like I did. Making it so that they are content with a normal life someone that age has is a big part of that.

ArmyofOne

I am with you. My dad bought a 1983 Chevy S10 4x4 with a 4.3L V6 that was rusted out and falling apart for $800. I saved for a whole summer to pay him the $800 he paid for it, and then I got to drive it to school for 3 weeks before the engine blew and I was carless. My dad's answer to that problem? That's life. And he was right. My parent's didn't have the money to fix that issue, they would have had to figure it out if it happened to them. It was my car and my problem. I sold it (ironically for $800), and worked out another deal with my dad to buy the car he was driving (a base model Ford Contour with a manual transmission) for $2,000. I gave him the $800 i made, and he gave me the keys. I gave him my next few paychecks, minus gas and insurance, and he signed over the title. Thus, I had my first experience with debt, and paying a car payment. He even made me sign a "contract", so I would understand how it worked. Would he have held me to it in a court of law? No, but neither of us were worried about that. He knew I would pay, and I knew he was trying to teach me and be a good father.

Plus, that $2,000 was his down payment for his new boat

ST430

my daughter is not a car gal at all. She didnt know you had to change the oil until i asked her! I don't blame her at all to treat a car like an appliance.

my son, however, follows my car loving path. After getting that his sisters dreadful integra, i promised him a nicer car if 1) he took care if it himself (maintennace wise and 2) if he maintains his grades. We really wanted to get a 5-speed sc300 but thise are awfully hard to find in good condition. We got lucky we stumbled upon the 55k miles sc300. Although it had some external cosmetic issues, it was perfect otherwise and he loved it and srove the heck out of it. Only when he realized how much older luxury cars cost to maintain did he go to me and say he wanted a sportier smaller car with a manual transmission. Thats when we looked for s2000s, Miatas, and found this pristine MR2. We've been working on th car together, replacing wheels, exhausts, coilovers, etc., so its good bonding time and teaching him how to care and work on cars himself (like i used to before i got old and lazy lol).

I think used Civics are good as long as u find one with a good history.