is an ls430 a good kids car?
 

I was talking to my neighbor. His son is 15 and will be driving soon. we were talking about cars and drinking a beer the other night. I told him he should look at this 2002 ls 430 up at our lexus dealer its only 11k. It is in his price range, reliable, safe, and wornt draw attention to him like sports car would, or get him in trouble.

Now, I know you guys like to make a fun of me and that is ok, but seriously I would like some help on how to advise this guy.

First, this kid is going to make a lowrider. All of his friends drive lowriders. So I am sure he will. he is always going to car shows and stuff and working on his friends cars.

Should he get one with air ride? they are less reliable, but maybe easier to make a low rider?

All the lowrides I see over there are strut cars (acuras, hondas, bmws so forth). Will the big beefy wishbones hurt his ability to make the car he wants.

Do you need to put some skid plates or something under the car? does anybody make them or is this something I will have to fabricate.

I will probably help my neighbor with working on the car, so please keep things as simple as possible.

Thank You!

I know you're not a VIP kind of guy, Scott, so props to you for making such an awesome suggestion for the kids ride. The VIPsters around here should be able to give you some low-budget advice and the kid'll get some serious cred rolling with those lowly Hondas & Acuras. (Yeah, I know, I sound like an idiot.)

First off, great suggestion. You should probably tell the dad to avoid air suspension if he wants to avoid heftier repair bills down the line (I chose normal coils so I won't have to make my parents pay all that $$ for air, plus I feel coils are more durable anyways). Secondly, I doubt the kid will have cash to drop his car (I know I don't), nor will his parents approve (like mine when I casually mentioned it:p). Plus once he realizes the comfort of the ride, I doubt he will complain much. Props to suggesting the 430 to a younger crowd, big flagship luxo barges are the way to go!

The only concern I have is giving any car with a V8 engine and costing more than $10K to a new teen driver. Think Impala or Taurus. (So much for my cool suggestions.)

A 15-year-old and a 290HP V8 don't good sense make.

Think "bicycle" ... and maybe an inexpensive subcompact if the kid keeps a straight-A average and is a member of the honor society -- when he turns 18 and heads off to college, which of course, he will pay for himself.

Before doing anything, check with your insurance agent to see the cost of insurance. Some cars are significantly less expensive to insure for teenage drivers, such as Ford Taurus, older Accords or Camrys. My agent suggested cars that had large volume sales to relatively safe drivers (like the aforementioned) are the least expensive to insure for teen drivers. Insurance costs for teen drivers vary widely and can be significant.

very interesting that you would be making the skid plates for a neighbours son's car ?

Who buys any teenager an LS430 ?
... and what teenager wants an LS430 ? Not that many.

I think is a bit silly to buy a young person an LS430 but maybe thats just me.
Perhaps someone with far more money than common sense, lol

Ah, good thinking. I was not surprised when my monthly premium jumped almost $90 over my '03 Accord when I bought the LS430. I can't imagine what it would cost to insure one for a new driver.

my first car was a 69 charger rt with a 440 mag and 396hp,i made it ok.granted i was in the airforce and 18 years old and making car payments,something todays kids perants make for there kids nowadays.

Personally, I think it would be a great investment, the car is very reliable, takes very well to modification versus their counterparts such as vw/honda where oil pans are the lowest point and always break, whereas on the ls platforms, the subframe is the lowest point. Second, if he really slams it and wants reliability, factory air will not suffice. As stated above, you need coilovers or aftermarket air ride.

For me, being 23, I love it, and i do get comments on it being a grandpa car, but not now that I dropped it.... a lot.

Milan, this is a random question but do you possibly go to oakland university? I think I have seen your ls there once when i was dropping a friend off... I stopped to take a look at the rims on your car I am pretty sure.

I bought a ls430 when I was 22(do I still count as a kid? :D). The LS is a great car without a doubt, the only thing (after insurance) I would worry about is how much money is going to go towards gas. If that's not a worry for your neighbor, (make the kid pay for gas) then I wouldn't have any worries.

Either way, if the OP neighbor's son is out doing donuts, drifting etc... the tires are going to be wasted pretty quick and the miles per gallon will significantly drop. Should be pretty easy to tell if hes out hooning the car

Sorry but I have to rant a little here...

IMHO an LS430 for a 16 yo boy as a first car is completely ridiculous. What kind of life lesson would that be?

Instead a semi-beat but very reliable late 90's 4 cyl 4 door Accord or Camry for under $5k is a lot more appropriate for a brand new 16 year old male driver. Comes with great MPG and low insurance costs, low costs for tires and maint.

When he proves he can take care of the beater car, and that he can drive responsibly for at least 2-3 years, and after he has EARNED and saved some significant amount of his OWN money to put into an upgrade, then and only then, maybe Dad helps him with some extra $ to upgrade to something better he can take to college (or trade school). That's a life lesson that makes sense.

Rant off.

The LS is going to be too easy to speed and wreck. I would try an accord or civic, get the skilz down, then upgrade later. You start with the best, where do you go from there?

Get an 04+ and you can't disable VSC....:p. In all seriousness, the 430 only feels like a RWD when you really push it, or just give it a boot-full on slippery surfaces. If the kid isn't really into cars to start with (since the dad is picking the car), then I doubt he will get into too much trouble. If he does, there's plenty of electronic stuff to cut power and worst comes to worst lots of metal and airbags to protect him. I do see your guys' point in getting a worse car though....those high school parking lots were a breeding ground for door dings, plus he will be disappointed with most other cars after experiencing the 430.

Man!! How cool would it be to have that car NOW?!?

My wife does and I let her take the LS when I'm bored with it haha. She drives a 2004 V6 Accord coupe with a 6-speed manual that I like to take for a spin quite often. It's a quick car and lots of fun to drive. Actually, it would make a heck of a better first car then an LS.

is the kid paying for his own gas? if he is...he's gonna be in a world of hurt hahaha

The dad should buy it and pass his car along to his kid. ;)

Gas......I would start worriing about cost of ownership in general on a 10 y/o luxury car with 300 hp ft/lbs of torque and the average teenager(gotta have 125k or more on it) Depends on yur pocketbook. Buy the kid a camry, accord, altima or as cad get a great deal on a Taurus or Impala.

I have an 04 and I have switch to disable VSC. I have just done some great burnouts before replacing tires this week. My wife was ready to kill me. I would get a 4-cyl reliable car for a younger kid. You will save $ on gas and they will not get themselves in trouble with lack of driving exprience and having too much power to control.

Really? I know you can disable traction control allow some slip, but in my experience VSC is still there in the background (and will activate if you get a bit sideways). Lol @ the burnouts:D

Well said. My first car was 94 taurus. I EARNED my 430, as I am all too reminded each month when the bill comes.

Hi guys, Thank you for all the nice replies. They went and drove the car today, and I think they are going to offer him 10k cash for it on monday. They just wanted to sleep on it and not do anything to fast.

I talked with the dad today and here is what he is thinking, and this will answer most of you. The dad said the insurance on this car is dirt cheap. The dad will keep the car registered in his name and add the son as a houshold driver. cameros and 4x4 suvs are the highest cost to insure.

The car is old enough and cheap enough they are not going to go full coverage, liability only.

The biggest reason he is liking the LS is the safety. Safety being the most imporant, and the fact that these motors cant really be made into a hot rod. His son is a car nut, and his friends all have fast lowriders like civics and stuff

AlexesAnja. LS's are slow and not able to be modified. We both agree if that kid gets a civic or accord that he will have that thing going so fast.

Stu: why would it be weird for me to fabricate parts for my friends and neighbors??? Thats what I have done for a living in the past, so why would I quit now I have lots of machines in my garage. I even make putters too if your a golfer I can make you the best putter you will ever have.

Stu, what do you think of skid plates? should they be abs or aluminum? does anybody make them? I could make them for all you guys if you want them, I will sell them to you if I make a jig from my neigbors car.

Um, 0-60 in under 6 seconds, stock, can get a kid into plenty of trouble.

im sorry but a ls430 for a 16 year old kid is not something i will recommend. to the op. have you actually floored your ls430? its a fast car. yes the payment to own the car is cheap but to repair is a whole different story. have you looked into the costs of repairing the car and maintain it. you keep mentioning his friends modding cars. let say he and his friends have the idea of modding his car. if they mess up its a very expensive mistake. you know that they will try to modify it. i mean who is gonna pay for the repairs and gas for that car. i could only imagine how much the kid will ride around with his friends.

I just got the Lexus. Sorry this was not a VSC switch, it was the traction control switch. Monster burnouts were still there with traction control off.

I barely let the wife drive my 430. I sure wouldn't buy one for, or let my 19-17 year old's drive it. The only way they are going to experience this, is to earn it.

That is a good point about safety - the LS because of size/weight and multiple airbags, ABS and SCS is a very safe car. But I still think a used LS isn't a good match for a new young driver. The LS is a very fast car, 130+mph limited by the speed governor. And maintenance can be relatively high - ex. approx $800 to put new tires on an LS. My main point is that a kid should drive a beater first -- a safe beater certainly but still a beater until they prove they can drive responsibly and also allow them to earn and save some of the money for a better ride later on. I learned the hard way that just buying your kids nice cars as a first car is a big mistake.

Hey let me ask you guys this?

Caddy owner I am starting to see the light, thank you for chiming in. I see what you are saying and you have a real point. I think the was worried about him being like the fast and furious with those hondas. Some of those cars can be made really fast for a song. like 10 second quarter mile fast. But i agree with you, this is probably too much.

Would you recommend a good old 90 something ls400?

are the parts higher than on an acura or honda? I really don't know, never had anytihng break on mine, just put a batery in it. much better than any car i have ever had.

His dad honestly is most worried about safety. But I am starting to agree with you guys this may be too much for him.

Also, speaking of parts, those gm shocks are around 900 each. I can get all 4 shocks for my car for 800 something at sewell. Isn't that cool, that our cars sometimes are much cheaper to fix than gm.

Also, if you guys want skid plates or think the cars need them let me know. and let me know of any trouble spots and i will be sure to protect them. I really don't know what they are, but I work with aluminum or ABS. What ever you want. Abs would be half the cost for material. I am guessing just 1/8 inch is enough but we will have to keep it away from anything hot like headers and so forth, cause it will melt

Also, yea, every kid that is over at that house has a coffee can size exhaust poking out the back that I swear is loader than open headers. the cars sound like a bung of load bee's.

<Crazy grandpa hat on> Go for the LS!

<Responsible parent hat on> Each of my three adult sons who drive had an accident with their first car within a couple years of getting their license. A fairly late model, domestic midsize car with up-to-date safety equipment is the most sensible first car. If they are involved in a serious accident, there is sufficient (and working) modern airbags, etc. to protect them. If they are involved in a minor accident, repair costs are usually less and available shops to work on the car, especially in the midwest, is greater.

Accidents by my sons:

- Son with 02 Chevy S10 pickup, bought new, drove a lot of miles and hydroplaned off the freeway heading back to his Marine base after leave. He neglected to replace his worn tires. Truck had minor front and underside damage.

- Son with 85 Lincoln Towncar hit a deer and had so many breakdowns that he eventually parked the car. He wrapped his next car, a VW Jetta, around a tree in a one-car DUI accident which he barely survived.

- Son with a stock, pristine 96 Honda Del Sol slid off the road on ice and smacked a tree with the rear quarter enough to total the car. That was within 6 months of getting his license.

I'll add to the carnage - first daughter within a year of new license totaled her 1999 4Runner - another teen driver in a Toyota van made an oncoming left in front of her at night and mine hit her square in the sliding passenger door...not her fault but likely could have been avoided by a more more mature driver paying better attention.

Second daughter within a year of new license, fell asleep while driving and hit a wall at 20mph - $3000 damage to front end of her 2003 Ford Mustang. I had already replaced two wheel and tires from her hitting the curb while driving.

Third daughter has had no less than 5 minor fender bender accidents in the first 2-3 years of driving - I refer to her as Captain Crunch - every single panel on her 2005 Honda Civic has been repaired and painted with the sole exception of the roof (so far). She is now 22, last fall she drove the car off road my mistake and broke a motor mount and tore a hole in the exhaust pipe so even the bottom of her car has been crashed/bent.

Speaking as a not too long ago teen (I'm 22 now) who loves cars, I am willing to bet that he will drive it like he stole it. I know I certainly did in high school. I would probably suggest something front or all wheel drive as they're much easier to handle at the limit of grip for newer drivers. I had a 1997 Lincoln Continental and drove it like a race car, learned a lot about limit of grip and such....:p. Afterwards, I had RWD, learned manual (2 BMWs before the Lexus) and got into drifting and still drove like my pants were on fire from time to time. I've definitely calmed down a lot nowadays, but that occasional speed urge is definitely still there. In a nutshell, I think it's pretty much inevitable that the kid will be crazy for the first few yrs, getting him something slow and bad-handling (like my Lincoln) is the way to go.

Really Guys????

Bunch-O-Haters.

Let me just pour some personal opinion on all of you. THIS KID IS SPOILED GET OVER IT. ok now that thats over with. I like all of you owned a $900 90' Eclipse with 3 diff wheels when i got my first car. Im not 25 and have owned my LS430 for almost a year. This kid is obviously going to get a great car because his parents can afford it. Get over it and move on.

I could not be any prouder that this kid is getting an LS430. It is a great car, extremely reliable, safe and obviously if his parents are buying him one as his first car they can afford the repairs. As an LS430 owner on the younger side of the market its great to see a young kid who is sorounded with Ricers wanting an LS. Should he get an older model? sure... but whats the point. so everyone on here can feel better about a 15yr old owning their car. I live in LA now... try driving to work next to a 17 yr old driving the new 4 door porsche and then complain. Its an LS people. Sure its quick but we all know it doesnt move like a coupe or hatch.

Happy for him. Hope he treats the car well. And if not i dnt really care... its his parents money not mine.

I think most of the folks with other suggestions have no hate toward the parent considering the LS, we have just been down that road before with our own kids and realize that low cost and less power is prudent for new drivers. However, I remember test driving a 1978 MB 240d with a stick for one of my sons. Even I had to admit it had too little power and was a hazard pulling out into traffic.

The question was, is an LS430 a good kid's car? The answer is, "No, not really." If you came in here hoping to reaffirm your own opinion, sorry to disappoint you.

I have to agree, he will probably drive it hard.
I know when I first started off (my first car, and current car RX300), I would quite literally redline every chance I was given. That ended when the gas prices soared, especially since I wasn't paying for the gas at that time, I felt bad making my parents pay for gas which could have been used more efficiently. LOL
I still occasionally drive it like I stole it, but much less frequently. I don't think it's a terrible idea of him getting an LS. It's safe, and reliable. It may be fast, but it's safer then going just as fast in a smaller, less safe civic.

N0 one here wants skid plates ! Just you asking this makes me believe you are much younger than you claim.

Asking us what your neighbour should buy for his son is also rediculous, since we know nothing about them ! And why care about what we think ?

Nothing we have pointed out to you in this thread would be a surprise to any parent, or any person who actually owned and drives an LS430.

I think you are dreaming about owning an LS when you get your licence, lol I may be wrong, but thats what it looks like. Carry on, we are all here for fun.:D

stu, sorry to hear you don't like your neighbors. I am blessed to live in one of forbes magazines top 11 zipcodes,

hold on, why wouldn't you wan't skid pans to protect your cars? do you want to end up like that guy in the ls400 that broke his engine block on a manhole cover? I still think that would have been hilarious to see. Why would skidpans be something you wouldn't want, they would probably make the car even more aerodynamic. and adding a little weight to the car shouldn't be a big deal. I can make them look nice, like they are factory with nice edges and hardware. We could even probably figure out a way to run lights through them, or have nice elongated holes for lights to shine through.

I seriously so badly want to be 15 again. I had things much better then than I do now. My neighbor ended up buying a volkswagon for his son. Not a beatte, but I don't know what they are called.

I am sure he will have a coffee ccan size exaust on it in a week.

I did have a 72 beetle for my first car, made a baja bug out of it and then I got a 66 gto with a mucie m22 rock crusher, and in 1987 I only had to cough up 3500 bucks for it. Then on to 2 mustangs 5.0 5speed and an svo that only had 8k miles.

Edit: I can also vacuum form various thermoplastics, So like if we needed to make the skid pans so they mold around what ever is under the ls. To be honest I don't think I have ever been under mine,

Also, here are pics of my car I took right after purchase. Its a cpo 05 premium it had 40k on it, and was from texas with the original owner being a 100 lbs. woman. I paid 25..5k for it. Best car I have ever owned.