Discussion: What car would you buy to pass down to your son in 20 years?

I have a kid now. As a result, I think a lot about the future. During baths, walks, mealtimes, you get the idea. He's not a talkative little bugger so I fill the air.

The topic recently has been about what car I would give to him when he becomes a man. I read stories about kids wanting to restore their father's old Mustang/Camaro/E30. I would love to be able to give that to my son.

The fun car I have right now is an NA Miata. Today, a great car. Reasonably modern. Doesn't feel too dangerous to drive. Not enough horsepower to get tickets but enough to get to highway speed. But what about in 20 years? Driving around in a 30 year old car is one thing, and a testament to modern engineering.  But a 50 year old car? That's pushing it.

That brings us to newer cars, which will surely last 20+ years. Or will they? From complicated computer control systems to poor manufacturer support to expensive li-ion batteries, all new cars have something that could cause them to be unusable within 20 years or shortly thereafter. The idea is to give the kid something that would actually be useable for his needs for a time, and wouldn't break the bank just to keep on the road for another 10 years. 

Ignoring regulation that would make it hard to drive a car yourself/with gasoline/on roads/etc, what car would you buy today for yourself that you would want your kid driving in 20 years?

Some guidelines, feel free to stretch them:

1. The car should have 5-10 years of useful life left in 2031 and be expected to perform all normal car tasks.
2. Maintainable. I have stands and a jack and I'm not afraid to use them. I want my son to feel the same way.
3. The car should be somewhat interesting. My father had a 1993 Ford Explorer that I recall fondly. I passed my driver's test in it. It went on every camping trip. It had probably seen more mountains than I had at the time of it's passing (2009, take one guess as to why). Today it would be a pretty interesting car to have, but maybe only because 1st gens are rare to see on the road.
4. The car does not have to purchasable new, but it should be fairly recent. Use your judgement. Remember the goal.
5. Price is not an object, but that doesn't mean a 720S is a good answer.
6. This car will be used regularly for 20 years before the kid gets it. It will get dirty. It may get barfed in. Keep that in mind.
7. Bonus points for fun colors.

Explain your thoughts, engage in discussion with each other.  If I didn't restrict something, assume anything goes. I'll pipe in after a time with my thoughts.

I have thought similar things, only my goal was to buy something that would be 40 years old when my son turns 18 in 2033.  Z32, Miata, or BMW was at the top of that list.

In this case, 4 Runner, Frisbee, 370Z, Manual BMW all come to mind.

I'm curious if anyone will recommend an EV.  I am still skeptical of how batteries are dealt with when they are 15+ years old.  Could be pretty cool to have one of the first gen Model 3s in 25 years.

Well, I've got the NA Miata my dad bought 20 years ago...but I bought mine first :)

If NA Miata is the answer now, why wouldn't ND Miata be the answer in the future? I do not share the fear that modern cars will break in unfixable ways because they have technology, that story was already being spun when that NA Miata was new. And I will say ND Miata instead of NC because the NC platform is already nearly 20 years old and it will be less iconic in the future than the ND is now. It'll be the equivalent of the FC RX-7. The ND does struggle on the "fun colors" side of things, but Soul Red and Competition Orange are worthy of at least a little attention.

A Model 3 is a competent vehicle, but I don't think it's got the personality to be anything more than a competent vehicle. In 20 years, it'll be interesting from a "this was the first EV to sell in significant numbers" standpoint but that's not something you can drive. I don't think anyone's built an EV that will be interesting on its own merits in the future yet. Maybe that cute little Honda, but that's about it and you can't get it here anyhow.

In 20 years most new cars will be electric, which also means no clutch pedal. Having something with the combination of fun gas engine plus a manual will be the hot ticket of "cool" and a connection to your time. Some sort of boosted or V8 manual sport sedan (Audi S4, BMW M3, Chevy SS/Pontiac G8 GXP, Cadillac CTS-V) would be my answer. The Audi comes in Imola Yellow and  Nogaro Blue. Caddy had that really neat orange metallic.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

+1 for the ND.  I the only owner of a 22 year old NB.  If I were to do it again, I would do the same thing.  I got 15 years of daily driving, including winters.  And it wa a great back up autocrosser when my Alfa had issues.

The Answer is the answer.

ND is a solid choice. I'd give my kid my '07 Cayman, but I'd not go much older than that in 20.

Safety is a thing.

Will ICE even be viable then?

I had the similar plan, that I have not yet executed.  

My daughter was born in 2014.  I live in the salt belt and we pull our nice cars off the road for the winter.  I have a '90 Miata but it lacks the ability to take the whole family to go get ice cream on a sunny day.     

My thought has been to get a 2014 (year of my daughter's birth) Mustang Convertible.  Probably a 300hp V6 w/ manual trans.  This then gives me lots of years to drive the car as a summer only car.  Then, at age 16 this could be my daughters first car.  

Mini Cooper convertible would be cute but I don't trust 16+ years of ownership of one. Same for VW Beetle Convertible.  Sure, Jeep Wrangler, but not my thing and insurance for kids on Wranglers is notoriously expensive.  That insurance expense is why I choose V6 over V8 too.  

I think a Mustang will continue to be a nostalgic car.  A Lexus i250 probably is wiser choice but lacks the nostalgia. The aftermarket will continue to be good for a Mustang, maybe Lexus too.

2014 Lexus i250: 

Honestly I wouldn't(and didn't), unless your kid is already at least near driving age, they're *very* into cars, and they're in agreement it's a vehicle they'd love to own someday. 
 

Even then though, situations change, and they might not be in a position to accept the car when you're ready - or gone. 
 

I had my grandpa's last pickup truck for about 8-years, and my mother owned it for about 14-years before that. For the longest time I had thoughts of restoring it & passing it along as a "family heirloom" of sorts. Granted, the truck wasn't anything special(88 C1500 Scottsdale, 305/auto, manual windows/locks), but after a while it just became more of a burden to keep it. I still don't regret letting it go, even though I'm sure it rusted out & got junked by this point.  

Manual pony car, especially a special one like a GT350 or ZL1. They're built a lot better than their predecessors, and a lot of those are still on the road, so having it last should not be an issue. And just try to buy a car with a manual and a V8 in 20 years.

New Bronco that will be old.

Probably a K car because the little E36 M3 is going to crash it. Totally different question if you are thinking of in 30-40yrs.

ND Miata

Which kid. 

We have five. 

None of them treat items the same!

Autumn? Yeah... I will just give her cash.

Maxwell has made a pinata out of my Cruze, he gets a lifetime AAA membership.

Tanner would get the Jeep Wrangler

Jerome would get the Coupe D'eVil Convertible.

Trevor would get the MGA.

The grandkids may get the cool stuff.

The boy gets the FR-S. And the Murdercycle. He's set.

W108, easy. 

'20 370z (base, 6 spd man, red) to our daughter or one of our granddaughters in 10-15 yrs.

Tough to tell what they're gonna want, if anything at all. 

Get something you like and then make some great memories with them in it.  Take them autocrossing, or overlanding, or drag racing, whatever. 

If they want the car in 20 years, great, if they don't, they'll still remember all the fun times you had with them in it.

Volvo Amazon 

in 20 years its going to be EVs with a higher degree of driving automation than the current teslas. That tech will matriculate down. 

Our "old ICE" cars will most likely be only practical for hobby use. 

I have a 97 mustang cobra and a 61 AH bugeye sprite, I also have two sons aged 2.5years and the other 4 months. I will have to see what their interests are.  I also have my F500...

Hopefully I am still enjoying my toys in 20 years, I'll ony be in my 50's

QuasiMofo (John Brown) Forum Supporter said:

Which kid. 

We have five. 

None of them treat items the same!

Autumn? Yeah... I will just give her cash.

Maxwell has made a pinata out of my Cruze, he gets a lifetime AAA membership.

Tanner would get the Jeep Wrangler

Jerome would get the Coupe D'eVil Convertible.

Trevor would get the MGA.

The grandkids may get the cool stuff.

 

 

This mirrors my experience, but I only have four. Crazy people have five. 

Kids are so individual that there really isn't any way to predict what they will have an interest in that far in the future. Except money. They all seem to like money. 

CrustyRedXpress said:

Tough to tell what they're gonna want, if anything at all. 

Get something you like and then make some great memories with them in it.  Take them autocrossing, or overlanding, or drag racing, whatever. 

If they want the car in 20 years, great, if they don't, they'll still remember all the fun times you had with them in it.

This is where I stand too. Setting aside the fact that the transportation industry is likely to undergo some serious change in the next 20 years, trying to predict what an individual might find appealing or valuable in 20 years, when they can't currently tie their own shoes, seems crazy to me. Having inherited some project vehicles, I can understand why some people find them burdensome. My vehicles are for me, and for what my life currently is. If they also work for others in the future, that's great too, but the last thing I want is to burden my kids with some anchor from a bygone era that has little value to them.

My kid is pretty meticulous about his cars so I have no issues leaving him the only car we have that's worthy of being called a "Keeper".

I would probably also give him the R-90 but he wouldn't ride it much where he lives.  I tried to sell it once but the Wife freaked the hell out.  Seriously, in 40+ years I've never seen her so crazy over ANY vehicle much less a motorcycle!

It pains me to say this, but....None. As someone who has a kid nearing driving age, and many friends who do as well, I can tell you that whatever you stash away that you think is cool/will be cool in 20 years will invariably NOT be what your son thinks is cool in 20 years. He may not want "some old smelly car" (this is my kids' take on ALL of my cars, including the Porsche), or he may want a different old smelly car, or he may not be interested in old cars at all and want some electric car with all the electronic gadgets that all his friends are getting 20 years from now. 

Of all my cars, the only one my even seem remotely interested in ever driving is my (2018) GTI. On various occasions I've said to them "one day you can drive the Porsche" and both dismissed that idea out of hand as "it's loud / smelly / too small / not safe / uncomfortable / ugly (!)"

Either your son will develop his own likes when it comes to something vintage, or he'll end up wanting something with 1000hp electric, or he'll not care at all and just buy some pedestrian econobox, or he'll not want a car at all. And no amount of "you being a car guy" will necessarily affect that. 

So, my kids will perhaps get a choice of driving something I own now (or will own then), and if not they'll get some normal car. I started driving in a 1970 Triumph GT6 (this in the mid-1990s), and then got an old minivan to drive, because being able to haul 6 of my friends around was way more fun than only having one friend with me (also, air conditioning). Even as a "car guy" I bowed mostly to practicality for my first few cars after the GT6 (Minivan, Civic, Accord, old Integra) because as a student I didn't have the time or money to deal with a vintage car that needed attention, etc. 

(side note, the GT6 was my dad's, bought brand new in 1970. I eventually sold it (5 years ago) because the fact that it wasn't that great to drive finally overrode nostalgia that "my dad gave it to me."). I kept it for years because I didn't want my dad to feel bad if I sold it....

So yeah. Don't save a car for him. A few years before he starts driving, he'll know what he's interested in and you can get something and fix it up with him at that time, rather than force him to drive something that is of YOUR dreams rather than his. Or he'll ask for a well-used 2032 Prius with self-driving and a tear will drop from your eye and you'll sadly assent and get him that, and that 1985 whatever you picked up 20 years ago will sit in your garage until you finally decide to sell it. 

Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:

 Having something with the combination of fun gas engine plus a manual will be the hot ticket of "cool" and a connection to your time.

This is what old guys like you and I think because we like to think that we'll still be the "cool" guys ourselves, since we have those kind of cars :) Which is why I personally will always own a couple cars from the last century.

In sad reality, in 20 years your kids' friends will look down on him for driving a "dirty environment-killing gas car" and think it's uncomfortable riding with him since his car has to shift gears and isn't super-smooth like an electric. I'm not sure the James Dean kind of "cool" we grew up with is the same as now. NONE of my 20-something coworkers seems remotely impressed or interested in my old Porsche, or my old truck, or my vintage race car. But they ALL like my late-model GTI and ask me about it, and constantly ask me if I'm going to get something electric. :/

Part of the premise of the OP is a bit off. The idea that 30 year old Miatas is indicative of build quality standards in the 90s ignores the fact that the Miata is a special car, a car people form a bond with.   How many early-90s Escorts, Cavaliers, or Protégés do you see driving around? 
 

Don't get me wrong, the NA Miata is a much better car and was built far better than little British sport cars. People keep their Miatas running past 30 years for many reasons including the fact that they retain value, they are fun to drive, and are desirable. Were it not for that we would see Miatas crushed at that 20 year mark just like any other car.

If you're looking for a car to buy that will be desirable in 30 years you're looking at sports cars, not appliances. As has been said, buying a car for your kid is silly. My Dad was into muscle cars, I'm into lightweight, rear drive sports cars. At 18 or 20 I wouldn't have been able to afford gas and tires or maintenance on a '69 Hemi Cuda.

I think OP should ask yourself if you are buying this for your kid or if you are buying this for you under the veneer of 'for the kid'. If truly for the kid, don't. If for yourself, just buy what you want.