first car for son

what would make a good first car for my 16 year old. my parameters are cheap 2-4k, reliable, safe(airbag) thats it.

Miata

I'm gonna go ahead and say it-

P71. I mean, Miata!

Miatas can easily be had in that price point, he WILL not win any races with it, it's only got two seats, so no giant pile of friends to distract him, and an excellent chassis to learn control with, as they are so forgiving.

P71- built like a tank, cheap, reliable as all hell, easy to work on, plentiful parts, and if they're safe enough for Mr. Johnny Law, they'd ought to be safe enough for a children.

Miata gets the nod for being available (from the factory, cause I know some of you will just say swap it) with a manual. One more thing the kid has to pay attention to instead of a cell phone.

Volvo. Wagon if you like him.

DILYSI Dave wrote: Volvo. Wagon if you like him.

With a waterbed in the back.

/clarkson

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

DILYSI Dave wrote: Volvo. Wagon if you like him.

With a waterbed in the back.

And an Anarchy flag...

/clarkson

miata...

at this point my big requirement for my kiddies car will be no back seat... fewer seats = fewer people in the car = less distraction... also means they won't be asked to drop friends off at home or whatever...

Anything $1500 and under that he likes and is new/safeish. 90% chance he'll wreck it.

After the first year/two then look at a 2-4K car when he can appreciate it.

I totaled my first car, luckily it was a $1000 car but it wasn't too bad. It was a '90 maxima so it didn't have air bags, but that wouldn't have made a difference.

What cars is he looking at/want?

~Alex

Rustspecs13 wrote: Anything $1500 and under that he likes and is new/safeish. 90% chance he'll wreck it. After the first year/two then look at a 2-4K car when he can appreciate it. I totaled my first car, luckily it was a $1000 car but it wasn't too bad. It was a '90 maxima so it didn't have air bags, but that wouldn't have made a difference. What cars is he looking at/want? ~Alex

Much wisdom here. Get his input and accept that the prospects of it being hit are pretty good.

I'll say a 2wd Ford Ranger.

Spend the money on real driving classes - have him earn his own money and buy his own ride. If you break down and buy it - 2-seat, manual transmission is a good way to go.

Here is a sample of those "real" driving classes. http://www.streetsurvival.org/

Small pickup is a good recommendation. Almost as good as Miata.

Small regular cab pickup FTW.

donalson wrote: miata... at this point my big requirement for my kiddies car will be no back seat... fewer seats = fewer people in the car = less distraction... also means they won't be asked to drop friends off at home or whatever...

Never underestimate the stupidity of a 16 year old boy. I had a Fiero when I was 16 and I regularly had two girls in the car and one time used it to double date.

I had a 944 when I was 17 and got pulled over for speeding - I had 5 pasangers in the car including one in the hatch.

Ahh, how I forget...High school girls are small and flexible.

donalson wrote: miata... at this point my big requirement for my kiddies car will be no back seat... fewer seats = fewer people in the car = less distraction... also means they won't be asked to drop friends off at home or whatever...

You are absolutely correct:

Teenager intelligence, like dog intelligence, is inversely proportional to the size of the group.

I think if you want a specific car that you can find a few different examples to cross-shop, check out the Mazda Protege. I say having a manual transmission is a smart thing, keeps the new driver occupied with actually driving the car.

We're going Miata or E36 318 in our house in a year. I mentioned it in an earlier post, but if we go four-seater, I'm removing the rear seats and welding spikes in. More than one other person in the car is a no-go to me, regardless of what else may go on in the back seat.

Get him an E30! It's new enough to be nice to drive (A/C, heating) it's safe, girls love BMW's, and he can fit 4 friends in the car. Parts are easy to find and cheap (I'm currently parting out a late model 325i) and it's got a rich automotive past. Plus if he kills it they're pretty replaceable.

Buy him something that will either get him laid, or he can get laid in, so I guess that means either a sports car or a wagon, and no, a miata will not get him laid.

What has he actually expressed interest in?

My thought was always to get my son the 2025 analog of an '80s 2wd Toyota pickup when he comes of age (he's only 6 months old ATM). Something dirt-simple to work on, underpowered but not so much as to not be fun, and able to get the holy living piss beat out of it every time he turns the key.

You should know that at some point or another, it will get raced (hopefully legally), it will get bombed around off-road, and it will get grossly overloaded with stuff, people, or likely both. He should know that no matter what he drives, some jackass at school will make fun of him for it for some reason or another (it's old, it's new, daddy bought it for you, daddy made you buy it yourself, it's too muddy, it's too clean, &c, &c, &c).

EDIT: And no car gets a man laid... at least not by any woman worth sharing a bed with.

Rustspecs13 wrote: Anything $1500 and under that he likes and is new/safeish. 90% chance he'll wreck it.

very true. the other antidote is make him buy it himself. it tend to ward off the "hay watch this" bug that goes around in packs of teenagers...... using this theory, my first car lasted 14 years until some a$$hole stole it!

by the way +1 on the pickup truck.

If you are going to buy a small pickup get a 90s model toyota pickup and be done with it. Throw a shell on and you have an apartment on wheels.

Raze wrote: Buy him something that will either get him laid, or he can get laid in, so I guess that means either a sports car or a wagon, and no, a miata will not get him laid.

It certainly will - in the same sort of way tapping your feet in the john at Minn/St Paul Airport will get you laid.