Is this a good car for a 16 year old?

[mipiace]

My son turns 16 in two weeks. He and my ex-husband came home yesterday with a deal on a 1993 Isuzu Trooper that my ex and I would split the expenses for. The total cost of the car would be $1750. We would also pay the first year's auto insurance because it is so expensive at his age and he would be responsible for gas and maintenance. The car has 4WD, 4d electric everything and seems to be in pretty good mechanical shape. We would of course take it to a mechanic and make sure it passes a safety inspection. Anyone with teens, is this a good choice for a first car for a teen? He has had his learners permit for a six months but will get his real drivers license on his birthday. I am hesitant to get him a car so soon and would monitor how much he uses it for at least a year. Like, I think he shouldn't drive at night until he is more experienced, etc...He has a summer job and will probably drive the 5 miles back and forth to work every day. Any thoughts?

[CaptainHenreh]

How many miles/owners? How well has it been maintained? It sounds like a good price, and Isuzu's are waaaaaay overbuilt. Of the three isuzu's I've driven, my Deisel Luv ran to 300k miles before I sold it (for $100 more than I paid) my Storm ran to 200k before Garrett County salt got to it, and my friend's 89 trooper is a stinkin tank.

Sounds like a decent price, for a decent car.

[mipiace]

Don't know about the miles. My ex seems to think it is a good deal and he knows more about that stuff. I know the guy who owns it now bought is from a dealerships in Florida and has maintained it at a dealership here in texas. I think it is good that it has stayed in the south - no rust.

[skaterboarder87]

Definitely find out the miles. That's one of the most important factors.

[bernse]

From what I recall, they are decent vehicles. Insurance for a 4x4 for a youngin' may be on the high side though. Maybe check into that too. I also don't think the milage is "that great" on those either.

_{Yes, I know you're splitting the costs for the first year, but after that they'll have to foot the bill, right?}

[Rick]

A 4WD vehicle has advantages and disadvantages for a new driver.
On the plus side it has excellent visibility, and you sit high and can see over traffic.
On the minus side, the vehicle sits high and is easy to roll over, crashworthyness isn't the best, and 4WD can be more expensive to fix.

As an alternative look into an old 240 Volvo. About as reliable as a crowbar, not to expensive to maintain, and safe as a house. Around here they can be found ranging in price from $500-3500. depending on year and condition.

[mipiace]

I think that was kind of what I was wondering. It seems safe. but I hadn't thought about the rollover factor. I know about expensive gas but then that might keep him home and that might not be a bad deal (smile)

Insurance on a 4x4......insurance in general for a teen is OUTRAGEOUS!!!! It's going to cost my first born child! Wait....that's HIM! Anyway, I would check into the Volvo but...ya' kano being a boy and all there is that stupid "cool" factor too! (rolling her eyes......)

[asterion]

Hey, I was driving a 1980 Volvo 245 as a teenager (still am, that's what I get for still being in college) and I love it. Built like a tank, accelerates like a tank, handles like a tank.

[skaterboarder87]

Originally posted by asterion
Hey, I was driving a 1980 Volvo 245 as a teenager (still am, that's what I get for still being in college) and I love it. Built like a tank, accelerates like a tank, handles like a tank.

And gas mileage like a tank?

[SUPERKARLENE]

I second (third? fourth?) the idea of getting a Volvo. If the 240 isn't stylish enough for him, get a 740. More bells and whistles, and easier on the eyes. Should cost between $1000 and $1500. I drive a 1986 740 Turbo wagon, which gets great gas mileage and wonderful acceleration. It's also safe as hell.

[slight hijack]

When I was young and stupid (this past February) I drove my Volvo through an ice storm going 55mph. (I was a suicidal maniac, I know.) I hit a patch of ice, my car turned 90 degrees to the right, and hit a hill head-on. The Volvo bounced off. Neither I nor my passenger had so much as a bruise. I had to be towed out, but once I was, the car was in good enough shape to drive another 60 miles to my college. I had it checked out later that week, and all that was wrong was one broken headlight and a slight misalignment. $200 later, Betsy the Volvo was right as rain.

[/slight hijack]

[mipiace]

Oh I LIKE safety! I am so paranoid about this....he just seems so young. I know all parents must feel this way.

[SUPERKARLENE]

mipiace, that Trooper might not be such a good idea. Here's a link to cars.msn.com, which describes the Trooper's features and other information. If you click on the SAFETY AND CRASH TEST link, that particular model Trooper gets a rather poor rating.

[mipiace]

Oh God, Thanks! Kids always think they are invincible.....now trying to talk to him and his Dad should be fun! But at that price, there should be other vehicles.

[Gatopescado]

In my opinion, 16 yr olds should use public transportation or ride a bike. Myself included, I have never met one that has the maturity, skills, self-control or responsibility to operate a motor vehicle. That being said, I wouldn't recommend a 4wd for a young person due to maintainance and insurance considerations. Keep it simple and cheap.

Good luck.

_______________
Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore.

[kunilou]

Before everybody takes off and joins the chorus about getting an old Volvo, let me just offer one general caution.

Last summer we got the Kunilou twins a 1987 Volvo 740 -- you know, safe as a tank, not suitable for drg racing, etc. Four months later, one of the boys rear-ended an SUV, cuasing substantial damage to both cars.

That's when we learned that you can't get parts going back farther than 15 years. If the parts weren't also used in a later-model car, you're at the mercy of a junkyard.

And after two months of searching, we resigned ourselves to the reality that we couldn't scrounge up all the parts we needed to fix the car, and donated it to charity.

So buying a tank-like old car is a great idea, just make sure it's from the 1990s.

[Hello Again]

I think a 16-yo boy should own something significantly less fun and zoomy. I'm thinking like a 4 cyclinder early-90s Honda Civic.
I have never been a 16 yo boy, but I had one particular car-loving XBF who used to tell stories of totalling 3 "fun" cars before his 18th birthday hahaha.

He should not get behind the wheel of any car he considers "cool" until he has a proven record of safe driving.

[SUPERKARLENE]

Kunilou, do you live in a non-urban area?

I ask because my city-living parents have owned Volvos my entire childhood life, and spare parts were always readily available. Volvos (prior to being manufactured by Ford, which implemented new production techniques) changed design maybe every five years, meaning that the parts on a 1986 Volvo 740 might be just as good for use in a 1989 740, and so on.

Parts might also be interchangeable across models. In 1992, my father blew a rod in our 1987 Volvo wagon 240's engine. Our mechanic had the engine from a totaled 1991 Volvo sedan, and installed it in the 240. In 2003, that wagon with the sedan engine is still running fine, with no major repairs.

When I had to have the alignment in my Volvo repaired, the 15 year limit was never brought up. I went to a Mom & Pop place (in a small town), where the parts to fix my car were available the day after I phoned in.

However, I have to agree with your general suggestion - a car from the 1990s probably is a better idea, if just for the better safety features and greater abundance of parts.

[whistlepig]

Do you live in an area where your son will take the Isuzu out 4 wheeling? Cause if he can, he likely will.

Whistlepig

Who was in three rolled over 4x4 vehicles before the age of 21 (I was driving one) and did a lot of 4x4 that could have resulted in serious injury or death. And came home at 5 am a couple of times because we got stuck in the middle of nowhere and had to walk for 12-15 miles to hit a paved road.

And then go get the vehicle out.

[Magiver]

Originally posted by Hello Again
I think a 16-yo boy should own something significantly less fun and zoomy. I'm thinking like a 4 cyclinder early-90s Honda Civic.
I have never been a 16 yo boy, but I had one particular car-loving XBF who used to tell stories of totalling 3 "fun" cars before his 18th birthday hahaha.

He should not get behind the wheel of any car he considers "cool" until he has a proven record of safe driving.

4 cylinder cars aren't the turds they used to be. A 72 Pinto would go 110. any Honda will beat that easy.

Not going to tell you my "stupid driver" stunts because you would ground your kid immediately.

3 things:
- 4WD is a complete waste of money. You're paying extra money for less fuel economy. I've never been stuck by a front wheel drive vehicle. Unless you live in Buffalo I would not see this as any kind of benefit.
- Troopers and other SUV cars are prone to roll in emergency situations. Not to mention lack of experience and pure stupidity. The problem with rollovers are the lack of seat belt use. Ejection from a vehicle is common place in a high vehicle.
- Any car that isn't paid for by a teenager will be treated like crap and then YOU will be expected to foot the repair bill. I would rather see the child pay for everything and the gift money go toward a down payment for a house.

Don't be fooled by "6 cylinder" sport cars. The modern v6 can easily produce over 200 hp which is what a V8 Mustang made in the early 80's.

[jesleigh]

Originally posted by Hello Again
I think a 16-yo boy should own something significantly less fun and zoomy. I'm thinking like a 4 cyclinder early-90s Honda Civic.
I have never been a 16 yo boy, but I had one particular car-loving XBF who used to tell stories of totalling 3 "fun" cars before his 18th birthday hahaha.

He should not get behind the wheel of any car he considers "cool" until he has a proven record of safe driving.

Honda's are a great car, but they can be "fun" too. My 1985 Honda Civic (CRX) was a four cyclinder, but it managed to get me a few tickets (all at a respectable 22 miles over) and it had great acceleration. Honda's last a long time (my still drives like new w/ 240,000+ miles, even though I had to get a new car that was "safer"). They also get great gas milage (mine got about 35-40 mpg). Personally, I say get him a car he enjoys, just let him know the keys are yours if he "enjoys" it too much

[Mudshark]

Originally posted by mipiace
being a boy and all there is that stupid "cool" factor too! (rolling her eyes......)

I must have never gotten the "cool factor" because when I got my car I insisted on a huge, old, rusty car. And I got just wanted (1986 Chevy Caprice).

[tastycorn]

Hmmm, my first car was a 82 Datsun pickup. 4x4 with a lift kit.

I got into soooooo much trouble with that thing. Almost rolled it a few times without even trying, and pickups are much harder to roll than suvs.

Plus, insurance, gas, maintenence, repairs (he will run into stuff, trust me).

If you live in a northern climate and are worried about safety, you should be able to pick up an early nineties AWD Subaru for about that price range. Almost as much of a tank as the volvos, but much more affordable (especially in repairs), better handling, and cheaper to insure.

Civics are a little to fun and zoomy. Good handling to start, and they are highly "tunable". You can get over 400hp out of those engines, and with movies like the faster and furiouser so popular, he may want to try.

[asterion]

Originally posted by skaterboarder87
And gas mileage like a tank?

Nah, an Abrams gets about 1/2 mile per gallon. I manage between 15 and 20.

Though I do wish I could have a big gun mounted on the hood or roof....

[handy]

Volvos look nice, but the parts are very expensive. Just went through this with one of them.

4x4's seem classy, but again, much more expensive than regular cars cause they use special parts.

The car for him is one he can pay for & maintain himself, including insurance. That way they learn about car ownership.

[roadrunner70]

Originally posted by Magiver
A 72 Pinto would go 110.

That's got to be the funniest thing I've ever read here.

_{mebbe if you pushed it off a cliff...}

[Breezy]

As far as insurance goes, I'm sure you aren't going to put full coverage on it, right?

Liability insurance for ANY car is the same. Liability insurance on your son's car would be exactly the same price if it was a 2003 Cadilac Escalade, or a 1977 Chevy Pick-Up. Liability doesn't cover the car he's driving, it covers the cars and people he might run into. So as far as 4WD affecting the insurance rates, that just isn't correct.

[Hello Again]

Just to clarify, since a lot of people quoted my post, I was thinking along the lines of an '89 Civic hatchback, not a riced out CRX. The kind that sort of wheezes along.

[Lute Skywatcher]

How about a late-80s or early-90s VW? Inexpensive, good mileage, and if properly cared for they seem to last forever.

[Michael Ellis]

A Hotwheels^TM toy car.

[kunilou]

Originally posted by SUPERKARLENE
Kunilou, do you live in a non-urban area?

Indeed, no. I live in an area with a rich supply of auto salvage yards and went through not one, but two body shops. The Volvo needed virtually the entire front end. Back ends were available, but not front ends.

I'm aware that two months earlier or two months later the situation could have been different, but I just want people to not AUTOMATICALLY assume they can get parts for an old car as easily as for a later model.

[ParentalAdvisory]

Originally posted by Hello Again
I think a 16-yo boy should own something significantly less fun and zoomy. I'm thinking like a 4 cyclinder early-90s Honda Civic.
I have never been a 16 yo boy, but I had one particular car-loving XBF who used to tell stories of totalling 3 "fun" cars before his 18th birthday hahaha.

He should not get behind the wheel of any car he considers "cool" until he has a proven record of safe driving.

You've never seen a tubro honda civic I take it? Zoomy, low and fast, with four cylinders. What's wrong with having a fun car? Not all kids are stupid enough to total 3 cars!!! Either kids are good with cars or they're not. Caprice, Volvo, Izuzu.... If the kid has a permanent brain malfunction, he'll crash it either way. Get him what he really wants, a broke as hell car that he'll learn to fix himself. This way he won't have to rely on shops to rip him off his whole life and will be self sufficient. The more they work on cars, the better they understand them.

[Magiver]

Originally posted by ParentalAdvisory
You've never seen a tubro honda civic I take it? Zoomy, low and fast, with four cylinders. What's wrong with having a fun car? Not all kids are stupid enough to total 3 cars!!! Either kids are good with cars or they're not. Caprice, Volvo, Izuzu.... If the kid has a permanent brain malfunction, he'll crash it either way. Get him what he really wants, a broke as hell car that he'll learn to fix himself. This way he won't have to rely on shops to rip him off his whole life and will be self sufficient. The more they work on cars, the better they understand them.

Ahhh... NO. I could give you a tour of teen eating trees in my area involving nothing but "death-by-sports-car" fatalities.

My first car was a Pinto. it was a complete POS but it had one life-saving characteristic, 50/50 weight distribution. It would not rotate in a slide. Even a novice could steer it through a corner during total loss of traction. I can't even say that about my Thunderbird TurboCoupe, and it will pull a .88 g skid from the factory.

Most cars today are FWD which makes them very unstable in an emergency maneuver (poor weight distribution). If you slam on the brakes and try to steer, the vehicle will rotate uncontrollably. Spinning out of control is dangerous only if you hit something in the process (on-coming car). I've seen people do this at speeds as low as 30 mph.

The only thing that is worse than spinning out of control is flipping out of control. That is the difference between an SUV/truck/van and a car. The real danger in flipping an SUV is being ejected from the vehicle. Most of the rollovers I see in my area are easily survivable. It is the ejection from the vehicle that kills the occupants.

If you want to give your kids the safest vehicle then look for a car with 4 wheel anti-loc brakes. It will make any vehicle more stable in an emergency situation, particularly a novice driver.

I do like the idea of getting him a "fixer-upper". That will make him appreciate what he has. I remember burning up my first clutch. Oh what fun. I remember replacing my first clutch. Son-of-a-bitch, how do you get this shaft to center up.

[Sam Stone]

Aside from type of car, I would strongly advise that you make your child invest heavily in the vehicle himself. Either make him purchase it outright, and you pay for insurance, or make him pay for the insurance, with the understanding that if he gets speeding tickets or gets in an accident, and his insurance goes through the roof, he's STILL paying for it, and if he can't, he doesn't drive.

I knew a lot of kids who's parents gave them a car, and I knew lots (myself included) who had to buy the car themselves, or ride a bicycle. The ones who bought their own cared for them better, enjoyed owning them more (nothing like a vehicle you worked for and paid for youself...), and the constant threat of a major insurance hike caused them to drive more responsibly.

I think a perfect vehicle for a 16 year old boy is a beater that you buy for $500, insure for liability only, and which requires a lot of TLC to keep running reliably. He'll have to learn to do minor maintenance and troubleshooting himself, he'll learn to treat the vehicle with care, and he'll learn to really appreciate a better vehicle when he gets older. Maybe for a going-to-college present you can buy him a nicer car. Let him know that that's the plan, UNLESS he treats his own car like crap. Then he's on his own.

Maybe I'm a bit of a hard case, but I knew far too many spoiled-rotten kids who had brand-new cars, treated them like crap, and ragged on their parents when they didn't buy them the latest new toys for it.

[Magiver]

Sam Stone has my vote. I know someone who had to travel out of state to rescue his son's car. The damage was the result of running off the road at speeds in excess of 100 mph. I asked the father if he thought he would ever see the $1000 repair money and he said "probably not, but what are you going to do".

Personally, I would have demanded title for the privilege of borrowing the money to repair it. Title gets returned when loan is paid (it also gives you control of the keys). My parents were very succinct in their philosophy: if you can't insure it and maintain it, you can't afford it.

The problem involved in buying a car for someone is that, beyond the cost of the car, there are tremendous costs involved in maintenance and insurance. When you buy someone a car who cannot afford it then you are really buying them unlimited transportation. The price could easily double.

In the spirit of the "That 70's Show", find a nice Vista Cruiser for the young man to purchase and restore.

It's tough in this 2-income world. Giving kids everything they want is a harsh lesson in reality when they leave home. Many kids expect mom and dad to help them out every time they do something financially irresponsible.