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Random Quote: 'blues and gospel are the same, only gospel's about Jesus and blue's about women'
One of the smartest things i think my dad did was to buy me a truck.he bought me a 2000 dodge ram. V6 standerd cab short bed. I got it new when i was seventeen. It lasted me for 7 years till i could buy my own truck. The v6 is good becuase its pointless to soup up. 2wd so its pointless to drive in the mud and destroy. I used while i was in the army. it got me every where. from N caralina to texas and back. and back to florida on long weekends. I hated it at the time but looking back it was a great buy. My dad still has the truck and uses it in his orange grove like a ranch truck.(and yes i am only 26)
#1 GIVE YOUR KID A CHANCE BEFORE YOU REMOVE THE FRONT BUCKET PASSENGER SEAT. A FRIEND OF MINE HOOKED UP A VERY SIMPLE COUNTER THAT WOULD CLICK FOR EACH TIME SOMEONE GOT INTO THE PASSENGER SEAT. HE WAS ABLE TO TELL THAT HIS DAUGHTER LIED TO HIM ABOUT NOT HAVING ANY PASSENGER'S, HE COMES TO FIND OUT AFTER LOTS OF HEATED DISCUSSIONS THAT SHE PICKED UP A "CUTE" HITCH HICKER THE SECOND DAY SHE HAD THE CAR .
#2 IPHONE HAS A PROGRAM THAT WILL TELL YOU IF SOMEONE IS USING THE CELL OR TEXTING WHILE THE CAR IS MOVING. NOT A CHEAP PROGRAM BUT WELL WORTH IT, I WILL TRY TO GET THE NAME OF IT FROM THE GUY WHO NOW USES IT.
#3 BE VERY CAREFULL WITH ANY TRUCK/SUV TYPE VEHICLE, I DRIVE A 4-RUNNER AND LOVE IT, BUT IT IS ABSOLUTLEY MUCH MORE PRONE TO A ROLL-OVER SITUATION THEN ANY CAR ON THE ROAD. A LOT DEPENDS ON YOUR KIDS MATURITY LEVEL.
#4 TELL YOUR KID THAT YOU WILL BE INSTALLING A SPEED SENSOR DEVISE THAT WILL ALERT WHOEVER IS PROGRAMED INTO THE DEVISE IF THE SPEED OF THE CAR EXCEEDS 70 MPH. THE ISURANCE COMPANIES HAVE BEEN USING THEM FOR YEARS ON CARS BUILT AFTER 2005 I THINK. DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR THAT DATE THOUGH!
I KNOW THAT THESE MAY SEEM LIKE EXTREME MEASURE'S, BUT I BASICALLY DRIVE FOR A LIVING, 250 + MILES PER DAY. I SEE HOW THE GENERAL PUBLIC DRIVES, ESPECIALLY TEEN AGERS. I FOR ONE WILL DO EVERY DAMN THING I CAN TO INSURE MY KID OUTLIVES HIS OLD MAN
Bought mine a 05 Montero Sport with 53,000 miles for 5k one year ago (16th bd). She loves it. No problems yet with it or her driving. My insurance agent/friend told me to go with a suv - I agree, lots of reasons that make good sense.
Don't forget they have to be happy with it. I gave her three choices.
First Choice- Saturn silver blue special , preferably with side air bags. My kid had a head on 28 days after getting his liscence. Car was totaled but noone was hurt. Everyone gave me crap for buying that car new but I thank god for the decision I made.
Second choice- VW Jetta. Has air bags, antilock brakes, crumple zones, etc. Very safe car. My son was stopped at a light when someone broadsided him. Car was totaled and noone was hurt.
Statitics say new drivers will have 3 accidents in their first few years. Both my kids did. Some fender benders, some worse. Forget cheap $500 cars (to teach 'em the value of a dollar), forget some old truck with no safty features. I want to keep them alive, later you can teach them all the lessons you want.
Old saying......"speed kills"......esp a teenager, they are not capable of handling speed mainly caus of lack of driving experience. I wouldnt buy him anything that will boil the tires or considered a "sports car".......and many can be found under your price range. An older, slow pickemup truck is in order.
__________________ "Fast is fine. Accuracy is final. You need to learn to shoot slow, real fast."---Wyatt Earp
My son turned 16 last March and he got my old 1999 Cherokee Sport with 110K. He was allowed to use it occasionally until he got a job to make up the $150 per month insurance increase.
Anyways, the Jeep seems to be a good starter. The usual Jeep issues with a little rust at the four roof corners, drooping headliner, and a minor case of the death wobble. We resolved the death wobble (my cost) and the rest is up to him to pay for. Mechanically the vehical is sound, it is no speed demon. The two downsides with the Jeep are when it rains it gets a loose at the back end (lots of torque from that 4.0) and it is a 4X4 so I am certain someones lawn is going to get it.
__________________ What kind of cosmic bunny hole is THT? Breast implants seem to be a moral issue.... They're BOOBS!!!
Location: SE Pennsylvania / Pirates Cove-Manteo, NC
Posts: 3,000
Quote:
Originally Posted by PMaine
The ultimate first car: a Volvo 240!
Good on gas, 120 hp, and all the steel you could ask for! They are bulletproof mechanically as well.
It was my first car, and thankfully I never had a wreck.
Yup, that's a good if your kid will drive it. Wife had one and it was a tank. She still talks about how much she liked her 240. The wagon version would be great for college.
__________________ 2009 Key West 186 BayReef - Yamaha F115
FOR SALE - 2001 Scout 175 Sportfish - Yamaha 115
----------------------------------------------- Send lawyers, guns and money, the "crap" has hit the fan.
Thanks but no stick shifts for my new driver, he has too many other things to focus on.
Actually I think it keeps his texting hand busy!
My son's first car was a 94 escort wagon, 5 speed. He was a jr in high school when we gave it to him. This is after we drove it for a number of years. He graduated college last may and I flew out to drive it home from Wisconsin with him. He just found a job and guess what he's driving? 180K on it and still runs great!
Used, good mpg truck.
YOur also going to have to foot the bill on the fuel and keeping it up.
I had a small truck and at that time was still selling and installing electronics and the crave of the kids when my daughter was in high school was low riders. Truck already had 140,000 miles on it but it was all that was needed with the new paint and a few parts but the deal was she had to have my logo on the rear. Freeway CB and stereo.
Was the cheepest way I could get her into a cool Kids car that I knew would last, good millage, hard to tear up, and she could not pill 15 kids in it and I be responcable for this.
Might consider a small truck. 4 cylinder. That one got 25 mpg and lasted her till the low rider was out of her system at age 23. Made dad a cool person and dad made money in sales/installing all her friends stereo systems. We do get smarter as we get older.
__________________ Fountain 31TE...... Hydra Sports 21 Bay...... Dodge 3500 Camping unit "Gone Fishing"..... Tinker Toy..... Sunset Point Nixonton NC
She had input into a used vehicle (5k) that she was going to drive and you think that is not ok?
With a little input? Not really. It was the dont forget they need to be happy with it part. Really? It just shows how spoiled todays kids are. I had a sweet car when I was 16, but it was one that I bought when I was 13 with money($900) I earned mowing lawns, delivering papers, and shoveling snow (NW PA). I then spent the next 3 years and half of my earnings (the other half went to college) getting it ready to drive, I worked my butt off on it. If I hadnt been able to do that, I would have been happy (freaking ecstatic actually) with anything my parents would have gave me. I had several friends whose parents gave them cars, usually the old family driver, and no one I mean no one ever complained, well there was one but he was a spoiled little ahole anyway. If you have a kid that complains about a car someone gave them then maybe it should be sold so they can learn what gratitude is.
I might be speaking for myself but I plan on trying to spoil my kids with whatever is in my budget. I understand the argument about learning the value of the dollar but if I can't enjoy what success I might have with them then it isn't really worth doing. I didn't grow up lacking in any way shape of form and I think that that between my sister and I, we ended up good people with good values. I want my kids to be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor whether it be family trips, cars, college, etc.... I will pay for anything that I can possibly pay so they can have a little fun while they grow up and they don't hate the fact I made them work every second that they weren't in school. The old days of walking uphill, BOTH WAYS, to school, in the snow, with no shoes is over and will never happen to my kids if I can help it. I say give your son a choice because what possible difference can it make as long as he stays in your price range. If he picks a truck, then tell him that if he tears it up off road it's on his dime but give the kid a chance to prove himself. I wouldn't want another point of resentment from my kids at that age (parents are always wrong) so why not help him out? JMHO
We helped our 2 kids get used cars when they turned 18. They would pay the insurance and gas.
My son got my old 86 Toyota Pick up with the 22R engine and daughter a 96 Corolla.
They both helped pay for them.
My son later got a used Toyota extra cab Pick up then the Jeep Cherokee that he was T-boned in.
At 19 years old my daughter had saved, negotiated the deal herself and bought a brand new black Mazda 3 putting about 7K down on it. She is waiting tables and attending U of MD.
We said we help them get started but after that they are on their own.
Got my son a 96 Jeep Cherokee. 6 cylinder, 4 liter engine has a great reputation for reliability. Front driver’s side air bag. Wish it had more airbags and antilock brakes.
They made so many of these there are lots of them on the market. Got one in great shape and paid book value. Didn’t really worry about gas mileage because with most of his driving the 5 miles back and forth to school the engine will never really get warm and nothing will get good mileage.
An extra thing I did was went on Amazon and bought a Zoombak. It is a GPS tracking device that I hid in his car. I get text messages and emails when he leaves and arrives at home, school or any of his friend’s houses. It also tells me when he exceeds 63 miles an hour. I can go online and find out where the Jeep is at any moment. It has been great in building my confidence in him because when he tells me he is going somewhere I can verify it without him knowing. When he goes off to college, I am going to remove it from his Jeep and install it in my boat. If I have my way, he will never know it was in his car.
Get him a bicycle. Take him to your local butcher, grocery store, etc and tell him to get a job. This way he can buy whatever car he wants and can afford. Once he has a good amount saved up and is ready to buy, throw in a few bucks to help out, but not more than half the cost of the car.
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