What's a good first vehicle?

[AMink]

My son will be turning 16 next month. He still doesn't have his permit, but that will be coming. I've been poking around for a first car/truck. I don't want him driving my CTD (yet). I've thought about a standard cab P/U truck so he can only get one other person in it should the unthinkable happen. I love to have a 1st or 2nd generation CTD, but they are getting harder to come by. My dad suggested something along the lines of a Ford Focus. What have you all done for your kids? This is all dependent on keeping the job, of course.

 

[BDaugherty]

Are you thinking car or truck? My first was a 1989 Dodge Dakota reg cab short bed 4x4 auto with the 3. 9 V6. It was the slowest thing on the road, but it was very reliable.



I would lean toward a 4cyl/5spd reg cab short bed pickup like a S10 or Tacoma. Your choice 2 or 4wd.



For a car, the Focus isn't a bad idea.



I think what I would do is to set a price range and give some general specs and let him shop within those limits.

 

[Simplysmn]

We picked up a 91 Isuzu Rodeo for my son we call it the Hooptie it's a great intown car and get's him back n forth to school that's all that matter;s he does all matience on it or atleast help's but that's how they learn . heck my first car was a 59 old's my dad paid 65. 00 buck's for

 

[AMink]

I drove the family Dodge Omni! That was a tough car, considering what I put it through.

 

[msperos]

We got my son a 97' Subaru Impreza, great little car. My daughter is getting her permit in April so I'm searching for her car now. Leaning towards an early 90's Volvo or Diesel Mercedes.

 

[EGroeneveld]

I would pick a $ number and let him select. Of coarse you would keep veto rights. Don't forget to check insurance costs. Remembering back almost 2 decades we found 4 wheel drive trucks were priced the same as sports cars for 16 year olds. My first vehicle was a 76 Chevy Blazer, which I justed loved, still have a K5 Blazer to this day. I needed 4wheel drive out in the farm fields.



My daughter is almost 4 but if she was 16 I am sure she would want a truck, I would most likely do a Quad Cab short bed 2500. As new as I could afford to pay cash for.

 

[2Rowdy]

I got my son a used duramax when he turned 16. The only reason he got that, was because my dad had put all 230,000 miles on it so I knew the maintenance record and the history. Plus it was at the height of fuel prices and it was very inexpensive.

 

[Skydiver]

AMink, you are wise and thoughtful to start this thread. It will help others as well.
AMink, only you know how mature your son is.
I started driving when I was 12 on the back roads in the County.
Does your son know that when involved in an accident that there are two collisions. The first on the outside of the vehicle and then the inside of the vehilce. My wife sold auto insurance for 17 years and I got to hear all the horror stories about 16 Y/O having accidents. It is true that a 16 y/o driver is the most likely to wreck.
Let your son know that he must work to help pay for gas and insurance. That makes them feel more responsible towards the vehicle.
If you feel the need place a locking gas cap on the vehicle and you keep the key. Tell him for the first few months that when the tank reaches 1/4 that you will refill it with your gas cap key. I say thet without knowing how mature son is. LIke I said only you know. There are ways to limit the miles he can drive.
While leaving a shopping center years ago I was watching in my rear view mirror as a 16 y/o driver was looking to his left. I was dead stopped at a stop sign. He bumped me at 3 mph and luckly no damage. I did not curse him. I asked why he hit my vehicle. He said his foot slipped off the brake. I them told him that I was watching him in my mirror as he looked to the left and not watching where he was going. I took his liscense number and later threw it away. I wanted him to know driving is serious.
Sorry to post so long, but as a volunteer fire fighter I see the wrong side of the human body way too often when working wrecks.
AMink please tell your son that driving is not fun, but a means of transportation.
Buy something that has airbags and does not require full coverage insurance. Liability alone is nearly $100 per month around here.
I could post more,,,much more. Good Luck

 

[mberry]

Most anything from Toyota, Honda etc. . Even Subaru's are good cars. You want something reliable and as economical and safe as possible. I hope both of us get to keep our jobs in this town.

 

[GaryOwen]

It is true that a 16 y/o driver is the most likely to wreck.

You are pretty much correct on 16 y/o's, but here is some additional info for those whose kids start driving at a later age. It has been proven that the first year of driving is the most dangerous, whether 16, 25, or 50, makes no difference.

 

[Tractorat]

Its been quite a while since I had to worry about a first car for my kids. But, even today, I think I would steer clear of any kind of pickup truck and go for a smaller to mid size sedan with front wheel drive. Although you might fare better in a head on driving a truck (if you really have your seat belt on), a truck is not nearly as forgiving on wet slick roads. Or trying to recover from loss of control from just driving around a corner a little too fast. And that is where you will mostly find the young inexperienced driver getting into trouble.





TRat

 

[GCroyle]

My .02$

AMink,



I got a '97 3500 5 speed that had the KDP problem, but it wasn't dead, just had a hole in the timing case.



We spent 5 weekends tearing it down and putting it back together, I posted that here a while back.



Now, he doesn't need a 3500, he don't even need a CTD. But we spent some good times with putting it back together, quite a project. He did use it a bit hauling on a summer job and he has felt the power hauling some firewood and he drove it up to Dave Dunbar's Dyno in TN after we got it put back together, that was good fun.



The good thing, he respects the truck, never known him to hot rod it, heck he even short shifts it. We live in a small town and I told him, Jake no way can you hide this truck in this small town, if you screw up, I'll hear about it somehow. He doesn't show off with it and I think he got a big kick out of in at his HS, only one other diesel in the lot and it was a Dads' truck.



Good luck.

 

[Grizzly]

I gave my son a older Pontiac Executive. Yes. it was big and heavy. I figured it would give him better protection in case he wrecked it. He never wrecked it, but it required much maintenance. It seems we worked on it every weekend, which was good because he learned how to fix just about anything.



After that he bought an older 2WD Toyota truck. He did all his own repair with less help from me. He even pulled the engine and totally rebuilt it. The only thing he didn't do himself was the machine shop work.



I bought my daughter an older 4 cyl Volvo. That was a good sturdy heavy car. It too required much maintenance which I did all of.

 

[Gene Heck]

First car

I would suggest one of the Buick La Sabres etc from around 90 to 96 or so. They were really well rated for accident protection and you can find one now at a resonable cost. It is a good first car for young drivers. One thing I would strongly suggest though is NO RIDERS until your son has some seat time. Kids start goofing off, playing with the radio etc. and the driver gets to easily distracted. I speak from family experience. Good luck.



Gene

 

[jgillott]

If it has to be a car, I'd go with something like a Crown Vic, Grand Marquis, older Caprice etc. They are as safe as you are going to get, cheap and reliable. 20 years or so as a Firefighter/Medic has left me with a bad taste for what a little car in the hands of a teenager can lead to. If they are more intersted in a SUV or Truck, you can pick up an older 1/2 gasser or somthing like a Tahoe or Expedition for next to nothing right now.