im still driving my first car (wrecked the 4th car by messing around in the rain, sold the other 3 for a good profit) 200hp in a large SUV. not powerful enough to spin tires in gravel, 13mpg, and I bought it for $400 when I was just barely 15. the paint is almost entirely gone on the hood and roof, it's not pretty, cool, or fast. every dime that's gone into this car since I bought it is mine, exept for some gas money (my parents fill it up when they borrow it) i watched my dad work on his cars as a little kid and always wanted to work on or build my own car. i drive a piece of crap and you'd have a really hard time convincing me to sell it.For those not mechanically inclined, the smart thing is to buy an unpopular car that is reliable.
Most Mitsubishis, pre-GDI Kias and Hyundais, defunct mid-to-full-size American cars that are easy to drive, and most Swedish models will work as long as you have an independent mechanic that isn't in the yacht business.
Most teenagers don't need or want a car these days unless they commute to school. Both of my kids don't have cars but they live on campus. They also have scholarships. So in my mind at least they earned the luxury of having a car whenever they need one at my dealership. Other than school breaks they usually don't care to have one.
You are also that rare type of person who would be responsible enough to do all that maintenance and upkeep, and have easy access to the person you need to make that a reality.im still driving my first car (wrecked the 4th car by messing around in the rain, sold the other 3 for a good profit) 200hp in a large SUV. not powerful enough to spin tires in gravel, 13mpg, and I bought it for $400 when I was just barely 15. the paint is almost entirely gone on the hood and roof, it's not pretty, cool, or fast. every dime that's gone into this car since I bought it is mine, exept for some gas money (my parents fill it up when they borrow it) i watched my dad work on his cars as a little kid and always wanted to work on or build my own car. i drive a piece of crap and you'd have a really hard time convincing me to sell it.
LOL...What's funny is many threads are asking for an opinion. Then when it's given, others say why do you care? It's rather blunt, but who said we did?
Cynical, or entitled, or ungrateful kids should have the car taken and sold.Kids are cynical. Get her a broken car (especially with something major that is broken, like an engine or transmission) and you'll be hearing about it forever.
My first car had been my grandma's and it was completely worn out, rusted and neglected. Totally unsafe. I did the best I could with it but it was only after about three years of driving it did I learn the REAL reason my grandma had retired it... She was worried that exhaust fumes were getting into it and making her woozy! Nice of them to mention it beforehand. Not.
100%...Cynical, or entitled, or ungrateful kids should have the car taken and sold.
Don’t like what I worked hard to give you?
Feel free to buy your own.
Having life skills is a life skill. Kids should figure out that doing "something" for yourself is actually useful. Maybe they'll decide to do their own taxes, or sheetrock, instead of paying someone else to do so.Sadly, too many seem to think that being able to do body repair, fix water damage, etc, etc is a "life skill" that everyone needs to know how to do.
A Volvo would be no joke. They're a tough and safe car.Consequently I toyed with buying her a Volvo 240 as joke but not really as I doubt there are any solid ones near me.
My first 3 cars were Volvo 200 series. #'s 2&3 were 264s. The first was OHV. Here's the part where I say I paid for them myself (haha yeah, right, well, that's how it was back then). Even though the 244 was a 4 spd manual and the fenders had holes, as did the rear doors and rear 1/4's, it was my car and it may as well been the 300 SD that I dreamed it was. It did have ice cold air which the next two did not. It was my very own first car.A Volvo would be no joke. They're a tough and safe car.
A business acquaintance lost both his parents and his in-laws in auto crashes. After spending some time in auto wrecker's yards he decided Volvos did the best in crashes so he and his wife both drove Volvo 240s. The alternative would have been a Mercedes.
A relative bought each of his kids a used Volvo primarily because they were so safe.
Our daughter learned to drive in our Volvo 740 Turbo 4MT+OD.
Friends bought our Volvo 740 Turbo for their kids to learn to drive. When they decided it was time for it to move on, their daughter (who is well known "to run with scissors") was heartbroken.
That's why I couldn't complain about the exhaust fumes, the inoperative turn signals and brake lights, and the holes in the floor where the rear springs attach - the car would have been taken away. Which is ironic because I DID buy the car myself (although I probably did get the "grandma discount"). Nowadays I drive by the local H.S. and I see a lot full of shiny new Jeep Wranglers. Too rich for me.Cynical, or entitled, or ungrateful kids should have the car taken and sold.
Don’t like what I worked hard to give you?
Feel free to buy your own.
Tongue in cheek comment but yes I agree completely safe cars. I started looking at S40s just to gauge what's out there. Still a lot of low mileage examples for reasonable amounts. I still want a V70R in the worst way.A Volvo would be no joke. They're a tough and safe car.
A business acquaintance lost both his parents and his in-laws in auto crashes. After spending some time in auto wrecker's yards he decided Volvos did the best in crashes so he and his wife both drove Volvo 240s. The alternative would have been a Mercedes.
A relative bought each of his kids a used Volvo primarily because they were so safe.
Our daughter learned to drive in our Volvo 740 Turbo 4MT+OD.
Friends bought our Volvo 740 Turbo for their kids to learn to drive. When they decided it was time for it to move on, their daughter (who is well known "to run with scissors") was heartbroken.
My son hated driving manual transmission but he had to learn (after the Fusion was totaled) on our Ranger because that's what we had.Tongue in cheek comment but yes I agree completely safe cars. I started looking at S40s just to gauge what's out there. Still a lot of low mileage examples for reasonable amounts. I still want a V70R in the worst way.
I really like the V70R as well. My wife's cousin had a black one - very sharp looking.Tongue in cheek comment but yes I agree completely safe cars. I started looking at S40s just to gauge what's out there. Still a lot of low mileage examples for reasonable amounts. I still want a V70R in the worst way.