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Ideally, the car would have a manual transmission. And I would expect that 17 year old to check the oil and coolant levels, plus check his tires for tread depth and air pressure on a weekly basis. Make sure that he knows when the oil needs to be changed in his car. I think that those are all very good habits to instill into all owners of cars.
I also feel that AWD is not the best choice for a new driver. Good tires, and then good snow tires on a 2WD car is best. Better driving habits are learned on 2WD cars. I read of so many bad accidents with people, including young people in AWD cars and SUVs. I think that when someone drives an AWD vehicle, they have a false sense of road security. Also, try to find this driving skills course being given near you and enroll your son in it.
Crazy advice ... give your son a car that has lesser nasty weather safety and capability to avoid being overconfident ....
If the standard of the available technology is readily available and affordable, why deny that level of safety to a young driver?
Having put many thousands of miles and over 40 years of commuting in the Colorado mountains (and the Rocky Mountain Region) in bad weather with BMW 2002's, MB diesels and gas powered, Peugeot Diesels, Volvo's ... and a host of other cars, all safely and reliably, never with an accident and only stuck once in all those years .... I wouldn't trade any of them today for the Audi Quattro's or Subaru AWD Wagons I'm driving more recently in the same road conditions.
There's simply no comparison between the safety and control that the modern AWD cars have over the prior well-balanced RWD designs in adverse conditions. That includes heavy rainfall/hydroplaning conditions as well as black ice or snowpack.
While I personally prefer a manual transmission car because I like the control and the fun of being involved with the operation of the car ... and I learned to drive with a manual transmission .... there's little advantage to it over an automatic in todays' transportation cars. Even the folks who absolutely depend upon getting places in all conditions (police, fire, emergency, taxi, utility service fleets, etc) use automatics ... as does the military in their vehicles, too.
The O.P. lives in NC. Why would her son need AWD? AWD is not the end all answer to having a safe car. I live up in MA and have yet to see a need to have to own an AWD to be safe in the winter. My 5-speed Civic and a set of Nokian Hakka snow tires have been a winning combination for years. On the other hand, people in AWD SUV's and Subarus die all the time in accidents much more often in the news than 2WD cars.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Drover
Any high school kid who isn't thrilled with any decently running car in decent shape that his parents give to him should have that car sold right out from beneath his ungrateful ass.
agreed. i got my first car @ 19 and i'm paying EVERYTHING on it. i'd probably slap that kid too.
Almost forgot to mention.... I think a Scion tC would mak a great first car. It has very good handling and braking (both important from a safety standpoint), reasonably fun to drive but not too much power, and "young" styling without being tacky, with tons of customizable options if that's something he might want to take up somewhere down the line. Not to mention Toyota quality and reliability.
A Scion tC? Not really. There was a discussion on another board about how excessively expensive front end damage was to fix on that car. Just the way certain things were lined up underneath the hood.
That's what insurance is for. And where did I say they should buy it new? And in any case, whether he deserves a new car or not is the parents' business, don't you think?
i would say the honda civic or the honda fit both are safe and easy on the gas. You could also but the fit new to have peace of mind. The safety features are real good, and young people love this car.
Last edited by maggiekate; 10-31-2007 at 10:39 AM..
I've been both the lucky recipient of a new car ('73 Super Beetle) from my parents and I followed suit with my daugher ('92 Toyota Celica). I'm assuming safe and reliable are two top items on the list along with price and regular maintenance costs. The 20 somethings in my neighborhood now seem to prefer the Honda Element type vehicles. Sporty looking, cheap to buy and maintain and definitely retro cool.
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