Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Automotive
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-17-2017, 08:02 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,187 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

My son is turning 16 soon and already has earned a (restricted) license. Husband and I are planning to buy him a car for his birthday. H wants to get him a pickup truck because he says they are safe and it is easier to see because they are high up. Is that a good idea? Does anyone have experiences with buying (or receiving) cars for a teenager?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-17-2017, 08:46 PM
 
Location: Floribama
18,948 posts, read 43,421,357 times
Reputation: 18748
Trucks aren't necessarily safer, especially the ones with lift kits. I see it on the news all the time where they get rolled over, usually by younger guys.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2017, 08:47 PM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,346 posts, read 80,658,912 times
Reputation: 57351
Our son's first at 16 was a pickup, and it was a regular cab with only 2 seats so there was no way to be distracted by more than one other person with him. They also have great visibility. Worked out great.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2017, 08:56 PM
 
Location: North West Arkansas (zone 6b)
2,776 posts, read 3,231,442 times
Reputation: 3912
teens can fit alot of friends in the back of a pickup. just saying.


a small 2 seater manual might work well. None of his friends could borrow it and only 1 friend could ride with him
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2017, 09:01 PM
 
18,917 posts, read 27,410,665 times
Reputation: 20238
Definitely manual. If he learns manual, he can drive anything else.
Otherwise, lifted Dodge RAM Big Horn edition gives great visibility.
Sorry, could not stand temptation. He's a teenager. He thinks on steroids and steroids say truck. That's it. Every pal and bud and dude he socializes with say - truck. MACHO MANLY.
Get him manual Civic V-TEC engine.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2017, 09:28 PM
 
Location: Seattle
3,573 posts, read 2,863,133 times
Reputation: 7265
Quote:
Originally Posted by gunslinger256 View Post
teens can fit alot of friends in the back of a pickup. just saying.

I know I did back in '82, my first vehicle was a '69 Chevy C-10, 1 row bench seat and 3 on the tree manual.
That said, if he's in any urban or suburban area unlikely these days to be hauling people in the back.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2017, 09:29 PM
 
Location: UNMC Area
749 posts, read 730,270 times
Reputation: 1002
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrn5433a1 View Post
My son is turning 16 soon and already has earned a (restricted) license. Husband and I are planning to buy him a car for his birthday. H wants to get him a pickup truck because he says they are safe and it is easier to see because they are high up. Is that a good idea? Does anyone have experiences with buying (or receiving) cars for a teenager?
The only pickups I'd stay away from are ones that have lift-kits. They're top-heavy.

Beyond that, everything about pickups is personal opinion.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2017, 10:50 PM
 
Location: Wyoming
9,724 posts, read 21,186,837 times
Reputation: 14823
Pickups, with or without lift kits, are much more prone to roll than are cars, and rolls kill people. A newish sedan is much safer than an older pickup due to safety advances. They stop quicker too. And get better gas mileage.

My son bought his son a pickup for his 16th birthday. He promptly rolled it (totaled). He had to wait for the replacement until graduation. His dad bought him another pickup, almost new. Within 3 months he rolled it. No more pickups for now.


I bought my son an old beater for his 16th birthday, one that didn't need to have collision insurance. I put it in his name, and by doing that the insurance on my cars did not go up, even if my son drove them.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2017, 11:23 PM
 
33,387 posts, read 34,745,522 times
Reputation: 20030
the first vehicle i had decent control over was a 67 chevy pick up, short wheelbase 2 wheel drive. if you want to get him a pick up, i suggest something from the 1973-1989 model years in the chevy line. they are still fairly cheap to buy, and they are easy to repair as needed. parts are available as well.

i suggest getting a 2 wheel drive pick up in stock form, preferably with the inline six, but a small V8 would do well also. i also suggest getting a manual trans as it will force him to concentrate more on his driving.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-18-2017, 12:51 AM
 
Location: Long Neck , DE
4,903 posts, read 4,199,706 times
Reputation: 8095
My son's first vehicle was an older Ford pick up,stick shift with bucket seats. 7 years later it is now his 2nd family vehicle. A friendly but firm reminder unsafe practices would result in school bus riding worked well.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Automotive

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:48 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top