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My nephew is 17 years old and is saving for a car. He works part time and would prefer to not take the bus. He is looking at the cheapest car he can find that would be safe and would not be so tired looking that his friends would laugh at him.
If you were his father what price car would you recommend as the first car for someone who makes $7 an hour and is 17 years old?
And if hes living at home he should pay for everything else... insurance, gas, repairs.... etc. Every kid i know who has vehicles handed to them really does not care much about them nor do they learn anything from them.
Paying for the car makes you cherish it.
Paying for insurance makes you a safe driver, it also makes your premiums fall faster and establishes credit.
Paying for repairs makes you self reliant... learn how to change your own oil, brakes, belts, water pumps... etc. Its all easy stuff that people pay their weight in gold to get done by a "professional".
Paying for gas simply means that you drive only when you need to drive... if someone else is paying they are more likely to run up that persons fuel bills for no good reason!
My first car in high school was a used $3,500.00 2002 Hyundai Accent that I had at sixteen and a half. Some of the kids still laughed because it was a Hyundai but they werent aware that Hyundai's made a huge turn around in quality right around that time.
I would say somewhere around $2k-$3k and to look for a sedan that's reliable like a Honda Accord, Buick LeSabre/Century/Regal, something likely not to have been abused. And, something that will offer lower-cost insurance. Even a Mercury Grand Marquis might not be a bad bet, or a Lincoln Town Car. Yes, they will cost a little bit more in fuel, but they are safe and first cars have a way of getting wrecked.
High mileage rusted out Honda, Toyota, or Nissan would fit the bill. I paid cash for my car from working a paper route. It had no heat and I lived in NH. It was cold.
It motivated me to work and save to buy a better car. I'm glad my parents didn't buy me a car. They did however deed me their old Volvo when I graduated college.
And if hes living at home he should pay for everything else... insurance, gas, repairs.... etc. Every kid i know who has vehicles handed to them really does not care much about them nor do they learn anything from them.
Paying for the car makes you cherish it.
Paying for insurance makes you a safe driver, it also makes your premiums fall faster and establishes credit.
Paying for repairs makes you self reliant... learn how to change your own oil, brakes, belts, water pumps... etc. Its all easy stuff that people pay their weight in gold to get done by a "professional".
Paying for gas simply means that you drive only when you need to drive... if someone else is paying they are more likely to run up that persons fuel bills for no good reason!
Amen to all that! Never give a kid a car. Never. Make them work for it.
Depending on where you live, a really old-school car like an aircooled VW bug can be a cheap option. Won't work in rust country, but in the South and the West they are still around, not just restored garage queens but even cars still in original service.
Maybe even better the 1980's VW watercooled cars, my daily driver is a cosmetically trashed but mechanically quite good Scirocco. Parts for these are not a problem, they are agile enough, and not bad on gas.
Buddy of mine bought a 95 Cougar, sunburned paint but better than OK mechanically, A/C works, $400.
By all means have the kid work over the summer, save up some $.
I earned the money for my first vehicle - 1973 Kawasaki 350 triple - by digging ditches in the hot Georgia sun. Literally. Guess what. I still have that bike, it still runs...
Most stupid kids will spend money on paint, idiotic rear wings on FWD cars, lowering springs, etc. and then not have $ for ordinary maintenance. Somehow try to pound into the thick little skull that they simply don't have the $ for a custom, *yet*.
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A cheap car ... again then they will take care of it and you won't mind the bumps and dents. Honda and toyota in the NW most stolen cars and the poor guys pay massive insurance on it. NO 4 x 4 if he is paying insurance it will kill him/and you because he won't be able to pay it. A Buick is considered old peoples car so this will be the cheapest. And easier maintenance. A century is about the cheapest. Do not let him buy a car without looking into insurance first.
I sold cars for years and their idea of what they want and you will be drasitcally differnt. I hated my first car - badly but it was a car Pinto Station Wagon - yep aged myself. But it taught me how to make it run - take care of it and also to have a goal to move up the food chain. You can go the Taurus Cavilier Aveo along those lines also. A new Aveo is cheap for a new car - the Huyndia is also a great car. Again check out the insurance rates first. If you can find a car sold by an older person they typically take great care of them.
He needs to learn to tune his stupid little buds out on the topic of cars. It would help if he had an adult role model who is a real car guy...
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