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.
Your posts are often insightful and intelligent but some of your suggestions are a bit bizarre and illogical... A 350Z for a teen girl?
Quote:
Originally Posted by getmeoutofhere
Having owned one, I can say with absolute certainty that this is a great way to kill your child. The car is fairly powerful and not an easy one to handle, especially in any kind of inclement weather.
Not to mention that insurance would be sky-high.
OP, just stick with a boring old safe 4-door sedan. The Volvo or the ES are great choices, maybe a little more towards the ES since it is a little more reliable and having driven many of them, I can tell you it's virtually impossible to make it lose control.
I stand corrected.
I haven't personally driven one (just sat in one), I just figured it would combine looks with safety, and have enough electronic nannies to keep things in line.
Thank you Lux, for your compliment, and I guess I was out of the ballpark with this one.
I was honestly just trying to think of a vehilce, slightly more exciting for a teen girl (stylish, not necessarily fast, rather not actually) than a Volvo, yet safe and within a reasonable budget (which seems to be fairly high for this particular family). I was wrong about the 350Z, I'll be the first to admit that, but surely, there's something prettier out there than an S60 which will still keep the girl safe?
I agree, plus allowing a child to chose their car and you pay for it is very irresponsible as a parent. Get her a 5 year old or older vehicle first and then after a few years with no tickets or accidents, then she can get a better car.
100% agree with this. Growing up I learned so much more about money management, DIY'ing, making wise choices, etc. than my peers when everything I owned was solely my own responsibility.
Not everyone is equal so we can't expect parenting to be a standardized process.
True it's better for the kid to buy their own car outright, that's what I did back in the day. In the early 1970's there were a lot of simple old 60's and 50's cars around for cheap, a summer's worth of "kid work" would net you enough to pay cash for a car that was usable as-is even if it needed some TLC over time. This is not so much the case anymore, a lot of the cars that a kid can buy with a summer's earnings are, not to put too fine a point on it, junk.
I think this is more do-able with young men than young women though. I did break down and provide a car to the step-daughter so she could drive herself to college. The car remained and remains mine, in fact I drove it to work today, but in her special case (I know, I know, EVERYBODY's kid or step-kid is special to them...) I decided she needed a ride more than she needed to earn the money for her first car. She drove it 4 years without wrecking it, or doing anything dumber than driving on a flat tire for a few miles. European kids in general seem to be more mature for their age than American kids.
Interesting to me that I am the only one that takes the OP at face value that the kid is not a crash-prone accident waiting to happen.
I was not asking for people to judge my parenting, and saying our actions are irresponsible is uncalled for. I asked which of these cars, I did not ask to be judged. If we can afford it, then its our $ and our decision. People hide behind email and act quite rudely sometimes.
1. She saved quite a bit of money herself therefore she gets a say. She has been saving from the age of 11 to 16 and saved several thousand, some of it she even invested and over the years checks her stocks. She made business cards at the age of 12 and handed them out and got quite a bit of work, and saved all that $. She even saved 70% of her allowance over the years for this car. She has been subscribing to Motor Trend since the age of 12, reading up on cars. Its a very big deal to her and therefore she gets a say, which will only help her in the future.
2. Buying a lighter, older car may be cheaper, but is not safer. Read up on it online. Safety regulations are getting more stringent all the time, and many say get your kid the newest car you can afford because it is likely it may be safer (in some not all circumstances). I'd rather my daughter be safe then save a couple bucks. I don't care about the body damage on a car, I care about the body damage on her.
The IIHS.ORG says volvo s80 and c70 are the safest on the road. We can afford it and thats what we are going with. I called our insurance company and they said its an urban myth that convertibles are more to insure btw. For example, it costs $800/6 months for me to insure her on my '09 SUV, but its only $400 more for me to insure her on a '08/'09 volvo convertible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by getmeoutofhere
I like how all these people are telling him how to parent and suggesting two-door, lightweight sports cars or convertibles that weren't on his list.
It's a fine list, and if she saved a good chunk of the money herself, then let her spend it how she likes.
I think for a teen and a first car a mid 90's-00 honda civic with a 5 speed manual would be the best bet it's safe practical and she can learn how to operate and drive a standard tranny and it's easy and cheap to fix and does not matter if she gets a few dings on it.
My first car was a 1987 cutlass supreme with a carbureted 307 that I had to save for by working at the local chevron full serve gas station over a summer at 16. while the car I wanted at 16 was a 5.0 mustang but my parent's would not lend me the money for it and the cutlass was all I could afford to buy myself but I learned alot about fixing and taking care of my car from that experience. but on the other hand right out of college and my first decent job my dad co-signed for my 05 GTO which took my 4 years to pay off the GMAC loan but glad he did that for me.
The most popular "girl" car when i was a teen was the VW Cabrio. So, instead of the A4, i'd suggest going with the "new" VW Cabrio--------------The VW Eos:
The IIHS.ORG says volvo s80 and c70 are the safest on the road. We can afford it and thats what we are going with. I called our insurance company and they said its an urban myth that convertibles are more to insure btw. For example, it costs $800/6 months for me to insure her on my '09 SUV, but its only $400 more for me to insure her on a '08/'09 volvo convertible.
It's $200/ month to insure your daughter on a Volvo convertible? Wow, I pay around $1200/ year to insure both my Yukon and 'Vette. Ouch, I couldn't imagine having that high of insurance...even when I was in my teens I didn't pay anywhere close to that amount. Ouch.
For that amount of money I'd definitely look at a cheap, used car that'll be easier on the pocketbook. If you truly want something safe, can't beat late 90's Buick LeSabre with the 3800 engine. Damn things are built like a tank, very safe, and economical. Might not be the prettiest thing on the road but if you want something safe and reliable, I'd go with one.
I too voted for the volvo S80. It is the safest of the cars, and it will help with insurance, blah blah blah. Also, it's a volvo, it's a nice car.
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.
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.
.
