New Driver's What Car Thread

e36 318i manual. Low power, past 94 has dual airbags. Why buy your kid some birth control midsize? Buy him something that will get him some ladies.

M3Loco:

sorry, maybe I read the OP wrong, but this car will belong to a child in a single parent household? You bought a $900 car and added $2K worth of parts (and how much in labor?) to get a car you wanted to be able to enjoy when the need arises? The parent in this case may have the money, but not the time to finish "assembling" their child's first car.

I would think, from my own experiences, that 99% of first time drivers will treat that first car like a Kleenex tissue. That is "I have it for now, but if it gets used/destroyed in the next few months...so what?"

integraguy wrote: M3Loco: sorry, maybe I read the OP wrong, but this car will belong to a child in a single parent household?

Yes, lives with mom, sees dad regularly AFAIK. Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty sure there's not a manual to be found in the family and learning on his own in his very congested urban area could be dangerous IMO.

I'm surprised at the anti-XJ-as-a-first-car comments. I've owned 3 myself as figured them to be a great idea. I'm not saying I'm right though, I am just surprised that I may be wrong.

integraguy wrote: M3Loco: sorry, maybe I read the OP wrong, but this car will belong to a child in a single parent household? You bought a $900 car and added $2K worth of parts (and how much in labor?) to get a car you wanted to be able to enjoy when the need arises? The parent in this case may have the money, but not the time to finish "assembling" their child's first car. I would think, from my own experiences, that 99% of first time drivers will treat that first car like a Kleenex tissue. That is "I have it for now, but if it gets used/destroyed in the next few months...so what?"

True.. We bought the E30 to build together as a Father and Son project. Not many would have the time/means to spend a year in a project. The labor for me is a wash because I did it myself with the help of the internets... lol..

My son really is looking forward to driving the car next school year. He'll take care of it, because he knows how much work we both put into it.

Good Luck!

My first car was a 95 legacy base model. Bought it from an old lady who only drove to church and the grocery store (no joke, it was my nieghbors moms). Only problem was that she liked to use the front bumper to tell her when she was close enough to just about any pole she parked in front of. Hahah. This was in 2003, has 32k, bought it for 3,000, totaled it shortly thereafter and got $6,500 from insurance.

But there are so many good options, Hondas/Acuras, E30s, small Toyota, etc etc

mazdeuce wrote: A manual will make them a better driver in the long run. Rip out the radio and tell him he can have it back in a year if there are no accidents. I'm serious about that, the best thing my parents did for me was get me a car with a broken radio. The single biggest reason kids get in accidents is distractions, and the single biggest reason for distractions, initially, is the damn radio. The manual transmission works in the opposite direction. With an auto it's very easy to function on auto pilot when approaching and leaving intersections. With a manual those actions are more deliberate and focus you as a driver. Other than that, budget for brakes and tires, the two biggest safety items on the car. For the price range, I'd be looking at first gen focus sedans. They almost all came with the SOHC engine and were slow. They're safe. Easy to work on, parts are cheap, and they're chronically uncool. Perfect.

I agree with the manual tranny option. To be honest I have wrecked ALMOST every auto I have owned. Never wrecked a manual where I was at fault. I am SO much more aware driving a manual!

As far as learning to drive a manual, I didn't have anybody to teach me. I learned on the test drive and 50 mile drive home when I bought my NX2000 back in the day.