What car... my son edition

Ok, so first off... my son? Yea, he is 17 months old. You might think I am getting an early start, but his cousins (1 is 5 years old, the other is 20 months) both have their first cars. The 5 year old has a '65 Mustang; the 20 month just got a '69 VW Bug (I helped pick it up this weekend).

So, I probably ask this question because of raging Dad jealously, but I am ok with that!

My original (aka dream) thought was to build a "new" '69 Camaro with the parts from YearOne; and fit it with C6 Corvette running gear. I give that about a 0.2% likelihood of ever happening.

So my next thought, and what has lead to this post, is to get him something that can be a 14 year project and handed to him when he gets his license. That said, I want it to be something unique, cool, and not more car than he should have (like my first idea). I want it to be something that he and I can work on together, he could learn to drive in, have working parts (not just electronics), be something with an enthusiast community around it, and something that would appeal to a "car guy".

I'm thinking about a Porsche 912. The problem I have is that they seem to come in 2 conditions: 1. a pile of rust loosely shaped like a Porsche; 2. Perfectly restored. Neither of those are ideal for my needs. I'd like to spend somewhere around $2000-4500 for the initial investment, and I would want it to be a driver (or at least very close) at the time of purchase.

Ok, questions:

1. Happen to know any qualifying 912s?
2. What ideas do you have?

Miata is not the answer. Sorry.

In reply to BradLTL:

BMW 2002? How about a Datsun (510 or Z-car)?

Why not Porsche 914 2.0 instead?

I vote Z car. In 14 years you could probably get all the rust fixed (lol) but they are iconic, will have a following forever, are basic and simple. And beautiful. Stock 2.4 will not allow him to terrorize the highways, but will suffice. And current buy-in is not too bad.

BradLTL wrote: So my next thought, and what has lead to this post, is to get him something that can be a 14 year project and handed to him when he gets his license. That said, I want it to be something unique, cool, and not more car than he should have (like my first idea). I want it to be something that he and I can work on together, he could learn to drive in, have working parts (not just electronics), be something with an enthusiast community around it, and something that would appeal to a "car guy".

Even something relatively recent could be really cool/classic in 14 years. Do you want to spend the next 14 years completing the project? Do you want to be able to use it in the meantime?

A BMW E30? Could be ~40 years old when he begins driving. Plenty of enthusiasts, parts, documentation, etc.
Z32?
C4 Corvette (maybe too much car?)
CRX Si?

When he turns 16 and gas is $8.00 a gallon, will he have the $ to be driving any of these anyway?

To a 16 year old, a 25-30 year old car is classic. I'd be looking for something that is ten years old and close to the bottom of it's depreciation curve. An s2000, civic si, 10ae miata, e36 or similar would be my vote. They are bound to go up in value over the next 16 years.

In reply to ProDarwin:

My thought was that I would want something that I could drive (part time) in between projects, but yea, I would want to work on it, tweak it, play with it for the next 14 years.

$8 / gal? Surely we'll have hydrogen kits to retro fit onto gas engines by then.

You need something with a huge following currently because in 16 years from now that following will have waned to non-existent if the car is odd/rare now.
How can you find a personal connection?
What were you driving when the kid was born?
What did you drive in High School?
What year were you born?

BradLTL wrote: $8 / gal? Surely we'll have hydrogen kits to retro fit onto gas engines by then.

I bet many said that about $4.50 a gallon in 1996 :)

I'd look for a nice early Miata. Buy it and just drive it and work on making it really nice. When he's ready to really dig into it you'll have a perfect unmolested first gen Miata. That will be a special thing in another 14 years.

Crap, I suck at reading comprehension. Carry on........

Hmmm . . . may be towards the top of your price bracket to find a decent example, but since you killed off the official answer (Miata - which would have been my first recommendation, BTW), what about an 1998-2000 Impreza 2.5 RS? Great looking cars, rally heritage, a decent DD, can be modded if you want, AWD, relatively safe. What more could you want? Now finding one . . .

jrw1621 wrote: You need something with a huge following currently because in 16 years from now that following will have waned to non-existent if the car is odd/rare now. How can you find a personal connection? What were you driving when the kid was born? What did you drive in High School? What year were you born?

Personal connection... my Dad has owned several Porsches (914s and 911s); I've owned 2 Porsches myself (986 and 986S). Hence the thought of a 912.

Car when the kid was born... sold my Boxster S about 3 months before we found out we were pregnant, so I was driving my wife's old Mazda3 and she had her Mom-mobile.

What did I drive in high school... we'll that is a story, although not sure it is relevant here... feel free to skip ahead. I drove a '82 Olds Omega, lovingly referred to as the "Great White Hope". Great = Big; White = more or less its color; Hope = hope it starts, hope it gets us there. The car had a navy-ish blue interior, the headliner featured an intricate pattern of staples holding it in place, had "house" speakers in the back so that you could actually hear the sweet cassette player. The driver's side inside door handle didn't work, thankfully the outside one did; so you didn't have to slide across the bench seats to get out, you just had to roll down the window. This was an especially nice feature in the rain. My car maintenance skills at the time were non-existent. To the car's credit. It really never let me down. It managed 2 years of high school beating, a year of junior college, 4 trips across the country... all while being the only known example of an air-cooled Omega. That's right. It didn't have any coolant in it. Ever. In fact, that is what lead to its death. My step father for whatever reason was checking it and noticed it was empty, filled it with water until I could get to the store for anti-freeze... well it froze that night. Cracked block seemed an unfair and somewhat ironic death. Looked about like this:

Born in 1978... not a terribly good year for cars. Starting to get the 80s styling, but hadn't quite worked out the kinks awkwardness.

Love the stories.
With insight, my choices would be a Boxter of restorable condition or 944 variant.

Porsche of 1978 may be cool (and therefore a 911 as to avoid the 928)
With '78 birthday you likely graduated HS in 1995. What from that era?

No way would I get something that wasn't reasonably safe. This is the car he'll be in the first time he has to decide if he's sober enough to drive. I think four guys from my high school died in a two year span, and it was a small school. My first car was a 924 and (only two years younger than I was) and I drove it like I was indestructible. Kids are stupid.

Kinda leaves you with the obvious sedans. Mid to late 1990's BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Subaru?

Well, just a thought -

In a few years time, some cars that are getting tough to find right now will be all but gone. That means they'll seem cooler than they do now, at least in some cases. Case in point, my '72 Capri. When I bought it I got some funny looks. Now people think it's pretty neat.

Other nice thing about this attack- you can buy at the bottom of the depreciation curve. So, if you pick something that's cheap now, but may go up, has a solid following, looks kinda cool now and will likely look cooler down the road, sounds like a formula for success.

With that in mind- second gen MR2. Young folks love them. They do look neat. There's a ton of cool things you can do with one. They are reasonably light, have very good brakes, can be made to handle in a predictable and safe way (put a BIG front sway bar on so it won't spin) and they're reliable. Maybe build a nice V6. They're really cool.

Other nice thing about them- two seats. So you can't end up with a car full of teen-agers egging each other on to do stupid things. And the fuel tank between the seats makes it hard to get in, um, another kind of trouble.

Like I said, just a thought. A little out of the box compared to some of the cool cars you're talking about. But 14 years from now you may be saying "huh, maybe I shoulda thought harder about the MR2".

Maybe it's just me but....

I'd put the project funds into a college fund and let the interest keep accruing for 18 years. He'll get a lot more out of that expenditure.

ppddppdd wrote: No way would I get something that wasn't reasonably safe. This is the car he'll be in the first time he has to decide if he's sober enough to drive. I think four guys from my high school died in a two year span, and it was a small school. My first car was a 924 and (only two years younger than I was) and I drove it like I was indestructible. Kids are stupid. Kinda leaves you with the obvious sedans. Mid to late 1990's BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Subaru?

I;m actually facing a similar conundrum. My theory is this- I buy said child a car when he's old enough to turn his own wrenches. We build said car, he earns $$$ for parts and stuff, Dad kicks in something awesome here or there. By the time he's 16, he will A- have built it himself, from a pile of parts. B- he will have taken ALL THE DRIVING SCHOOLS. Winter, summer, fall, Zombie Apocalypse. C- He will have a very VERY clear understanding what will happen to him and said vehicle if he were to run afoul of the law in any way, shape, or form with it. He doesn't need to repeat my mistakes. I'm hoping that, coupled with a solid dose of "If you ever do something that stupid I will berkeleying kill you, twice" combined with "That being said, if you got problems, call me before you do anything. If you or your idiot buddies need a ride because you did not heed my warnings to save booze for being older, call me. I will make you pay in the morning, but I'd rather pick you up from a party, than from jail or the morgue" will keep him in line. I also figure on keeping a spare helmet and entrance fee on deck in case one of the aforementioned buddies wants to race him. Fine. Here's a helmet, I got your entrance fee covered. Let's go to the track.

He doesn't need a "first car" yet, much less one that will be acquired before he can remember. He'll be bored of it before he's driving. If you want a project car that he'll be excited about, buy it when he's 14 or 15. Then he'll get some input himself, and he'll get to be in on the ground floor of working on it. Buying it now is a surefire way to get your feelings drop-kicked over the house in about 14 years.

amg_rx7 wrote: Maybe it's just me but.... I'd put the project funds into a college fund and let the interest keep accruing for 18 years. He'll get a lot more out of that expenditure.

Yea, that is already being taken care of in an organized fashion. Hell, on most days the kid's net worth is higher than mine.

In reply to mndsm:

I completely agree with your statements. There is something about the earning and working for the car that instills value greater than worth. That is a big part of the reason I want to do it.

In reply to Winston:

A valid concern, but in that case, I've had a fun toy until that point. I'm sure all the kids will be driving their Tron Light-Cycles by that point and he'll want one of those.

BradLTL wrote: In reply to Winston: A valid concern, but in that case, I've had a fun toy until that point. I'm sure all the kids will be driving their Tron Light-Cycles by that point and he'll want one of those.

...and now we see the real, perhaps subconscious motivation behind "my son's first car" 14 years in advance. Search your feelings; you know it to be true

get him one of these-NOW!

OK, Grandpa will chime in now for thoughts on his grandson's first car: I already got him his first ride on electric car - a Lotus Elise. Given the family's Porsche history, I suggest buying one of the early Boxsters with a blown engine. They are cheap, available and begging for an engine swap. Makes a fun project and will be a cool "classic" in 2026.

When I was 15, I told my dad that I wanted a project car to work on, so it would be nice and running a year later. He gave in and I got a somewhat running 1986 Trans Am. He paid a grand and I paid a grand. After 2 whole weeks, I had a pefectly running car, that I started to mod. Anyway, the point that I am getting at is, dont do this too soon. What if your son hates cars when he turns 16? Are you going to sell the project and get him a Camry?

I just playing devils advocate here. Personally, I would get a 5.0 Mustang or something with an overwhelming aftermarket.

In reply to Argo1:

Miss the part about more car than he needs?