Enthusiast vehicle for 16 year old???

[jordansx]

I went to one of the most expensive highschools in Hawaii (Iolani) and mommy and daddy would buy their sons/daughters brand new SL500's, H2's, M3's, you name it. I was pretty pissed when I turned 16 and got a 96 integra LS sedan. The beady eyes, poop brown interrior, slow LS motor, unsporty dark green and 4 doors made it the ultimate grandmas car.

But the more I drove it the more I began to appreciate how lucky I was to even have a car, yet alone a Honda:biggrin:. I got the last laugh once everyones cars were in the shop and I had to come to the rescue in my reliable and somewhat sporty acura integra sedan.

The 2nd or 3rd gen integra sedans are a great choice. Much more practical than the 2 door, 4 doors for easy in and out for passengers and the LS has just enough power to get around.

Still running like a champ today and gets great gas millage! I'm going to keep this until it rolls over and dies.

 

[darknezz_ghost]

I don't know about you guys but I'll give this to my son when I have one. It handles like a go cart and got the same HP as the NSX

 

[robr]

It's a long time until my son gets a car, but when he does, if he's not paying for it himself, he gets practical, reliable and slow. Every male kid has 'gas in their veins'. If they don't, they will when all their friends peer pressure them to see how fast it will go. My parents thought neither I nor my brother had a lead foot, we both totaled our first car... actually I totaled my dad's Honda Accord after friends were pushing me to 'test the handling' and my brother who was the LAST person any of us expected to drive like a maniac, decided to 'test the handling' himself around our windy back roads and understeered himself right into a fire hydrant.

A 16 year old "enthusiast" has no business being anywhere near the wheel of any sort of performance car, even an under performing one. An "enthusiast" is already predisposed to getting into trouble with a car.

 

[ChopsJazz]

I would say the biggest, slowest, ugliest car you can find. Why give a 16 year old something they might be tempted to race or test the limits with?

1978 Mercedes 300D. Big, slow, reliable, lots of parts available.

 

[davidf]

I'd steer clear of early model VW's. I've had a Corrado and while it is a decent looking car, early Vdubs are constantly plagued with electrical demons. CRX is a good car but finding a clean unmolested model is like looking for a 16 year old virgin. Stick with a civic/integra. Since he's not into cars, you could even opt for a used Toyota Prius. We have many here at work and I can't think of one bad thing to say about them. Dependable, plenty of power, exceptional fuel mileage.

 

[docjohn]

I don't have much to add other than whatever you get make sure it has airbags and is the newest safest slowest thing you can afford.I would also strongly consider a tracking module.

 

[DucTerry]

1978 Mercedes 300D. Big, slow, reliable, lots of parts available.

240D, just as big and reliable and twice as slow, but mine gets like 40mpg hwy and insurance is a freakin joke.

 

[NSXFRIEND]

My son turns 16 in four months:frown: Since most if not all NSXprime owners are vehicle enthusiasts, what car did you purchase for your 16 year old son or daughter?

Vehicle's on the shopping list so far are:

VW A2 GTI 8v
VW Corrado G60 (Ihad
Audi Quattro
Mazda 323 GTX
Honda CRX
Nissan Sentra SE-r (1991-1994)
Toyota Celica All-Trac
Oldsmobile W41
Dodge Omni GLH
Acura Integra (1986 - 1993)

Any comments are welcomed:smile:

Buy him a Porsche 944 for $2500 it is solid and safe handels great. If you have more to spend buy him a 95 Bmw M3 it is also safe and solid built. Otherwise a VW Cabriolet 1987-88 or Scirocco 16valve 1987.

 

[ChongLee]

1986 Toyota Corolla GT-S Liftback

 

[brahtw8]

1991-1995 Acura Legend
1992-1995 Acura Vigor

A larger, heavier sedan is probably a good choice for a young driver.

 

[usafdarkhorse]

Buy him a Porsche 944 for $2500 it is solid and safe handels great. If you have more to spend buy him a 95 Bmw M3 it is also safe and solid built. Otherwise a VW Cabriolet 1987-88 or Scirocco 16valve 1987.

I disagree on the E36 M3 having experience with them and knowing that they are money pits, plus it would be too raw of a first car to drive for a 16 year old.

I'd say get him an Accord ( 99-02 ). Cheap ( 10k or so for a decent one ), economical, reliable, decently sporty ( very surprised as it feels much lighter than it is ), and ergonomical. Just a great overall car.

But personally, if it were my kid, he'd probably get something older and then they'd work it off.

 

[davidf]

Dhalsim, your avatar is freaking hilarious.:wink:

 

[jond]

My car at 16 was an old 6 cylinder sports car. It was a hand-me-down from my sister. Pretty slow but it looked cool.

18 is when I got something cool. The same 1966 mustang I have today, 15 years later.

 

[davidf]

When i was 16 I got whatever my folks gave me. I considered that lucky.

 

[MJK]

Volvo 850, whatever the least powerful one available was.

 

[Bigglezworth]

My son turns 16 in four months:frown: Since most if not all NSXprime owners are vehicle enthusiasts, what car did you purchase for your 16 year old son or daughter?

Easy one to answer for me personally. NONE. I purchased my own vehicle and insured/registered with my own money at 16. It took most of my available savings and lots of the monthly income I was making at that age. I plan on supporting this stance with my two daughters who won't hit 16 for many years yet. If they have saved up and desire some support from me with sourcing a reliable car - that's a different story. Ultimately just my take on the "purchasing a car for my kid" query that surfaces on all car forums at some point in time.

Whatever you choose is the ultimate answer. Taking away my biased approach to this matter, I would keep in mind maintenance costs in the event you are paying for those also, and something that doesn't look sporty - but merely practical.

JMO

 

[DRIFTER]

For 5k-6k i would say get an Audi A4 2.8 Quattro
I have found them to be quite reliable (GET THE 2.8!!!) you get Quartto all-wheel-drive excellent in all weather conditions. They have excellent breaks and are extremely safe vehicles. I had one for my first car and put over 250k be for selling it (got it with 90k). Had to replace two upper control arms and brakes one drive shaft ,shocks and springs in the entire time I drove the car. The car had 300k when when the new owner wrapped the car around a telephone poll @ 80 and walked away.

Things to look out for are the sunroofs they have a tendency for the switch to go bad from use.

One thing you have to give the DTM cars is they are safe and are well built. That is what I would be getting my son (if I had one):biggrin:

 

[Ski_Banker]

I will most likely make them earn their car on their own, if it is given to them, they might not appreciate it and do stupid things with it. Easy come, easy go. Instead I will only offer to pay 50% (What ever amount they can come up with, I will match it, if they can come up with $20k, I will match it and give them $20k).

++1


In addition to the Integras, I'd suggest a Prelude. Depending on what you want to spend, a latest models are cool, and I still love the '88-91 model years (get an Si with 4 wheel steering :wink: ) for a lot less $.

Also, the thought of getting an enthusiast car and doing car shows as a father-son activity sounds nice, it's probably a conflicting interest. Not only should he not drive anything especially fast or nice (safety, $ reasons) but you probably don't want to encourage him to fritter away his money on mods. Not the spending habits I would encourage for my kid at least.

Good luck.

 

[scorp965]

I disagree on the E36 M3 having experience with them and knowing that they are money pits, plus it would be too raw of a first car to drive for a 16 year old.

I have owned several, they're solid cars, unless you buy one which was abused, or don't complete required service - and if this is the case, how can you blame the machine if you fail to maintain it?

I have owned (5) E36 cars, 4 of them M3's, and put 100k miles on one of them.

 

[nsx1164]

An old first/second gen Mazda Miata MX5 (Eunos) roadster is a fun ride... easy on gas, fun factor at lower speeds, and one of the slickest shifters in the business.

Gotta love their design mantra - Jinba Ittai - rider and horse as one. :wink:

 

[nsx1164]

Dhalsim, your avatar is freaking hilarious.:wink:

off-track :biggrin:

+1

can u send me a high-res version ?? thanks in advance.

 

[usafdarkhorse]

I have owned several, they're solid cars, unless you buy one which was abused, or don't complete required service - and if this is the case, how can you blame the machine if you fail to maintain it?

I have owned (5) E36 cars, 4 of them M3's, and put 100k miles on one of them.

In addition to the regular service intervals, M3's have a tendency to break water impellers (~every 40k miles) and most notably have a nice break at the radiator ( which for some reason is plastic ). Even changing these pieces to reproduction metal ( as they were apparently in the Euro versions ) won't keep them from failing early. They're famously known for wearing out suspension components super fast too.
M3 owners love the E36 ( not as much as the E30 ), but most acknowledge these unforeseen repairs and plan accordingly.
I had a friend who spent a mint to keep his E36 in pristine condition, which it was, but he got rid of it.

But this is all opinion of experience really. Yours may differ.

I second the opinions for the Integras, Preludes ( basically anything Honda ), and the Miatas.

In fact, for a low powered enthusiast vehicle, it's hard to go wrong with a Miata, but then you have to start wondering about safety in something like that. :biggrin:

 

[Cairo94507]

I would say the biggest, slowest, ugliest car you can find. Why give a 16 year old something they might be tempted to race or test the limits with?

But if I have to choose from your list I go with the Oldsmobile W41.....I dont know what it is but it sounds big, slow and ugly.

I could not agree more. For me it would be a 4 cylinder, 4 door Saturn.

 

[DucTerry]

Older saturns don't crash well. I learned that the hard way. I hit the back of an explorer at about 40 and half the damn engine was in the seat next to me and the airbag went off as I was trying to get out of the car about 15 seconds after impact.

 

[eNeSeX 95T]

what about like an older WRX or 2.5 RS (non turbo). All wheel drive, zippy, looks good. Iv seen them go for like 7-8 grand.

Plus the AWD systems in those cars are alot better than the Quattro Audi has.