Big time issue

We just let our kid use either of our two vehicles pretty much any time he wants. I'm sure he'd rather have his own but he's ok with this arrangement. I didn't feel a need to run out and buy him a car right off the bat. When my wife and I are ready to upgrade we'll hand him a vehicle instead of trading in.

Several issues, in no particular order...

Insurance... From my experience, the insurance hit comes not from the added car, but from the 16 yr. old boy. If he will be listed as the primary driver of any vehicle, then obviously the car make/model will have an effect on rates.

Style... All boys are certain they need a truck or car that screams COOL or SECKSY or (insert adjective here). As a parent, I would sieze the opportunity to discuss personal character and personality as the more important factors in perception/image.

The all-important "driving is a privelege, not a right" conversation comes to mind. Beware the adolescent attitudes of entitlement, and the pressure to keep up with, or outdo, Jonesy over there.

Lastly, and speaking entirely from personal experience, (more of my own teen years than of my children's), kids do not truly respect or appreciate things that come to them too easily. Working for something, or waiting for something, serves to develop appreciation and responsibility. ...and I am convinced that, regardless of how responsible a 16 year old boy may be, all bets are off when you sit him behind a hemi with teammates, or girls (or teammates AND girls) in the car with him.

Bottom line recommendation... '77 Nova, or something equally unappealing, with a good service record, that he can learn to take care of and service.

FloridaHokie-Agree 100%-My parents always told me-"Beggar's can't be choosers." If you feel the need to get him a car then get him what YOU want him to have.

The "pick-up truck" craze that has become commonplace around here is laughable. Half the
vehicle is never used?????

quote:

The "pick-up truck" craze that has become commonplace around here is laughable. Half the
vehicle is never used?????

Just call me "poster boy" s u cker for the 15 mpg pick-up program. I took it to fill it up one day and dropped $50.......way back when gas was $2.00.

That after starting with a little 1990 asian speed racer that came back with $2,000 in frame damage a month after dropping the collision insurance to save $50 a month. How he bent the frame without bending sheet metal, I can only imagine.



I'd recommend a '89 Ford Crown Victoria with 7 spark plug wires. Maybe the 8th plug wire for the 18th birthday.

small pickup gives some utility, decent gas mileage, and reduced number of passengers [a key ingredient]. Cool is at the bottom of the list when Pops is footing the bill. 10 YO Nissan Altima is the perfect car for Jr and his sister to share [for now].

Insurance is a b!tch, but no way around it.
Think about safety rating for vehicle, cars past a certain vintage have no airbags or no passenger airbags, a real concern for some.

Find somethign reliable that should be reasonable on gas; cool factor increases risk factor. Should be your choice based on your parameters - next car is on him, so he has some say in the matter

How about an older Volvo 240 .Safe and slow. We were T-boned in a Volvo 960 last summer by a SUV and our car damaged but we were OK.

when i was a kid my first car was a roles.but today small p/u, decent milage,only two passangers tops,make a few bucks hauling things. still not to fartsy.
the roles was a roles canardly
roles down the hill canardly get up the other one.

Got my son an 89 Bronco with a new 351 and headers. Big...Heavy...Safe...8MPG!!! Yikes! I get to use it once in a while to pull the boat though!

quote:

Originally posted by catcher09:
His idea of a used car is a 69 Dodge Charger big block with all the trimmings– if anyone is getting a Charger it will be me.

ME! ME! I'll take it!! Would that be the hemi or the 440 six pack?

Moc, I can tell you're not from Texas. Talking down trucks...

For $2500 max., you are gonna be in a crapshoot. Tough to find a good vehicle for that price anymore.

Since GM dropped the Olds nameplate, the prices on used Olds have plummeted. I got a great deal on a used Aurora a while back. {Wonderful car, but with the large Northstar engine it is way too much go-go for a teen.}

The older Blazers were larger and seem to be popular with some kids.

Good luck.

I'll be robbing banks in six months to pay for the car insurace (after my son starts going solo).

I agree with you Windmill,
Small pick-up, very few passenger's.

I (we) must be an ***. My son can't use any car he wants anytime he wants. He is to ask. We live right in town, the field is very close, so is school, walking is NOT crowded and much better for him. He has had access to our third car but this weekend college daughter gets home and she will need the car to drive to one of her 2 summer jobs.

.

Two words of advice, for those of you with 16 year old, hubris filled, risk taking (all of them) drivers...

AIR BAGS

Spend the extra Money...frankly you'd rather be poor and have them alive then have another few hundred dollars and not...

I know this from gut wrenching experience. It is simply not worth the risk.

44
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I'm with 044 - airbags are a requirement - the more the better...

My first suggestion was for a M1 - after telling him I meant the Abrams not an M3 BMW, he wasn't nearly as happy

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Having persoanlly been though the Truck-into-a-tree-at-freeway- speeds, "There's been an accident...", Life-flight scenerio with my younger

...at that moment believe me, you will wish TO GOD that you had paid for every safety feature available...

Now....

I for one am taking the WoodMan and and 08 up on their advice. There is a WWI battleship mothballed about 100 miles up the coast...that's youngers next transportation.

Anyone know how many miles to a gallon they get?....

44

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By the way...

Dad 04.....

LOVE the visuall!

44

I think I'm going with Nuclear powered Sub.
Less maintanence, and only have to refuel every couple of year's.

044 -

The Iowa class battleships get roughly 1 mile per ton of oil - assuming a speed of 25 knots...

On the other hand, the shells are roughly the same size as a VW bug... weighing 2700 pounds, and traveling at 2690 ft/second (maximum range of about 24 miles in 90 seconds)...

Could I borrow it occasionally and pop my son into a shell and send him to school in a hurry when he gets up late and is rushing to school?

.
O8.....Lets see if I get this right...

6 pounds per gallon, 2,000 pounds per ton = 333 Gallons of Diesel per mile...at $3.00 per gallon is...$1,000 per mile?

Not bad! And all that protection and only a 25 MPH top speed to boot. Does it come with air bags? I wonder if I can get a Hybrid?

EH...I think the sub is a good idea. And my son would be getting "glowing" reports...

44
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But think of all the kharmer protecting them...

maybe i'm dating myself but i was remembering when it was ok to ride your bike at that age.of course it was a 10 speed.and had no helmet.it wasn't any thing to be ashamed of.but that was way back when the trees were 3 feet tall.

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08...

Really deserves to be highlighted in the Karma Thread....our karmic "post of the week"?...

quote:

But think of all the kharmer protecting them...

44

Oh... and 20....

quote:

was way back when the trees were 3 feet tall.

Trolling? Do you think the Wood Man is biting this fine spring day?....

44
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Woodman...

quote:

On my way to Memphis to pick up oldest son after his freshman year at college.

Have Fun!

Going in Submarine or battleship?....

44
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44
i think i was trolling for woody and didn't know it.

woodman
85 is converted to three nots by the highway patrol, not that fast,not in my state and your not leaving without a ticket.good luck

my first car was a 1989 Honda Accord (which I got about 4 and a half years ago when I got my day permit), which had been driven by just about every member of my family (Im talking parents, grandparents, aunts and uncle). my senior year my parents got me an S-10 which I am still driving. My recommendation would be to get him an S-10 or Blazer (or something else along those lines). With an S-10 or some other small truck they get good gas mileage, limit the number of people you can transport (which can cut down on driving a lot), and are pretty reliable (I have a friend that had a 92 S-10 that he has wrecked at least 8 times including once where he backed into me) and until he finally sold it it still ran (of course everything had been changed on it except for the cab). If something does break down you can usually get replacement parts for pretty cheap. Plus if he is into working on cars and stuff there are a lot of things that you can do to S-10s (and other small trucks) for relatively cheap.

Woody...

You know, a sure sign of aging is when you begin to repeat yourself.

quote:

Originally posted by FloridaHokie:
Woody...

You know, a sure sign of aging is when you begin to repeat yourself.

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This is like Deja Vu all over again...

...or was that a steroid/moderator thread?...

(rolling over and over...) 44

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Wood man...

quote:

That's my legacy...

Since this a guys forum I'll karm clean...

My legacy is FULL cans of WD40 in the burn pile...That was a BLAST!

and very addicting....still haven't quite gotten over it...

44

O44... You're scary dude...

I think I read about you in Mercenaries' Home Journal last month. Was that you on page 53 with the ski cap, camos, and that burning barn in the background?

.

quote:

O44... You're scary dude...

Hokie, I'm genuinely touched...

and I'm outed. Yes, that was me/us in (MHJ) Mercenaries' Home Journal last month. It was while working at a ski shop, hence the ski cap. It was actually a garbage pile, though yes, we did inadvertently catch a few local structures on fire in the process. See,the problem was that the fires had to be of sufficient size to get the tempratures up to explosive levels, and cans to "terminal Velocities"

A few insights.

- Cans reach some really wonderful and gratifying exit velocities
- Directional control of the cans is extremely limited...even with fins
- blast shelters were prudent
- "economy sized" cans became missles
- Large cans create really, really cool mushroom shaped, mini-atomic clouds
- Neighbors can have a difficult time seeing the value of such activities
- Sales of WD 40 EXPLODED in the store
- home torch tanks, scuba tanks, weldinging tanks, small propane trucks, railroad tank cars, and oil company tank farms are not reccomended.

PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. WE BECAME TRAINED PROFESSIONALS ON AN CLOSED COURSE...

Is this guy thing?

44

...more tidbits to consider if you're gonna get stupid try this at your next job interview camping trip...

If you're gonna try to make the fins work, I strongly recommend an epoxy compound. "Three-fingers" still hasn't forgiven me for a freakish and totally unforseeable welding incident a few years back.

If PETA comes snooping around asking questions, denial is your best bet. Claiming ignorance is probably not gonna cut it.

Don't try this in the dry season. Though usually good natured, those forestry service people can get a little edgy and snippy.

Make sure you are minimally 100 yds away from any habitable structure. Double that if Sam's or Cosco was your supply source.

Don't park your truck too close thinking you'll need to make a quick exit. Trust me on this one... Crawling the 100 yds to the truck so you can drive to the ER is better than having to drag yourself all the way to the clinic.

...and finally... Get your affairs in order and spend some time working out and limbering up before you try this. ...don't want to sprain your back when you're kissin yer butt goodbye.

44
on a smaller scale the beer bottle with a little left in it and the cap screwed on has a wonderful burst when the steam biulds up.nice spray as well,very hot.some of the finer things in life are learned around the camp fire after the woman hit the hay.and the forest rangers in nh have no humor either.

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Ya know 20, with all due respects.....

I'm more likley to put the whole bottle in unopened...or better yet get a big roaring fire and throw in a full keg....

44
.

.
As a folllow up...

Imagine if you will the result of such a plan,

...not only the explsoion itself but a blanket of foam everywhere....

Really warms my male heart....

44

There is a science to be followed in this area - To maximize the pop and the amount of beer sprayed, one has to pour out or otherwise dispose of enough of the beer to make 60% of the volume of the bottle air.

For some reason I was not allowed to enter this in the science fair - but the key to a decent explosion, you need to have enough room for the gases to build up...

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'08,

Great info!

1. Keg, bottle or can...Draining half the contents always leads to more male stupidity!

And speaking of male stupidity....

2. A scientific breakthrough!...60% you say?...Never even considered this...

...Bonfire is building outback...

44

.

I have no idea where my original post has gone but....we think we found a 92 Bronco (more miles on it then I have). Solid truck that I will have our mechanic look at on Monday. Selling for $3000 but I think I can talk em down a bit - everything looks good except the interior,,,,,should give my son a chance to work on the car during the hot Georgia summer.

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Catcher09,

Welcome back!...

...sorry we got Hijacked..er, I mean sidetracked...Stay calm I know this is an explosive issue.

In any case congratulations on the Bronco. Sounds like a guy car...

Don't worry too much about the interior...guys don't need no stinking interior comforts...

Bats, balls, cleates, mud, blood, sweat, tears, and a bunch of things I won't mention all take a toll..

44
.

If you can see steel through the Bronco carpet you might have to pay more. Duct tape onthe seat covers is a plus. Just make sure it has 3" dual exhaust and it runs good'n tight.

I think I'm goin' truck shoppin'.