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Thread: First car for teenager

  1. #19
    Registered User JavierNuvolari's Avatar
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    Ben, since you told me that she's had experience in karting etc I assume she can drive. If so and also if she's a responsible person then she should be fine with the S4, the only thing keeping me from saying " GO FOR THE S4!!!" are the Turbo issues the2.7 was famous for.

    Saludos

  2. #20
    Moderator RXBG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by The RS6 View Post
    Give her the A3 2.0...
    it is a philosophical issue indeed. i am more about humility and basicness. one can autocross any cheap little car to learn about driving. but some people, i can see, love cars and want their kid to have a nice one to compete with the joneses, as an extention of announcing family wealth, or as a matter of simple pride (i'm not assuming benman's frined is any of the above btw)... were i a millionaire when my daughter gets ready for her first car i'd get her something akin to what i had- a reliable, economical, safe, relatively current car. period. but that's just me.

    an A3 2.0- that would be a great car for her when she graduated college or got into a great graduate program while still in college- as a reward. but nothing more. the rest she buys herself.

    p.t. barnum style thinking is what i go for.
    Past- A4, TT, S4

    Present- R8 V10

  3. #21
    Registered User JaXx's Avatar
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    my first car was a ford fiestaaaaa , 65hp and i loved it. First cars should be pieces of shit like this.
    imo, An audi S4 is irresponsable for someone with very little driving experience. give her a golf 1.6 or an a3 1.8, but no turbo's etc, she really doesnt need it !!
    i've got a friend who got an TT 225hp as a first car, he wrecked it and broke several bones.. and he DID had plenty of karting experience. ( team member etc )

    think about it. make sure you don't regret anything afterwards.

  4. #22
    Registered User Damienr8's Avatar
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    My first car was a 1996 Jetta GL. Piece of shit, costed me $2000. Ran well for 1 year then all sorts of problems. I got rid of it when one day i was coming home from the Mall and my heater coil blew. The heat and condensation started pouring into my car and i couldnt see anything, I veered off the road uncontrollably, lost control after hitting the elevated bumps in a cas station and finally stopped outside someone's garage. As soon as i stopped i heard a small "crack". Walked outside my car and a HUGE pole was indented into the drivers side of my windshield.

    Point of the story is. Be absolutely careful about your purchase. If i was looking to purchase a first car for my daughter, it would be something safe, reliable, fun and decently priced. A perfect example of such a car would be Late 80's honda Civic or Subaru Forester/Legacy.

  5. #23
    Moderator Benman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Der Major View Post
    LoL. I canīt believe what im reading here.
    I can understand where you're coming from.

    RXBG, The 87' Civic was a great car, my cousin had one and we enjoyed it immensely. I've also owned a 4 door 96' Accord I4, and a 00' Accord V6 coupe. Both were fantastic, super reliable cars (I put 186K miles on the V6 and still ran perfect). In fact, I'd wager (at the risk of upsetting some members here) that Hondas are the most well engineered cars, bar none. When it comes to trouble free maintenance, and durability, Hondas are truely hard to beat.

    Quote Originally Posted by RXBG View Post
    it is a philosophical issue indeed.
    That plays into it to a degree I'd have to say. But an 00' S4 would be actually cheaper than a new Civic. The maintenance costs would however (as I've just said above) be higher.

    As it stands his daughter is leaning towards an 00' 1.8T. Yes, she has carting experience, yes she is competent, but it seems she is not as materialistic as us "grownups".

    BTW, loved the input so far and have showed the coments to my buddy. Thanks.

    Ben
    Einstein once said, "I want to know God's thoughts, the rest are details."
    Ron Paul Fan

  6. #24
    Registered User 3abdo's Avatar
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    Hi, the B5 S4 is a very good car, but not as a first drive, it is too fast to be a first drive especially nowadays teenager have a love for speed and police have a love of writing tickets, and don't forget how her friends would be excited and tell her to step on it, that might be dangerous for her,I would definitely go for a 00 accord, either a v6 or the 2.3, extremely reliable car, handles well safe, comfortable, big enough and easy on the gas and she could sell it anytime without it loosing much value...
    heaven for the climate, hell for company

  7. #25
    Registered User Z07's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Benman View Post
    The funny thing is that Ben916 and 96a4 are saying no way... yet each had a V8 for their first car. You got to love irony.

    RXBG & Z07, what was your first car?
    1985 C(h)avalier 1.8SRi (115bhp).

    Most of my peers had 1.1 Fiestas and 1.0 Polos with <50bhp. My car was regarded as 'very fast'. That's why I laugh at the prospect of getting hold of a 250bhp saloon as a first car. You live in a different world over there. 250bhp is regarded as fast even among adults today in the UK. The average car is a 1.8 or 2.0.

  8. #26
    Registered User BigRick's Avatar
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    Strange how I must disagree with almost everyone this time... We have the wrong angle at that question.

    Everyone's talking about the car while we should be talking about the person. Benman knows what a B5 S4 is all about, I'm pretty sure. So the question here is: "Is she capable of staying cold headed even with friends around?"

    Don't forget we are talking about a girl here and they are normally (and let's emphasize on normally) more responsible.

    So if she can handle the S4 why should she drive a slower car?! Just for the record the number of HP will just make it quicker to the top speed and let's be honest most cars can get to unreasonable speeds... it's only a matter of seconds for some and minutes for others.

    The other factor is friends pushing for some demo... now that has to be dealt with by the person. So again "Is she capable of staying cold headed even with friends around?"

    My 2 cents
    Last edited by BigRick; August 14th, 2008 at 19:22. Reason: typos

  9. #27
    Registered User Damienr8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigRick View Post
    Strange how I must disagree with almost everyone this time... We have the wrong angle at that question.

    Everyone's talking about the car while we should be talking about the person. Benman knows what a B5 S4 is all about, I'm pretty sure. So the question here is: "Is she capable of staying cold headed even with friends around?"

    Don't forget we are talking about a girl here and they are normally (and let's emphasize on normally) more responsible.

    So if she can handle the S4 why should she drive a slower car?! Just for the record the number of HP will just make it quicker to the top speed and let's be honest most cars can get to unreasonable speeds... it's only a matter of seconds for some and minutes for others.

    The other factor is friends pushing for some demo... now that has to be dealt with by the person. So again "Is she capable of staying cold headed even with friends around?"

    My 2 cents
    I suppose you have a point here because the initial question the user had was based on power. I looked at price, reliability, safety which may or may not be factors for the buyer.

    But, good discussion

  10. #28
    Registered User BigRick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Damienr8 View Post
    I suppose you have a point here because the initial question the user had was based on power. I looked at price, reliability, safety which may or may not be factors for the buyer.

    But, good discussion
    I agree, the discussion is quite interesting. Great to see what others have had as their first car and what they think a teenager should have.

    I personnaly had a nice inline 6... but it was in a Ford F150

    Cheers!

  11. #29
    Registered User Z07's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigRick View Post
    Don't forget we are talking about a girl here and they are normally (and let's emphasize on normally) more responsible.
    But they're normally shit drivers too. The 2 cancel.

  12. #30
    Moderator Benman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigRick View Post
    Strange how I must disagree with almost everyone this time... We have the wrong angle at that question...


    My 2 cents
    Rick, good perspective. In reality, a teenager only "needs" a car that can safely get from point A to point B, and even sub 50hp can achieve that. "Is she capable" is an entirely different (and sort of the point of this post) matter. For me and my kids when ready, a 00' 1.8T might be the better option. But for his daughter, although he too feels the 1.8T is plenty adequate, the S4 is what he is leaning towards. She has proved herself reliable in the face of peer pressure (no broken curfues, no drugs, no drama) and he feels she could handle it. Combined with karting experience (although she is not some ex-champion), he feels she could "handle it".

    I would agree that "less is perhaps more", but she may be responsible enough. And also, statistic wise, girls are more carefull drivers compared to young boys (at least in the USA). It is ironic since an AWD 250hp V6 is certainly safer than my first car, not to mention his...

    I still remember my parents aurguing over me getting the old Z28...

    Ben
    Einstein once said, "I want to know God's thoughts, the rest are details."
    Ron Paul Fan

  13. #31
    Registered User Z07's Avatar
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    Personal I think 50hp is dangerously low and likely to get them killed whilst overtaking. 130 is about right but 250 sounds good, just make sure it has some good brakes. LOL at 250bhp. The police pursuit cars only have that much in the UK.

  14. #32
    Registered User ben916's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigRick View Post
    .... So the question here is: "Is she capable of staying cold headed even with friends around?"
    Please correct me if I am incorrect but California law doesn't allow anyone under 19 yo to have other minors in the vehicle. And then there is that cell phone law here also.

    For the record, I purchased my 86 GT 5.0 myself without the parents influence or cash. A 200hp rear wheel drive V8 5 speed living in Seattle was a challenge, especially downtown with all the steep hills. I got sideways leaving the dealers lot...

    I do agree with BigRick on the level-headedness of the new driver. We all know it is gonna get banged up. Bumpers and doors...

  15. #33
    Registered User Der Major's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Benman View Post

    As it stands his daughter is leaning towards an 00' 1.8T. Yes, she has carting experience, yes she is competent, but it seems she is not as materialistic as us "grownups".
    So further opinions are useless.
    And thatīs what they all are, just opinions. Comparing kart experience with real driving experience is absolutely nonesense. IMO.

    Would be the same as: I now how to ride a bicycle now iīm getting myself a bike.
    Just my 2c

  16. #34
    Moderator Benman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Der Major View Post
    So further opinions are useless.
    Discussion is never useless.

    Quote Originally Posted by Der Major View Post
    Would be the same as: I now how to ride a bicycle now iīm getting myself a bike.
    Just my 2c
    Actually, buying a motorcycle without having ever learned to ride a bicycle would be a big mistake!

    Ben
    Einstein once said, "I want to know God's thoughts, the rest are details."
    Ron Paul Fan

  17. #35
    Registered User ben916's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Benman View Post
    Discussion is never useless.


    Actually, buying a motorcycle without having ever learned to ride a bicycle would be a big mistake!

    Ben
    Discussion... that is the binary talking....

    Kinda like boogie boarding leads to surfing...

  18. #36
    Registered User s42ski's Avatar
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    Benman, I just went through this with my nephew and neice. He has a Jetta now and she is getting a Honda Accord 4 cyl. Interestingly she is more into cars than he. She asked for something that could be "sooped up".

    I survived my youth driving ridiculously overpowered cars. Meaning they had power and no ability to steer or stop, just go in a straight line. First car was a 67 Camaro with a Corvette LT-1 engine.

    That being said I would not suggest a first driver to have anything of that sort. Lower power and reliable are the key - heck even a Hyundai can get up to 125 mph these days, but an S4 is asking for trouble including higher insurance. Turbo is a 4 letter word with the insurance world if you are under 35 years old.

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