hahah..i'd buy him a bike. :)

i was so enthusiastic when i was a kid..then my mom gave me a broken camaro. :)

I come from a long line of car nuts. When I turned 16 in 1973 my Dad convinced me to buy a 1959 VW Beetle for $156 scooters from a friend of his.

"Save your money and get what you want later".

He paid for insurance and I kept saving. I was just glad be be able to get off the ranch whenever I wanted - and I never had to ride with my sister again. Beautiful.

Two years later I bought a 1971 BMW 2002, my first sports car. Sold the '59 for $400.

That said, a 2005 Yaris is equal to or better in performance than my old 2002. Better car in every way except memories.

Get something that will get him through college reliably or something he can move up from sooner. Both my kids got Toyotas - the daughter an FJ and my son our 2000 Tacoma. No sports cars.

One car to a customer!

Here's a link to the Volvo crash test video: https://youtu.be/qBDyeWofcLY

Another one that comes to mind is Mazda. You can get a lot of car for the money. My brother bought a Mazda 3 for his kid. I guess they have a flaky motor mount you have to watch out for but otherwise it seems like a pretty solid car.

Nothing sporty or low for a first car. As the above says basic transportation like a Corolla, Mazda 3 that is super reliable and not too much power. Maybe a half ton truck.

The Mazda 6 currently has one of the highest safety ratings available. Buy new because used ines cost about the same.

I'm about the same age. Guess we were just unlucky, as I visited friends in the hospital, and lost a few classmates by college graduation.

I have too much invested in my kids, for a DD I'd want them to have modern crash safety.

Daughter was in a multicar accident on 95 in december. Not a scratch, newer Honda Fit.

Unfortunately, I attended a few funerals too :(

I understand where you're coming from, but imo, "skin in the game" for a teen's car is a better safety factor than newer technology...jmho. From my experience, kids who are "given" cars at 16 don't fare nearly as well as kids who have a vested interest in their ride.

Your post hits home however....haven't thought about "Ted" in many years....RIP buddy.

Yeah the upper is a weak point but it's a $25 part and 10 minute job from the top of the car.

When I did mine I did upper / lower and tranny mount because what the hell why not.

Barely a one beer job.

Late to the show, but I would get him a Mercedes W123, like a 240D or 300D four door sedan. Built like a tank, safe as all hell and very slow! And they are cheap to buy, and easy and cheap to fix. Good on fuel, and he will be a master mechanic after owning it! I got my son one while he was in college, and he still has it after 5 years! He said he is going to keep it for as long as he can, and then get another! And he can now afford to buy an new Mercedes with his new job!

Define very slow.

We typically consider a car to be "fast" if it accelerates quickly.

But in reality they can all, given time, achieve lethal speeds.

what about this
 

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1488637727.JPG
And its air cooled.

Both our kids are driving Mazda 3s (2010 and 2013). They're cheap, very reliable and kind of fun to drive.

The older car has already had the upper motor mount fail - easy fix. I watched over my stepson's shoulder as he changed it in our garage.

There is a *huge* difference in cost between the low buy car's in the OP, and a Mazda 6.

That said, I really do like Mazda's latest offerings, a Mazda 6 became the #1 on the new car list when I was shopping for a modern daily driver in 2015. However, what ended up as the #1 on the used list won out over the #1 on the new list. Guess it will still be awhile before the new car experience.

To the OP, what about a Diesel Mercedes? That car should load up the miles and keep trucking.

I've thought about that but am having trouble finding one with lowish miles. Seriously, there are plenty with 250k but any lower and the market around here is pretty barren.

250k is low miles on those cars!!! I have 244k on my 85' wagon and my son has 360k on his 85' four door! They are good for 500k if maintained!

Years back, one of the kids' friends ended up with a late model Corvette his dad got him - at the time I thought it was dangerous move. Unfortunately, I was right and he killed himself in it a few months later.
My kids got mini-truck 4-bangers with a hi HP stereo.
Could only seat (2) and they complained how slow they were....I only smiled

watching this thread, great question i have started thinking about...I also wouldn't mind getting my boy a car that isn't like every other kids 10 year old Honda accord/Toyota camry, but not too expensive and relatively safe. I want to make sure he learns how to wrench on cars in the process, it has served me well over the years. He is only 12 now so I have some time, but he is a car fanatic. I don't have a lot of spare time, but thinking toward getting something in a year or two we can fix up together. He saw a 944 the other day and was definitely intrigued. I also saw a full size bronco (late 80s/early 90s) that I thought was cool.

I think there are several late 80s cars that could be easy enough to work on, relatively safe, and not too expensive.

edit; I would buy an air-cooled bettle in a heartbeat to fix up, but not sure his mother would think it safe enough (e.g. no airbags, etc.)

My son drives a 944 to school - it has airbags - it's built Porsche solid - I wish he would take more care of it = but he's a little spoiled - but a member of the NHS, Math NHS, Key Club and plays Varsity Soccer - and of course I monitor his driving MOTOsafety | Teen GPS Tracking Device

He's done a few autocrosses in the car - likes that - It's not really fast - my wife's Escape is faster

Sounds good! Yes it would be a good entry into Porsche world, and like you say not too fast compared to todays standards, and has airbags.