Subaru Impreza for a change of pace.

I just sent him a text suggesting he add the Honda FIT to his search . Seems like a lot of car for the money and maybe a one year old CPO can be had in his price range . Thanks for that suggestion .

Not to mention the days spent in the garage....

I can't find the meme but that one:

When I found out my kids liked cars I knew they'd always be broke.

rjp

Another Mazda Cheerleader here: owned one car and 4 of their pickups. Just as good as Honda/Toyota, but cheaper to buy a used one.

We kept our '99 Camry as a spare car. V6, automatic. Now has 245,000 miles. Problems: I replaced the wiper motor with a $29 Ebay one. Truly an appliance.

And speaking of Camry's my wife is actually talking about selling her 2002 Camry this year. It only has 40k miles on it and it is virtually spotless. Loaded except it has the four cylinder engine. It bores me silly driving it but is perfect for somebody who wants no thrills transportation and is not interested in cars.

The wife wants to replace it with a small suv such as a small Volvo but I am pushing her towards a newish Audi Q3 .

Used cop car. They are cheap, reliable, bulletproof, modern transportation designed to be operated by people who don’t give a crap.

I just picked one up to donate it’s running gear to my 53 Merc M100 pickup and have kinda enjoyed driving it around for the past 10 days... it’s no Porsche but it is inexpensive and safe. They were designed for a 75 MPH rear impact for instance.

+1 on the Honda Fit. Great, cheap, safe cars.

Found a rust free MK2 Jetta with an ABA swap. Everything up to date mechanically now, and we are contemplating 2.0 16V transplant... He is working on it with me and doesn't know he is paying for it by helping me at the shop. 8 months till his 16th birthday...

Go test drive one yourself before you let him buy one.

I've ridden in one and I got the distinct impression it was not a car I wanted to be in if it was hit by another vehicle larger than a Vespa.

I was doing some research on the Honda Fit and see that it has a CVT auto transmission . I am not up to speed on the latest CVT's but I do know in the past many manufacturers were having issues with them . So are they any good ? Are they holding up ? Or should he look for conventional auto trans ?

An inexperienced driver needs something larger than a Honda Fit. The CVT transmission can be iffy in all cars except Toyota or Lexus. Older Camry or Accord. The larger the car the better.

My son is not an inexperienced driver , he has been driving for over 15 years .

My parents had one that they bought new, I wasn’t impressed. It was cheap feeling and buzzy, but was huge inside and very practical.

My Nissan Versa has a CVT
Pro: Get better gas mileage.
Con: Need fluid change ever 65K miles ($250)

Same for my Versa, have to hold onto it for a year or so to get my money out it it then I'm trading it in.

I got my son a German made Golf (2011) - decent mileage and it's well made.

+1 for the Honda Fit.
My neighbor had a first generation Fit. I hated the seats but he is shorter than me.
Great utility and it saved his life when he was involved in a head on collision with a Kia Sportage.
Best
Les

Why does an inexperienced driver need a large car? Smaller cars have more room to operate in their lane and they are more nimble. Thirteen airbags in the Honda Fit.

I don't read that as saying a large car, just something larger than a Fit.

I don't disagree with that.

Two trains of thought on that.

You have to be a better driver in the small car, people will try to occupy your space, either from inattention, or a mostly correct assumption that you will move out of the way.

While you are more nimble, you have to use it. It will keep you more alert and active.

In the big car, people will move for your mistakes.

It is a LOT more stress in a stock 944 without a loud exhaust, than it is in my big fill the lane up 2+2 GT.

Now that said a nearly open exhaust on the 944 has slowed the amount of lane changing over run.