Car for teenager dilemma

NJ, I am not sure why are you looking at sedans where SUV, no matter how small, would gain that extra clearance over any snow mound.
I am from NJ myself and let me say this, SUV would get him/her to destination much better than a sedan would ever will.

 

I'd like to buy this $1000 Cabby......

a nice 6th gen is probably costs way more than what it should right now.

Depends, some SUVs have same ground clearance as sedans, and gives new driver a false sense of safety, I live in Ontario, we probably get way more snow than NJ, the civic with good set of snow tires is just as good, I've seen enough kids with Subbies getting stuck in snow banks thinking awd will save their butt.

kinda like me, and here's my kid laughing at my mistakes.

 

My teenager is firm that he wants my vintage Volvo turbo wagon =) AWD, 10" of ground clearance, AT tires. 0-60 is sort of slow, because engine outmatches the transmission, so it's not allowed to breathe fully in the first two gears. But in higher gears it's "see you in the mirror".

 

Aren't Camry's plagued with oil consumption problems if engine was not taken care properly?

 

I had a 89 VW Jetta 2dr (rare), and it was slooow. But I loved that thing, I banged through the gears pretending it was fast haha. Later my bro upgraded to a 16v Jetta, that thing was quicker and more fun. I would love to own/build another 16v MK2 Jetta or GTI.

 

I want to say ours is a 88? We got it since the wife thought it was cute hahaha! It gets more attention than probably anything else we own. There's a pretty steep paved road to some radio towers nearby, and we went up last summer and foot to the floor was like 5mph. We even stopped and advanced the timing as much as possible to try and make it at least go above walking speed. We've talked about doing a TDI swap. I've thought it'd be perfect for a kid or college student, super tiny, wicked gas mileage, really cool and "sporty", can carry four people and has a trunk. It checks a lot of boxes!

 

Anyway, we went to look at 2016 Lexus IS 300 with 90K miles on it, with very good maintenance record. I honestly thought I was gonna come home with it as it was a really cool car. Well, it turns out that my son and I are too tall for it, at 6'3". I read about this issue somewhere that it's not a comfortable car for tall folks as it has a bulge in the floor to accommodate AWD, making the center console wider as well, and pedals are slightly shifted to the left.







From there we went to check out 2017 Camry SE with 58K miles on it. Serviced at the dealer every 5000 miles, even had transmission drain and fill at 46K. Nice car, clean, taken care of, leather wrapped steering wheel, black interior with red stitching. We both liked it, I made an offer, went back and forth, and came home with it. It'll do for now.

 

I WISH I had gotten a manual Honda Accord (2001 or 2002) around 2010 to 2014 when those were pretty easy-to-find used and sold my 2002 Accord automatic. However, going forward, I am only buying manual shifts if at all possible. Big hold up on the dump truck I am looking for is finding one that's a manual.

 

I had a mk3 gti with the 2.slow, loved the car but yea, it was slow.

Any rust? cause this guy would like to a bitch-basket.

I regret not buying the last 6spd Ram 2500 Cummins, surprisingly, the wife likes how new Taco with 6spd drives.

 

Downytide,

I'm having serious thoughts that once I get this dump truck bought and investment made back...getting a manual daily driver.

I miss driving those that much.

 

And paddle shifters on the steering wheel!! (OK, not quite, but they're still fun.)
Wife's '17 RAV4 SE has the same drivetrain (w/AWD), and sporty touches inside and out.
They even gave it SE-specific 18" wheels with bigger tires and firmer shock valving. It actually handles surprisingly well for a SUV.

I would bet the Camry is similar. Nice first car!

 

This is what I got my daughter. 2011 with the V6 and manual transmission. It’s a fun little ride.

 

Coolest kid on the block!

 

My first car was a Volvo 240

My son is driving my 2013 Tundra and my daughter I just got her a 2025 Honda CRV after trading in my 2011-200K miles Honda Pilot which was a tank. My insurance is absolutely killing me with 2 teens in the house

 

Anyone else find it humorous how nice our kid's first cars are compared to what we got?
My first car was my dad's '71 Chevy Kingswood Estate wagon. Big freakin' badass rusty beast of a car. Loved it though.

 

The purchase is very nice and that will make a great car for many years. I would run the wheels off that thing honestly. My wife and I both own Toyota products and will not own anything else.

 

Yeah, absolutely! My first, back in 1996, was 1986 Pontiac Firebird V6 2.8L. I bought it from a friend for $100 because transmission would not shift out of 1st. So I bought a trans from a junkyard for $250 and had to put it in myself. I loved that car, it was a tank, I beat the hell out of it for years, it took everything I threw at it. Eventually sold it for $500


And speaking of manuals, this is still my commuter. It took me 3 months to find one with 6-speed, as they are few and far in between. It's a 2011, I got it in 2016 with 65,000 miles. It currently sits at just over 222,000. I still love driving this thing. Soon after I got it, I installed Steeda springs, strut tower brace, and bigger rear sway bar. This thing handles like it's on rails.

 

You and I are cut from a very similar cloth sir.
I would absolutely rock that as a daily commuter.

Similar story as your Firebird, but with a much less cool car:
'83 Cavalier wagon. 5 speed manual and F41 "sport-tuned" suspension.
(Basically a Z24 with no spoilers or stickers, before there was such a thing.) In a WAGON.
Paid $125 not running. Didn't take much to get it running fine. Threw a $65 radiator in it and drove the snot out of it for 90,000 miles. Could not be stopped with dedicated snow tires in the winter. Hauled engines in the back. Met my wife in that car. Best beater ever.

 

Yep, pretty much. My kids cringed when I showed them a photo of my first car. Hand-me-down from my parents, olders sister, and then to me: 1977 Subaru "Coupe". So sporty like the one in the following pic but with more rust, faded paint, etc....

It was hella reliable other than needing to patch the radiator every few months with JB Weld and epoxy putty. LOL

My daughter just turned 16. I bought my mom's 2007 Saturn Outlook AWD for her to start with for a great deal. It's in incredible condition for as old as it is and with about 110K miles. I at least know the maintenance history since my mom bought it 16 years ago with about 15K miles.



She's not that thrilled with it, but that should only make her work harder toward something she wants more.

 

HA! I once bought a 1992 Cavalier, 5-speed manual, with 90K miles, at a town auction for $355. It had broken driver's window and someone emptied fire extinguisher in it Interior was completely covered with that yellow powder. I went to the junkyard, got the window, entire interior, minus the dash and plastics, and put it all in. I think parts cost me $120. I drove the piss out of it for years and 10s of thousands of miles. I then traded it for 1990 Mustang LX 5.0, manual and added $1100 on top. I loved that car and had it forever.

 

I love the pics of the cars and the stories that go with them. My first ride was a 1975 Pontiac Ventura, kind of the sister car of the Chevy Nova's in those years. I got it for 500 bucks and drove that thing forever. Had the straight six motor in it. Used some oil but as long as I kept on eye on it the thing ran like a champ. Kids today have no idea what most of us had to drive when we were teens. None of this fancy electronics and stuff. The way I see it they shouldn't be allowed to have these newer vehicles. Driving a beater makes you appreciate a newer one later on. IMO

 

I'd actually prefer to not have any electronics at all.

 

I had a turd brown '73 Nova Hatchback with a 250 I6 and a Powerglide. Slower than molasses in January but never let me down.
Looked a lot like this but not quite as nice. (I don't have any pics of it.)

 

HAHA that's funny. I definitely didn't like the hatchbacks in these cars. But hey when it's all you can afford it beats walking.

 

Next door neighbor had a 1973 Chevy Nova sedan and drove that thing as her only car from my earliest memory to I guess the early 2000's. I think it finally rusted pretty badly. Blue with a white top. She stopped driving by 2004 and passed on in 2005. Very sweet and great neighbor. I started mowing her grass when I turned 12----August 3, 1986.

 

Civic or Camry or Accord. But, just my .02 put the vehicle in his name and insurance in his name, hope he's never in an accident but if he is you can be sued since it's your car. Just what my attorney told me. Also modern and safe car, so they don't break down in the wrong area/neighborhood.

 

@ColoradoTJ I think it depends on expectations of how much they'll be driving and where. I agree with you and OP that if they'll be driving 200+ miles per week, OP made an excellent decision on what they got.

I believe older cars are a good choice (provided they still have modern safety features like airbags) if they'll be driving less than 50 miles per week and never leaving town/cell service. In my case, it's a starter car that we plan to pass on to her younger sister and insurance is under $100/month so we can invest the savings and put that toward something nicer for her older sister in a year or two when she's driving more and heading off to college.