First car for son: 3800 Buick vs Crown Vic vs Camry 2.2L....need advice
- Thread starter Chris B.
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Have to admit CR-V strikes me as a great young driver’s car. Utility and I don’t see them messing around in that. My mom had a 2005 and it was a very good car. My dad wrecked it….Dang, that's nice.A Lexus and all.
Grandma couldn't wait to pass down an old CRV to my son. I didn't want it but it has actually worked out quite well.
The country has changed. I had to buy my own 1st car, insure it, put gas in it, and was married by 24. You hardly see that anymore. I was working off the books at age 12. Got my working papers at 14, and started working ( supermarkets, McDonalds, whatever ). Now, nobody is willing to hire a 14 yr old, even with working papers. My daughter is 13, and has to be trained in CPR/First Aid to try and get a babysitting job. We still can't find her a job for that for the summer. McDonalds or any other fast food chain refuses to hire 14 yr olds. Neither do supermarkets. The country is nutzo. That's the way it works in New York anyway. Don't know about any other states and their policies.
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Glad you're son works hard. My daughter is climbing the walls trying to find a job. We didn't raise her to be on mommy's t-tty for the rest of her life. That the way kids are supposed to be raised. they have to learn how to be self-sufficient. That comes with working. My BIL's offspring are in their 30's and STILL getting milk from mommy and daddy. We don't speak to that side of the fam anymore. One day, I asked my niece to pick up some sticks in the yard. My back was out and she wasn't doin anything but drinkin my coffee. She had the nerve to ask me " how much are you gonna pay me ? " I threw her out of the house. She's 32, and never worked a day in her life. Just keeps suckin on mommy and daddy's t-tty's,,,,and still lives home....Ridiculous
THIS is why I'm giving my daughter a beater. She WANTS to work....I hate offspring that have that " entitlement" attitude. My wife and I are old , and old school...That crap don't fly with us. My BIL's offspring never paid a bill in their life. Their in their 30's now !!!!!!! Never bought a car....nothin.....
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I'm probably out of touch because this came up 2X today. My wife said our friend's daughter has a new car and cost her parents $30k, so the mom had to get a second job and that's why we never see her anymore. I literally let out a, "WHAT??!!" Important here is 16 years old, $30k.
Then, my son goes to a birthday party, and the niece of the dad of the kid is looking for a car, so she shows the uncle and her grandma a used car she is interested in. By coincidence, it's $30k. The uncle goes, oh, that's way too many miles for $30k. The girl is 15. No clue what car it was.
I personally don't know what is going on, but I guess I don't feel a 30k car is needed for someone who is just getting their license. If that's out of touch, well, at least I acknowledge it. But I don't frankly understand these parents. While I'm not saying they need to look for cars in the $100's like I did when I was 3 years older than they are, but I am sure there are cars out there that are $3k or $5k.
Then, my son goes to a birthday party, and the niece of the dad of the kid is looking for a car, so she shows the uncle and her grandma a used car she is interested in. By coincidence, it's $30k. The uncle goes, oh, that's way too many miles for $30k. The girl is 15. No clue what car it was.
I personally don't know what is going on, but I guess I don't feel a 30k car is needed for someone who is just getting their license. If that's out of touch, well, at least I acknowledge it. But I don't frankly understand these parents. While I'm not saying they need to look for cars in the $100's like I did when I was 3 years older than they are, but I am sure there are cars out there that are $3k or $5k.
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I have read about half the replies. New immature male driver, first car - the number one criteria should be the number of airbags. You want at minimum bags on the front wheel, knee bolster area, side curtain and the front dash, knee bolster and side curtain on the passenger aside too. Rear will get used and so you need side curtain airbags there too. You can thank me later for the advice.
And if the sound system doesn’t work or is too crappy to turn on that gets extra credit. Rear camera too, they are not taught to turn their heads and look back, mirrors only unless taught by an old school instructor or parent.
And if the sound system doesn’t work or is too crappy to turn on that gets extra credit. Rear camera too, they are not taught to turn their heads and look back, mirrors only unless taught by an old school instructor or parent.
John, you are not " out of touch ". I don't know how old you are, or the age of the parents of the kids in question. I see it ALL the time where I live in NY. I'm 58, my wife is 51, our only child, ( daughter), is going to be 14. Yes, we are old parents. But, are also old school. My wife's 1st car was a $ 500 / 1980 Olds Omega. Given to her by he parents. Piece of junk. She was 16. My 1st car I had to buy, insure, and put gas in it. It was a 1973 Merc Montego. Bought it at 16 yrs old in 1984. That cost me $ 600. A real piece of junk. Different generations nowadays. No free rides when my wife and I were growing up. Worked off the books starting at age 12, then working papers at 14, then a real on the books job for the both of us, ( McDonalds, Supermarkets, Pizza Shops, Burger King, etc ), and still had to go to school. Summers were 40 hr work weeks at 14 yrs old. Whatever generations came after " GEN X " are totally different. You are not alone in you're thinking. My daughter can't wait to get a job. She wants a job to be INDEPENDENT. That's the way we raised her, old school. I bought her a beater for her 1st car. Yes, I'm early, but it was a good deal. $ 1500 bucks...Original owner... Let it sit in the yard a couple of years. So what. It's an 06' Camry Le / 4cyl / automatic / 120k on the ODO. She loves it and appreciates that we even bought her that. BUT, she must pay for insurance and gas.......Again..we are OLD SCHOOL PARENTS. The kid is in the Honor Roll Society !!!! I think we did right.
That seems excessive—but the market is wonky, for sure. Around here most anything below 3k is just short of undrivable, mechanical woes or unlikely to pass inspection. Although recently they announced the end of those, so perhaps we can have jalopies again…
Back when I was a kid I didn’t mind driving death traps. Things change when its your daughter borrowing the car… and when she has flipped a car on a snowy day. No one wants to deal with that. Makes spending extra for a later model car with more safety features seem like a no brainer.
If you can find a more affordable Crown Vic/Grand Marquis in good shape, that would certainly be a good choice. Unless it's a Police Interceptor or equipped with the Handling and Performance Package, it'll have a 2.73 rear axle ratio that's actually pretty impressive in terms of fuel economy on the highway.
These cars are famous for being tough. The biggest thing they have going for them is maintenance; a longitudinally mounted engine with rear wheel drive is pretty straight forward to work on, especially if he's up for doing it himself. Simple jobs are genuinely simple; a water pump can be swapped in 15 minutes; it actually takes longer to flush the system. More involved jobs, like valve cover gaskets, are rare. You also get a lot of car for the money and they are big, heavy cars that offer good protection due to their sheer mass. It also gives them somewhat of a better understanding of driving dynamics, IMHO, since it lacks modern features like ESC, which everyone has come to rely on in a sense; "if I screw up, the "nanny" will correct me". They're not exactly great handling cars, I spent a fortune on mine to make it handle the way I wanted it to, but nevertheless a good means to gain some experience.
That said, by "modern" standards, they are "large" cars which can make them difficult to park for a new driver. I learned to drive in a box Caprice, but things were different back in them days. That said, common sense also comes into play as rear wheel drive opens the door for recklessness, such as donuts in a parking lot. But if he's responsible for its maintenance, that can certainly be a deterring factor.
These cars are famous for being tough. The biggest thing they have going for them is maintenance; a longitudinally mounted engine with rear wheel drive is pretty straight forward to work on, especially if he's up for doing it himself. Simple jobs are genuinely simple; a water pump can be swapped in 15 minutes; it actually takes longer to flush the system. More involved jobs, like valve cover gaskets, are rare. You also get a lot of car for the money and they are big, heavy cars that offer good protection due to their sheer mass. It also gives them somewhat of a better understanding of driving dynamics, IMHO, since it lacks modern features like ESC, which everyone has come to rely on in a sense; "if I screw up, the "nanny" will correct me". They're not exactly great handling cars, I spent a fortune on mine to make it handle the way I wanted it to, but nevertheless a good means to gain some experience.
That said, by "modern" standards, they are "large" cars which can make them difficult to park for a new driver. I learned to drive in a box Caprice, but things were different back in them days. That said, common sense also comes into play as rear wheel drive opens the door for recklessness, such as donuts in a parking lot. But if he's responsible for its maintenance, that can certainly be a deterring factor.
That 06' Camry Le for our daughter has plenty of toys, ( in my old eyes anyway). All in working condition. Granted, it's not a tank. But has alot more features than my wife and I had on our 1st cars...Such as A/C , power windows, air bags, ABS, power door locks, a radio ( not kidding ),,pass & driver side mirrors.,,,high mount brake light... She'll be just fine. AAWWWWWW !!! No back up camera or blue tooth, as a single tear runs down my cheek....NOT ! She'll get used to to driving by actually " turning her head" to see what's behind her. I am a terrible parent....NOT !! She's lucky she's a FANTASTIC student, or she'd be getting a City Bus pass for Senior year of High School.