Would you buy a broken car to rebuild for your teen?
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Kestas
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I find enough to do on a good used car.
If you're talking about something that has a blown head gasket, or a/c stopped working, and is otherwise fine, it can make for an interesting project that includes some bonding time.
If you're talking about something that has a blown head gasket, or a/c stopped working, and is otherwise fine, it can make for an interesting project that includes some bonding time.
I would buy a good example with good bones, within the realistic financial/time/storage space ability. It's my experience that unless you have something that can have relatively "quick win" payoffs, anyone not totally committed will abandon the project. So if this is a 2 year restoration, expect the teen to find other things (girls, video games, sports, etc.) to do.
Ideally, a well loved car that might just need a few relatively minor things that can be fixed and roadworthy in a month or two. A motor rebuild, for instance. Or something driveable now, but will need some light mechanical, or electrical, or body work near term.
ETA: The math really can pay off. A typical vocational/college class in automotive will probably cost thousands of dollars. That money could easily pay for a real world project that has a tangible reward in the end. IMO $10,000 on a useful car restoration, is probably a better investment in many respects.
Ideally, a well loved car that might just need a few relatively minor things that can be fixed and roadworthy in a month or two. A motor rebuild, for instance. Or something driveable now, but will need some light mechanical, or electrical, or body work near term.
ETA: The math really can pay off. A typical vocational/college class in automotive will probably cost thousands of dollars. That money could easily pay for a real world project that has a tangible reward in the end. IMO $10,000 on a useful car restoration, is probably a better investment in many respects.
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im still driving my first car (wrecked the 4th car by messing around in the rain, sold the other 3 for a good profit) 200hp in a large SUV. not powerful enough to spin tires in gravel, 13mpg, and I bought it for $400 when I was just barely 15. the paint is almost entirely gone on the hood and roof, it's not pretty, cool, or fast. every dime that's gone into this car since I bought it is mine, exept for some gas money (my parents fill it up when they borrow it) i watched my dad work on his cars as a little kid and always wanted to work on or build my own car. i drive a piece of crap and you'd have a really hard time convincing me to sell it.
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You are also that rare type of person who would be responsible enough to do all that maintenance and upkeep, and have easy access to the person you need to make that a reality.
Most people your age don't have that. There is a line between what's possible and what's realistic. As someone who loves cars, you're going to have an awesome future as an owner... not a debtor.
Hope you make it great. All the best.
LOL...What's funny is many threads are asking for an opinion. Then when it's given, others say why do you care? It's rather blunt, but who said we did?
I take all opinions and sort them like my e-mail's at work based on how much I "like" the person on the other end of the inbox. That being said very few people immediately go in ignore mode.
Cynical, or entitled, or ungrateful kids should have the car taken and sold.
Don’t like what I worked hard to give you?
Feel free to buy your own.
100%...
Having life skills is a life skill. Kids should figure out that doing "something" for yourself is actually useful. Maybe they'll decide to do their own taxes, or sheetrock, instead of paying someone else to do so.
OP asked about fixing a car "for" their kid and half the commenters jumped in wanting to do it "with" their kids.
My eldest is not going to make a good mechanic, I already know. When he drives on his permit, though, he drives just like me-- so much so that sometimes I start nodding off.
I did make him change a tire on "his" camry before getting his permit. I told him everything he needed was inside the car. He took the hint and found the owner's manual.
A Volvo would be no joke. They're a tough and safe car.
A business acquaintance lost both his parents and his in-laws in auto crashes. After spending some time in auto wrecker's yards he decided Volvos did the best in crashes so he and his wife both drove Volvo 240s. The alternative would have been a Mercedes.
A relative bought each of his kids a used Volvo primarily because they were so safe.
Our daughter learned to drive in our Volvo 740 Turbo 4MT+OD.
Friends bought our Volvo 740 Turbo for their kids to learn to drive. When they decided it was time for it to move on, their daughter (who is well known "to run with scissors") was heartbroken.
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My first 3 cars were Volvo 200 series. #'s 2&3 were 264s. The first was OHV. Here's the part where I say I paid for them myself (haha yeah, right, well, that's how it was back then). Even though the 244 was a 4 spd manual and the fenders had holes, as did the rear doors and rear 1/4's, it was my car and it may as well been the 300 SD that I dreamed it was. It did have ice cold air which the next two did not. It was my very own first car.
This helped me keep the 3 cars on the road for 13 years until I bought my first new car.
That's why I couldn't complain about the exhaust fumes, the inoperative turn signals and brake lights, and the holes in the floor where the rear springs attach - the car would have been taken away. Which is ironic because I DID buy the car myself (although I probably did get the "grandma discount"). Nowadays I drive by the local H.S. and I see a lot full of shiny new Jeep Wranglers. Too rich for me.
I would get a fixer upper and have her at least be present and understanding all the things I’m doing to it. Even if she never turns a wrench in her life it’s important to know what and why maintenance needs to be done. That way she doesn’t end up clueless and being taken advantage of by shady mechanics.
Tongue in cheek comment but yes I agree completely safe cars. I started looking at S40s just to gauge what's out there. Still a lot of low mileage examples for reasonable amounts. I still want a V70R in the worst way.
I picked up a 2013 Fusion in January of 2022 for my son. I got it cheap because the seller said it had issues with the power steering (it's electric and expensive). It actually drove fine, just made some pops when you turned it lock-to-lock. Eventually, it threw codes for the steering angle sensor occasionally. When the code occurred, it would keep the turn signals from latching on and affected the traction and stability control.
At some point, I found a rack at pick n pull and picked it up, but I put off replacing the rack for a while.
I was a pretty good car, the 2.3 engine was a little coarse but didn't consume oil at 180k miles. Transmission had a rough 2-3 shift that's pretty common with these. Interior was decent, quiet smooth ride, and the exterior was not perfect but not too bad either. I fixed a few little things. The radio was dead, so I replaced it with the same model factory radio from Ebay. The steering wheel was crumbling, so I put on a nice leather one. Replaced a couple of buzzing speakers in the door and tracked down an irritating rattle from a wire in the door frame.
Finally, I decided the occasional codes were too annoying, and possibly dangerous, so I went through the ordeal of replacing the rack. It was a success. Less than a month later, in December 2022, my son was driving through a parking lot and another youth came out from between two rows in the parking lot and crunched the side of it.
My son and his passengers were fine, but the car was totaled. The good news for me was the other guy did have insurance, and the payment was about what the car was worth, maybe a little more. But in line with typical Marketplace pricing. And it was about twice what I payed, so I guess that was nice.
It was a great car for a kid because it was a safe car that wasn't terribly ugly with a reliable engine and good fuel economy that wasn't too expensive to replace or insure.
At some point, I found a rack at pick n pull and picked it up, but I put off replacing the rack for a while.
I was a pretty good car, the 2.3 engine was a little coarse but didn't consume oil at 180k miles. Transmission had a rough 2-3 shift that's pretty common with these. Interior was decent, quiet smooth ride, and the exterior was not perfect but not too bad either. I fixed a few little things. The radio was dead, so I replaced it with the same model factory radio from Ebay. The steering wheel was crumbling, so I put on a nice leather one. Replaced a couple of buzzing speakers in the door and tracked down an irritating rattle from a wire in the door frame.
Finally, I decided the occasional codes were too annoying, and possibly dangerous, so I went through the ordeal of replacing the rack. It was a success. Less than a month later, in December 2022, my son was driving through a parking lot and another youth came out from between two rows in the parking lot and crunched the side of it.
My son and his passengers were fine, but the car was totaled. The good news for me was the other guy did have insurance, and the payment was about what the car was worth, maybe a little more. But in line with typical Marketplace pricing. And it was about twice what I payed, so I guess that was nice.
It was a great car for a kid because it was a safe car that wasn't terribly ugly with a reliable engine and good fuel economy that wasn't too expensive to replace or insure.
My son hated driving manual transmission but he had to learn (after the Fusion was totaled) on our Ranger because that's what we had.
Then, once he learned how, he keeps asking to borrow my S40 T5 6-speed and says he likes driving manual now.
S40 is an interesting car, kind of like a Mazda 3 but they are for whatever reason less likely to be rusted out. They are cheap because people are scared of the old Euro car, I guess. The T5 has some torque... The car has its quirks but there is usually one in the pick-n-pull and my problems have mostly been little things like headliner and typical maintenance like timing belt, engine mounts, CV boots...
Now the Ranger is another story. It was kind of worn out, with a lot more rust underneath than on the body. I had to have a safe-t-cap welded in to fix some serious rust in one location. I guess it's safer than the stuff I grew up driving, but it's not really that safe, only one airbag. At least it's slow. And if it's totaled, no great loss.
But it had a pretty nice interior... until my oldest son got a job at Chick-fil-a and would drive it around in his greasy work uniform. Ugh, wish I had put some nice seat covers on it.
My approach has been to provide enough cars for the family but it's not really the kid's car. So I'll let him know if he needs to take a different car to work today or whatever.
But it had a pretty nice interior... until my oldest son got a job at Chick-fil-a and would drive it around in his greasy work uniform. Ugh, wish I had put some nice seat covers on it.
My approach has been to provide enough cars for the family but it's not really the kid's car. So I'll let him know if he needs to take a different car to work today or whatever.
I really like the V70R as well. My wife's cousin had a black one - very sharp looking.
Not so keen on the S40. Seems to me it's a Mitsubishi in Volvo clothing. Someone on Bob will know.
The 740/760 series looks a bit quaint now. Good cars but in retrospect a bit odd looking (and remember I had one for 18 years). I think the 240 series still looks good. Production wise, it even outlasted the 740/760 series which it was designated to replace.
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