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Well, just bought a car for DCBC, Jr.  C-Man game me three rules:  (1) Nothing fast; (2) nothing perceived as fast; and (3) nothing too pretty. 
2010 Outback with 150,000 miles and a few issues that need addressing, with a lift and all terrain tires, and a 6 speed manual transmission.  I kind of want to take it out into a wet field and see if it's possible to get it stuck.  (not really C-man).

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  • 2 months later...

Bumping this thread as my kid turns 16 in Feb and is expecting a car and was looking for some insights from the Surl.  I was going to get something used with low miles but apparently the used car market is crazy right now.  I went to a Hyundai dealer in DFW yesterday and they said everything new is at least $5K over MSRP just cause.  Not to mention they had like no inventory.  They did have like a dozen Palisade SUV's and the salesman said we ask $15K over MSRP for those.  I looked at him and said, "based on the dozen Palisades sitting here it doesn't look like you are selling a shit ton of them at that price now does it".  I want to get my kid something that has all the latest safety features like forward collision assist, blind spot assist, etc...Is it crazy to go with a new car at this point versus a used car since the used car market is so crazy?  I was looking at spending like $15K but now I am in the $25K range apparently (if I can even get something at this point).  I was thinking this car will be his HS and college car and then he can do what he wants.  Thoughts on Hyundai Elantra or Kona?  Any other ideas?  He is not a pick up truck kind of kid and I think he wants a sedan but a small SUV seems a little safer I think.  Let me add I want something that won't kill my insurance rates also.  I know they will go up crazy just by adding him but guessing a small sedan//small SUV will be better than a sports car. 

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23 minutes ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

Bumping this thread as my kid turns 16 in Feb and is expecting a car and was looking for some insights from the Surl.  I was going to get something used with low miles but apparently the used car market is crazy right now.  I went to a Hyundai dealer in DFW yesterday and they said everything new is at least $5K over MSRP just cause.  Not to mention they had like no inventory.  They did have like a dozen Palisade SUV's and the salesman said we ask $15K over MSRP for those.  I looked at him and said, "based on the dozen Palisades sitting here it doesn't look like you are selling a shit ton of them at that price now does it".  I want to get my kid something that has all the latest safety features like forward collision assist, blind spot assist, etc...Is it crazy to go with a new car at this point versus a used car since the used car market is so crazy?  I was looking at spending like $15K but now I am in the $25K range apparently (if I can even get something at this point).  I was thinking this car will be his HS and college car and then he can do what he wants.  Thoughts on Hyundai Elantra or Kona?  Any other ideas?  He is not a pick up truck kind of kid and I think he wants a sedan but a small SUV seems a little safer I think.  Let me add I want something that won't kill my insurance rates also.  I know they will go up crazy just by adding him but guessing a small sedan//small SUV will be better than a sports car. 

I have a 2000 Acura TL with 276K miles on it. I'll sell it to you for 3k.

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1 minute ago, immamac said:

I have a 2000 Acura TL with 276K miles on it. I'll sell it to you for 3k.

Thanks but I think I will have to pass on that great offer from you, our website overlord.  Also, I am guessing there are lots of McRib stains all over the seats.

An Acura TL was actually the first nice car I ever bought.  Loved it back in the day.

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Also consider Lexus.  It's Toyota, of course, and may actually be less expensive than a Toyota.  In my experience it was.

For my oldest, we bought an inexpensive 15 year old Camry.  It needed a bit of work, which was relatively inexpensive.  The downside is that 15 year old Texas cars do have items that start to deteriorate (plastic, rubber, etc.), so there was the occasional stall, etc. that started to worry me.

After someone rear-ended the car, we went a little more upscale, primarily for the added safety features and the lower likelihood of mechanical failure.  But, we stayed in the Toyota space.  This was around 3-5 years ago and things have definitely changed, but we found that a 6-8 year old Lexus RX350 was less expensive than a Highlander of similar vintage (around $14k-16k).  We dealt with the local Lexus dealer and got a single-owner RX350; bought at the dealership and traded in; and EVERY maintenance activity and repair had been done at the dealer.  Vehicles of this ilk are not that rare, actually.  Plus, they are not beat to hell, in general.

 

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Been through this with 4 kids... my thoughts have changed over the course of it. The newer cars (last 5 years or so) have so much more to offer safety and longevity that it's hard for me to not want to get something new or only couple years old.  Definitely bigger is better and higher is better for safety.  I prefer the small/mid SUVs as well as they tend to be available used at decent prices.

The biggest issue with going shitbox is if you don't plan on replacing it within a couple years when your kid is headed to college. You then have a kid away from home potentially driving it to and from school at night/mornings/holidays etc. Anything and I mean anything that goes wrong with the car when not in your driveway becomes a major headache. Unless kid has some mechanical inclinations you'll end up having it towed to nearest dealer to take car of it, likely out of warranty.

You'll sleep better and worry less about you kid getting stranded late at night after some party in god knows what town because their car's not working. My vote now is no more than 3 year old car for a 16yr old.

 

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Boy #2 just fucked the passenger side of his car with $1k worth of damage to the front and rear door.  He and a friend went to Sonic and he somehow wedged his car in there in a way that was impossible to back out without damaging the car apparently.

Kid #1 fucked his (my) car at Sonic almost the same way the day he got his driver's license.  $2k repair bill.

In short, fuck Sonic and don't let your teenagers go there if you aren't riding shotgun.  It's hella expensive.

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21 minutes ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

Been through this with 4 kids... my thoughts have changed over the course of it. The newer cars (last 5 years or so) have so much more to offer safety and longevity that it's hard for me to not want to get something new or only couple years old.  Definitely bigger is better and higher is better for safety.  I prefer the small/mid SUVs as well as they tend to be available used at decent prices.

The biggest issue with going shitbox is if you don't plan on replacing it within a couple years when your kid is headed to college. You then have a kid away from home potentially driving it to and from school at night/mornings/holidays etc. Anything and I mean anything that goes wrong with the car when not in your driveway becomes a major headache. Unless kid has some mechanical inclinations you'll end up having it towed to nearest dealer to take car of it, likely out of warranty.

You'll sleep better and worry less about you kid getting stranded late at night after some party in god knows what town because their car's not working. My vote now is no more than 3 year old car for a 16yr old.

 

This is kind of where I am leaning.  Looking at just buying a $25K Hyundai Elantra or Kona and that is his car for the next 6 years at least through college and then he is on his own.  I really lean for getting all the extra safety features and driver aids in one of these new Hyundai's versus a older car but the threat of him destroying the car also concerns me.  

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25 minutes ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

Been through this with 4 kids... my thoughts have changed over the course of it. The newer cars (last 5 years or so) have so much more to offer safety and longevity that it's hard for me to not want to get something new or only couple years old.  Definitely bigger is better and higher is better for safety.  I prefer the small/mid SUVs as well as they tend to be available used at decent prices.

The biggest issue with going shitbox is if you don't plan on replacing it within a couple years when your kid is headed to college. You then have a kid away from home potentially driving it to and from school at night/mornings/holidays etc. Anything and I mean anything that goes wrong with the car when not in your driveway becomes a major headache. Unless kid has some mechanical inclinations you'll end up having it towed to nearest dealer to take car of it, likely out of warranty.

You'll sleep better and worry less about you kid getting stranded late at night after some party in god knows what town because their car's not working. My vote now is no more than 3 year old car for a 16yr old.

 

I'll take the reliability of a 10-12 year old 4Runner or Tacoma over just about anything as long as it doesn't have a billion miles on it.  My oldest has a 19 year old Landcruiser.  I've told him that if he ever decides to sell it, I get first dibs.

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6 hours ago, bernorange said:

Boy #2 just fucked the passenger side of his car with $1k worth of damage to the front and rear door.  He and a friend went to Sonic and he somehow wedged his car in there in a way that was impossible to back out without damaging the car apparently.

Kid #1 fucked his (my) car at Sonic almost the same way the day he got his driver's license.  $2k repair bill.

In short, fuck Sonic and don't let your teenagers go there if you aren't riding shotgun.  It's hella expensive.

Those are angled spaces and they are pulling in going the wrong direction.  The menu on the driver’s side is an impediment if you’ve taken a bad approach angle.  I’m team shitbox because of shit like this.  They aren’t driving more than 5-10 miles from the house 95% of the time.  The carrot of a nicer vehicle in a year or two also encourages good behavior.  It has the added benefit of your kid not driving his friends around, because the kid with the nicest car will be doing that.  The downside of this approach is it probably has a small negative effect of the boy’s ability to pull high end pussy.

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10 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Those are angled spaces and they are pulling in going the wrong direction.  The menu on the driver’s side is an impediment if you’ve taken a bad approach angle.  I’m team shitbox because of shit like this.  They aren’t driving more than 5-10 miles from the house 95% of the time.  The carrot of a nicer vehicle in a year or two also encourages good behavior.  It has the added benefit of your kid not driving his friends around, because the kid with the nicest car will be doing that.  The downside of this approach is it probably has a small negative effect of the boy’s ability to pull high end pussy.

I better go with the Benz or Tesla then.

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19 hours ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

This is kind of where I am leaning.  Looking at just buying a $25K Hyundai Elantra or Kona and that is his car for the next 6 years at least through college and then he is on his own.  I really lean for getting all the extra safety features and driver aids in one of these new Hyundai's versus a older car but the threat of him destroying the car also concerns me.  

If you are going to spend $25k on a car - and hope for it to last - I'd still be biased toward a used member of the Toyota family.  It will last more than 6 years and you will not have to deal with Hyundai.  While these cars have improved vastly over the past decade, I'd rather have my kid in a used Lexus 350 (as noted earlier) than a new Elantra.

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I feel like our family's luck with high mileage cars is way better than the norm after reading this thread.  I run those things into the ground.  That Outback I posted above had 150K miles on it when we got it.  It had issues that I negotiated into the price and have been repaired.  It's already had its first dings.  So hopefully, we avoid a smash for a while.  If we do, I'm hopeful it will take another 100K miles at least.  I love a newer car as much as the next person but Team Beater.  And Junior loves it.

Edited by dcbc
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1 hour ago, Updawg said:

Also I get the benefit of the new safety systems. But at the same time shouldn’t they learn to drive without that extra help?

I’m 4 years away from this decision

The 11 year old car I bought my kid has 10 or so airbags, antilock brakes, AWD, etc.  I know there's new stuff, but that's a lot of safety. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/13/2021 at 2:44 PM, MonkeyDoughnut said:

Been through this with 4 kids... my thoughts have changed over the course of it. The newer cars (last 5 years or so) have so much more to offer safety and longevity that it's hard for me to not want to get something new or only couple years old.  Definitely bigger is better and higher is better for safety.  I prefer the small/mid SUVs as well as they tend to be available used at decent prices.

The biggest issue with going shitbox is if you don't plan on replacing it within a couple years when your kid is headed to college. You then have a kid away from home potentially driving it to and from school at night/mornings/holidays etc. Anything and I mean anything that goes wrong with the car when not in your driveway becomes a major headache. Unless kid has some mechanical inclinations you'll end up having it towed to nearest dealer to take car of it, likely out of warranty.

You'll sleep better and worry less about you kid getting stranded late at night after some party in god knows what town because their car's not working. My vote now is no more than 3 year old car for a 16yr old.

 

 

I just want to remind the audience that SUVs (or pick ups) are NOT safer than sedans. They may feel safer, but that feeling is an illusion.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

$50 a month to add my oldest to our insurance on the 2002 Landcruiser.  Not nearly as bad as I was fearing.

Did you go to the General or something?  Adding the third car and junior doubled our monthly and then some. 

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44 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:
1 hour ago, dcbc said:
Did you go to the General or something?  Adding the third car and junior doubled our monthly and then some. 

State Farm.

Liability only?  I may have worked for SF in a past life and that would be the cheapest rate I have ever seen for a teenage male driver.

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9 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

Yeah, I’m paying 200 a month for a teenage driver with comprehensive. 

If he lives in the middle of nowhere I suppose it’s feasible, otherwise he has an agent who really wants to keep his business, because they dug deep into their bag of tricks here.

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8 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

If he lives in the middle of nowhere I suppose it’s feasible, otherwise he has an agent who really wants to keep his business, because they dug deep into their bag of tricks here.

i was gonna guess that chewbacca has a fuckton of other lines with that agent

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Liability only?  I may have worked for SF in a past life and that would be the cheapest rate I have ever seen for a teenage male driver.
Full coverage. To be clear, the $50 per month is the extra charge to add him. I owned the car and had it insured for a couple years before he got his license.
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Just now, Chewbacca said:
2 hours ago, conVINCEd said:
Liability only?  I may have worked for SF in a past life and that would be the cheapest rate I have ever seen for a teenage male driver.

Full coverage. To be clear, the $50 per month is the extra charge to add him. I owned the car and had it insured for a couple years before he got his license.

So you have your longevity discount on that vehicle, which helps.  How many cars and how many drivers?   I used to train people on how to handle the adding a youthful driver conversation so I am somewhat well-versed in what occurs and what is possible.  Congrats, you have an agent who really values your business.

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On 10/13/2021 at 3:03 PM, bernorange said:

Boy #2 just fucked the passenger side of his car with $1k worth of damage to the front and rear door.  He and a friend went to Sonic and he somehow wedged his car in there in a way that was impossible to back out without damaging the car apparently.

Kid #1 fucked his (my) car at Sonic almost the same way the day he got his driver's license.  $2k repair bill.

In short, fuck Sonic and don't let your teenagers go there if you aren't riding shotgun.  It's hella expensive.

I grew up in small town Kansas and this brought a tear to my eye. Oh what I wouldn’t give to fuck up my dad’s truck in a Sonic stall on a warm summer night. Again.

Simpler times.

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So you have your longevity discount on that vehicle, which helps.  How many cars and how many drivers?   I used to train people on how to handle the adding a youthful driver conversation so I am somewhat well-versed in what occurs and what is possible.  Congrats, you have an agent who really values your business.
3 cars, 3 drivers. I was very clear with the agent that he will not be driving my car or my wife's car, but she said as long as we add him on one car (his), he's covered on all 3.
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Just now, Chewbacca said:
7 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:
So you have your longevity discount on that vehicle, which helps.  How many cars and how many drivers?   I used to train people on how to handle the adding a youthful driver conversation so I am somewhat well-versed in what occurs and what is possible.  Congrats, you have an agent who really values your business.

3 cars, 3 drivers. I was very clear with the agent that he will not be driving my car or my wife's car.

You’re fine.  If it was 2 cars, 3 drivers you were going to get an unpleasant surprise if you ever added a 3rd car.  

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2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

3 cars, 3 drivers. I was very clear with the agent that he will not be driving my car or my wife's car, but she said as long as we add him on one car (his), he's covered on all 3.

That last part is correct.  The math starts to get a little fuzzy if you drive a Ferrari and the kid has access to it.

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11 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

That last part is correct.  The math starts to get a little fuzzy if you drive a Ferrari and the kid has access to it.

No Ferrari.  I drive an Audi S6 and my wife has a new Landcruiser.  And he's not touching either one of them.

How does it work when my youngest gets his license in a year?  We will be at 3 cars and 4 drivers, but they will both only drive the old LC.  They can share that for a while.

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2 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

No Ferrari.  I drive an Audi S6 and my wife has a new Landcruiser.  And he's not touching either one of them.

How does it work when my youngest gets his license in a year?  We will be at 3 cars and 4 drivers, but they will both only drive the old LC.  They can share that for a while.

The other kid can be rated on the older LC as well.

Edited by conVINCEd
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