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Picking a Vehicle for my 18 Yr Old Son

Possum said:
Tell him to man the fuck up and earn his own car. Or buy him a $500 shit box. I’d say early 90s f150. Then tell him to learn how to fix his own shit. Unless of course your son is actually a daughter in which case the advice changes and your budget is to low.
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There is nothing wrong with helping his kid, no one said he has to spend $30k. I learned a lot watching my dad wrench as well some of my older friends...

As to the OP's initial question I will say get a Corolla/Civic or similar and a set of good winter tires/used rims - since it will be a bumper car might as well have something that has ok mechanicals, and it will run for awhile if neglected / he falls behind on maintenance.
 
Subaru. The 1st Gen Legacys with the EJ engines were great, I put 286K on mine and gave it to a friend, He ran it to 345K miles and killed it by not checking the oil. Never had an issue with that car, totally bulletproof.

I have a 2017 Outback and 2020 Impreza. Great cars, especially with the newer generations. The older models improved once they got the headgasket issue sorted out. The CVTs were an issue with earlier models, but there are thousands of kids hooning Foresters and Imprezas with CVTs with no problem.

We've got a bunch in the family and they're the next best thing for mild offroad and icy road use, just like an 80 Series Land Cruiser or newer but in a smaller package. I'd rather take a rollover in an Outback than in a Rubicon, the Subarus are built like tanks. You can't cut the roof off a mid-90's or newer Subaru with a jaws of life, they've got too much reinforcement in the A and B pillars. They're built for collisions and as tough as Volvos in a wreck.
 
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I’m sure it’s been posted, just commenting off title, but why buy or shop for an 18 year old offspring? I was buying my first home at that age :flipoff2:, no joke
 
6spd 7.3 4x4 xlt. I'd drive it anywhere tommorow
$10500 delivered or 10k and I'll pick him up at sfo

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jeepyj said:
Mid 90's Grand CherOkee. Large slow 4x4 with good parts availability and easy to work on. Great to wreck also. Bonus that it gets shitty mileage and will keep him from going too far. You could probably get three of them for 10K.
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Where you looking? 3 for 10k is expensive. I paid 1400 for my 98 4.0 grand.. then sunk like 4k in suspension and tires into it :lmao:

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Thatg9659 said:
prius
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This.

Seriously.

He's going to wreck whatever you buy him anyway, so make it a safe, reliable car that gets 50 mpg and saves money while its on the road. I drive one in Minnesota, and with a set of Champiro Ice Pro tires, it passes everyone on the snowy streets before the plows can get to them. We can't even have studded tires here, but you can (I think), so that's even more traction available.

If he wants something cool, he can buy his own damned car. You can't hold his hand forever.
 
A cheap beater that’s easy to work on. Land Rover Discovery 1 or XJ. If you want to help him, buy him a set of tools and pay his insurance, let him buy the car and gas.
 
[486 said:
;n113524]
doubt
you were convincing the bank to buy you your first home
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Started working 40 hour weeks the Monday after high school graduation. Bought a house at 19 sold it and bought another 22 in 2007. Different times before the 08’ crash but a kid who works for me is 23 and just bought one, makes 25 got approved for 250 with 5k down.
 
DRTDEVL said:
This.

Seriously.

He's going to wreck whatever you buy him anyway, so make it a safe, reliable car that gets 50 mpg and saves money while its on the road. I drive one in Minnesota, and with a set of Champiro Ice Pro tires, it passes everyone on the snowy streets before the plows can get to them. We can't even have studded tires here, but you can (I think), so that's even more traction available.

If he wants something cool, he can buy his own damned car. You can't hold his hand forever.
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As a prius owner that lives in the mountains of Pennsylvania on a dirt road, let me warn the OP that a prius isn’t great in the snow. The traction control is very invasive and easily triggered. It can’t be turned off. When the car spins a tire it cuts power. I get by with good snow tires on the front but there are days I leave the car wherever it stops and walk back to get the land cruiser or tundra.
 
Fullsize80cherokee said:
I’m sure it’s been posted, just commenting off title, but why buy or shop for an 18 year old offspring? I was buying my first home at that age :flipoff2:, no joke
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Yes, It has been mentioned several time. My fault, the title is misleading. Yes, I am picking the vehicle, and giving him $2K for the down and he will finance the rest. I will co-sign if necessarry. I am here to help him, he is a great kid, but he also needs to better understand how banks work. After we have him in a car he will be getting his first credit card and start building credit.
 
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DMG said:
As a prius owner that lives in the mountains of Pennsylvania on a dirt road, let me warn the OP that a prius isn’t great in the snow. The traction control is very invasive and easily triggered. It can’t be turned off. When the car spins a tire it cuts power. I get by with good snow tires on the front but there are days I leave the car wherever it stops and walk back to get the land cruiser or tundra.
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Did you know there is now an AWD Prius? :flipoff2:
 
DRTDEVL said:
Did you know there is now an AWD Prius? :flipoff2:
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doesn't change the fact that toyota traction control fucking sucks and will try its best to put you into the oncoming lane sideways while attempting something seemingly innocuous like pulling away from a stop sign with a right turn
 
ROCKTACO said:
Yes, It has been mentioned several time. My fault, the title is misleading. Yes, I am picking the vehicle, and giving him $2K for the down and he will finance the rest. I will co-sign if necessarry. I am here to help him, he is a great kid, but he also needs to better understand how banks work. After we have him in a car he will be getting his first credit card and start building credit.
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different strokes and all that... but all hes going to learn is car payment, expensive insurance, and how gap insurance works when he wrecks it. If your pitching 2 make him match it. 4k will get him a plenty decent car. He can still get a credit card for fuel or parts.
 
Sceep said:
Subaru for safety since hes gonna wreck it.

XJ/ZJ/WJ for cheap parts since hes gonna wreck it.

Oldest boys last year, both occupants walked away with scratches and a bullshit (IMO) story on how it happened. I was glad they were in the Subi.
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damn, I would vote Subaru also. Not fast, safe, reliable, good in the snow. It won’t get him layed, but it will keep him safe.
 
[486 said:
;n113725]

doesn't change the fact that toyota traction control fucking sucks and will try its best to put you into the oncoming lane sideways while attempting something seemingly innocuous like pulling away from a stop sign with a right turn
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How do You not know the up dn lf rt maintenance mode that turns off TC? but yeah almost lost a sale on one of them because it barely made it up the steep driveway to the lot I worked at. steep as in if you came from the wrong side most cars would lift a rear tire.

but damn cheap miles.
 
ROCKTACO said:
Yes, It has been mentioned several time. My fault, the title is misleading. Yes, I am picking the vehicle, and giving him $2K for the down and he will finance the rest. I will co-sign if necessarry. I am here to help him, he is a great kid, but he also needs to better understand how banks work. After we have him in a car he will be getting his first credit card and start building credit.
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This seems really dumb. $2000 would buy a decent 5-speed TDI that would fit his needs perfectly without borrowing money just for the fun of it.
 
Man, some of y'all have some complex issues with a kid getting some help from their parents. I just did a quick look on my local fb market place and only 1 vehicle within a 3 hour drive was even worth fixing for under $1k. I know they are out there, but if my kid is driving on a relatively sketchy road I would want them in something better than a $500 junker.

I do feel that at $10k you can find something better than the 2 vehicles you posted. Those are some of the lamest vehicles a teen could drive! Then again, a lot of kids today aren't into cars as much. Car culture just isn't as important with today's youth. They are more concerned with dumb shit like mpg, or reliability...

Personally, I would go for something totally rad like a lifted Toyota Tacoma, or an early JK... Something cool to drive...

My plan with my 3 daughters is I will buy them a super reliable safe suv-ish vehicle for when they go to college. Upon their 16th birthday I plan to have a jeep wrangler for them to drive, TJ or JK with standard, soft top, no lift but big tires to help slow it down, and I will go into it knowing that this jeep will probably have it harder than my last rock crawler. They can treat it as their own, but it will be mine upon their high school graduation. If they go to college they get the nice suv, if they go to chillis they get what ever they can afford! My oldest is 3 years away from 16 and I plan to try to find one in about a year or 2 that we can fix up together. I want it to be fun to drive so that my daughters are the ones driving places not some dipshit kid I don't know anything about!
 
DMG said:
As a prius owner that lives in the mountains of Pennsylvania on a dirt road, let me warn the OP that a prius isn’t great in the snow. The traction control is very invasive and easily triggered. It can’t be turned off. When the car spins a tire it cuts power. I get by with good snow tires on the front but there are days I leave the car wherever it stops and walk back to get the land cruiser or tundra.
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I call bullshit on "it can't be turned off."

These steps must be completed within 60 seconds.

Step 1: Set the ignition switch to ON, not READY. To do this press the power button two times, without pressing the brake pedal.

Step 2: While the transmission is still in park (P), fully press the gas pedal two times.

Step 3: Apply the parking brake to ensure that the vehicle will not move during this step. Put the transmission in neutral (N) and fully press the gas pedal two times.

Step 4: Put the transmission back in park (P) and fully press the gas pedal two times. The car will display “!Car!” in the upper left corner of the LCD screen.

Step 5: Press the brake pedal and turn the ignition switch to the start position, without going back to the ready position, to start the engine.

If these steps are followed correctly, the vehicle will start with the traction control system defeated.
 
DRTDEVL said:
I call bullshit on "it can't be turned off."

These steps must be completed within 60 seconds.

Step 1: Set the ignition switch to ON, not READY. To do this press the power button two times, without pressing the brake pedal.

Step 2: While the transmission is still in park (P), fully press the gas pedal two times.

Step 3: Apply the parking brake to ensure that the vehicle will not move during this step. Put the transmission in neutral (N) and fully press the gas pedal two times.

Step 4: Put the transmission back in park (P) and fully press the gas pedal two times. The car will display “!Car!” in the upper left corner of the LCD screen.

Step 5: Press the brake pedal and turn the ignition switch to the start position, without going back to the ready position, to start the engine.

If these steps are followed correctly, the vehicle will start with the traction control system defeated.
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That puts it into some sort of service mode where it is deactivated at the risk of fucking stuff up. The car is not intended to be driven in that mode.
 
I learned to drive in a 2wd suburban with a posi in the snow. It was always up or down hill to my place. Sometimes I had to chain up. All things a man needs to know how to do.
Big enough to have a orgy in the back and its a fucking battering ram up front. Learning to drive without awd will make him a much more proficient driver. AWD while offers much more traction I feel it makes you lazy as its the saving factor in avoidance vs the driver. I still only use 2wd unless I burry it or I feel me fucking up will collect someone else. Give him the chance to be a wheelman first then if he wants let him get a awd/4wd.

I live in the mountains. Both my boys, currently way to young to drive, will either learn in 2wd shit boxes, 1/2 or 3/4 ton trucks, or will save their own money to buy a 4wd/awd.

I have what has been described as an incredible Oh Shit reflex by several professional drivers and instructors, best friend/brother is heavily into cars so I have gotten to drive some fire breathing monsters, And they all say I have some of the best untrained Oh Shit reflexes they have ever seen. I credit that to learning to drive a 2wd in every condition I could find. Make him learn to drive before you make it easy.
 
DMG said:
That puts it into some sort of service mode where it is deactivated at the risk of fucking stuff up. The car is not intended to be driven in that mode.
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They are worried about the tiny half shafts, that's all. That's why the logic is so sensitive and allows for zero slip on the Prius, but all the other models get no complaints. If you are spinning a wheel and hit good traction too many times, there is a high likelihood of eventually breaking a shaft.
 
DRTDEVL said:
They are worried about the tiny half shafts, that's all. That's why the logic is so sensitive and allows for zero slip on the Prius, but all the other models get no complaints. If you are spinning a wheel and hit good traction too many times, there is a high likelihood of eventually breaking a shaft.
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The electric motor has immediate torque and the parts inside the transmission are heavy as hell. When they spin, they don’t want to stop. Putting a prius in that service mode and driving it is asking for trouble. Do not buy a prius if you think you will need to put it in service mode to drive it.
 
Raise your budget a bit and I'll sell you my wife's 2015 Subaru Outback 2.5 Premium. 65k miles, has a 100k mile subaru warranty i bought when i got it as a CPO 2 years ago. Fully loaded and has all the safety features like I sight, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, etc. Has nav and leather too.
 
18 seems old to me to not have his license already?

I picked this up for my 15 YO about 2 months ago. Pretty clean 04 Taco. I wish I were only as lucky as him when I was his age. My dad let me drive (not given) a 1970 F100 farm truck with no power steering for my first car. Two tone white and doodoo brown. Kids these days are spoiled

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I bought my kid a beater explorer with abs and air bags he had to do some work on. That way he would feel more loss with all his work if he wrecked it :D

after a year or so of not wrecking his first car I helped him get a nicer truck.
 
I bought my own '80 GMC 2wd 3/4 ton beater farm truck for $300 at 15 years old, spent the next year trying to fix the damn thing up enough to make it the 5 minutes to school every day when I turned 16 and got my license. Ran it on 30 year old Baja bias ply tires in the dead of winter in Northern Alberta only hitting the ditch with it once and spinning out on the highway once. Taught me how to drive and how to work on a vehicle. Those skills have benefitted ever since. Still regret letting go of that old turd. Didn't have my first accident until 15 years later, this last spring. Not every kid wrecks their first vehicle.

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Thatg9659 said:
How do You not know the up dn lf rt maintenance mode that turns off TC? but yeah almost lost a sale on one of them because it barely made it up the steep driveway to the lot I worked at. steep as in if you came from the wrong side most cars would lift a rear tire.
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this was in a customer's 2005ish solara
try and pull away from a stop sign, going maybe 5 mph and it manages to slam the brakes just right to pitch it across the whole fuckin' 2 lane road I was turning on to
goddamn if there were a dump truck coming I'da been dead
 
[486 said:
;n114462]

this was in a customer's 2005ish solara
try and pull away from a stop sign, going maybe 5 mph and it manages to slam the brakes just right to pitch it across the whole fuckin' 2 lane road I was turning on to
goddamn if there were a dump truck coming I'da been dead
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sucky, I always turned off all the shit I could on "test drives" my favorite trick with a prius was
1st at a redlight
TC off
foot on brake and accelerator
green light GO!
I'd be across the intersection before the tards took their foot off the brake
get lots of funny looks when a prius doesn't get driven like a prius.
 
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