Best $10k car for a 17 year old?
 

How time flies. Let 'er rip. Biases and everything. Opinions on a best car for $10k for a 17 year old?

That would depend on the individual. Some seventeen year olds would do well with a 10K car, some would destroy it quickly. Just my .02

I’m a big subscriber to the surround a new driver with as much sheetmetal as possible approach. Mercury Grand Marquis/Ford Crown Vic/2011 and newer Ford Taurus (except the SHO). Yes, the new driver will occasionally try to peel away a fender while attempting to parallel-park such tanks, but we live in a land chock-full of Ford F250s...

What will be the main type of use? Commuting or???

First Car
 

Wow ~ to be 17 again :P .

I'm torn between saying any old Ford Mercury Panther platform because they're well engineered and built, of a pickup truck but pickups roll over easily and are not actually very safe in any collision .

I had this same dilemma 30 years ago and wound up making my son save up and pay for his own car and insurance .

He bought a 1963 VW Beetle and never wrecked it in spite of making it _very_ fast .

After it was stolen he bought a Acura Integra and wrecked it several times in his 20's....

Consider paying for him to have professional driver training .

I wish you the very best .

Dodge Caravan
 

Seats fold into the floor to make extra room for the high school orgy. Plenty of condom storage cubbies.

Crown Vic cop car

I'm going to go against the grain and suggest a VW TDI of some sort made in this decade versus a Crown Vic. Crown Vics were never safe in side impacts and from owning two, I'm not a huge fan. The culture around them is often toxic wannabe cops and the cars themselves aren't anything special as they're either plagued with timing chain issues or intake manifold issues. Very numb cars and they get decent MPG for the size but other options may be better in that regard. Other options would be probably any Honda, most Toyotas, or a minivan, preferably made in this century. There's a few early 00s Mercedes that would be relatively affordable but I have a feeling insurance will be higher. The M111,M112, and M113 engines are pretty good and the 722.6 transmission is probably the most robust Mercedes auto transmission ever. The Korean brands are also worth checking out.

In short, I would prioritize safety, then reliability/cost of ownership, cool factor, power in that order. Let the kid have some input.

bought cars under $800. here. always wreck them once. To heck what their friends say.

When my five kids were of driving age I kept a selection of 123s around for them to drive. I always felt the kids were safe in them...slow but good steering and brakes and great crash protection.

Two of them got heavily rear ended. Other more minor crashes also happened.

Of course finding a roadworthy 123 for a reasonable price is not so easy today.

Used accord or camry. Safe and reliable.

I would agree on all of that, moving to a w210 with the OM606 which are more plentiful these days.

First car is like a first job. You get whatever you can get, but regret it for the rest of your life. It's a choice with long legs that will have profound consequences. Someday the kid will be on a web forum, and someone's going to ask, what was your first car? And (s)he'll have to say, a rusty Marquis with a seven cylinder engine. And people will cancel (her)him. So choose for today, but think of the future you're creating for the kid. My vote is for a Mini, Scion, or VDub. Something that's cheap, fun and safe. But that won't be a lifetime embarassment.

I'm in agreement with the Honda or Toyota but do your research. I don't remember the year range but based on past readings both have had issues over the past 10 years or so with excessive oil consumption.

I like the pickup truck idea (or any 2-seater that isnt a sports car...)

-no backseat, for backseat shenanigans
-no backseat - for friends to start yelling and distracting
-pickup truck - lets a teen help people move, do yard work, and other generally good things
-rwd with nothing in bed promotes massive understeer
-Parts available in every catalog/McParts on every corner.
-Dad now has a truck in case he needs one :)
-a pickup truck will never look ostentatious or unique (no matter how much they actually cost...). If they have to drive through the bad part of town, it is a safer bet than something shiny and European
-you should be able to find a pickup in decent shape for $10k (???)

note sure here - but If their friends are driving range rovers and E-classes, even a $10k truck wont look like much by comparison. Not sure how important that is in the OPs neighborhood ("OMG, you let your child drive a truck ? arent those unsafe in a roll-over ?" <lols>)

-John

X2

The best 10K car for a new driver may be two 5K cars...….

That First Vehicle
 

I realize times have changed a lot but having some sweat or pocket book equity in your first vehicle is a simple way to ensure he learns the cause and effect....

I gave my son a Motocycle when he was 14 and beginning the 9th grade so he didn't have to ride the Ghetto bus across town to the good high school I'd managed to get him transferred to .

I explained it simply : if you ride fully geared up and with a book bag and make no stops / short cuts / etc. you'll be the one cool kid on campus with your own Motocycle and the cops won't hassle / stop you because it's got current tags and lights etc. all work .

If, OTOH, you give your buddies rides or ride it on the grass etc. it will be impounded and I won't get it out, you'll have to ride the dangerous Ghetto bus across town for four years .

I trust you to make the right decision, here's the keys .

Kids these days have it tough, make no mistake .

You are his PARENT not his friend .

My very first vehicle was a less than ten year old 1959 Ford F-100 pickup truck with the 223CID i6 engine and three on the tree manual tranny, the cab floor was completely rusted out and the generator was kaputi .

I didn't give a care what anyone else thought, it was mine to get running and drive so I had at it, used parts from God knows how many other junked farm vehicles ~ I remember i used generator parts from a 1937 John Deere tractor...

I hope your son has fun with his first car whatever it may be .

The wisdom in here humbles me. This must be the most brilliant thing I've heard in the last year. Not kidding.

Yes I am. Looking at cars I find myself wanting the car for myself.

A good option for something with utility, great safety, and being relatively slow would be a Honda Ridgeline.

It's your money so you can certainly use the vehicle as you see fit but I'll also say if you're buying it as a vehicle *for them*, let it be a vehicle for them and if you need to use it, discuss that with them before you use it. It's a good way to show you respect them which can be a big issue with teenagers.

When my kids got to driving age I would put a car at their disposal but they had to sign an agreement with me regarding the use of the car. It was a privilege and I had the right to take the privilege away at any time if they abused their rights to it.

If they wrecked it and it was their fault I made them pay for the repairs or at least a good portion of them. It worked somewhat. All of them wracked at least one car except my youngest. I straightened out at least two in my garage with a hydraulic pump and a large hammer.;) Then painted the repaired area with correct color paint installed with a small brush.

Good Way To Go
 

That is a good example of being proactive instead of reactive .

Determine the “best” car for anyone is difficult. What is important to the buyer? Power? Fuel economy? Longevity? Performance? Hauling capacity?.......

I did the same thing with my kids to the point of them signing a contract. The poor kids had to come up with a good bit of the money too.

I’m in the same boat looking for a car for my teen. I found this helpful to narrow down the choices IIHS Safe vehicles for teens

An older Volvo S80 or Xc90 seem like good choices in the 5k range as far as safety goes, not sure about reliability.

With get the 5 cylinder or the 8. The 6 cylinder models seem to have issues. And they always have a transmission issue

stay away from the 2.7 TT, not a good engine. The T5 is great mechanically, I would be more concerned with electronics.

Late first-gen Honda Pilot. Great utility.

The insurance rates around here might mandate an old but solid beater with just public liability. For any 16 or 17 year old.

Some parents put them under their own insurance policies. Yet if they have accidents it really can impact your rates. Fairly new teenage driver around here probably in excess of two hundred a month.

Just for pl and pd at a value that can pay the normal claim today. The polices with a thirty five thousand dollar liability limits have been a joke for years.

Actually up here in Canada I think the minumin coverage is a million on liability. Buying a car that might mandate collision and comprehensive on it as well for a teenager. Add at least another hundred a month locally here for insurance. Also make certain they have some form of drivers ed. They catch the bad initial habits perhaps someone else teaching them to drive might miss. Plus it can reduce the insurance cost.

If you are good at picking cars perhaps a lower milage middle age Honda or Toyota is a reasonable choice. Generally decent on fuel and usually reliable if you know how to pick used cars.

Thanks, I'm zeroing in on some xc90s, they seem to be pretty abundant around here.

I drove me a lot of Crown Vics in SF in '97 during my brief cab stint there - my last in that biz. Surprisingly good cars. Handling and braking superb for a car that size. Have considered finding a used one, never did. I think the police model has a shorter wheelbase, probably not by much. I bet those suckers were screamers. I saw some of them - police interceptor I think they were called at an auction once for about $5K, maybe 120K miles.

Yellow Cab of SF used to buy Crown Vics new, the cab model is the longer wheelbase (only know this from reading about it). Only cab co I ever saw that bought their cars new. I drove one once with 2k miles.

Was curious, looked again, the police model had a 114" wb, the longer wb - 121 - sold only for cab fleet use, who knows if every cab had that wb. Wiki claims that the police interceptor did the quarter in about 17 seconds. I recall the ones I drove were not slow.

Scratch all that - an Integra with a stick. Good to learn how to drive a stick. Amazing how many kids can't these days.

Mid 2000 Toyota 4runner, if they like to lug stuff around or do some camping and an 2nd or third gen Toyota Prius if they like to make it far in life.

i was considering giving her my Golf, it's a stick and fairly new with about 50K miles. After the first few times I gave her a driving lesson, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea! Takes a lot of patients.


Although, I bought my first car as a stick having never driven one before so I guess it's just perspective.

As Popeye Once Said :
 

"I ain't no Doctor but I'm loosing my patients !" :rolleyes: .

W-123 diesel. Hotrod that! Patience is a virtue.

W123 Hot Rod
 

? Why not ? .

They put the M116 V8 into the W116 so it should easily drop into a W123......

I imagine that'd be a seriously fun and comfy high speed tourer if rather thirsty .

You’re right. And that would result in the kid learning an awful lot about wrenching. Double bonus.

W123 / M116 Hot Rod
 

I dunno about that ~

My graymarket 350SLC had this engine and close to zero love before I bought it, apart from the usual necessary valve adjust, spark plugs and timing check / adjust the W116 V8 was trouble free and *very* robust ~

That son of a gun flat flew, why I had to sell it on : I don't have the driving skills for it and was sure I'd wreck it, fly it off the side of a mountain (came very close once) or get arrested .

The W123 chassis is lighter so that engine (ony 200 HP as I dimply recall) would have no problems making a W123 go pretty damn quick :cool: .

Oh yeah ~ a 17 year old maybe not such a good idea after all .

It takes the entire entry ramp plus a mile to get a naturally aspirated diesel W123 up to cruise speed. Much clatter and smoke. Not enough g’s to wrinkle the Naugahyde.

Yeah, people do remarkable improvements to them. They are infinitely modifiable. And that takes knowledge and skill and work. Or somebody’s hard earned money. Or both. In any case, the kid either drives as slow as last week or he works hard to tart it up.

<a href="https://ibb.co/WcR9xJy"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/0fzNDbM/20210315-194734-1.jpg" alt="20210315-194734-1" border="0"></a>
I'm getting a bit tired of the image uploading capability here. Trying to upload an image but I can't seem to even upload it as an attachment. Kinda ruins the excitement.

Not Quite....
 

My first two Diesel coupes were NA and they never once had any problems getting up to merging speed .

Didn't smoke nor clatter much either .

If anyone had ever given me a motor vehicle at age 17 I like to think I'da been smart enough to not complain no matter what it was...

Ford Crown Vic/Grand Marquis or Chevy Spark if you can haggle the dealer down low enough. Currently they are on offer here for just over 11K.

- Peter.

I got it guys. See above photo. 2013 BMW 328i AWD. 69,000 miles. :) $13.9k.

Nice, hopefully a caveat for something that nice needs to have good grades.

My recommendation on the 3 series you picked up is to change oil every 5000 to 7500 miles (synthetic only). That engine has an oil pump system that leaves a lot to be desired. I've seen one come in that had been dealer maintained by the book and the engine was locked up at 120k miles. Every one that I have had in shop with that engine that i replaced valve cover gasket on except for one had indications on the cams that reflected a lack of oil flow. You will do good to get rid of it anytime after about 100k miles.

Thanks Jim. Appreciate your experience.

I happen to be blessed/cursed with a smart kid.

Those things are fast. I drove the cab version many times in SF, slightly longer wheelbase, I think, and those suckers surprised me at the speed and power from a large Detroit sedan. I just read that they had 4 wheel discs, I recall excellent braking.

The engine was SOHC, the cop version not significantly more powerful but enhanced, oil cooler added, other small upgrades. I've often thought I could be happy with a police Crown Vic.

For a teenager I would go with the slowest Honda or Toyota I could find, manual tranny. Kids can get weird with speed. One of my clients bought a Tesla a few years back, they were talking about letting their daughter have it when she got her license at age 16. I went onto thin ice when I advised him to think twice about that. He said he had been reconsidering that, was thinking some kind of Toyota. I don't think a 4 second 0 to 60 car would be good for a teenager. I recall the 17 year old girl who piled her father's Porsche up at a road toll booth.

That's a tad weird. I got 450K out of my first E30 with the M20. Heads never off. It wasn't a complicated engine - SOHC, NA of course. The only vulnerable part I could see was the cam belt. I always changed it around 50K, no need to push it.