Which car for my 17yo daughter?

[iceman]

whatever

Let's just leave it at that.

[idiot]

My experience is that my dad bought me a toyota camary when I turned 16. That car sucked, but I'll be damned if I didn't get everywhere I needed to be and the fucker never broke down. In the old days gas wasn't actually expensive so I doubt that was a consideration on the purchase, but I doubt that car was a hog even with a v6.

I will definately second the honda/toyota beater. They are really freaking cheap and reliable.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

I can't believe more people haven't said "COROLLA"

It takes a bit of diligence but you can find ones in very nice condition in your price range or even cheaper, they run forever, they're cheap to fix, and they rarely break. Quite a few of the older ones had manual transmissions too, if you want her to be able to drive one. They have been consistently one of the best selling cars in the country for decades so there's literally millions of them out there.

The two cars that have the lowest overall cost of ownership of all the cars I've owned were Corollas. I bought them cheap, drove them for many, many miles, spent minimal money on repairs, and they got great gas mileage.

If you want something larger and domestic then a mid '90s and newer Buick LeSabre or any equivalent vintage GM car with the 3800 V6 engine is a great choice. Those engines are bulletproof, the transmissions GM put behind them are generally pretty sturdy and the rest of the car, while not as nicely finished as Japanese cars of the same vintage is basically decent. The LeSabres were only bought by old people and they sold a lot of them to the white haired crowd (My 87 yo dad has had two of them and loved them). The advantage to this is old people generally take really good care of their cars, don't abuse them, and since they're not "cool" they can be had for very reasonable prices.

[uglymoney]

I'd have said Corolla but this is TGR where the obvious and best answer is also a boring answer so it's best left unsaid for conversations sake. Way more interesting to talk about 1980's Mercedes-Benz diesels.

[iceman]

Man my old girlfriend had a 1980 300SD turbodiesel that she got from her Pops, that thing was pretty cool except for the cloud of black smoke every time you punched it. What?

[uglymoney]

My parents neighbor had a little four banger normally aspirated diesel blue Benz. I remember taking a trip to SE Iowa with it one night and his dad opened it up for miles on rolling hills. We'd top out in the eighties on the downhill. Dude loved that car and it ran good but eventually the rust just shredded it. Shame because it would have made a great car for a seventeen year old thirty years later.

[DasBlunt]

Seriously, my recommendation (and what I plan on doing for mini-Chup) is a 4 to 7 year old GM front-wheel-drive genericmobile. Cheap to buy (depreciates fast), cheap to maintain and insure, cheap to repair (parts cost on GM cars is low), new enough to have all modern safety features (airbags, 4 disc brakes, ABS), good mpg (kids can buy their own gas), undesireable enough so that it isn't a theft target, slow enough so that there's no temptation (or ability) to street race it.

Pontiac Grand Am, Oldsmobile Alero, Chevy Malibu, etc.

Good advice. I borrowed a newer Malibu for a while from a chick recently, had to change the headlight, do some other small stuff, super cheap, super easy, and drove fine.

[legallyillegal]

undesireable enough so that it isn't a theft target, slow enough so that there's no temptation (or ability) to street race it.

Top 10 Stolen Vehicles in Canada, 2011 (American list is similar)

1. 2009 Toyota Venza 4-door (undesirable)
2. 1999 Honda Civic SiR 2-door (undesirable)
3. 2000 Honda Civic SiR 2-door (undesirable)
4. 2006 Ford F350 Pickup Truck 4WD (maybe desirable)
5. 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT 4-door AWD (definitely desirable)
6. 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS 4-door 4WD (maybe desirable)
7. 2007 Ford F350 Pickup Truck 4WD (maybe desirable)
8. 2001 Pontiac Aztek 4-door AWD (really)
9. 1998 Acura Integra 2-door (undesirable)
10. 1999 Acura Integra 2-door (undesirable)

2 reasons why cars are stolen: to sell quickly (kids love integras and civics and dont care where they come from), and as a "getaway" vehicle that looks completely generic


if the car can exceed a highway speed limit, you can be sure that kids will pin the accelerator to the floor from time to time

[iceman]

2 reasons why cars are stolen: to sell quickly (kids love integras and civics and dont care where they come from), and as a "getaway" vehicle that looks completely generic

I think the biggest reason is for parts, so cars that there are a lot of get stolen a lot for parts for them...but the numbers are kind of hinky when you're trying to figure out your risk of getting your car stolen...sure a particular model may get stolen a lot but there's generally a ton of that model out there, so what's your risk? You could figure it out if you were ambitious I guess.

For 2010, the most stolen vehicles in the nation were:

1994 Honda Accord
1995 Honda Civic
1991 Toyota Camry
1999 Chevrolet Pickup (Full Size)
1997 Ford F150 Series/Pickup
2004 Dodge Ram
2000 Dodge Caravan
1994 Acura Integra
2002 Ford Explorer
1999 Ford Taurus

[jfost]

Top 10 Stolen Vehicles in Canada, 2011 (American list is similar)

1. 2009 Toyota Venza 4-door (undesirable)
2. 1999 Honda Civic SiR 2-door (undesirable)
3. 2000 Honda Civic SiR 2-door (undesirable)
4. 2006 Ford F350 Pickup Truck 4WD (maybe desirable)
5. 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT 4-door AWD (definitely desirable)
6. 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS 4-door 4WD (maybe desirable)
7. 2007 Ford F350 Pickup Truck 4WD (maybe desirable)
8. 2001 Pontiac Aztek 4-door AWD (really)
9. 1998 Acura Integra 2-door (undesirable)
10. 1999 Acura Integra 2-door (undesirable)

2 reasons why cars are stolen: to sell quickly (kids love integras and civics and dont care where they come from), and as a "getaway" vehicle that looks completely generic


if the car can exceed a highway speed limit, you can be sure that kids will pin the accelerator to the floor from time to time

which one of these fits El Chup's description of a 4-7 y/o GM genericmobile?

[iceman]

8. 2001 Pontiac Aztek 4-door AWD (really)

i just noticed this. I call bullshit. I think people are pushing them into quarries and reporting them stolen. Or something.

[jfost]

i just noticed this. I call bullshit. I think people are pushing them into quarries and reporting them stolen. Or something.

it IS the canada list... maybe they like the attachable tent thingy for the hatchback?!?

or maybe they are reporting their ego and man cards have been stolen?

[montanaskier]

my first car was a nissan sentra...it was a great car for a 1st car.

[Tippster]

I dunno about the advice to get a two-seater truck. I'd rather my kids be driving their friends than be the passengers in some other kid's car where I had no hand in teaching them how to drive safely.

[XXX-er]

I think cars that are easy to steal are most likely to get stolen for a joy ride

[iceman]

"Let's go for a joyride in this Aztek!!!!"

hmm

[G]

I recommend a small import because A) she'll be more cautious in a smaller car. It's good to avoid cultivating that feeling of safety that comes with a big, tall vehicle. B) It's less deadly to all the pedestrians around when put into the hands of a 17 year old girl.

Also, get her a manual transmission. It will require her to stay more focused when driving. it will also develop better driving skills and speed awareness. And, it'll keep her off the damn cell phone.

[frorider]

Could be wrong on this, but my recollection was that for many years the small 2 door pickups totally failed any kind of crash test that a regular passenger car would pass. a generic asian compact w/ stick shift and side impact air bags might be the way to go for yer daughter.

on a side note -- current teenage generation has some different ideas of what constitutes a cool vehicle. have some friends who got their teenage son a Prius (4 yrs ago? more? can't remember) and all his friends thought it was a rad vehicle. envirochic. the parents were surprised, to say the least.

[RShea]

Top 10 Stolen Vehicles in Canada, 2011 (American list is similar)

1. 2009 Toyota Venza 4-door (undesirable)
2. 1999 Honda Civic SiR 2-door (undesirable)
3. 2000 Honda Civic SiR 2-door (undesirable)
4. 2006 Ford F350 Pickup Truck 4WD (maybe desirable)
5. 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT 4-door AWD (definitely desirable)
6. 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS 4-door 4WD (maybe desirable)
7. 2007 Ford F350 Pickup Truck 4WD (maybe desirable)
8. 2001 Pontiac Aztek 4-door AWD (really)
9. 1998 Acura Integra 2-door (undesirable)
10. 1999 Acura Integra 2-door (undesirable)

2 reasons why cars are stolen: to sell quickly (kids love integras and civics and dont care where they come from), and as a "getaway" vehicle that looks completely generic


if the car can exceed a highway speed limit, you can be sure that kids will pin the accelerator to the floor from time to time

Just as Iceman stated also- the number One of the reason some of those cars are on the list is because of the parts, not because they look completely "generic". There is demand for parts on them, so steal it chop parts off it, and make money without having to worry about a VIN number.

[GiBo]

I just can't bring myself to go the private party route. I'm sure there are plenty of reputable sellers, but there seems to be some shady cats on there too. Just don't like the vibe.

There's a big Jaguar junk yard down the street from work. A co-worker told me the guy also brokers used cars and that he was really cool and great to deal with. Went down and saw him just now. Indeed a cool guy. His advice was to get a GM car. He pointed out in the parking lot and said all of his employees drive GM's and they work on and know cars. Said he had a clean '00 Malibu with 65,000 on it for 4k. That same year Accord with similar miles would be around 7k. He said he could get me whatever I want, but he highly recommended going American. They'll service any car they sell and he gives a 1 year warranty. The Malibu wasn't there. Going to check it out this afternoon. Not sure I'd buy this one, but he got me thinking about going the American sedan route. Sure seems like you get more car for the $.

[irul&ublo]

"Let's go for a joyride in this Aztek!!!!"

hmm

Only in Canaduh.

[P_McPoser]

My first car was a Mazda rx7. I would not recommend that.

[MontuckyFried]

My first car was a Mazda rx7. I would not recommend that.

Hahaha. Would be a helluva first car. An RX-7 was the second car I bought. Wasn't the fastest car I've ever owned, but sure as hell taught me how to really drive. God, I had fun in that car. Also got myself in trouble with it too. Ah, good times...good times.

[El Chupacabra]

I just can't bring myself to go the private party route.

There's a big Jaguar junk yard down the street from work. ....They'll service any car they sell and he gives a 1 year warranty.

...but he got me thinking about going the American sedan route. Sure seems like you get more car for the $.

Hence why I recommended it, twice in this thread.

And if you're leery of buying from a private seller, WTF are you thinking with buying a car from a junkyard? That pretty much guarantees that every car they sell came from the junkyard, i.e., wrecked.

[Crass3000]

Gotta be a care with a huge back seat.