What Makes For A Good First Car?
I’m pretty sure almost all of us here hate it when someone at your high school who has a brand new sports car and is probably a douche. It makes you jealous and you say how spoiled that person is. Is a brand new Ford Mustang GT a good first car? I don’t think so; here are some great qualities for a first car.
-Fuel efficient
-Practical
-Reliable
-Slow and easy to control
-Cheap
Some cars that fit this description are a Honda Civic, VW Jetta TDI or a Subaru Impreza Wagon.
I think that a first car should be something that’s rusty, not in the best condition and something that needs work. A first car shouldn’t take a lot of skill and restraint to control, so a new Dodge Hellcat for me is a no go. A Foxboy Mustang that’s seen better days might be a good first car. It can teach a kid to fix cars and how they work, and they learn to appreciate it. A car that needs fixing up can be a good time to bond with your kids.
Let’s face it, the risk of teens wrecking within the first 2 years of driving is pretty high, so why give them something nice and easy to crash? Give them something that if they wreck it, it’s not THAT big of a deal if they do crash it.
In conclusion, for my petrolhead kids, possible first rides are a non M BMW E36 coupe, Mazda Miata and an old Mustang. Feel free to comment below as to what you’ll give YOUR future children for their first car.
Comments
Its techinically my 3rd car but its the second car that ive owned and the first car that i am deeply in love with hahaha. Yes go get an e36. You wont regret it
Best first car? That one which makes You smile…
If you dont care about fuel efficiency, a dodge durango is a perfect first car. Slow, easy to control, sounds awesome with an aftermarket exhaust, automatic so you can focus on learning how to drive without having to worry about figuring out a manual transmission, its a tank so if you crash it you’ll be fine, great for winter and is practical because it can hold so much stuff/passengers. Oh, and in the US you can get a pretty good one for like $5k-$6k
One thing that fascinates me about Colorado is it’s plains for the eastern part and then BAM Rocky mountains for the western side.
Anything that runs lol
I’ll let my son/daughter use my current DD. Built like a tank- safe as hell. Simple american design, easy and cheap to work on and rarely has issues now that i’ve done my work. Extremely practical trunk, 6 seats, and most importantly for a new driver, UNDERPOWERED! :) as far as fuel efficiency goes, 13/21 mpg ain’t bad at all in my book!
My first was an 02 Wrangler. It wasn’t exactly cheap ($8000) or fuel efficient (15mpg with a 4 banger) but I loved it. Always bothered me, though, when I saw the guy who got a brand new Rubicon for his birthday.
and then he NEVER drove it off road lol
Mine was a 2002 Saturn s series. And it fit the bill it had quite a lot of crust and not much tuna haha. But I did end up wrecking it and it still was a valuable teaching experience. It wasn’t a huge deal cause they’re crsppy cars. Now I own the love of my life haha
Something slow enough that you won’t instantly kill yourselfSomething tough enough that if you end up in accident it’s tough enough that you can survive in it.Something cheap enough that if/when you wreck it, it isn’t a big loss.
Most late 90’s early 00’s hatchbacks, and smaller sedans fit this description well enough. And if you are in to offroading most 90’s pickups and SUV’s are just as good.
Avoid performance cars at least the first year, and just spend that time by learning to drive.
I personally started with -86 Toyota Hilux 2.4 Diesel RWD
Cost me 2500€ Top speed of 140km (85mph) and where i live diesel is cheaper than gas, althuogh you will get seperate diesel tax, but for van’s and pickup trucks it’s cheap.
Althuogh… as it is van or pickup withuot ABS the higest legal limit was 80kmh/55mph
with ABS the higest legal speed would be 100kmh (60mph)
Personally I think that is stupidity, and just drive the posted limit, (higest in my country 120kmh (75mph) but I’m not the one making the laws.
Sounds like you’d have the most fun on dirt roads with your car
Chevrolet Impala is a great first car I think, had a 2004 LS myself and it was practical for normal use, fast enough to please and cheap enough to buy/fix if anything goes wrong. If you grab a SS variant too (for those who like cars) it’s actually pretty nice, the 2004/05 had a super charged v6 so if they just want a super charger cause SC whine, give them that. If they want a v8, get them a 06-09. The 06-09 v8 though is something that should be given to someone responsible as it’s actually a fast car.
I say start em out with a totally non fuel efficient old pick up truck. They’ll be cool, loud, rusty and other things that make a first car. I mean they won’t be too fast, and teach em to drive safer with having a car that they could possibly die in lol. The bad mpg will make them realize how much gas is and how to budget and other stuff lol. But make sure they get like some old farm truck, not like a Cummins or something though. Those cost too much and are already too precious lol. Just my take on it lol.