Is it even possible to get your child their first vehicle for a few thousand dollars?

[roundhouse]

Because I prefer older cars I tend to stick with brands and models that I am more familiar with the common issues. I know way more about the Honda Odyssey than I ever wanted to know. I'm good with GMT400 GM trucks as well.

One car I've found to be very reliable is the 90s to early 2000s Mazda Protege, especially the manual transmission models.

Mazdas are great used cars
They depreciate a lot
Just don't buy one with an automatic Trans
They don't last
Stick with the manual

Read the ads on CL
Almost every Mazda says
"Needs transmission"
Or
"New transmission "


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[roundhouse]

Must vary significantly by model year. Some of those are 5 star rated today.

And I'd guess the mustang and challenger are on there because they get crashed a lot more and at a higher speed
Not because they are less safe in a crash


But a Yukon would be a safe car for sure

In a collision , weight always wins !


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[Deleted member 39693]

I love a regular cab truck. Don't know why. Other trucks just don't look right. Plus if you have an extended cab you almost always wind up with a bunch of trash or general accumulated bull**** behind you.

ha ha
I only own crew cab trucks
but I bought this truck back in 2013 for my son he's abused it and is still going strong
he keeps saying he is gonna take it back to base with him, but still sitting at my house

 

[Georgiagunguy01]

http://www.bookoo.com/

little better then CL
between age 16-19 I bought my son 7 cars/trucks
he was rough on everything he touched,

I do still have his 2004 dodge truck 2wd 4.7 liter 202k miles
he purchased a new car and this truck "hangs out" in the driveway
ac and all works, comes pre dented! and abused!View attachment 1218706

That must have been a good year. I gave my daughter my 2004 quad cab with a Hemi (of course) in 2007 and she's still driving it. It's got ~200K miles on it and a lot more dents than when I handed her the keys...but it's still going!

 

[testdepth]

I thought about giving my daughter my 2005 Dodge Crew Cab SLT with a HEMI and 129000 miles and excellent condition. Crap for gas mileage when your young and no money though.

 

[MRM]

If you can park that you can drive a stick!

 

[MRM]

My way of looking at it is:
Bigger is better to the point it can be handled.
Abs is a must
A non tecate (spelling) airbag is pretty important.
Some auto I like and still see on the road.
Otherwise learn everything it is to know about the models you like.
Pick out one that you can make as close to perfect as your budget allows.
Has to have good matching tires.
Either or find people or DIY as much as you can for the maintenance.

You know this stuff, I'm just shade tree.
Another thing I would consider is her driving prowess or overall ability and confidence. The car should match.

These days a driver must possess skill.

 

[roundhouse]

Few thousand, what th hell, I, had to buy my first car and it was a few hundred, one thing wrong with kids today feeling they are entitled to everything they want, do em a favor and get a cheap used car or let them go to work and pay for a new one plus the insurance, or else our future generations are really gonna be worse than this Man Bun wearing lot of mellionals. If you don't plan on supporting them through adulthood.

Its totally worth it to spend $1500 on a car for the kid to no longer have to take em to ball practice and pick em up for here and there

when my kid started making noise about wanting a car, we told em we'd pay up to $4000 for a car, IF, they learned to become fluent in a foreign language

 

[JDS556762]

Won't be buying any of these 21 deadly to driver vehicles! Basically rule out Nissan across the board.
http://clark.com/cars/these-are-the-21-deadliest-cars-in-america/

Hyundai Accent sedan
Kia Rio sedan
Scion tC
Chevrolet Spark
Nissan Versa
Ford Fiesta sedan
Kia Soul
Dodge Challenger
Nissan Titan Crew Cab short bed 4WD
Nissan Sentra
Ford Focus sedan
Chrysler 200
Hyundai Genesis coupe
Ford Fiesta
Hyundai Accent
Mitsubishi Lancer 2WD
Volkswagen Golf
Chevrolet Impala
Dodge Avenger 2WD
Ford Mustang convertible
Nissan Maxima

That impala will get you car jacked yo. Definitely "deadly to driver"

 

[RiverBend]

Its totally worth it to spend $1500 on a car for the kid to no longer have to take em to ball practice and pick em up for here and there

when my kid started making noise about wanting a car, we told em we'd pay up to $4000 for a car, IF, they learned to become fluent in a foreign language

well first off, $1,500 isn't a few thousand dollars, and much more important, it'll help them learn value and if they don't like they can go to work to better themselves, a dying art unfortunately nowadays. The only language I wanted mine to learn was respectful to their peers, the USA wasn't infiltrated with the influx of f foreign non English speaking illegals back them either.