Car/Truck recommendations for youth

My son gets his lisence in November so i figure It'd be cheaper to buy him another car than to insure him on one of my current vehicles.....I want something thats reliable, good on gas, and most importantly cheap to insure...Also it must seat four, but doesn't have to be a four door....

I was thinking maybe a small pick-up(early 90's) like a Toyota,Mazda, Nissan Hardbody, or other similar truck...but I am not sure if any of them can seat 4? Any other suggestions???

Thanks
Zack

Had a Mazda pickup in the early 90's with an extra cab, it would fit four but not comfortably. Thing would not stop running though!

Also had a mid-90's Ford Ranger which was another great truck, no problems at all.

I agree with Steve.

I have to say that my 88 Ranger wasn't a bad little pickup at all. Because it had a little four-banger with a 5-speed it wasn't a hot rod but is was real cheap to run and insure.

Little thing ran like a top.

make him buy his own car.

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make him buy his own car.

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<<SNORT!>> Dang it Walter! I'd just taken a swig of beer when I read this and about lost half it through my nose…

Good one... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

How about a 4 runner or pathfinder. or on the car side a corolla, or a sentra. or one of the old Nissan Pulsars. they were great! all the cheap sentra running gear and T- tops!

For getting around during a Canadian winter, I recommend either front wheel drive or four wheel drive. Check into a 4WD Chevy S10-Blazer or GMC S15-Blazer. Go with the V6, preferrably the 2.8-liter, as these are extremely reliable. The front-drive pieces of the 4WD are cheap to replace, since they are the same part used on GM front wheel drive passenger cars.

Yeah I thought about the late 80's-early 90's Blazer/Jimmy as well, definatly the V6 but not 4WD...I've had many bad experiences with 4WD SUV's...If a Blazer/Jimmy is non 4WD is it FR or FF??
Does the Ranger seat 4???and what was the exact model of the Mazda with extra cab?...It doesn't have to seat four too comfortably(only for emergencies when the Caddy is broke)

I think the 4-runner/pathfinder would be expensive to insure?? I've never been a big fan of the Corolla or Sentra mostly becasue of their "blandness" but depending on how high insurance gets we might not have a choice. The Pulsar would be OK...does it seat 4?? how about insurance on one of those?

Thanks
Zack

why not get quotes for insurance for a few different ones, then decide on the car. likely that will make your mind up for you fairly quickly...

Hey Bret, I wasn't joking. When I was 15 my dad told me I could either borrow one of my parents cars, when i had a date, or I could buy my own car. I bought my own car, paid the insurance and tags on it, and was responisble for all its maintence. To be perfectly honest I really thank my dad for it now; I had alot more regard for my vehicle than my friends, because I had to earn it; I drove alot smarter than my friends, because it was my insurance and not my dads that was gonna get messed up if I racked up alot of tickets; most importantly it tought me alot about being responisble. When my boys are old enough to drive, I fully entend on making them buy and maintian their own cars.

Why not go classic and find an old Datsun B210. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Oh I figured you where serious. Its just that’s pretty much what I had to deal with when I first wanted a car. Sad story really for a later date maybe. Anyway I ended up doing the same thing for my boys too. Offered help & advice on choosing a vehicle but in the end it was their responsibility.

Its just that your comment reminded me of that fateful day after Christmas in 1976 of my 17th year – when I came home and my dad directly asked me if I was going to enlist in the Marines or not like I’d been saying I was going to do? Ya see that was the last year for the old GI bill for college and you had to sign on the dotted line on or before News Years eve. Anyway in typical teenager fashion - I told him I hadn’t made up my mind yet for sure. And that’s when he told me to get out of the house and not to come home unless I had the papers for my mom to sign

The rest as they say is history.

Today my wife says I’m way too harsh on my older boys (18 & 23) when it comes to being indecisive about making adult decisions. “Its hard out there” she says. “They’ll make up their minds in their own good time – we just need to cut’em some slack”. That’s when I usually reply with something along the lines of; “it’s kind of hard to be sympatric, when I had to make much harder choices at an earlier age than they are”. And/or "Life ain’t fair so why should we?”

Funny how I’m channeling my dad 30 years later. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

i would buy a two seater, that way it's more difficult to over load up the car with kids and beer (better for dates also)

My dad bought me a $100 MGA and we restored it together...he marked down every penny spent with intentions of having me repay him when I had the money, once it was done on my 18th birthday he tore up the bill.......I reliese nowdays it's more the insurance and gas that hurts alot more than the cost of the car....So I don't mind paying for the car as long as he pays everthing else....he will maintain it(he maintains all my cars now anyway).The problem is finding the right car that will be affordable to operate.

Zack

The pulsar seats 3. Two up front, and a half an adult in each back seat.
Really they are slightly better than an extended cab P.U. but not much.
Insurance should be cheap as they aren't really a performance car. Just a sporty looking Sentra
How about an older 3 series BMW. They come pretty cheap, comfortably fit 4, look and handle nice, and insurance isen't very bad.
We love ours.

I had a 92 Toyota PU 4WD in college. It was great, and since it was a two seater, I didn't have to drive everybody around like my few friends who had 4 door cars. The only trouble it gave me was the original key wore out at 120K miles. I ended up selling it last year before I moved to California after 10 years of trouble free ownership. It was a great vehicle for me at the time.

Thanks so much to everyone who responded you guys have given me some great suggestion, I'll definatly check out the pulsar, the BMW 3 series also sounds good and if I can find a extra cab PU then that would be great as well....What do you think about the late 80's - early 90's Chev Blazer/GMC Jimmy V6????

Zack

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Does the Ranger seat 4???and what was the exact model of the Mazda with extra cab?...It doesn't have to seat four too comfortably(only for emergencies when the Caddy is broke)

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The Ranger seats four if it's an Extra Cab. THe rear passengers sit sideways on fold-down seats.

My Mazda was a mid 80's B2000 Extra Cab. It was a bit low on power so I always wished I had the B2200 with the larger engine.

If you want a reliable, safe, good vehicle -- go for an Accord, Camry, or preferably a Toyota Avalon.

As a guy who gives talks and writes about auto safety, and is constantly getting asked about what car to buy a high schooler, I've always felt there are some very important issues to consider.

- Pickup trucks don't have to meet the same safety standards that cars did in 1975. They fundamentally are not as safe as cars. Now, large trucks, like F250s, which are usually used for farm duty actually have a pretty good safety record. Small trucks, such as the Ford Ranger (and its Mazda platform mate,) and the Chevy S10 have statistically done very poorly in wrecks. Part of the problem is that people tend to drive pickups poorly -- especially in the snow.

-The safest vehicles tend to be large sedans (on average.) The Toyota Avalon is a good large sedan, being both safe and reliable. The old body styles are not cool, nor fast -- perfect for a 16 year old.

--Other than crashworthiness, the two most important factors in a vehicle for a new driver are stopping distance and stability in cornering -- which is why pickups and SUVs are horrible in the hands of kids. Basically, the most likely accidents for kids are single vehicle and rear enders. THe first happens when the child exceeds the limits of the car OR swerves to miss an obstacle (usually another vehicle that they didn't see because they weren't paying attention.) The second is from following too closely.

-- Get a car with as many airbags as possible, specifically side-impact, if available.

--Front wheel drive is definitely what you want for a child in a winter climate. Figure that if one cannot get through the weather in a FWD car with snow tires, you simply don't want your child driving that day. An SUV/Pickup leads to overconfidence in winter driving -- as once the 4wd helps the vehicle go, the driver thinks it will help him/her turn and stop (which, of course, it actually hurts, since there's more weight, plus an extra set of wheels under power to increase the amount of understeer.)

Plus, I've always felt that kids should always have uncool cars, because it makes them appreciate nice cars when they can buy one for themelves. (Coming from a guy whose first two cars were a '77 Buick Lesabre and a '77 Chrysler Lebaron, both which broke down frequently.)

I agree.Too many of the kids nowdays expect "Mommy &-
- Daddy" to pay for everything.If they get a car and wreck
it- no problem,they'll get another one given to them.
They also tend to be VERY selective when it comes to
what car to buy.
Don't get me wrong,some kids (very few),really appreciate being given a vehicle.
Of course,that's how I got my first Cortina.
The (original)owner said that they'ed offered it to
their Grandaughters,but they wanted a "Honda CRX,or Trans Am"
I feel,if a teenager is asked to pay for at least part of their car,they learn to take better care of it.