Car for Teenager

When I was a teenager in the 1950s, my dream cars were a Chevrolet Corvette, a 1055-57 Ford Thunderbird, a Chrysler 300. and a Studebaker Hawk. Of course, I couldn’t afford any car. When I graduated from college in the early 1960s, I thought I would get a job and buy my dream car. I think the Chrysler 300 and the Corvette were still on my list. However, I decided to go to graduate school and the best I could afford was a 1947 Pontiac for which I paid $75. My dream car in graduate school was a Studebaker Avanti. When I finished my first round of graduate school and finally had a job, I thought it time to then buy my dream car. However, I had the idea to again go back to graduate school for another degree, so I purchased, in 1965, a 1965 bottom of the line Rambler with 7000 miles on the odometer. That car cost me $1750 and I got the balance of the 24,000 mile warranty. I got married, finished the next degree, but decided to buy a house with my savings instead of replacing the Rambler.
Many non-descript new and used cars later–Ford Maverick, Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon, Ford Tempo, Ford Taurus, Oldsmobile 88, and a couple minivans, I thought I would buy my dream car for retirement. My dream car was a Mazda Miata. However, I can’t transport my fellow musicians and their instruments in a Miata, so I am driving a Toyota minivan. The dream car seems to always take a back seat to other goals.

I haven’t kept up with cars and I have no idea how good these cars may be. However, I do like the looks of the Volkswagen CC and the new Ford Fusion. I have a friend who is a car nut and owns and really likes his VW CC. I think the Ford Fusion may be ordered with equipment so it isn’t a rental car special. However, these cars may reflect the taste of a 73 year old geezer and not a young person. However, I would suggest that the OP, as a teenager, set her dreams on an challenging and exciting career. The car will get old and out of date, but the right career in which you grow will last a lifetime.
At this point, I am having too much fun to think about a car. When I turn 90 and can’t play my horn anymore, then I will look for my dream car.

This has to be a joke. Right?

It could be a joke, but I remember when I was a teen I was interested in all kinds of cars. All they had in common was that I found them beautiful or interesting. If the OP really is a teen I suggest they set a realistic budget and find out what new cars they can afford within it. If, that is, the budget is the sort that can actually stretch to luxury and collectible cars. Otherwise, start looking at economy cars and see how interesting they can also be.

I’d never advocate a teen buy any car that’s much older than they are, for safety and reliability reasons. Newer cars are just better in so many ways, if not as fascinating. I suppose if I had $50,000 to buy a teen a car I’d get something like an Acura TLX, Infiniti Q50, or Lexus ES. If they prefer a crossover, Acura RDX, Infiniti QX50 (I think that’s what they renamed the EX), or Lexus NX. These are all mid-sized vehicles of great reliability. And not very sporty.

yeah, saying that we are not worried about recklessness, the car will never be on the highway or driven over 30 miles a dayis not the kind of thing a parent would say or believe.

you get points for creativity and 'fessing up tho!

I like tesla, but wouldn t want my daughter to have one.

since you are not worried about money, get the landrover!!!

It could be a joke, but I remember when I was a teen I was interested in all kinds of cars.

So was I, but I was never under the impression that my parents would buy me a Bentley. The Tesla is 100 grand and up. Very few parents would be buying their kid a Tesla.

Laniel, the odds of you being involved in some kind of accident in your first two years of driving are very high. It might only be a small bumper crunch or it could be larger, and it may not be all your fault. You don’t have the experience to see a dangerous situation rising up in front of you and you don’t really know the limits of a car or what it feels like when it starts to go out of control. These things come with experience, they can’t all be taught.

At only 30 miles a day, gas mileage isn’t all that important unless you get a real gas hog. A nice large RWD car or medium sized RWD (rear wheel drive) SUV would be an ideal car to learn these things with. Be sure to get one new enough to have crumple zones and airbags, so 2002 or newer.

You could also learn on a medium sized or larger FWD like Buick Century or Park Ave. They get good mileage and are pretty safe. Get one from an old retired person or the heirs of an older person who has passed away, it will have been taken care of and not abused.

After two years, you will have developed the necessary experience to get a more exotic and fun car. And please, don’t text and drive.

This OP has 3 threads and started under false pretenses. They have apparently left the building, can we just let everything by Laniel die.

I never thought my parents would buy me anything (because they wouldn’t), but a friend of my brother was told he could have anything halfway sensible when he turned sixteen. He came from a wealthy family originally from Mumbai. What he wanted more than anything was a brown Mercedes diesel station wagon. It was the seventies (obviously). And his parents bought him one. There is no doubt that kid carried practical to an extreme most teens would have found acutely embarrassing, but I thought he had a lot of style. There was no more practical car made than what he wanted, maybe in the whole history of cars. He is probably still driving it, slowly, with a cloud of smoke in his wake.

During high school, my sister had a friend that drove an old Chrysler station wagon. One Saturday morning, he left home after breakfast to drive somewhere. He came in immediately and asked where his car was. His father had a big smile and said it was in the driveway. The teen said it was definitely not there. Eventually his father told him that the Mercedes Benz SL in the driveway was the teen’s new ride. Hi response was to ask for the Chrysler back because he could cart all his friends around in it. Eventually, he got used to the SL.

"...the Mercedes Benz SL in the driveway was the teen's new ride. Hi response was to ask for the Chrysler back because he could cart all his friends around in it."

I’d say the father saw the danger of his son driving around with a station wagon full of teens.

Maybe so, and he was rich enough to buy him a new MB sports car.

I told this before but in high school one of my friends dad owned the Ford, Mercury, Lincoln dealership. This was in 1965 but the car the three kids were given to drive was a 1953 Ford. It was in good shape but certainly not new. Plus they were required to get down to the dealership soon after school to work on new car clean up etc. The older kid owns the dealership now and my friend is a successful banker. Don’t know about the girl, but having money didn’t change the values that were passed down to the kids.

One of my college friends got new cars all the time. His father owned 3 car dealerships. When the mileage got to a certain level, he had to drive home to trade it for a new car. His father always gave him Fords or Murcurys. We used to tease him about needing a new car because the ash trays were full or the windshield washer tank was empty.

I think a 1954 Willys Aero Ace, ann Amphibicar to save on bridge tolls or any of the larger Maseratis.

Some kids are rich and responsible. In college there was a girl who was an A+ student, a cheerleader and eventually became a doctor. She drove a T Bird convertible (in the 60s). Her brother, likewise was both an A student and very active on campus. He got a PhD in nuclear physics and went on to a rewarding career.