My son who has been almost the perfect responsible student is turning 18 really soon and I’m thinking about getting him a car. My choices are as following: 2006 Lexus IS250, 2006 Audi a4, 2009 Acura Tsx, or the 07 VW Eos. Which one do you think would be best? Would the a4 be reliable? I’ve done a considerable amount of research and the 06 A4 was one of the most reliable. Tell me what you think, thanks
Why Ask Strangers ? Why Not Ask Your Son ? You’re Getting The Car For Him.
CSA
I would suggest that you speak with your insurance agent.
Insuring an 18 year old male (even one who is a good student) can be incredibly expensive.
Then, if you factor in a “performance” car as the vehicle that said young male will be driving, you may wind up needing to take a second mortgage to pay for his insurance costs.
Give your insurance agent a list of those cars and ask him for a comparative price quote on insuring them.
If, as I suspect, you feel like passing out after hearing those prices, then you might want to ask him which other makes and models would be the cheaper for insurance for your son.
If I was so generous to make a pick for my 18 year old critter my choice would be the Acura, depending on maintenance records, warranty given and independent inspection for accidents or hidden damages etc.
The '09 TSX gets my vote, too. Reliable, fairly inexpensive to maintain and repair, and outstanding safety ratings:
http://www.informedforlife.org/viewartcl.php?index=1
Who are you buying this car for?? Him?? You?? or us?? I would be happy as a clam with a 4 cylinder stick-shift pick-up truck…But that’s just me…
The Acura is the way to go.
Okay, yeah I’ll do that.
Thanks
Alright, thanks!
Acura, Civic, Corolla, Hyundai Elantra. All good cras for a first driver and college kid. Stay away from anything high powered.
Yes. Insurance agent FIRST. When I was shopping around before I bought my new car, I always found VINs off dealership’s websites and such and would take them in and ask for a quote. They were always happy to do it, and said that all to often people rush out, buy some fancy new car, then crap themselves when they hear it’s gonna cost and arm and a leg to insure.
Instead of the Acura TSX, it’s sister car, the Honda Civic, will be much cheaper to insure and purchase
I had some hands on with Audi in the 70’s but then nothing for years, then came here and the reports from the public about the Audis make me wonder where that reliability report came from. The Audi is out for sure. Any of those sure beats my first,a 57 Chevy with one rear fin shoved in, all for $200.00.
This can be a tough crowd. But I wonder why those models are on the list. And being totally unfamiliar with Audis I am very much surprised that they would be on a list of most reliable cars.
Edmunds estimates that the repair and maintenance cost for a new Audi A4 is less than 10% more than a Lexus IS250 in the 1st 5 years.
After 5 years how does either car stack up with the plain jane competition from the Japanese and domestic manufacturers? That might be very important to HKwa2011.
The TSX is a Euro-spec Accord, not a Civic (who’s Acura sister would be the Integra/RSX)
From the list, I’d pick the TSX because it’s got the lowest performance. But if I could pick off the list, I’d get the kid a Civic, or possibly even a Fit. 18 year olds don’t need a luxury car, and they probably really don’t want to pay for the gas and upkeep. Add to that the fact that just about every 18 year old male out there is going to drive the car as hard as it can be driven, I want a car that doesn’t go very fast 
Hmm, learn something new everyday. I thought the TSX was the Civic, the TL was the Accord, ZDX the Crosstour, RDX the CR-V, MDX the Pilot, and the RL was a toally different car.
However, my suggestion of a Civic over any of those cars mentioned still stands. As would a Hyundai Sonata/Elantra/Accent(probably best since it’ll be the cheaper of the lot), a Ford Focus/Fusion, or a Mazda 3/6(similar to the Focus/Fusion)
While the TSX is a Euro-Accord, the TL is based on the American Accord (The two Accords are totally different cars). The RL is a re-badged Honda Legend, which is a car the company sells in Japan.
My agreement with your suggestion also still stands. The Civic would be a much better choice.