Giving a young person anything nice to drive is a mistake. Until they can afford to buy thier own nice things with money they earn best to give them a beater. I figure as long as the kids are well fed, well educated, well traveled, and participating in multiple organized sports, they will have to make do with shit cars.

Honda Fit Sport. Should be able to find a nice used low mileage version for 12-14k. Has tons of room. Magic seats to move if he has to, creates it into a small suv. Great gas mileage, reliable as hell, and it’s one of the last models made in Japan so it is built well. Insurance cost is low. I use a Nissan Leaf for a daily driver and beater but if I wanted a gas version it would be a Fit.

My vote is the Subaru Impreza.

A Japanese Volvo is a good way to put it. Just as reliable as any Honda or Toyota econobox.

Low center of gravity (low slung boxer engine), good suspension, and full time symmetrical AWD makes it one of the safest options out there. Anything that will help your kid maintain control of the car in a panic situation.

I think the sweet spot for this type of car is closer to $8-9000, considering you want one that will be reliable, and has at least electronic stability control for safety.
A larger car than a compact will definitely be safer (see IIHS/Highway Loss Data Institute real-world reports on outcomes of crashes).
Hondas and Toyotas are very reliable but also more expensive as everyone knows this.
You might get a better deal on a Subaru, and it would be at least as safe and reliable as a Honda or Toyota.
An Impreza would be great; but avoid the STI/WRX models as probably driven harder by less than mature drivers.
Another alternative is an Acura TSX.

quote:

Originally posted by Stlhead:
Giving a young person anything nice to drive is a mistake. Until they can afford to buy thier own nice things with money they earn best to give them a beater. I figure as long as the kids are well fed, well educated, well traveled, and participating in multiple organized sports, they will have to make do with shit cars.

I was wondering if anyone else would have a similar thought. In my family, none of us got a car until we could afford our own. When we were at home, there was always a vehicle we could drive (but it might be a station wagon), but once we went off to college it was assumed that we needed to be studying, not driving. Bicycles were considered appropriate college transportation.

My wife had a different experience growing. It will be interesting to see what ends up happening with our kids...

My inclination would be an old truck - so old it is pre-electronics and pre-catalytic converter. Late 60’s Chevy or Ford. Easy to fix, parts in every parts store.

While that isn’t likely to go over very well, the next idea might be worth more - buy whatever you wish from an older couple. Not abused, well maintained, driven to church and Wal-Mart. Look at their house, yard and other vehicle(s). Condition of all will reinforce condition of what you are buying.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
My vote is the Subaru Impreza.

A Japanese Volvo is a good way to put it. Just as reliable as any Honda or Toyota econobox.

Negative. If they were, A LOT more people would be buying them since Subaru has made some interesting vehicles.

We have two sons, now adults. We had great results helping them buy used Subaru’s.

My younger sons everyday driver is still the 1996 Subaru Outback that we got him 7 years ago. He has over 200K on the clock. It has never needed anything except a couple of timing belts and water pumps.

If this were 25 - 30 years ago I'd say a used Dodge Dart straight six. These days a used Subaru.

if you do not live in a climate where 4wd is an absolute requirement the one thing I would not advise is that anyone get an older used Subaru. At least in comparison to buying a used similar Toyota or Honda. I love Subaru. I own 3 currently. I've had one literally since the first ones arrived and I've been maintaining a fleet of them since then. One of my closest friends owns a garage that maintains tons of them and I see what parts they need. The actual facts are they have way more parts that need maintenance and repair than a comparable Honda or Toyota FWD car. Its just the facts. And many of those parts will need repair or replacement in any high mileage car, things like the central drive shaft. These are parts that don't even exist in a civic or corolla. Go take a look at any of the long term repair cost charts and you will see what I mean. This is not a knock on the actual cars. I live in snow country and that's why I drive them, but if I didn't I wouldn't.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
If this were 25 - 30 years ago I'd say a used Dodge Dart straight six. These days a used Subaru.

No luv for the 225 slant six??

The problem of course that if you could find a $5K Dart it would suck in every possible way except the engine.

Yeah ~25 years ago or so I was given a reliable 500$ beater. Looking around recently those are now -1k beaters. Drive that sucker till the wheels fall off, buy him a chilton manual and let him learn how to change oil etc. in my opinion no kid needs a nice car. It will get trashed anyway.

Only When a kid spends his own hard earned money on a car will they then appreciate it.

We did this for our kids and it worked out great. Gave them chevy's and one a Subaru Impreza (the most reliable one). The cars got them through college and into their first jobs. They took good care of them. The Subaru worked out best due to reliability and all-wheel drive.

My method was to buy the cars and then drive them for a few months, making necessary repairs and handing over the keys the summer of their high school senior years.

Silent

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
if you do not live in a climate where 4wd is an absolute requirement the one thing I would not advise is that anyone get an older used Subaru. At least in comparison to buying a used similar Toyota or Honda. I love Subaru. I own 3 currently. I've had one literally since the first ones arrived and I've been maintaining a fleet of them since then. One of my closest friends owns a garage that maintains tons of them and I see what parts they need. The actual facts are they have way more parts that need maintenance and repair than a comparable Honda or Toyota FWD car. Its just the facts. And many of those parts will need repair or replacement in any high mileage car, things like the central drive shaft. These are parts that don't even exist in a civic or corolla. Go take a look at any of the long term repair cost charts and you will see what I mean. This is not a knock on the actual cars. I live in snow country and that's why I drive them, but if I didn't I wouldn't.

I’ve owned three Subes, and know at least dozens of people (more likely hundreds) with Subes. I’ve never, not once, heard of one needing a central driveshaft. I only remember the front half shafts needing to be replaced. Ever.

CVPI. But that’s cause I wanted one.

But really, the Sube offered is a great choice. That’s probably better for in every way.

Volvo 240. They can drive 300k to 400k miles. Find a good Volvo mechanic and have them look over the car first.

quote:

I’ve never, not once, heard of one needing a central driveshaft

Ok you and your circle of owners are on one side of the repair statistics and I and some people I know are on the other. The central drive shaft is a common enough failure in 200x outbacks in my neck of the woods that the local parts store stocks one. I've replaced one, and I personally know two others. But you miss my point totally. There are a complete set of parts in a 4wd Subaru that are not there in a normal FWD car. Those parts fail at some level and are generally expensive. I'm fixing my 2007 at the moment and the rear half shafts are gone and they are $550/ea. The rear half shafts on a Toyota Camry cost $0. So my point is that if you look at repair costs on an aggregate population basis the 4wd capability is not free. It has a cost. You can see it in any data on repair costs by brand. I enjoy my Subaru's (and I've owned way many more than you) but I live in a climate where the tradeoff for 4wd is worth it to me and I would assume for you as well. For someone not in those circumstances it is a more expensive choice.

2010 Hyundai Sonata. Should be near the top end of your price range, insurance friendly, and decent safety rating.
If regular oil changes are met, the Hyundai motors are very reliable. The Sonata driveline was robust and held up well in my experience.

My 2008 Legacy needed 2 rear wheel bearings and new boots on the front half shafts in 175,000 miles. Other than brakes, spark plugs, and the timing belt at prescribed intervals, it never asked me for anything else.

Buy one for your boy.

Bruce