1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
First of all. It's your kid, your call, none of anybody's business to tell you how to raise them. That said, I think people mean well with their suggestions, as do I, and that's why I'll add them too.
No way my kid gets a new car at 16, unless he/she buys it him/herself. Grandparents are notoriously overgenerous, but again, I'm not gonna tell her what to do with her money. I will tell her if she wants to spend money on my kid, it's going into a trust fund for their education.
My kid's gonna bust their hump to pay for insurance, maintenance, and everything else involved with a car. I did it, bringing a dead 20-year old Saab 99 to life, and expect the same, unless there's a very compelling reason otherwise (i.e. kid is making very significant contributions to themselves, family, society which prohibit them from having the ability to finance their own wheels, yet they have a compelling need for such wheels). Other parents have different theories on this, and I'm not saying mine is right, but that's my opinion on the matter.
Honestly, I don't think 16 year olds need cars. I grew up in CA, and last I checked, they were moving toward 18 as a minimum age for licensing. I think that's a good move. Of course it's not fair to automatically assume responsibility with a certain age...many 10 year olds are more responsible than many 25 year olds. But we do this with many other rights and PRIVILIGES in our society (like voting), so it's not unprecedented for driving. I think the european system, where people go through significantly more effort, expense, and demonstration of proficiency, is far superior, but that's another topic. The point is I would want a very very compelling reason why a kid that age needs their own car in the first place. I'll assume you've got it; fine.
Safety. Others have said it. It's not the car, it's the driver. I personally believe a performance car is safer if in the hands of a competant driver. It's definitely more dangerous in the hands of an incompetant one. Not only dangerous to them, but to all of us on the road. Standard driver's training in this country does not produce competance. Period. I think the person who mentioned VFA or other performance driver's training is right on. If they're gonna drive like a maniac, they're gonna drive like a maniac...in any car, and you probably can't do much about it...except teach them how to do it safely. Driving schools typically teach people a lot about how lousy of drivers they are, and make them more cognizant of their limits. I think that's a good thing.
The fact of the matter is that the level of driver skill is a MUCH MUCH MUCH larger factor in safety than are the airbags, abs, tcs, and other forms of insulation modern cars provide from driver error. In my opinion, if safety is the ultimate concern, money's better spent on an older, reliable car and additional training then just spending money on the car. If you do decide on the new car, please also make an additional investment in this sort of thing. It's good for us all.
I am appreciative for the fact that I had to work hard to finally get a nice new car. It made me appreciate it a lot more than if someone had handed it to me. That said, my parents handed me a whole lot, not all of which of course was neccessary. Who am I to say what's right to pick and choose?
You mentioned a previous wreck. This isn't necessarily a bad indication. Was it his fault? Did he learn from it? How do you know? These are important questions to ask before presenting him with ANY car. I don't need to scare you with horror stories. As a parent, I'm sure you've already thought of them.
No way you're getting a discount on a 9-3 linear until the hotter models come out earlier next year... unless you happen to know a dealer personally. That said, the previous gen 9-3 is an exceptionally engineered and very capable car (we're still debating here whether it's more capable than the new 9-3...depends who you ask ;-) I also highly recommend the Saab Certified Used program. Honestly I don't know why you'd go new if you could find a good certified used. I picked an '01 certified used over an '02 9-3 SE because I got double the warranty coverage on it and at least a 5k price break. It was a no brainer. As for the arguments about "what did the first owner do to it?" Well, what did the first person who drove your "new" car do to it? It's easily possible to do as much damage in 2 miles as in 20k, if you get the right (wrong) driver :-) To me, the extra warranty more than covered my risk.
Best wishes and good luck with your decision. Definitely go Saab, and come back to Saabnet. We're not always so antagonistic. It's just that we care ;-)
'Roo
'78 99L (R.I.P.)
'89 900S
'01 9-3SE
posted by 128.42.176...
, Thu, 24 Oct 2002 00:55:39, Thu, 24 Oct 2002 15:55:08
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