Mind child, Delmar (not his real name) is turning 8 weeks soon, so naturally I’ve already started shopping for his first car. It’s hard! All the cars my single self thought would be great options to teach my kid that “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” and that “hard work is how you get anywhere in life” are vehicles I can’t get myself to consider anymore. Maybe I’ve gone soft?
Upon my wife birthing Delmar, various wires in my brain either got crossed, or they un-crossed themselves and are now functioning properly, because my plans to daily-drive my family in old cars have pretty much gone out the window. And while I myself still feel OK driving old junkers, don’t think there’s not part of me that isn’t constantly thinking that I need to not die for at least 18 years, at least.
Naturally, my hunt for my son’s first car has taken a sharp turn from 1965 Plymouth Valiant to post-2010 machines. This is a large departure from where I stood about a year ago, which was: “Just get the child the cheapest crap-can possible and make him wrench on it to keep it running” and also “I drove an unsafe old Jeep in high school/college, so my kid can handle one, too!”
In my defense, I don’t think this is me going soft, I think it’s just reality that the safety innovations in the past 20 years have been absolutely tremendous, and I’d be a fool to ignore them. Take Electronic Stability Control, which helps keep your car under control in emergency-maneuver situations. From NHTSA:
In 2015 an estimated 1,949 lives were saved by electronic stability control (ESC) among passenger vehicle (PV) occupants. These lives saved consisted of 857 passenger car (PC) occupants and 1,0911 light-truck and van (LTV) occupants. The estimated 1,949 lives saved in 2015 is an increase over the estimated number of lives saved in previous years; 1,575 lives saved in 2014, 1,380 lives saved in 2013, 1,225 lives saved in 2012, and 896 lives saved in 2011. Added together ESC has saved more than 7,000 lives during the 5-year period from 2011 to 2015. NHTSA’s estimates of effectiveness for ESC have been updated in the report, Updated Estimates of Fatality Reduction by Electronic Stability Control (Kahane, 2014), discussed in the Background section of this Research Not
From IIHS:
IIHS studies indicate that ESC reduces fatal single-vehicle crash risk by about half and fatal multiple-vehicle crash risk by 20 percent for cars and SUVs. Many single-vehicle crashes involve rolling over, and ESC’s effectiveness in preventing rollovers is even more dramatic. It reduces the risk of fatal single-vehicle rollovers by 75 percent for SUVs and by 72 percent for cars.
Did you read that?! “It reduces the risk of fatal single-vehicle rollovers by 75 percent for SUVs and by 72 percent for cars.”
That is insane. There’s no chance I’m ignoring that. My kid’s car is getting ESC, period.
And you know what, he’s also getting side airbags and a good overall IIHS rating, especially on the Small Overlap Rigid Barrier (SORB) test. I realize in the future there will be more stringent tests, so the car won’t be the safest, but it’ll probably be safe enough.
I would love to get my kid something with a manual transmission, but it all depends on what fuel prices look like in the future. There’s a decent chance he’ll be driving something electric. Maybe I could get him an EREV so he can still do some oil changes, which we can all agree, are good for the soul.
Maybe he’ll inherit my BMW i3? The Mazda3 hatch above with a stickshift could also be a decent option, and it is included in IIHS’s “Safe Vehicles for Teens” list:
That list is pretty boring though, and though safety is paramount, I’d like my child to drive something at least somewhat interesting. Is the i3 too small for a road filled with SUVs and trucks? I don’t know; it’s hard, and I only have about 16 years to figure it out!
What car you buy your kid/have them save up to buy themselves?
Unless she protests with a new idea of her own, my daughter will get the newest, nicest 2 door Wrangler I can find. It’s compact in width, lending itself well to learning to drive. The handling characteristics teach a youngster the important habit of staying engaged with the vehicle. They’re incredibly easy to park. She loves to add her personal touches to everything, so the customizability is there for her. The backroad we live on is among the last to get plowed in the winter, so the 4wd, ground clearance, visibility and very good stability control will give her some confidence. We unfortunately have a large amount of gas and oil big rigs, lifted trucks driven by teenagers, and drunk drivers out here in the boonies, so I absolutely will not consider anything that sits low and isn’t body on frame construction.( Save your arguments about small cars being fine-15 years on a fire department have left me with some very strong opinions about putting kids in small cars) And then, she WILL absolutely hit a deer at some point, so repairability will be simple, if it needs repaired at all from an animal strike. The convertible option will keep it enjoyable for her, and the backseat will be removed and a storage box/toolbox installed, for the impediment of teenage activities. ( not what your thinking, that will happen no matter what) but the importance of making sure your kid isn’t driving around with 4 other kids in the car cannot be overstated. There are other reasons, but this is just the most obvious. That, and she already wants one, so a happy bonus is that this will also be the path of least resistance.
I am ashamed to admit that I am 100% used to the lane change warning lights in my side mirrors. I had to drive my mom somewhere in her car (2015 Accord) about 30 minutes on the freeway, and I really missed them. My car is a 2016 C class. I don’t know when these moved from optional/luxury to mass market, but it’s something to consider.
No shame they are a useful tool why not use it.
I find the lane keeping nannies a little too intrusive. My husband’s last two cars have had that distance-keeping cruise control. It’s handy in stop and go traffic, but I have never used it myself. I have to ask him, “Is Hal driving?”
My kid got my old car, (a 2017 Impreza wagon, for the record, but it would’ve been whatever I’d been driving), and it’s been a good gig for him. I sold it to him for a song, so it didn’t become a source of big debt for him, and it’s old enough that he doesn’t sweat over the dings and abrasions that come with ‘young guy in the city’ car life. This also gave me an excuse to legitimately shop for my next car, a year or two sooner than I otherwise would have.
Lord only knows what your vehicle stable will look like in 16 years, but you’d no doubt have a bunch of new choices about which one of them to pass along. And a built-in reason to find yourself a replacement for it is A Good Thing, no?
I know it doesn’t make for a good article, but…
In the famous word of Wednesday Addams, “Wait.”
I live in northern CA. Don’t worry about what car. Start saving money now to pay for the insurance and gasoline (or electrons). Local gas prices are $6/gal for premium and my auto insurance on my two 20+ year-old cars (without collision coverage) went up by 30%. As a PG&E customer good luck trying to figure out the cost of electricity. My SWAG is between $0.40 and $0.50 per kWh.
I feel for the Californians who didn’t vote for the same political party for 5 decades. I did time in Eureka and Santa Maria. Great areas and great people but my pay couldn’t keep up with the green agenda. I wasn’t rich enough or poor enough to afford it. However here in PA has just went down to $3.45 and electricity just went up to 11 cents per kwh. I don’t make what I did in California but I have more money left at the end of the month now. In business you learn if you can’t increase income you can still succeed by cutting costs.
I wouldn’t but a car for my kid. She got to earn it and buy it herself, which she did just fine. Just like I wouldn’t pay for her to go to college. You want it, go get it yourself.
My kid turns 16 in a few months. She is rocking a 2006 Honda Civic with 258k miles on it. It is a single owner vehicle that had all maintenance done by the same dealer. It is in excellent condition, runs like a champ, doesn’t use any fluids, and doesn’t have enough power to hurt itself or do anything unexpected. No touch-screen or phone integration and basic controls.
I have enjoyed driving it enough that I found another one (also a 2006) with 108k miles on it and also a single owner vehicle to use as my work commuter shitbox. Got some brand new Nokian WR-G4 tires on both so they’re ready to conquer the mild SE Michigan winters we’ve been having when the time comes.
My kid is 18, and does not have his license. It is now a daily discussion. All my vehicles besides the Bolt are manual transmission. It is terrifying him. He is good with the Bolt, but almost refusing to learn manual, despite having never known anything else, basically.
My point, it’s this generation. My bet is they will want electric (we are talking 16 years from now), but being your kid, maybe not. The environment you are bringing him up in will most likely promote a cool car as a first car.
My only advice is to make sure it has as many airbags as possible. It’s really my only concern. My old 94 Toyota Pickup won’t cut it, as it has zero.
You are also getting SO far ahead of yourself. It’s fun to read, as I remember being there and going through all the same thought processes. It’ll get easier, and don’t be afraid to ask.
Oh Oh Oh, jump STRAIGHT to Triple Paste. Don’t waste your time on anything else.
The usual big/slow/simple/safe and if it’s got a manual and only seats two, so much the better. Zero infotainment to distract. Fuck wifi hotspots, ambient lighting, etc… Good visibility. Fixable with just a hammer, a roll of duct tape, and a bit of wire found by the side of the road. If it also happens to be a diesel, that might help build character in a younger driver (putting up with adversity given fewer stations have diesel, plus the smell and noise, etc…).
I’m not sure what would satisfy all these requirements… maybe a euro-market Volvo 140/240 with the rear seats removed?
I’ve got and am having zero offspring, so it’s not a quandary at the top of my list. 😉
I intend to pass my Y on to my older 2 to share (they’re Irish twins) so they are in something really safe and I can lock some limits in until they are experienced enough.
I bought one daughter a 2017 Mazda 6, and the other got a 2014 Accord Sport. Both are manual transmissions, so they got that skill down. I expect them to do their own maintenance (winter tire swaps, spark plugs, brakes, oil changes, coolant flushes), but their toolboxes are pretty limited. These cars are easy to work on with a lot of room.
Those are both great choices and frankly, I’d be happy to drive either one of those myself. Extra kudos to you as a responsible parent choosing manuals. 🙂