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My teen son wants a new Civic/Corolla Hybrid but I want him to get a new/used RWD 3 ~ same price.
- Thread starter vickh
- Start date
Tiger
Active Member
Hard to convince someone that X is a better value than Y if you're paying for it either way. This sounds like a parenting question more than a car question. 
If he's so worried about being bullied, may I recommend a gym membership or a martial arts class instead of a car?
If he's so worried about being bullied, may I recommend a gym membership or a martial arts class instead of a car?
Tiger
Active Member
IvesSM
Member
What's his skin in the game?
If none then it's your decision. You aren't getting HIM a car your getting a 2nd or 3rd or 4th car for the FAMILY.
I take it he will not have any skin in the game then he should be thankful you're getting him a car to drive rather than a pair of electric skates.
Does he have any skin in the game?
What % of the final price is he covering?
Will he pay insurance?
Will he pay gas or electric charges?
Does he cut the grass and take out the garbage now?
I had 2 boys and they all are highly successful today. We got a "kids" car under the cash for clunkers program (< $10,000) and they shared and worked out all the expenses between them. I never intervened in disputes, I made them work it out and I was amazed, it worked!
If there was a minor fender bender, and there was, they called the insurance company and handled it 100%, deductable, etc. They learned to do it because they had to. They also learned a lot in doing it then selves.
Yes, they had skin in the game, they paid for everything except the initial purchase of the car. They paid for all upkeep/maintenance, tires, etc on the car.
They also learned to drive a stick, with crank up windows and no electric door locks. The only thing of creature comforts was AC & heat + a radio. It was a dodge caliber.
Good luck and let us know how this works out for u.
-stew
If none then it's your decision. You aren't getting HIM a car your getting a 2nd or 3rd or 4th car for the FAMILY.
I take it he will not have any skin in the game then he should be thankful you're getting him a car to drive rather than a pair of electric skates.
Does he have any skin in the game?
What % of the final price is he covering?
Will he pay insurance?
Will he pay gas or electric charges?
Does he cut the grass and take out the garbage now?
I had 2 boys and they all are highly successful today. We got a "kids" car under the cash for clunkers program (< $10,000) and they shared and worked out all the expenses between them. I never intervened in disputes, I made them work it out and I was amazed, it worked!
If there was a minor fender bender, and there was, they called the insurance company and handled it 100%, deductable, etc. They learned to do it because they had to. They also learned a lot in doing it then selves.
Yes, they had skin in the game, they paid for everything except the initial purchase of the car. They paid for all upkeep/maintenance, tires, etc on the car.
They also learned to drive a stick, with crank up windows and no electric door locks. The only thing of creature comforts was AC & heat + a radio. It was a dodge caliber.
Good luck and let us know how this works out for u.
-stew
smogne41
Active Member
There are lots of reasons someone may not want a Tesla. Yes, there are social considerations that may seem trivial to you but will not be to him. You should absolutely not discount these. Additionally there are just practical/personal reasons he may not want a Tesla (preferring manual controls over touch screen, wanting a manual transmission, not liking the styling, etc). Talk to your son about the decision and their reasons, and RESPECT those reasons even if they don't make sense to you. And yes, fear of being bullied/teased over it is a legitimate (if sad) reason. You may not understand and it may not apply to your social circle, but Tesla's carry a lot of social baggage with many people (some good, some bad). More than any other mass-market car brand I would argue in fact. He may very much want to avoid that.
Any relatively modern car will be very safe, even if it does not have every nanny feature a Tesla might. A Civic/Corolla has been a profoundly sensible choice for well over 30 years, and still is.
Any relatively modern car will be very safe, even if it does not have every nanny feature a Tesla might. A Civic/Corolla has been a profoundly sensible choice for well over 30 years, and still is.
Want the fuel efficiency/ Co2 footprint (why I drive the 3) , and a Corolla hybrid is not much more than a reg. corolla (hence the inventory issues, dealer hassle/mark ups).
RWD 3 has tons of inventory w/o the dealer hassle/mark ups .
why does a teenager need a new car? why not fix the a/c on the sonata?
What about college in a couple of years? What if he has a new Model 3 but the college does not allow Frosh to have cars on campus? What if he goes out of state to a college or attends an urban campus in a big city where having a car is a PIA?
What about college in a couple of years? What if he has a new Model 3 but the college does not allow Frosh to have cars on campus? What if he goes out of state to a college or attends an urban campus in a big city where having a car is a PIA?
RayK
Active Member
A few years back (Mar. 2017) when it became obvious that the 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee that my then 26 y.o. daughter was driving was on its last legs, we started a search. The Jeep was a used hand-me-down that I had bought for my older daughter when she was in high school. She was quite involved in looking around. Vehicles considered: BMW X3, Chevy Equinox, Nissan Rouge, Ford Escape, Nissan Juke). See a trend? She has always liked driving an SUV with its higher seating (she's about 5' 2"). She barely had any money saved so I knew going in that it was going to be my car but she had (almost) exclusive use. I preferred the 2010 BMW X3 that we had test drove for a few hours, but that was both early in the search and I owned a 2000 323i at the time. However, she was hesitant due to the "BMW" brand being a target for thieves. She also brought up the service visits that I required on my own car. Touché. After a few months searching, we found a 2011 Nissan Murano LE AWD for just over $18K that we both liked. It was $5K more that I initially wanted to spend. No major problems with it after almost 6.5 years.
@vickh Your son is about the same age as my older daughter was when I got the Jeep. I never would have considered getting her a new car as a first vehicle to drive, nor anything that expensive (Jeep was a bit less than $6K). I wanted something that was fairly safe, had a lot of Detroit steel around it, good supply of parts and service and got good gas mileage (3 our of 4 wasn't too bad). That was a good thing since a few years later she drove up from L.A., with the last 1/3 being low or no oil. An engine rebuild later and the Jeep was passed down to the younger daughter.
Now I realize that today everything is a lot more expensive but you should be able to save some money by getting something a couple of years old (and maybe still under a factory warranty). Around here in Silicon Valley, I wouldn't think that a marque brand be it BMW, Tesla, or Porsche would bring that much attention or derision to a high school driver. But where you are in AZ may be different environment.
@vickh Your son is about the same age as my older daughter was when I got the Jeep. I never would have considered getting her a new car as a first vehicle to drive, nor anything that expensive (Jeep was a bit less than $6K). I wanted something that was fairly safe, had a lot of Detroit steel around it, good supply of parts and service and got good gas mileage (3 our of 4 wasn't too bad). That was a good thing since a few years later she drove up from L.A., with the last 1/3 being low or no oil. An engine rebuild later and the Jeep was passed down to the younger daughter.
Now I realize that today everything is a lot more expensive but you should be able to save some money by getting something a couple of years old (and maybe still under a factory warranty). Around here in Silicon Valley, I wouldn't think that a marque brand be it BMW, Tesla, or Porsche would bring that much attention or derision to a high school driver. But where you are in AZ may be different environment.
Imo teens shouldn't be driving around in new cars, whether that's a new gas car like a civic/camry or a new EV like a Tesla model 3.
Your son deserves a pre-2018 Nissan Leaf.
Your son deserves a pre-2018 Nissan Leaf.
Agreed, No way I give a teenager a Model 3 with that instant torque. Heck, remember the adult male (50 something) who was showing his new S to his buddy and drove it into the neighborhood tree, killing them both? (in Dallas)
My kids drove my 20-year old Volvo hand-me-down, big and boxy. If you want to spend the money to go green, get a used Camry hybrid. Safe & boring. Btw, no way a kid drives enough to make it financially worthwhile to purchase a new hybrid.
zoomer0056
Active Member
I went to college without a car. No big deal, busses everywhere and I had a bicycle. However, I found a broken down VW Type 3 for $75. I went to the junk yard and spent $75 for a front axle. My roommate and I swapped the axel out with ropes and blocks of wood in the dorm parking lot. It lasted four more years. A car for four years for $150! Then I drove it from MI to CA for my new job where it finally died. This was circa 1976, the car was a 1972 Squareback bondo buggy.
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You're assuming there's an easily-usable, reasonable bus service in the OP's area. As somebody who lives in an area where "take the bus" would likely be used ironically, I never make that assumption.
But $30k for a compact is an expensive commitment to gas.
What about a different used EV? Bolt is distinctive, but I still think less likely to draw emotive attention than a Tesla and used Bolts are available for under $20k. Obviously the Bolt has poor DCFC, but would that matter? Has some hot hatch characteristics and has good cabin space for the footprint.
Kona and Niro EVs are more anonymous but used prices are higher. Better DCFC than the Bolt and Kona in particular is more efficient.
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