Should We Buy Our Daughter An S Or Wait Until M3?

[S'toon]

If I were teenager and could afford a new car for a teenager, I'd go for a 3 year lease on a Smart ED.

It has 2 seats, so no getting in trouble with a carload of friends.

According to the members of this board who drive one, it's still peppy and fun to drive.

The limited range means no going on long joy rides.

That makes it a good starter car.

If the kid wants something better, ask them what are they going to do to earn money to buy themselves something better. We don't need more youth with entitlement issues running around after all. Teach them responsibility and the value of earning things for themselves.

 

[AB4EJ]

Let's see... if I was thinking about an electric car for my teenager... it would be a 2013 Nissan Leaf. Not a Tesla. Bear in mind that almost every kid totals their first car. (Sorry, I didn't... but both of my children did). So it might as well be something cheap. Actually, my mom (born 1919) would say to get the kid a land yacht, such as a 2006 Buick Roadmaster. With all that mass, it's the other guy who has to watch out.

 

[Canuck]

Don't the same reasons you all bought one for yourself apply to this situation?

No - not at all. When kids make that argument to their parents, I think to myself "poor parenting skills and ungrateful, entitlement mentality kid".

I believe he was asking a car question and not a parenting question...

The two are interrelated, at least to some of us.

How can all of you shame him for wanting to buy his daughter an S?

No one is shaming. We're providing opinions as asked. We're also all adults and I'm certain the OP will take whatever he may from the advice and discard the rest.

 

[theslimshadyist]

You should have added a selection that said, "Let her buy her own".

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

I love my Model S almost as much as some of you, but I fail to see how a Model S is a good idea for a kid.

First - it's MASSIVE. Your kids going to be driving with 6-7 other people in the car with them.
Secondly - it requires charging, and this complicates their life.
Thirdly - it doesn't lend itself to the kind of crazy things that happen to young kids. Getting them an electric car is a good way to get a call in the middle of the night to come rescue them from having 0mph left.
Fourthly - It's EXPENSIVE to fix. Kids inevitably make mistakes.
Fifth - Superchargers. This should be pretty self explanatory as to what will happen with this one. "Hey, daddy can you wire me some money. I'm at Disneyland for the weekend, and I lost my wallet".

What I said about buying a leaf was a JOKE. It was a joke on how they couldn't do anything.

About the only argument that has some merit is it's safe, but there are lots of cars close enough to the Tesla in terms of being safe. Plus the biggest danger is speed. You can put the valet mode on, but they you get the WHINE.

Trust no kid, and definitely not your own.

 

[HebrHmr]

No - not at all. When kids make that argument to their parents, I think to myself "poor parenting skills and ungrateful, entitlement mentality kid".



The two are interrelated, at least to some of us.



No one is shaming. We're providing opinions as asked. We're also all adults and I'm certain the OP will take whatever he may from the advice and discard the rest.

Fair points, I'm just referring to the features of the car from his standpoint as the father. If I could afford the safest car on the planet for my child (if I had a child) why wouldn't I buy it? And as the one buying it he should be concerned with resale, futureproofing, etc. Also he will have the technology to track her whereabouts, be alerted of a collision, etc.

I can only speculate on the parenting aspect as I suspect I'm far below the mean on average age of Tesla owners. Most could probably be my parent.

 

[McRat]

I bought the kids Volts. They can learn about Green Technology, but will never get stuck anywhere at night waiting for a charge. They seldom use gas at all though. And with the OnStar, I can track them. Or if they get into an accident, they just press the button and the nice folk will handle things and call us. If the kids are incapacitated or worse, OnStar automatically sends help. I can set a lock on the radio level and top speed in Teen Mode which is password protected. It also tells me their driving habits.

Knock on wood, no accidents or tickets yet. They both had performance and defensive driving classes before I would let them drive solo, not just Driver's Ed.

 

[TES-E]

The Model S is the safest car on the road. Why wouldn't you get one for your daughter if you can afford it?

 

[Canuck]

Secondly - it requires charging, and this complicates their life.

It's quite simple to plug it in. Not complicated at all. After all, it's their future at stake, not mine. If it's too complicated to plug in an electric vehicle, we're in more trouble than I thought.

What I said about buying a leaf was a JOKE. It was a joke on how they couldn't do anything.

I bet my kids do way more in our Leaf than the vast majority of kids with ICE vehicles. It barely rests.

Getting them an electric car is a good way to get a call in the middle of the night to come rescue them from having 0mph left.

I've had the call with 0mpg left but not in the middle of the night:

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/1717797/

If it's the middle of the night, they better be at home in bed, or in bed at a friend's house (and not a boyfriend!), or they will not be driving the Leaf again.

For me, the Leaf is the best vehicle for teenage kids -- it keeps them close to home.

 

[Garlan Garner]

What about your daughter getting her own Tesla?

 

[Tech_Guy]

A p85 ... my answer is NO, I don't know if you have driven one but they can break the rear tires loose and get sideways everywhere even on the freeway at speed if you punch the pedal the back end will step out and this is with traction control on! It's not like the newer dual motor cars where you just rocket forward If you must get her a Tesla I'd vote for a model S 60D or a Model 3 both would be great choices!

I'll go on to say any car is quite a gift for a teen, I had to pay for my first car though my parents co signed due to my lack of credit I was responsible for the payments etc... This responsibility teaches them to respect their car since that had to pay for it. It really prepares them to be productive member of society as well as helps them build credit for there future out of the house, rather then a kid that expects handouts from mom and dad and whom might never leave your home...

 

[demundus]

Here are some of the pros I posted in the other thread when this came up:

1. Can remotely control some things about the car (locks, know where it is, see their speed/accel)
2. Can put it in valet mode, limiting speed and acceleration to acceptable and safe levels
3. Can hook it up to a few of the 3rd party sites that aggregate data on your car, you'll see trips, speeds, if they used the AC or not... short of if they sneezed while driving, you'll know what they did.
4. Its safe as hell
5. Its great in snow and has lots of storage (sports/band/etc)
6. Probably a few others that escape me right now

Cons:

1. Your insurance could be as much as the car payment, with a 16 year old as the primary driver of the car
2. Scratch and dent will cost a fortune and you'll be out a car for several weeks. Scratch or dent in the right place and they could total it
3. It is a powerful car, that even experienced adults can't control from time to time

Personally, I'm for it. If I had kids, and had the money, they'd be in Model S's or X's or 3s, whichever made the most sense.

 

[hmmm]

@OP: is she single and an only child? Asking for a friend.

 

[calisnow]

I know we have our P100D on the way buttttttttt........... we found a really superb deal on a 2014 P85+ w/o AP and my daughter wants my P85D but im giving that car to my Mom because she is begging on her knees for it so im giving it to her! When our P100D arrives. So should my daughter get a S or should she get a M3 instead! And my son defiantly is not getting a Model S at all he will destroy it he wasn't even ready for his Dodge Charger we bought him!

You're coming to a car forum for advice on whether you should spoil your children? If they are A+ students with perfect SAT's headed for H/Y/P - maybe. Still probably not. You want rich kids? Teach them to work. In the mean time there are nice safe slow old Volvo wagons.

 

[HumanGenome]

I think most of us on this forum probably worked pretty hard to get our Teslas. Follow suit, let her work hard to get her dream vehicle one day off of her own hard work. A model S is a luxury, not an economic decision.

You can get her a Chevy Bolt or a Nissan Leaf if you want to be environmentally friendly.

 

[Jeff4155]

If I was the Kid I would say hell yes... not taking the price of the vehicle into account I would still not get one for someone who just got there licence, first of even the fact that the vehicle is one of the safest out there is null and void if you going to give them a vehicle that's quicker than some super cars. I would stick to something that is easy to park, manual gearbox in our case, because it's always good to know how to use one and in our country if you do your test in a Automatic your license will only allow you to drive an automatic gearbox, I can think of many vehicles out there that are still 5 star rated and perfect for a youngster as a first car.

 

[cwerdna]

If your daughter is intent on getting an EV (can't tell if that's the case from your post), how about getting her a used Nissan Leaf instead? Giving a Tesla (or any fast, powerful car) to a teenaged driver reminds me of this incident: 5 teens survive 80-foot leap, rollover in Tesla Model S crash

Agree.

And a used Leaf isn't fast (but still enough to get into a deadly accident), is cheap (and not a huge loss vs. a Tesla, if totaled), and its limited range means they can't go too far away, esp. if it doesn't have a CHAdeMO inlet.

 

[brkaus]

I wouldn't from a performance standpoint. To easy to wrap around a tree or drive through he front of a building.

Valet mode maybe.

The Model S is the safest car on the road. Why wouldn't you get one for your daughter if you can afford it?

Highest safety rating, yes. Very safe if driven sanely, yes. However, when combined with the performance abilities, I'm not convinced it wold be the safest choice.

 

[McRat]

Crashes normally happen when a driver is less than fully trained or is not observant of their surroundings.

The most survivable crash is the one you avoid. ie - A Trabant is safer than an SUV if the SUV crashes and the Trabant does not.

 

[scaesare]

You should have added a selection that said, "Let her buy her own".

This.

My kids saved for their own cars. As long as they got good grades, abided by house rules, etc... we "contributed" to the effort, but it was a matching system... so what they purchased was dependent on what they were will to put towards the effort.

So, if that's an S, or Model 3, or Leaf, or whatever, so be it... they are nice cars.