As a 'fix-it,' rural first responder for 40+ yrs, I use very different criteria for 1 st car for girls vs guys.
Safety and dependability being top priority.
At the time.... Rural trauma Dr / mentor would only put his family drivers in diesel Jettas or Passats with at least 6 airbags. We attend to countless teen crashes, and it's quite obvious who walks away from what, as well as the less desired outcomes. My sons are always so confoundedly that girl acquaintance's drove far less, but had very high (serious ) crash stats, yet their insurance was a fraction of the cost. Girl's crashes are most often single vehicle / drive off the road, where guys more frequently have multiple vehicle and much higher liability and physical injury crashes. Unfortunately, we have lost several girl and guy neighbors and friends due to crashes. (4) From our church youth group, in separate accidents over the years. I am also a 3m mile CDL truckdriver, and my dad ran a recovery tow service - so vivid experiences of what NOT to do!
#1 for me is mandatory Smith Driving Rules training and application (memorized, frequently reviewed, )
#2 experience. My teen drivers had a 10000 mile checklist of driving experience in all kinds of vehicles, weather, terrain, night and day BEFORE they were allowed to test.
#3 meet with insurance agent 1x/ yr, and take them to lunch for legal responsibility training
#4 skin in the game - kids had to buy their own cars, insurance, fuel, maintenance (especially important for boys)
#5 each got classes in skid school and performance driving (we drive in mtns / canyons / switchbacks every day)
#6 no passengers (except family), no cell phones, no radio distractions.
Safe cars.... It depends on driving conditions and exposures. Ours drove 120 miles / day while HS age (but were in college, not HS). Lots of snow, ice, wind, rain.
No CUVs or SUVs. Too squirrely and tippy for first car. Something lower, slower, safer preferred. (GTI![:happy]( "smile")
). But not a VR6:R32! Actually.... I build GTDs as a hobby, since USA or Canada never got them. Takes a weekend for idi, and a week (40+ hrs) for a TDI. But a 50 mpg sports car that runs on free fuel is pretty fun, Quite safe, and very boglehead like. - my practicing boglehead kids, helped build their own GTDs. Live by learning.
Having rebuilt several totaled cars for hobby and inexpensive drivers, I will never drive a Subaru (or fix another one). They are crumple and throw away cars (safe in the sense they purposely crumple, projecting less impact force to occupants). SUVs and pickups are statistically very high in personal injuries to occupants, but... Massive structure and rigid can also protect you when hit by others. (Especially important if you drive a lot of high-speed 2 lane rural roads). Not great for daughters who space-out a drive off the road at high speed. "What?, I was driving?, you don't say!". BTDT too many times happening upon a crash.
Toyota / Honda, older / cheaper to insure and replace - but tough to find used with low miles. Yesterday, SIL declared she's selling her 2006 Corolla w/86k.... Just to upgrade. Nothing I. Our driveway has under 150k, most 300k+, some 500k+.
Hyundai and Kia.... Ok NEW with 100k factory warranty. Sell before warranty expires. I prefer to request these when renting, because the get 38-40 mpg, and have actual transmissions, instead of CVT. Since they are new, they have a lot of driver aid gizmos, and are to highest safety specs. If they get crashed.... Discard them.
Good luck.
Train DD with Smith Driving Rules, an no / limited backing (reverse), and only Right Hand turns instead of crossing high speed traffic. No motorcycles until kids leave home. That way you don't lay sleepless at home worrying about them.
I slept much better when kids left home (18) but even better when they turned age 26. (Liability freedom).
Safety and dependability being top priority.
At the time.... Rural trauma Dr / mentor would only put his family drivers in diesel Jettas or Passats with at least 6 airbags. We attend to countless teen crashes, and it's quite obvious who walks away from what, as well as the less desired outcomes. My sons are always so confoundedly that girl acquaintance's drove far less, but had very high (serious ) crash stats, yet their insurance was a fraction of the cost. Girl's crashes are most often single vehicle / drive off the road, where guys more frequently have multiple vehicle and much higher liability and physical injury crashes. Unfortunately, we have lost several girl and guy neighbors and friends due to crashes. (4) From our church youth group, in separate accidents over the years. I am also a 3m mile CDL truckdriver, and my dad ran a recovery tow service - so vivid experiences of what NOT to do!
#1 for me is mandatory Smith Driving Rules training and application (memorized, frequently reviewed, )
#2 experience. My teen drivers had a 10000 mile checklist of driving experience in all kinds of vehicles, weather, terrain, night and day BEFORE they were allowed to test.
#3 meet with insurance agent 1x/ yr, and take them to lunch for legal responsibility training
#4 skin in the game - kids had to buy their own cars, insurance, fuel, maintenance (especially important for boys)
#5 each got classes in skid school and performance driving (we drive in mtns / canyons / switchbacks every day)
#6 no passengers (except family), no cell phones, no radio distractions.
Safe cars.... It depends on driving conditions and exposures. Ours drove 120 miles / day while HS age (but were in college, not HS). Lots of snow, ice, wind, rain.
No CUVs or SUVs. Too squirrely and tippy for first car. Something lower, slower, safer preferred. (GTI
). But not a VR6:R32! Actually.... I build GTDs as a hobby, since USA or Canada never got them. Takes a weekend for idi, and a week (40+ hrs) for a TDI. But a 50 mpg sports car that runs on free fuel is pretty fun, Quite safe, and very boglehead like. - my practicing boglehead kids, helped build their own GTDs. Live by learning.Having rebuilt several totaled cars for hobby and inexpensive drivers, I will never drive a Subaru (or fix another one). They are crumple and throw away cars (safe in the sense they purposely crumple, projecting less impact force to occupants). SUVs and pickups are statistically very high in personal injuries to occupants, but... Massive structure and rigid can also protect you when hit by others. (Especially important if you drive a lot of high-speed 2 lane rural roads). Not great for daughters who space-out a drive off the road at high speed. "What?, I was driving?, you don't say!". BTDT too many times happening upon a crash.
Toyota / Honda, older / cheaper to insure and replace - but tough to find used with low miles. Yesterday, SIL declared she's selling her 2006 Corolla w/86k.... Just to upgrade. Nothing I. Our driveway has under 150k, most 300k+, some 500k+.
Hyundai and Kia.... Ok NEW with 100k factory warranty. Sell before warranty expires. I prefer to request these when renting, because the get 38-40 mpg, and have actual transmissions, instead of CVT. Since they are new, they have a lot of driver aid gizmos, and are to highest safety specs. If they get crashed.... Discard them.
Good luck.
Train DD with Smith Driving Rules, an no / limited backing (reverse), and only Right Hand turns instead of crossing high speed traffic. No motorcycles until kids leave home. That way you don't lay sleepless at home worrying about them.
I slept much better when kids left home (18) but even better when they turned age 26. (Liability freedom).
Statistics: Posted by Wash.Invest — Fri Nov 29, 2024 5:49 am — Replies 28 — Views 1080