Opinions on car for a kid?

[Little6pack]

Ok since my son got into the Best high school in the state.
I now have to fess up & start looking for a car for him.

I am Cheap & willing to spend 3k or under.
What would appeal to you HS age guys from this
list?

Monte SS < most are beat under 3k
84-87 442 < I see nice ones at 3k
88 -91 S-10 4x4

any other suggestions. No rice please


Note: I don't want to get him a TB because most at 3k are beat & high miles needing work

I am leaning towards the OLDs 442's

 

[equalizer442]

i say go with the 442, i started out with a 85 cutlass then moved to a 442 then to a t type and a gn.

 

[Pronto]

A nice slow 307 Olds would be fine for him. How about a something alittle newer like my son's Cutlass? That has been reliable.

 

[Russ Merritt]

4X4 all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cause you know he's gonna need one when he's out in the woods smokin dope and drinkin beer! j/k

 

[Pronto]

Better yet, give him the Olds and get yourself a new GTP.

 

[TRBON8R]

3k won't buy you much. If you could spend just a tad more you might find a nice K5 Blazer for sale. They are tough as hell and have a "cool" factor that is hard to beat for the money. Not to mention and I know you don't want to think about this but with a K5 there would be lots of heavy steel surrounding your kid in the event the worst happened. Keep in mind it doesn't matter how much you lecture him on the dangers of driving, he can and will push the limits just like we all did. The only negative with the K5 is the ability to roll it compared to a car.

 

[cwelk87gn]

Originally posted by TRBON8R
3k won't buy you much. If you could spend just a tad more you might find a nice K5 Blazer for sale. They are tough as hell and have a "cool" factor that is hard to beat for the money. Not to mention and I know you don't want to think about this but with a K5 there would be lots of heavy steel surrounding your kid in the event the worst happened. Keep in mind it doesn't matter how much you lecture him on the dangers of driving, he can and will push the limits just like we all did.

I would second the BIG truck idea. In fact the bigger the better, you could probably find a nice mid eighties Suburban in that price range and believe it or not most kids actually think they're sort of cool.

 

[1320]

most if not al want rice....

I would get him something that isn t too fast, but handles fairly well and stops pretty good....and something he get onthe roof very easy.....

so there is no way I would get him a truck.....

A third gen f body......stops pretty well, handles ok......but by far the best bang for the buck car would be a 5 .0 mustang....you could get a decent one for 3000 ........like a 90 91 lx (trunk car)

 

[Little6pack]

The Big truck idea crossed my mind but a few drawbacks I had to think about.

They may EAT a lot of gas,
cause a lot of damage to someone else in an accident.
----------------------
The small truck idea would allow him better gas milage plus less chance of friends joy riding with him.


The idea of tossing him my OLDS is a possibility & maybe I can go out to find a daily driver TB for myself. I have a Love/ Hate relationship with my GN. I don't want to mod the GN too much & it is too nice to drive everyday up here..

 

[TRBON8R]

I see what 1320 is saying, and his point is valid about something that handles and stops well. However, I don't know that I'd do the F-body or Mustang mainly because even in stock form a 5.0 Mustang is a lot of power to put in the hands of a teenager. Not to mention their crash worthiness is questionable. I know we kind of laugh at the thoughts of a stock 225 hp motor being too much, but as an inexperienced teen driver I got in enough trouble with a hand me down '81 Century breathing through a wheezing 2bbl carb and early GM electronics. It's amazing I still love Buicks after learning to drive on that POS. Remember if you will that a stock 5.0 Mustang was considered a real fire breather back in the day. I still say unless the kid expects to drive a ton of miles where mileage is a big issue an older full size truck would work well. My two cents anyway.

 

[cwelk87gn]

Another thing to consider is insurance. Insuring a kid on 5.0 or F- body will be an expensive venture.

 

[SyHopeful]

I dunno if "rice" means "import" to you, but you might consider a 89-94 Eagle Talon TSi AWD. They can be found under $3k easily, they have a turbo, 5-speed, AWD, and are actually pretty slow stock, so a good starter for your son, but $2000 can put them in the 12s if spent right.

 

[Chris Wh1]

what ever ya do, dont buy a 2 wheel drive s10. i have one and they suck in the snow. mine has a posi and im lucky to make it a couple of miles with only 2-3 inches on the ground. i personally think the way to go is a 82-87 full size chevy 4x4. they do have high insurence for a young driver, but you can just blast a mail box with em and no one that looked at the truck would ever know. (eg a parent for instints) Have you ever considered a 90-95 grand prix?

 

[88 CuttyClassic]

Monte SS, They are cheap and plentyful.

 

[GN One Day...]

One of these:

truck: '97+ Dodge Dakota. With a 5 spd, V6, and regular cab it should be close to that range. It's good to have a truck around, the regular cab keeps him from being the driver when going out and it's in-between full sized and small trucks. I had one like that and loved it, great truck.

car: '89-'93 Tbird Supercoupe. You can get a good one that's been well taken care of roughly in that range. Fun car, power, but not too much, good size when it's college time, good MPG, parts aren't too bad. Get one that's been taken care of, on original HG's and it'll last you. That's the key though. A lot of bang for the buck, as a good all around car.

 

[GNSCOTT]

If he can handle the insurance I'd say a 305 Iroc. Wouldn't need anything but liability for a $3k car.

 

[gnturboray]

I know somee people dont like Fords but if it's American muscle then i like it. Try a late 80's 5.0 mustang. Parts and go fast goodies are plentiful and cheap. Insurance wont be that high either.

 

[87regal]

I say a VW

For 3K you can get him a nice clean example of any MK2 golf or jetta....or also a fox, great milage, run forever (almost impossible to kill an 8v)

ANd they can be modded to run decent without being rice.....more of a euro dish

 

['71buickg.s.]

Simple, get him what my dad surprised me with tonight.. an old skylark with a 2 barrel! check this thread out.. he got it for 2500

http://v8buick.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37915

-Josh

 

[BobbyBuick]

My son got bought a regal limited (he paid 1000.00 I pitched in the balance) .NON turbo .I gave him put some t type wheels to use to make it look fast.a full frame car it very important for the wreck that WILL happen.now that hes had his and everone was alright.we are goin to fix the regal for a driver and start lookin for a cheap turbo car.I think any g body from78-87 is a good choice.they look good ,are roomy,fullframe,cheap and ready aval parts..... glad I got one look at this
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bo...slideshow?&.dir=/Deer-Fire-Telephone-&.src=ph