It burn's me a little to see teens with mini's.

I can understand buying a safe reliable cheap car for your kid but I don't see the mini in any of those categories...

Am I just being a jealous jerk?
What are your thoughts? Should parents buy there kids a new or newish car and would a mini be an appropriate car for a teen? Is there a difference between buy your kid a New mini and an 02 mini?

 

I got my R53 when I was 20, yea it was an '02 but it was already five years old and only had 39k on it. I financed it on my own and hae been working full time since to be able to afford it, so I say yes youre a jealous jerk .

Now when I see like 17 year old kids driving reckless in brand new EVO's, STi's and Mustangs, that burns me

 

Well, you think parents should buy a 'safe', 'reliable' and 'cheap' car for thier kids. MINIs fall into two of those categories. MINIs are extremely safe. MINIs are fairly reliable, and when they aren't reliable, they have fantastic warranties. The only of the three that you said that MINIs aren't is cheap.

 

Good question. IMHO, it reaches the even broader question of whether parents should buy their teens anything, or if they should earn it themselves. From my POV, I'll let my kids drive any of our cars, but I'll stop short of buying them their own.

It's really a case if the apple not falling far from the tree; my parents never bought me any cars, but they were completely fine with the overpowered 1971 Camaro that I bought as my own first car. I later bought myself a Porsche 944, and again, they were totally fine it. I'll tell you this, though: having earned the wherewithall to pay for those cars on my own gave me a deeper respect of what they were worth to me, and made me drive them with a healthy measure of care and caution.

Now, all of this said, I'll admit that the thought of either of my kids taking the JCW convertible for a spin is nerve-wracking.

 

Hum i don't even let my teen son drive my cooper at all ! He knows not to even ask to move it in the yard ! He had to buy his on insurance for himself to drive my old ragged out jeep liberty . My son's jeep liberty window broke in december of this year i told him to get it fixed or use duck tape . He is using duck tape LOL ! Insurance on a MINI Cooper for a teen boy is out the roof here no way ! A S Model Cooper What ? I know it listed a small compact car but with a turbo on it insurance out the roof ! My teen would have to give up playing HS Sports and work multiple part time jobs to drive a cooper !

 

I know how you feel. I used to go to a high school where some kids had new BMW's and Rolexes. In other parts of the world you are spoiled if you get a bicycle. I've had to listen to my father's stories of not having shoes until he was 12. The bottom line, it's a free country; and "spoiled" is relative to your own personal experiences. I'm glad to live in a place where people can buy almost anything they want. I wouldn't worry too much about what somebody else is buying their kids.

 

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with "kids" having relatively/reasonably nice cars. It doesn't bother me if the kid is grateful, respects / takes care of the car like they should, and is otherwise busy with doing well in school and character-building extracurricular activities. I'm not saying kids like that DESERVE a car, but it doesn't bother me if they have a reasonably nice one. On the other hand, if the kid doesn't do their best in school, is just wasting their free time partying/facebooking/etc, is ungrateful, etc, I say "McDonald's is hiring... Here's a bus pass."

 

yes your father was right about the lesson's that where taught you & hope you learned & pass it along ! You know walking 10 miles in the snow to school both ways with no shoes just to get an education ! Old School but no Fool !

 

Why does it have to be cheap and reliable? If dad drives a Ferrari, and mom drives a Bently, is it wrong for the kids to drive expensive cars? Isn't that up to the family, what they can afford, and how they feel about cars? I don't see anything wrong with putting a kid in a Mercedes if that seems appropriate to the family.

Probably.

For its size, the MINI is a rather safe car. It seems to be designed to protect the occupants, and does well in crash tests. It stops quickly, and handles well. So, has good accident avoidance characteristics.

I think it is less socially acceptable to put a kid in an SUV or large pickup. Those vehicles give the driver less ability to compensate for mistakes, and do more damage to people in other vehicles. Is it right for you to put others at greater risk by putting an inexperienced driver in a vehicle that can do so much damage to others? I don't think so. Put the kids in a car that gives them a better chance to avoid accidents, and does less damage if an accident occurs.

A new one would probably be safer and more reliable.

 

Hey, why you gotta bring "Sketch" into this? :D

 

His Dad's got a Lambo, not a Ferrari.

 

That's why I slightly modified Robin's quote

 

My story . . .

When my son got his lic' I went out and bought a new car, 02 Cooper S, and he got to drive my hand-me-down. A red Miata . . . many asked me if I was nuts handing a new driver the keys to a red sports car.

1. He could NOT pile a bunch of friends in the car .. no way / no how (not that I ever thought he might)

2. I tried to teach him that smart driving and HANDLING could get him out of trouble . . . handling is hard to teach in a tank. And most tanks have a lot more horsepower then the Miata ... even by hp to weight ratio {Miata makes going the speed limit a lot of FUN} Tanks absorb hits but sports car help you avoid them . . .

3. If you can get a girl in trouble in a Miata when you are 6 foot and nearly 200 pounds . . . well, I digress

He drove that on and off for a couple of years and never got a ticket. Later, he's in college and needs a car as many of his classes are on a satellite campus. So he ends up with my S and I buy a new one. From the question's perspective here's a young kid with an S. Curiously when we were making this decision we had several vehicles in the driveway and the presumption was he'd buy our SUV {he was buying and getting his own insurance} ... turned out the insurance on the S was LESS.

So a young person in a decent/sports car is not an automatic case of spoiled nor should it be assumed they can't handle it.

My son now 21 is about to graduate with honors from a major university in a damn tuff field, chemical engineering, and has YET to get his first ticket (knock on wood) I know cuz last trip home he got pulled over and got a warning and did the rest of the trip at the speed limit making us wonder what was taking so long!

It's worked for me so far -

btw - Tire Rack with BMW now has a driving school for new drivers and while I've not managed to get my new driver into it it looks REALLY good and I recommend it highly sight unseen

http://www.tirerack.com/features/mot...t_survival.jsp



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on the flip side one of my neighbors just bought a cherry restored 1966 Mustang with the 289 . . . talking to him he told me he bought it for his son who just got his license. He is now driving it to school and last weekend I spotted it with 7 of his friends stuffed inside. Oh well . . .

 

My parents basically only gave me about 2000 for a first car. Ended up w a Corsica....

Then @ 17, I decided to buy another car, and got myself a 94 5.0 Mustang. I am an incredibly responsible driver, probably mainly because im rediculously OCD about cleanliness of my cars... Id make others drive, drive like a grandpa, and never even did a burnout (kind of regret that now...)

At 20 I sold my 94, and got a 'less safe' (no airbags/abs/traction control) 90 5.0 GT. Having driven both year round really makes you a good driver, and if the kid is in fact responsible, then some of these seemingly "rediculous cars for a young person to own", can be good.... really makes you drive the car, vs. it driving you.

With that said, a tiny mini is a great first car IMO, as its not some POS boat of a hand-me-down Buick Regal or something. I think it could teach more, but only after you teach the kid the value of what they posess, and that they need to take care of it, Unlike the chick with the 'daddy-i-want-it, 2010 Cobalt SS, comming up behind me on the freeway puttin on mascara....

 

Man, you need to stop by your local school parking lot. I drive my kids to school every day through a sea of SRT's, BMW's and the like. Even one of those Chevy pickups that cost's close to $80k. Do I think it's right? Hell no, but that's another way many parents compete with one another I guess. My son knows he will not be competing in that race when he turns 16. I have watched the teen girl across the street from us total three BRAND NEW cars in the last 11 months. Her parents just keep buying more. A new driver at our school got his second NEW Challenger w/ a Hemi after totalling the first one the first week he had it. So throw a good dose of stupid in the competition between parents too.

 

+1 on the good dose of stupid for the parent that replaced the totalled Hemi Challenger after a week.

I have two daughters who are now on their own. The first got a Saturn 4-door, the second got a '91 Volvo 240. Nice cars that got them where they needed to go. Could I have afforded more? Sure. Would they have been better off? No way.

IMO, any parent that gives theri 16 year old a Hemi, MCS, SRT, Mustang GT, etc, is guilty of child abuse. Flame me if you like, that's my opinion.

 

I'm 22, my parents helped me pay for part of the car; in turn, I plan to pay them back within a year.
I chose the mini for the driving experience, uniqueness, and good gas mileage. The safety ratings are pretty good too, 6 airbags...
I chose a model with as few options as possible, and plan to keep the car for a long while. I love to drive but I'm not a racer nor would I abuse the car or mod it. I'm driving super safe to avoid accidents, I'm loving this car too much to risk anything to happening to it.

The mini s is a step up, but it's far from being an evo, sti, or Mercedes. In my opinion the latter is a bit excessive for a teen. A car is just suppose to get you from point A to B.

All in all I think the mini is appropriate if
1. The family can afford it
2. Teen knows, enjoys, and appreciates the value of the car
3. He/she knows how to take care of the car
4. Teen is deserving of it

It really depends on the person, so don't get mad unless you know the kid.
A lazy kid who doesn't try and only spends shouldn't deserve ANY car.

 

After my daughter graduated Coast Guard basic training we went to the bank at which time I sold her my 04 IB/W Justa Cooper. I had to co-sign as she had no major credit but she pays the bill, insurance and knows that she is responsible for her car. If I had just given her the car she would not have any credit established this way she starts her financial path off with a relatively low interest rate and guidance.

 

Maybe because I have a son that just turned 18, I find this the best thread that I have ever read on NAM. The day he turned 16 we went to DMV for his learner's permit. To the day when he was 16 years, 180 days old (that's the minimum in CT) he took his road test and passed. He was permitted to drive our 2000 Chrysler Sebring Convertble. I wouldn't let him drive it to school. he would take the bus, or walk. Sometimes I would drive him or pick him up. We live in an "upscale" town, but I couldn't believe the students parking lot. It was like a German who's who, with a few Lexus's thrown in. He could use our car, but I told him we have a new deal. He's now a Freshman in college, and still doesn't have his own car. The new deal is that if he maintains a 3.0 GPA during his freshman year, I'll buy him a car of his own. Kind of the stick and carrot approach. Well his 1st semester he achieved a 3.5 GPA, so I deceided to buy a 2007 MCS( his dream car) knowing he's living up to his side of the bargain. I'm pretty sure he'll deliver the 3.0 GPA for the entire Freshman year. I've done lots of research, and I'm not saying MINI's are the safest car in the world, but I'm comfortable they're as safe as any car I can give my son. I think when you drive a MINI you realize your in just about the smallest car on the road and you learn to appreciate "defensive driving". It gives you a new perspective to safe driving. My biggest problem of turning over the keys to the MINI to my son, is I don't want to, I'll miss it. Yeah your right, I'm going to buy another MINI.

 

It's a Trap! My parents bought me my first car. It was an 87 Bronco II. I didn't want it and was kinda resentful mostly I was expecting them to buy me a car and when they did I was like what the hell is that. I quickly fell in love with it. But I am a very independent person so about a year after getting I went and purchased my second vehicle (first on my own). Being 17 my parents had to cosign but I got a great deal on a 94 GMC Sonoma. I had that vehicle for 3 years and it got to be where I was paying more to keep it on the road then to pay for it. I trade it in for my first new car which was my 04 Spec V had it for 5 years and payed it off. Traded it in on the MINI and I haven't looked back. Now at 26 I am driving a nearly paid off 07 Mini S. If anything I don't agree 'giving' your child a newish car but, if you do you should make them work for it. Be it chores, a job, make them help with the payments, or insurance. Teaching them financial responsibility might could have helped the U.S. not to tank on the economy but, it probably wouldn't have. I just don't like seeing anyone under 18 driving new cars because they tend to wreck them and turn around and get a new one and do the same thing over and over.

 

I'm a kid. I'm 18 and I have an '09 MCS. My mom left me a certain amount of money to go to college with when she passed. Before college I either had to buy a car or dorm. Being a car guy most of my life, I chose that and spent about half my scholarship money on my car. I work full time to pay insurance on it in my name with all of the top coverages ($345/mo) and drive it daily into NYC for school.
Not gonna say having a fast new car is always a good thing, I did take the MINI off road once, but that is another story altogether. Did I take that turn slower the next time? Not really, but I sure learned how to drive better before I did. Everyone dumps it once or twice learning how to drive, I'm glad I learned how to properly drive (for the most part...I'm not gonna say I'm Dale III) on something 6 speed, with some power.
I do drive it hard, but I also take good care of it. I see no problems with any "kids" having MINI's so long as they take care of them and put the pedal down once in a while when nobody is around. Does a car good.

Kids in stock EVOs, STi's, etc....hate them.
Kids that put hard work and real knowledge and understanding into making a nice EVO or STi, nothing wrong with that at all.

 

Hi Malteseracer:

Let me start by saying I'm so sorry that you lost your mom at such a tender age. I too am a product of a NYC college. I used to drive a 1963, 383 Plymouth Belvedere (the car and engine came from different junk yards) to school in Greenwich Village. I also worked full time, received a full scholarship, and paid all insurance, and expenses relating to the car. I don't want to sound like an old fart, but please limit or end putting the "pedal down when nobody's around". You sound very mature, and if you.ve read my above post you'll see I have an 18 year old son, that I would say the same thing to.

 

I think you misunderstand what I mean by putting the pedal down. I dont mean street racing or driving at 100mph down residencial streets. Just that long road you see with no houses on it with that nice turn in it. You know what I mean there. Just pushing it a little bit once in a while does the car good and the driver good. What fun is it to own a mini and drive 30mph all day in a straight line?

 

bbm
ESP - I said those exact words to DS2 just this afternoon!

 

Maybe it's because it's late, or maybe I'm just out of the loop...

I think you're agreeing with me, but I have no idea what all those acronyms mean.