He won't have access to the map files.

 

That sounds like a great plan. I was just amused by the combination of a track car and a new driver.

The question of a MINI as a first car is the trade off between accident avoidance and crash protection. The best car for a new driver should also depend on a slue of factors, maturity of the teen, the roads and traffic the teen will face, how safe is their typical route if they breakdown , driving skill and so on.

I went a different route when it was time for a car for my kids to drive. I bought a new 2016 Scion iA, still the newest car in the family. I wanted them to have all of the latest safety features, fairly good handling and limited power. I even went for the in-car GPS so they didn't have an excuse to have their phones out while driving. I bought it at the right time so it has not depreciated much. Three years in, I have had 3 oil changes, 3 tire rotations and it lost about $2,000 in value. I expect it to last another 4 years with 4 more basic services. Some of their friends bought cheap cars and have spent twice as much. Another factor for me is the fact that I don't do my own maintenance.

If you are able to do the maintenance yourself and you can limit the power of the MINI, it sounds like a great car. If you work with your son doing the maintenance, your son will have a skill that my kids will never have.

 

My daughter learned to drive my manual transmission MINI. She passed her driving test and achieved her license driving my manual transmission MINI. After she graduated from U and made enough money to buy her own car, went and did some extensive car comparisons and bought herself (with her own money) a MINI. Not a bad choice for a first car.

However, she does not participate in forums. She has a life outside of being a car nut.

 

Impressive parenting. Good job. All kids should learn to drive a manual. While they may never drive a manual (or even see one) in the future, it helps them understand how the vehicle operates and makes them better drivers.

 

Speaking of kids, here's my son with my old and new Mini. I really like this picture. Time goes too fast.

 

Great pics! You’re correct....time flys by too fast. I remember back in the early 80’s when at a family gathering (pig roast) in South Georgia when my oldest son - then about 4 - saw his first DeLorean! Now he’s 40 and he owns one! How easy was it to install that 4 post lift? I’m thinking of getting two! The only other option is building another garage & I’m out of room!

 

The lift wasn't difficult to assemble, but the two ramps are heavy so you'll need a helper. Do a search for discount 4 post lift. There is a company that keeps inventory in warehouses around the country. I picked it all up on my snowmobile trailer and assembled it in a day. You'll need to raise the height of your garage door tracks and also need a side mount garage door opener. Other than that if you have the ceiling height it's one of the best purchases I've ever made. Less than $2k.

By the way, you'll notice the lifts are different in the two pictures. I sold my first one when I moved to NYC, but not the house, and bought another when I moved back.

 

Thank you for the info! I’ve had my eye on a lift on eBay (Co. in Indiana). Having it shipped is the hardest thing so far. But, I hadn’t thought of a trailer. I have a Jeep with hitch so I could rent a trailer to haul it home from a place where I could have it shipped I suppose. My ceiling is scissor trussed so clearance shouldn’t be a problem and my 3 doors lift along the ramped ceiling so that should work as well. The reason I need two lifts is because I have 4 cars in a three car garage which is deep enough to have one car against the rear wall! Ha! I think I’ll have to use two lifts so I can put the rear wall car on a lift as well to make room. The Garage will then have one two post lift and two 4 post lifts if I bite the bullet for two 4 post lifts, so I can get 5 cars into the garage! I fear if I only buy one 4 post lift I will have to put one car outside or store it elsewhere for awhile and that just won’t do! Ha! My brother-in-law helped me install the 2 post lift 13 years ago and that has to be harder than putting one of these 4 posts together...as they aren’t bolted to the floor right?

 

Mine came with a bolt kit but I didn't bolt it to the floor. They say you don't need to.

 

Like the nature stone floor, if that what it is

 

My floor? It's Legacy Industrial epoxy with Torginol flake added to rejection. I was actually thinking about redoing it because of the yellow in the flake. I had a yellow Lamborghini on the lift so we had painted the walls yellow and had yellow flak in the floor to match. That was a mistake...

 

Oh ok, looked like stone from the pictures. Ok I know the flake/coating stuff, i was going to go down that road but changed it and went with the industrial rubber flooring in a checkered pattern. I was worried about a floor jack on the nature stone or the nice clean epoxy. If i damage one, i can just snap it out.

 

That works too. So far nothing has damaged the floor and I've had it about 5 years. It's supposed to be able to take a jack and I do all the time.

 

Thats good, i was worried about chipping and scratches on the epoxy.