It's a convertable and has 47'000 miles on it .It belongs to people I've worked for for years .They dont use it and were going to trade it in for a Camry hybrid .My sons 17 and it would be his first car .Am I crazy ,is it a death trap ,what do you think ?

 

im sure it will work, but typically students have better use of a car
with more utility to carry friends/stuff for college, etc.

 

or wait.... are you buying it "for him" (uhh huh) although it will be "yours?" wink wink wink...


nice trick.

 

I was going to pay for part of it so he could'nt complain when I drive it .

 

As an 18 year old who looked into Miata's before settling on a MCS my only guide is check out insurance costs. For me they were EXPENSIVE.

 

I called with state farm he pays no more than if he was driving my 1999 Dodge pickup .But if he drove our 03 Accord or 07 Mini it would almost double .

 

Mixed feelings -

1) It will teach him to drive a rear-drive car
2) If you pay for it, he has no equity in it - he may not look after like you would expect
3) Its a sports car - he is 17
4) At least he cannot carry tons of his friends in it.

I gave my step-son my 325iS (1987 vintage) and in the course of 18 months it went from 'nearly mint' all the way to 'I'll take it off your hands for $250'

I hated watching it go downhill, but as I gave it to him there was little I could say or do about it.

If I was doing it again, it would be at least 50-50 and I would at least give him reason to keep 'my half' clean and free of clothes and crap and....

Obviously YMMV

 

My sister gave my youngest son her 87 honda. After doing a teen driving school I decided he needed a car with anti-lock brakes and air bags (since teen accidents are so likely when they are new drivers). I thought about a performance or sports car, because that is what we both like, but decided on a Saab 9-3. It is a cool car but not a performance car. It will meet his needs, has class, but doesn't encourage too much speed.

I drive it from time to time and retain ownership and sometimes refer to it as my car. He cautions me to drive it carefully and reminds me it doesn't have performance tires on it and I shouldn't push it too hard.

 

Too funny - it reminded me of a Road & Track column from the 80's where the author tried to collect $250 that a friend owed him, and ended up getting "a ratty MGB in the driveway" instead.

 

If you don't by it for him, my niece would love you for it.
As has been said, it's not so good for utility, but it is fun to drive, and fairly anemic on the power side, so that's a positive for a young driver. And no more than one passenger is another safety aspect.

If he's never driven RWD, take him into a wet parking lot for some practice. Pick the day that it rains in SoCal.

 

You're making me . I would have loved one of those.

 

There leaving for San Francisco for four days ,so after that if we dont get it I'll let you Know .I'd like to help them ,between there house and there office building they kept me very busy this year painting for them .

 

I'm against kids under 18 driving at all. But if parents are going to allow their kids to drive, I wouldn't recommend a small, sporty car... even one without huge guts like the Miata.

I vote "no".

If you know my line of work, maybe you'll understand from where I'm coming with this point of view.

 

The thing that concerns me the most is not his driving ,he drives like an old lady ,its that 75 % of the vehicles around here are huge SUV's ,would my son stand a chance in a collision with an SUV driving a Miata ?

 

korby... your son may be different. But when you were 17, did you drive differently when your parents were in the car than you did when your buddies were in the car ? I surely did.

If you're going to let a 17-year old drive, I just would not feel good about him driving a small, sporty car like a Miata. In fact, I'd put him in a nice 4-door family sedan. Not only would he be less likely to show off with his friends in the car, he's more likely to survive an accident. And I say the odds of a 17-year old boy having an accident within a couple of year is pretty high. Statistics back me up.

 

A slightly more rational post.

MX-5 vs SUV is not a fair contest at all - the MX-5 will lose out big time - my Z3 was destroyed by an Explorer.

My concern howver is that unless it is a car that he is really, really interested in, he will not only not appreciate it, but may drive it as such.

The comment 'driving like an old lady' amused me - again sterp-son drove really slow and really over-cautiously when we where in the car.

Obviously the two times we saw (and subsequently grounded) him driving like a complete moron where momentary lapses.

I would add my vote to the 'not' pile - If you want the MX-5 for yourself - and it would be a great weekend fun car - buy it.

Can I also suggest that the teen buys his own car ? Or at the very least buys 50% of his own car and contibutes to the running costs.

A gifted car is, in my opinion, a very bad thing, here in OC it appears to be an expectation that at 15 you should be gifted a BMW or Mercedes. They (the teens here) drive like idiots, they have no respect for the cars, neither the value nor the potential for they destruction that they can cause, because they have no equity or responsibility.

If the guy is a car-nut, he will already be telling you what he wants and will have a plan to get what he wants, if that is his three part-time jobs and his straight A's then help him acheive it.

If he is not a car-guy and is not bothered, get him something slow and safer. The MX-5 is not a good chocie - as I learned to my cost.

As for the SUV thing - I personally consider that a teen in an SUV is probably about as dangerous as it gets, easily distracted, on the phone, txt'ing talking loud music and no road craft plus a 2ton SUV == recipe for disaster.

 

Thanks CR&PW&JB I'll probably go anothe route ,It was just such a nice car I thought if it was safe mabey .I drove like a maniac when I was 17 ending in a near fatal motorcycle accident when I was 19 ,100% my fault hit a curb racing, flew 15 feet superman style into a tree .That slowed me down .
My uncle has my parents 1988 Buick ,they can afford any car they want so I dropped some hints that we'd be interested in it . My son could not show off in that !

 

Thank's MaxN this confirms it for me , no Miata .He is going to pay for it he's only got 5 grand and the Miata was a couple grand more ,so selfishly I thought if I helped I could drive it a bit .I think I wanted it more than him .
Orange County is an insane place to raise teens ,his best friends dad has a company that has a monthly employee pay role of over $20,000 .After they saw my R56S they went out and got the son one with everything on it .

 

Good decision, korby.

 

What are you saying was irrational ? My opinion that the legal driving age should be 18 ?

 

i am going to throw it out there. dont do it. rear wheel drive, sports car, convertable, small. buy him (help him buy) something reliable and slow(not that the miata is fast). for a first car i would say the biggest problem is rear wheel drive. while it is a blast to drive (especially in bad weather), they can be dangerous. im not trying to say your son is a bad/reckless driver, but i am thinking back to my first car (88 jeep comanche, i miss that truck ) and in the snow and rain, i would kick the back end out every chance i had and almost put myself in the woods a few times. just think back to how you used to drive when you were 17, like most males you were young, stupid and indestructable. just my .02 i say give your son the truck and you rock the miata

 

Not at all - I actually think your post was excellent - I was refering to my own initial post - I wanted to convey my feelings a little less emotionally.

I am kind of with you on the driving age, I personally think that 17/18 is acceptable. Around here you get 15 yo's in Mommy's Mercedes (SL500's) or Excursion or whatever and they are talking on the phone, weaving around and honestly it is stupid.

I also think that the US driving 'test' is pathetic, in fact I would go so far as saying that it is meaningless when compared to the tests that are 'normal' in Europe, I honestly could not believe that the test was as easy and fool-proof as it actually was - it really is pathetic.

At 18 I had a Porsche 911SC. I passed my (UK) driving test shortly after my 17th birthday (after intensive tuition) and had already bought and paid for my first car - a 1972 Mini 1000. I worked three jobs - ASDA (think Walmart) stacking shelves, Market Stall (fruit and veg) and sold computer games from my bedroom. I bought the Mini for 500UKP and sold it 18 months later for almost 1000, the 911 was 10,500UKP and paid for in cash, the insurance was over 2000UK - again the years premium was paid for in cash. I worked incredibly hard to get what I wanted and had massive pride of ownership in that car.

I was - and still am - a complete car nut, at 13 I told my parents I wanted a 911 and my fathers reaction was - great, you need to start saving ! I did exactly this and achieved my dream - I kept the 911 for seven years and never once put a mark on it - I think I sold it for pretty much what I paid for it too.

If he has $5k in the bank - let him worry about getting his first car and his insurance. Sure be there to guide him, but do not dump a clunker on him that he hates, actually involve him in the process, get him to make the calls too,

FWIW my stepson now has a Scion Xb - tremendous car I feel, great for the late-teens / early 20's crowd - real nice to drive.

 

you would be the best dad ever if you purchased me a miata

 

Gotchya, Max... your post was right after mine so I wasn't sure. Thanks.

 

The Buick sounds like a good choice. As enhusiasts we see the potential of a Miata, unfortunatly a lot of other peopl only see it as a "chick car" which could have had a negative effect on your son. I am not saying I agree with that ridiculous mind set but it's out there and kids are cruel. A Buick is a Buick, and "you're driving a Grandpa car" does not have the same effect as "you're driving a chick/gay car". I think the ideal is an old Volvo 240 sedan but they are getting hard to find these days since they went out of production in 93. As a father of a 9 yr old I don't envy you right now!