No....not for an 18-year-old. Not unless he THUROUGHLY understands the consequences of a high center of gravity, tipsy handling, and the need to be careful in sharp corners. A lot of young people, for instance, were hurt or killed in Suzuki Samurai roll-overs because they were careless.

My suggestion for an 18-year-old would be a non-turbo Subaru Impreza or Forester. Reliable, versatile, and can be used in almost any weather, so he won't get himself stuck.
But avoid those with the N/A 2.5L engine built before 2003....the famous head-gasket issue.

 

Honda CRV is worth taking a look at.

 

Again, the high, tipsy, center-of-gravity problem I just posted on....though, granted, car-based SUVs like the CR-V usually have more docile handling than truck-based ones.

 

CPO Toyota Corolla

Cheap, reliable, slow. Perfect for any uppity teen.

 

I'm only 17 and my first car (and current car) is a 1988 Acura Legend. Excellent car in every way. It has 170K and runs perfectly. But I imagine you are looking for a newer car with less miles and one that is better in the snow.

Audi A4? It has all wheel drive, and you can get the 1.8 turbo so it wouldn't be too fast. Form what I know they are quite reliable and it is a car anyone would be happy to receive.

 

I'm 17, and ive been driving around a 2001 es300, perfect car for a young kid, nice, not flashy, reliable, decent gas mileage and classy. One issue is it is powerful for a "new driver" and its one of those cars you cannot tell how fast you are going ex. very solid ad quiet at high speeds. How about an older nissan maxima?

 

If this is the kid's first car, assume the car will be disposable. They (or one of their dumb friends he will loan the car to) will do something stupid. Examples:

- Cherry 95 Honda Del Sol spun into a tree and totaled on ice while going to visit some girl met online (son)

- 02 Chevy S-10, about 3 years old and bought new, hydroplaned off the interstate going back to Marine Corps base because he didn't replace the tires. (another son - only minor damage)

- ?? Geo Prizm impaled on a rail fence through the radiator and both the front and rear windows after being loaned out to a friend. (daughter - No injuries and the car still ran for another 3 years before being sold.)

- 66 Chevy Impala rear-ended in a blinding blizzard after being pressured not to back out of taking a buddy home from college for the weekend. Spent the night, along with about 10 other stranded motorists and truckers, in nearby farmhouses. (me)

The grandparent in me says to buy the kid a low mileage, 5-10 year old larger domestic car that's fairly reliable. They are safe in accidents, cheap to get repaired, get OK mileage, and aren't targets for theft / vandalism. Examples include Chevy Impala, Buick Century / LeSabre, and Ford Taurus. One of my mechanics has a used car dealership that sells cars like these, many from government fleets, with 60-80K miles, for $5-8K. He sells them like popcorn to parents of teen drivers going off to college.

http://www.conelyauto.com/

 

The 4Runner is a very solid car, but I'm concerned about gas mileage.

I don't think a college student on a tight budget would want to deal with a relative "gas guzzler".

I think a small CUV is a great idea.

I think the Rav4 is a little more masculine looking though. I'll add both to the list.

The Corolla is another great option, but its styling is pretty staid for an 18 year old guy IMO.

But yeah, a car in that class, is probably best...

I was actually seriously looking into an Acura.

An 2006 RSX can be had for less than $10K and that's a pretty sweet little car. I'm also looking in 1G TSXs, but most of those in the price range have over 100K miles, so that's not ideal.

I definitely don't want to get him an used Audi. Maybe one under a CPO extended warranty, but that's still iffy.

But if anyone has 1st hand experience with an older Audi that would be great. I'm also interested in the VW Jetta and Volvo S40 (the Volvo for obvious safety reasons).

I like the Maxima and will look into that... thanks

 

Thanks for the reply mmarshall!!!

I didn't think of the Impreza but that definitely sounds like a great option for him.

As a side note I saw an advertisement for an IS300 for like $7K, but it had 120K miles on it. Other than the obvious facts that it's RWD and not ideal for Chicago winters, what are your opinions on it as an owner?

Also any more suggestions would be welcome!

 

Thanks for those stories, those are definitely valid points.

Young people beat the crap out of their cars and the safer the car the better.

I didn't even think of large domestics, but you're right that they can be had cheap and most are relatively solid. I'm also looking into Volvos as well, but it's harder to find a newish Volvo in my price range.

 

Beware of older Asian cars in the Midwest due to heavy rust damage underneath. A former co-worker had a good looking Nissan Maxima(?) he was going to hand down to his son. He had a mechanic check out a rattle in the rear end. Once on the lift, he discovered that much of the rear end had rotted away.

 

early 90's accord definetly, that was my best friends first car, a 92 accord. he got it at around 130k. and we beat the living **** out of it until his grandma needed a car to go to the grocery store with, so he gave it to her when he bought his truck, it is still running strong at 235,000 miles

 

Agreed.

I have heard of the horror stories of old Asian cars and rust. I'm definitely gonna watch out for that, but my hope is to get a 5ish year old car so, rust won't be too much of a worry, but it's still an issue to look out for.

Dude you can get 92 Accords at the junkyard for a couple hundred bucks nowadays

Btw I think 04 Accords are in my budget? Not sure how those hold up though?

 

I picked up a Yaris last year for my business. Comfortable, enough power to get from A to B and decently equipped inside (though I HATE the center display). I'd have to think reliablity will be a major factor as he doesn't want to be stranded or having to fork out major cash for repairs (or you having to ).

 

That's why the Yaris and most Scions aren't even on my radar for him. I hated that feature from day 1.

Sooo...

So far the list looks like this (in no specific order):


Subaru Imprezza

Subaru Legacy

Honda Civic

Honda Accord

Honda CR-V

Toyota Rav4

Acura RSX

Nissan Maxima

Volkswagen Jetta

Volvo S40

Mazda3

Mazda6

Chevy Impala

Ford Taurus


Some of the cars on that LONG list that I'm really interested in for him are the Imprezza (AWD ), Civic (cheap basic reliable transport), Rav4 (most utility/opt AWD), RSX (sportiest of the bunch), S40 (Volvo safety), and Mazda3 (most youthful IMO).

More suggestions are always welcome, and I'd love to have info from any past or current owners...