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Another lesson learned: Teach your kids (like my late father did when I was a teen-ager) to have respect for what they drive, and take care of it.
My dad taught me engine sympathy, don't lug the motor, don't ride the clutch, don't press the clutch at a stoplight.
I was impressed that when my wife and I first dated, that she did not ride the clutch nor keep it pressed down at stoplights. However, she doesn't have much sympathy for the vehicles, and it is shown by the fuel economy. If she were to get a stain on her bag, etc., it would be the equivalent to me getting a ding on the car (my 2007 BMW has zero, my 2006 LS430 has one, her 2011 purchased new has many). I don't think that this is necessarily taught, it's how you feel about things. Yet she'll spend hours upon hours refinishing a dining room table that was given to me free by a friend, it was his grandmother's (solid wood blah blah blah). It's totally about one's interest level....imho.....and young folks today really in general don't care about cars....again my experience is limited and my son is only 3 y.o....but my buddy's daughter is 16 and had zero interest once they got her a Nissan Versa (it's an embarrassing car to drive to private school)...
-The transmissions have an internal flaw. The synchronizers are plastic, so they strip out. They were good when they were new but as they age they dry out and crack/fall apart/strip. A 16 y/o learning to drive standard is liable to need a transmission rebuild after just a few days of trying to drive it. The non-Si models have a different transmission with steel synchronizers and as such don't have that problem.
Plastic synchros? They gotta be kidding...though I'll take your word for it, since you know your stuff. Given the amount of abuse and stress that synchros take (most people don't know how to double-clutch or do heel-and-toe shifts to match the engine and transmission RPM), it sounds like slipshod engineering to me.
Plastic synchros? They gotta be kidding...though I'll take your word for it, since you know your stuff. Given the amount of abuse and stress that synchros take (most people don't know how to double-clutch or do heel-and-toe shifts to match the engine and transmission RPM), it sounds like slipshod engineering to me.
They are Teflon, but still, no...not kidding. After 10(ish) years of repeated heating and cooling cycles and bashing through gears they crack and fall apart. This can be somewhat alleviated by owners switching early on to a full synthetic trans fluid such as Redline MTF, but most people did not do it, and if you do it now, its too late, the damage is done. The good news is, there is a way to tell. Every Civic Si trans is not a ticking time bomb. Go drive it. If it grinds going into any of the gears, pass on the car. If it pops out of gear or gets stuck in a gear, thats another problem (bent shift fork), but the quick grind going into say, 3rd, through the shift gate is a bad synchro.
For those recommending a Civic, I'd first suggest the OP check with his insurance agent first Even base LX/DX models can have high premiums with young drivers. 2 door might be more than 4 door. Si Civic is probably in the same bracket as a V8 Camaro/Mustang. They are constantly getting crashed by young/inexperienced drivers, or those that think they're Vin Diesel in Fast and Furious.
Grandma's last Buick is a good first car, just look for one with the 3.8 V6. Find one that was elderly owned, usually low miles, always maintained, kept in a garage and taken care of. They're cheap too, cheap to insure, big, safe cars. Plus for those that think your kids must suffer before they have nice things, nothing is more mortifying than suffering the humiliation of driving a 2003 Park Avenue lol.
Wouldn't it be great if kids did the research, presented it, and felt that if the insurance cost (making it up) $200-$800/yr. it's worth it, > $800/yr. not worth it, and if they got their own car, it is something with liability only, not needing collision and comp? Myself and all my HS buddies did this research. I knew how much my braces cost and how much monthly my parents had to pay and at what interest rate. Heck, my buddy wrote a dissertation in the 9th grade on why his dad should buy a condo at Killington VT, showed the ROI and he amortized the payment, and his dad pulled the trigger and we all bought season passes. Guess I am of the camp that there is a serious problem going on with kids, and I simply am not sure what to do either....
edit p.s. my friend's son (she is a single mom) wanted $1,000 for the prom. I told her ground him, that's absurd. He said no they have to get a limo and flowers and eat at this place before and I couldn't believe it (she has to come up with $28,000/yr. for his education after loans grants scholarships as well)
you know what a kid really should feel good that his/her parents got them a Lexus, really. What a nice thing to do.....
We have 2 kids, that are now 24 and 20 respectively.
My sister gave the 24 year old an old 1998 integra as her first car at 16-17. She promptly got into an accident with it and the car started getting transmission issues over time. We decided to buy her a new Civic when she turned 18. That was a big mistake as she promptly destroyed that car not taking care of it and eventually getiing it totalled (although not her fault). Afterwards, we gave her our own 2009 RAV4 with about 60k miles on it. Of course, she gets into several (stupid) accidents, and trashed the interior, but she loves the utility and it has survived her thus far withiut breaking hers/our wallets (too much).
Our 20 year old received his sister old integra as his first car, which broke down after the abuse his sister gave it. We eventually bgouht him an older 98' SC300 when he was 18, in great condition with 55k miles on it. He proceeded to rack up another 15k miles in 2 years and customized it to his liking. It was a great car, however one of the speed sensor broke on it and it costed him $600 (!!) to repair. He was scared to drive that thing from then on because of upcoming maintenance costs (like shocks, LCA, water pump, and timing belt) and the fact he had to maintain it (our agreement in buying it). We sold it soon afterwards and got a 2005 MR2 Spyder 5-speed w/ 55k miles as his daily driver for the same price. Its relatively cheap, sporty enough for him, and is teaching to drive a stick to boot.
Lesson learned: get them as cheap as they will tolerate but as modern as possible to lower maintemamce costs. Getting something reliable doesnt hurt either.
Keep giving cars what did they learn? Are they trained by professionals? My kids went thru defensive driving .course, race track for high speed training using stick shift.where cops got trained. Girl became a MD, drives Subaru Outback. Son finished school in 5 years received two degrees; economics and engineering in 5 years. Now own two Bimmers(one for summer, one for winter) When new car purchase of maintenance issue comes up, They want me to get involved to give some advices.
Classic mistake: "I bought him a slow car, so he won't speed".
Doesn't work, his driving behavior is the result of peer group pressure acting on his character.
True....one does not necessarily have to have a lot of power to overdo it with the right foot. I know someone (I won't say whom) who repeatedly got into speed-trouble with an old 68-HP Toyota Tercel.....got numerous tickets. The only reason the didn't yank his license was that he was driving in the U.S., with dual-citizenship, with a Canadian license they couldn't legally pull.
Keep giving cars what did they learn? Are they trained by professionals? My kids went thru defensive driving .course, race track for high speed training using stick shift.where cops got trained. Girl became a MD, drives Subaru Outback. Son finished school in 5 years received two degrees; economics and engineering in 5 years. Now own two Bimmers(one for summer, one for winter) When new car purchase of maintenance issue comes up, They want me to get involved to give some advices.
I'll borrow an expression I learned in B school (and I would add before online where someone else could do the work and you still get the degree but cannot calculate mpgs or make a decision without an internet connection): "True, True, Unrelated."
in the old days, yes, that's why I carried 2 licenses (I'm not running for President--in reality, back then, how is that any different than choosing the best credit card with which to make a particular purchase and earn rewards today). I don't know what year it was, but the DLC formed and I thought that perhaps only 5 states are not part of it. No more shenanigans. But good thing I live in PA, both PA and NY are advantageous states to have your license in even with the DLC. NJ (is it any surprise) is one of the if not the worst with DLC.
edit looks like DLC has been around since 1960, surprising. And when I say old days, I'm referring to the late mid-late 90's.
Everything seems to have been covered here, but as some have said, get an early IS350. They have proven reliable, and with a good independent mechanic will be comparable in terms of maintenance cost to other lower end vehicles. Who cares that the car says Lexus... if you paid for a used one what people are paying for a new Civic, I would laugh at them for spending that on a Civic and not a few year old Lexus.
I convinced my parents to buy me a few year old IS300 when I turned 16. The car had a few minor issues over the few years I owned it, but was overall incredibly reliable. I sold it at 150k miles to upgrade to an IS350 and the owner after me kept me updated and drove it to over 200k with no issues. I still wish I would have kept my original IS300. Here it is:
09-22-17 | 06:07 AM
