First car ~ 16yr old boy

Parent Cafe
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UPDATE 2

I spoke on the phone with the daughter today. Her mom passed away a year ago. She and her college age daughter have been driving it for the last 12 months. The car is running well and the new tires are quality. She says they’ve added 12,000 - 13,000 miles to the odometer since her mom passed away.

She told me more about her mom purchasing the car from the dealership, and it’s hilarious. This Corolla was a showpiece at the dealership and was on display in the middle of their showroom. The person that originally ordered it was a young man. Beyond the special order TRD supercharger it also has aluminum trim accents on the interior and…get ready for this…it came with chrome “spinner wheels.” The fact that a woman in her early sixties fell in love with this car makes me smile. It had a sticker price of $24,800 back in 2004. When she told the salesperson she wanted to buy it he tried to talk her out of it. She wouldn’t listen, she bought it anyway. The daughter finally convinced her to take the spinners off by telling her someone would steal her wheels. :wink:

The mom would make her daughter take the car out on the highway every few weeks to get it up to speed. She was very worried about losing keys so they have a bag with SIX sets in it. All maintenance was done at the Toyota dealership not far from their house. It seems like a good car.

I’m heading up tonight to test drive it.

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Why aren’t they keeping it for their college aged daughter??

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The daughter is graduating in May and just bought herself a new car with money left to her by her grandmother when she passed away.

UPDATE 3

So…the car is very quick, handles well, but may be too much engine in a small car for a new driver. With the proper tires I could drive the heck out of that car on a country road.

The exterior appeared in very good condition, but was covered in road salt from the snowstorm that came through this weekend. The interior was in good condition, but, like the exterior there was salt and sand in the foot wells because they’ve been driving it daily. There were more scratches on the interior plastic trim than I expected.

Honestly, coming from my truck, it seemed very small. Even compared to my old Accord it was surprisingly small. The doors seemed very thin. The interior materials appeared cheaper than expected. The wheels had more curb rash on them than the car photos conveyed. Should that TRD supercharger fail, that would be a very expensive repair as well. My gut told me, for the money, it just wasn’t the right car for him/us.

I’m going to sleep on it.

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The Corolla is a nominal size class smaller than the Accord, so unless your old Accord was very old (1989 or older), the Corolla should be expected to be smaller. Also, cars of the mid '00s mostly had less “luxury” interior materials than they do today.

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I’ve ended up with Corollas for a number of rental cars over the years and am always surprised how ‘cheap’ the interiors look and feel compared to comparable small cars. Even a new model one I drove last year. Maybe the rental car companies are getting the basic trim level, but it was noticeable and I’m not really even a car person.

I’d trust your gut and keep looking. Too much engine for a new driver does seem worrisome.

Our friends got a really sweet small 2007 Acura for their daughter for about what you want to pay. A neighbor was selling it. High mileage but new tires and runs great.

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I hope it happens but you might have to up your $ limit a little. Been there. Anything under $7k will have some warts and the question is whether you can live with them or spend more to fix them. Otherwise spend some more initially. There’s also the amount of time you spend searching for the unicorn. How much is your time worth?

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I’m a little unclear what the current budget is when adding in money from grandpa.

If you can swing $10,000, you should be able to get a Hyundai Elantra, not all that old, used. It it would serve well for what you are buying it for. We know folks with these cars and they love them.

The Hyundai’s have come a long way.

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A young driver will add a few dents, scrapes, dings, etc. to a perfect car in no time - her fellow HS students will make sure dents happen, lol. In my opinion, mechanical reliability and gas mileage trump cosmetics and extra bells. That’s why our kids each got a Corolla to drive (and that’s how I know how much a bumper replacement costs, even though the other party always paid for that). :slight_smile: Kids drove imperfect cars but never got stranded due to a mechanical failure.

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I’ve posted before that our son bought his first car the summer before last, an old (2005/6?) Mustang that he’s had a blast rebuilding because he can. I even helped a bit sewing a new black leather boot for the stick shift stitched in bumblebee yellow to match the car. He called yesterday to tell us that he just replaced the fuel line. He was all happy telling us how he did it, how he found the parts, how he managed to get hoist time at the garage on post, etc. The car runs like a top, and he loves driving it. All told, including purchase, he has about $5,000 into the car, and he’s put almost 40,000 miles on it. I know this isn’t an option for most, but this car will always be special to him, and I have a feeling he’s going to have it a very long time.

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I’d prefer to max out around $9,000, which is much higher than I would have ever thought I’d be spending on a first car.

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My mom has s Corolla and reports that it is quite awful in the snow. Coworker reports the same. If one is most fortunate to not have to deal with these conditions, please ignore!

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We live in New England where there is a ton of snow. We had a Tercel…and then a Corolla that handled very well in the snow. Never got stuck, never had an issue.

What is the issue your mom has in the snow?

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Could be that she has worn out tires that were not very good in snow to begin with. If there is a season of snow, a set of wheels with winter tires may be worth considering. Or at least all season tires with the snowflake in mountain marking if you do not want another set of wheels and tires.

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The corolla just seems to be all over the place and maybe because it’s light? It seemed to be the case even from when it was new. Maybe it’s just her perception.

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Put snow tires on front. It’s a front wheel drive car? Put some weight in back. Sand bags work plus if you get stuck you can use sand for traction.

Tires can make huge difference.

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Snow tires make a HUGE difference. I have two Honda Odyssey vans (don’t ask). One with snow tires and one without. There is no comparison. The one with snow tires is a sure-footed beast in snow and the other one will get stuck in a plowed driveway. I won’t take the all-season van out unless it’s clear roads…and it’s not like it has cheap bald tires. They’re good Michelins with lots of tread.

First thing I bought for my son’s 22 year old Camry was a new set of Blizzaks. He’s never had a problem the past two winters.

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What if questions:

Car A: 2008 Lexus with 170,000 miles, but extensive maintenance records that include recent big ticket repairs like the water pump, drive belt, and new brakes/rotors.

Car B: 2012 Toyota with 167,000 miles, has maintenance records but not all of the big ticket recent repairs of Car A.

Both exteriors and interiors are in excellent condition. Both have similar safety features, backup cameras and Bluetooth.

Car A is $400 cheaper than Car B, so price isn’t a major factor.

Would you buy Car B because it’s newer, or Car A because you have less potential preventative maintenance to perform?

————————————————————

Car C: 2007 Lexus(exact same model as Car A) has 64,000 miles on it, an exceptional service record with all recommended maintenance performed by the dealership. Within the last 2,000 miles it had new tires mounted and all brakes/rotors replaced. It’s two years from needing a water pump and a drive belt, so that would be on us.

Car C costs 58% more than Car A and 48% more than Car B.

Car C will stretch the budget by 5%.

Would you stretch for Car C, or default to your original choice above?

————————————————————

Car D is a 2008 Lexus(larger model) with 139,000, but has excellent maintenance records including 4 new tires, a new catalytic converter, new full exhaust system and a new water pump. Its condition, both exterior and interior, is on par with Cars A, B and C.

Car D costs $2,000 more than Car A, $1,600 more than Car B and $1,500 less than Car C.

Would you buy Car D?

————————————————————

***How many of you are about to untangle the word problems above so you can determine the costs of each vehicle? :wink:

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No. Q for owners of Car D - why would a car need a new catalytic converter and exhaust? There are 3 instances that I am aware of where it can happen: theft, rust, and filling the gas tank with diesel. If rust, what else is rusted in it?

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Some people may give better opinions if you mention the model as well as brand.

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@ucbalumnus That’s probably true.

Car A & C = Lexus is250

Car B = Toyota Camry

Car D = Lexus GS 350