Attitude improvement

[APowers]

We have been having some problems with our 16 year old sons attitude. Today I did the father / son thing with my new 2007 GT Mustang. I took him for a drive and let him behind the wheel. He did ok, scared me out of 10 years of my life, but he did ok.

Later in the afternoon he called me at work. All his homework is done, his mom quized him on it and he is good. Now he wants to know if I will work with him on a business plan to get him a car like this for when he heads to college. We go to the bank to open up a savings account for him tomorrow. I welcome any advice that some of you that are experienced parents might have.

 

[YardSpecial]

Well........

Kids speed, talk on the phone and use the radio.

Best bet is ride with them as much as possible and show them what passengers ROLE is when in the car. Like HELP the driver and not distract them from the job at hand.

By step son and daughter never, ever drive the Stangs alone or with friends. Never going to happen. Peer pressure is a bitch.

Kids should have a low power car with bad body to start out with and Work there way up to more power. Take them to the drag strip, good way to feel the power..

Bottom line is all people need practice. Sadly its $$$$ and hard to find driving school like Bonderant.

It a ticket to practice in a snow coverd parking lot when it comes to drifting !! LOL

So in short, it depends on the maturity level of your kids, law is much, much harder today then it was in the 80's.

Just my 2 cents from a 39 yrld

 

[srothfuss]

I'm not as old (27) but before I was of driving age, I learned how to drive a powerful car with my dad. I was started out shifting from the passenger seat. Then I graduated to driving in a parking lot: Starting, pulling out braking and then parking. From there it was off to drivers training (which was still free back then) where I finished up the rest.

With my learners permit in hand, I drove my dad everywhere in his Mustang and was able to polish my skills to a point where I was then handed the '91 Mercury Sable for my 16th birthday. I never wrecked it, but boy I am so glad I didn't have a Mustang until I was 18. I needed those 2 years of development and maturing.

Of course I don't think any of this applies to your situation but I thought I would throw it out there

 

[93GrunT]

i am only 24 here, but my parents never allowed me any goals when I was in highschool, just to graduate. When I graduated I hadn't saved a cent and I was driving the 85 cougar my uncle gave me when I was 16. I wrecked that car like 4 times, but by the time I could afford my first 93 at almost 19 I wasn't about to tear that car up and I have most of the stupid driving out of my system. Plus I was footing the bill for it, not dad.

Setting up a savings account and keeping his on the ball so to speak through highschool I would atleast think in most situations give him something to look forward to, while allowing him to make a few mistakes in a less expensive vehicle. letting him drive the new stang to special occasions or when you are with him might be in order for a taste of things to come I guess. Either way I think goals and rewards are a good idea from a younger point of view and when I was 16 and 17 I know I need some form of motivation other than my mom yelling at me to get good grades and do well and all that crap. The first thing I did was move out whether it put me into financial bind or not. I wish my dad would have helped me plan something like that out.

Does he play sports year round or work most of the year? If he works alot he could probably put more than half of what a new stang costs away and have a 200 dollar monthly payment by the time college rolled around. Either way if you can motivate him without telling him directly what he has to do, it will probably work out for the better, I used to do messed up crap just to spite my parents b/c they tried to motivate me only with grounding for months at a time when I was a Junior and Senior and all of my friends were having fun. I mean 2 months for getting a d+ in calculus but maintaining a 3.2 non-weighted GPA that's a bit harsh. It only led to me doing w/e I wanted b/c they set the bar higher than I was willing to strive for. Sorry that was long and more venting than helping probably, but that's my dollar and 2 cents.

 

[Marine One]

I learned how to drive in my parents 66 Mustang with a 289 4 barrel & auto trans. We were living in Hawaii at the time and back then you could get a permit & license at that age there. Imagine being a fully licensed driver at the ripe old age of 15-1/2 and being turned loose on the streets of Honolulu in a V-8 Mustang. It was not a pretty sight, especially since I was the first one in my peer group to get a license and have almost complete access to a car. I never wrecked it, only got one speeding ticket, and was able to replace the rear tires that I quickly destroyed by leaving the tread on the local streets before the old man ever found out about it. I was just lucky that I didn't hurt anyone or anything and that I only got caught the one time.
When my son turned 16 he only got to drive my Mustang when I was with him in the front passengers seat. And I made sure that he knew why.

 

[Sanctus]

well since the Mustang Gt is my first Real car i think i would have some good advice for ya. DONT DO IT! a 16 year old should NOT have a car this fast. i believe i do not represent the norm of teeangers by saying i would NOt buy my son this car. it simply is too fast. tickets for a person who is in their 30's is just a bothersome event. tickets when your under 20yrs old... well lets just say you really dont want to see what two is going to cost you. i have recently gotten one ticket and i knew it was inevidable simply because cops like to follow me around for miles on end becuase a 17 yr old kid in my car just doesnt seem to add up. all i can say is that i would get him a nice car he can work on and learn to drive before he graduates to a GT. personally i would get him a V-6 (which still can be too much power for a hormone crazed teenager). i simply have lost faith in the teenage generation i unwillingly am apart of. so in summation. personally i would suggest against it. get him an SUV he can put nice wheels on, or something he can upgrade but a fast car just isnt a good idea to start on. That being said it IS possible he would act responsibly, but it only takes a few seconds of acting irresponsibly to mess up years of acting responsibly. my father baught me a GT at 16 and he thinks that no other solution would have sufficed. however i do not suggest this for most teenage boys and gal's.

 

[srothfuss]

I personally don't know your situation with your son, but some good seat time between Father and son can really help him understand how fast things can go wrong.

Wait for the winter than then let him at least practice spin recovery a few times.

I like the idea of giving him a goal to achieve. Maybe maintain a certain GPA at high school graduation and then he can get one?

 

[The Fang]

I agree with the others. The first car should not be somethin with this much power. To easy to become careless. I started out with a bug and worked my way up to the stang. When I got it I told both my kids then they will never drive it. I maybe selfish in their eyes but I know what can happen in a fast kewl car.

 

[FNG 2001]

I agree with the others. The first car should not be somethin with this much power. To easy to become careless. I started out with a bug and worked my way up to the stang. When I got it I told both my kids then they will never drive it. I maybe selfish in their eyes but I know what can happen in a fast kewl car.

Agreed. My first car was a 1981 VW Diesel Rabbit. You don't need to go this far, but I actually look back to this car with some fond memories. First, my dad teaching me to drive stick. Even though it was the ugliest yellow car, I took pride in it, and learned how to detail (damn that thing was bright).

My past two cars I sold were bought by 16 year olds:

2001 Mustang GT- Est. ~300 HP........... kid could not drive stick yet.

1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 Est. ~350HP..............kid could not drive stick either.

I felt like both of these cars were way too much car for a 16 yo. There is a reason your insurrance goes down at 25.

 

[APowers]

He has a Sunfire right now. Not much power there. And trust me, his driving time in this car will not be plentiful. This is my car, no way I would turn a 16 year old loose in it unless I have a lot of life insurance on him.

 

[93GrunT]

LMAO. hmm, if his attitude gets really bad you could take out a couple mil worth of policies, pop a S/c on it, and let him loose. J/k.

 

[The Fang]

However painful it may be, Having life insurance is a must unless you are already loaded. This past january my daughters best friend was doa, dui.
20 yrs yng
It was even painful for me.

 

[93GrunT]

However painful it may be, Having life insurance is a must unless you are already loaded. This past january my daughters best friend was doa, dui.
20 yrs yng
It was even painful for me.

Yep, I have 650,000 out on myself and 350,000 on the wife at less than 60 bucks a month total. I just get it taken out in an allotment so I never notice it. It's not worth it now, but it would be if I kicked the bucket for her.

 

[dmaxstang]

Totally get insured

I own an insurance agency and i even have my wife and kids loaded up on insurance because when she gets away from her mommy mobile (suburban) and takes out the stang, she drives like a flippin moron. Me, 3 kids, and house load of bills, that insurance comes in handy. If anyone needs a quote, let me know.:SNSign:

 

[boatillo]

I learned on an 87 toyota pickup, weany 4cyl, 2wd, auto - yes I did plenty of stupid things in it and got my fair share of dents and scratches.

I have to wonder though....was I doing those things BECAUSE I drove a pos old truck, or would it have been inevitable no matter what I had? Eh, no reason to risk it! Give him a beater!

 

[Ara]

Is it me or is bribing your son to do his homework with a $30,000 dollar machine screwey?

 

[89302guthrie]

my first car was an 89 gt, my parents loaned me the money to buy it. once i payed them off, tuned it up, and fixed a problem with the fan i was able to drive it. once i got to that point i had my drivers training and plenty of time behind the wheel of my parent's other cars. i never had a wreck ( because i knew the consequence of higher insurance, which i payed for myself) and my father and i continue to this day modifying and restoring it to better than new shape. it's all in the way you brought the kid up to this point. is he ready and capable?

 

[cowtown]

My dad didn't let me get any high horsepower car until I was 18 and graduated when I got my 89GT. I had over 2 years of driving under my belt including drivers training and I'm sure it helped but it sure as hell didn't stop me from driving the ever living hell out of the 2 cars before.

I had a girlfriend that lived well outside of town in a little hamlet and then past that 10 minutes down a windy gravel logging road. Let's just say that Hyundai Excel's don't make too shabby of rally cars.

 

[APowers]

Is it me or is bribing your son to do his homework with a $30,000 dollar machine screwey?

You missed the point dude. I am not promising him a car. He just realized that if he wants a car like this, he is going to have to earn it just like I have. The ride motivated him to start the process, and I just made sure he was aware I am around to help and advise. Sorry, I am retired military, I just have this attitude about earning what you want.

 

[The Fang]

You missed the point dude. I am not promising him a car. He just realized that if he wants a car like this, he is going to have to earn it just like I have. The ride motivated him to start the process, and I just made sure he was aware I am around to help and advise. Sorry, I am retired military, I just have this attitude about earning what you want.

That is the right attitude imo. But he should still work his way up to it.