test Drive

[topless beach]

This is an endless argument; my responsible inner parent says of course it's ridiculous to even consider a new car like a gt for a 16 year old. But my inner adolescent says that the hot car is wasted on 'mature' adults.

Have you ever seen who drives most of the turbo porsches and AMG sl 55's? It seems like those cars are wasted on drivers who are too old to take advantage of their effect on members of the opposite sex.

WldChic posts here often, and she said she and her husband plan to buy new Cobras for their two kids when they turn 16.

This argument has come up before w/ much flaming.

 

[graphicguy]

Regardless of who's buying what for whom, a dealer would be liable for any damage (or worse) for any car they give permission to be test driven. It makes no difference whether the parents say it's "OK" or not. The dealership gave their permission to do a test drive.

Putting a high performance car into an inexperienced driver's hands (someone with more than a couple of years driving experience), is pure lunacy. Plus, others could/would be involved if the inexpereinced driver cracks it up.

 

[CaptainSaveAHoe]

Maybe the kid earned it... I cut a deal with my dad when was ten that if I maintained above average grades in high school, stayed out of trouble, and didn't drink, smoke or do drugs until I was 21, he would give me his '65 porsche SC.

When I was 12 he sold it and promised me that if I kept the deal going, he would get me a car of reasonable choice (not like a ferrari or bentley) So this past january for my 18th birthday he handed me an envelope with my VIN number in it.

This has been a thread before (teen drivers) and not all are terrible, but some are. In this kid's case, I think he needs time driving his parents' car for a while then when he proves himself a legit/capable driver, bring home the GT.

Just my opinion, doing my best not to be biased, just saying he may have earned it.

 

[corgan]

Giving a teenager a high powered car is just plain stupid, I don't care how good or smart they are, the inmaturity WILL come out! Inexperience isn't the worst problem here.

When I was 18, I had a 93 plymouth laser DOHC non turbo. The car topped out at 114-117 mph as I found out time after time after time. If the car had of topped out at 217 mph, then I would have took it there time and time again.

I begged my parents for the turbo version and they flat out refused, I am thankful now.

 

[jfrayzier]

When I read that I saw the words "RICH BRAT" pop on my screen. Anyone else have that side effect?

Yes, I'm thinking the same thing. My money is on "his parents are paying for it."

 

[jfrayzier]

shh thats stupid and annoying, dont hate because you know if you have/ or had kids you would love to buy them a brand new mustang too.
-mike

No, Mike... I do have children. And no, I will not buy a Mustang for them. They will likely drive a POS unless they sell drugs or something so they can afford something nice.

 

[jfrayzier]

With all of the wild lawsuits that we see going on now, I'm just waiting for the day for one of these 16/17 year olds to get into an accident, while speeding or doing some other immature wreckless thing, and kill a family. Then it would be a miracle if it came out in court that the parents had given the vehicle to this child who, through the course of their years growing up, had showed a level of immaturity that a reasonable person would believe justified not giving them a motor vehicle. The court would find the parents negligent.

This is only made up in my head... but not unreasonable. It is important to remember that your child is not the only person on the road. You must consider the danger that they pose to other drivers/passengers as well.

I have children, and this is in the forefront of my mind from time to time (right now, they are only 6 mo. and 6 years) but it will be moreso as they grow closer to 16.

 

[romans8:28]

With all of the wild lawsuits that we see going on now, I'm just waiting for the day for one of these 16/17 year olds to get into an accident, while speeding or doing some other immature wreckless thing, and kill a family. Then it would be a miracle if it came out in court that the parents had given the vehicle to this child who, through the course of their years growing up, had showed a level of immaturity that a reasonable person would believe justified not giving them a motor vehicle. The court would find the parents negligent.

This is only made up in my head... but not unreasonable. It is important to remember that your child is not the only person on the road. You must consider the danger that they pose to other drivers/passengers as well.

I have children, and this is in the forefront of my mind from time to time (right now, they are only 6 mo. and 6 years) but it will be moreso as they grow closer to 16.

Exactly!

Its a parents RESPONSIBILTY to set REASONABLE limits for their children, not allow the children to mainpulate then into going along with something like owning a performance car at 16 years of age. A parent needs to be a parent NOT a "best friend"........... tough love is something this country sorely misses and we are ALL being affected adversely by the lack of it!

I shake my head in disbelief whenever I see or hear of a 16/17 year old operating a Cobra, Corvette, GTO, SRT4, etc completely on their own. Somewhere there is a parent who has neglected thier responsiblity.

I know for certain that if I or a memeber of my familly was ever injured by a young driver in a performance car, the parents would be sued without hesitation. Because IMO their behavior is completely inappropriate.

 

[jfrayzier]

Just the other day, local news here. Driver was 16-year-old male in something like a Mitsubichi 3000 GT. Passengers (three of them) were also teenagers, two girls and a guy. Four in vehicle all total. This is the original article before they released the rest of the information.

From wsls.com...

State Police say four people are dead, after an accident on Diamond Hill Road in Moneta Saturday afternoon.

Witnesses of the accident tell Newschannel 10, they saw a red car driving East on Diamond Hill, when it ran off the right side of the road. State Police say the driver over-corrected and pulled in front of a truck carrying wood. The car and truck collided.

State Police say the driver of the truck tried to stop, but was unable to get out of the cars path. The driver of the truck was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital. All four passengers in the car were killed in the crash.

State Police say the driver of the car was a 16-year-old male. They are waiting until the other passengers have been identified and their families have been contacted to release his name.​

 

[uzukiel]

It's nice to have a dream. But IMO your first car should be something less powerful. Inexperience + fast car = an accident waiting to happen.

LISTEN to the man!! I was 18 when I got my 95 GT. At 85 HP less than the 05, it was still enough car to put me into a dirt bank at about 75 mph. I was lucky that the only thing i lost was the car.

RWD + Lots of power = way too fun to drive.

Way too fun to drive = speeding all the time...

Speeding all the time...well, it cost me my car.

Just my .02....

 

[Alec]

Maybe his parents are clueless about the power of this car Not everyone is a "car person." If my Mother would of had the money back then, all I would of had to say is "I want the blue one." She has no clue about cars.
My Father well, we all had to move out after high school he most likely would of said nooo. Bastard.

 

[Sanctus]

Aside from the issue of putting a Mustang GT into the hands of an inexperienced driver, regardless of age, I doubt any dealer will allow a 15, 16, 17, year old kid a test drive.

first of all i would like to state that yes they do allow a 15 yr old with a permit to test drive a 2005 Mustang Gt Converable 5 speed with a 32k sticker.. and yes i do think they were stupid to do it. i trust myself with that car but do i trust ANY of my friends with that car.. and the answer is no i do not. So i dont know what exactly i said to the sales rep but he let me take it out with my dad in the passenger seat and him in the back. so by my testamony i respectfully say you are wrong.

Giving a teenager a high powered car is just plain stupid, I don't care how good or smart they are, the inmaturity WILL come out! Inexperience isn't the worst problem here.

Now secondly I personally take offense to the statement that teenagers who are in high school are automatically immature and have no self control. I believe without knowing the person intimatly that you are talking about you cannot make such a degrading assumption. Now having said that, do i think that high schoolers are immature? yes! very. do i think it is possible that a high schooler (such as myself) has the capacity to control himself in a car such as the mustang gt? yes. now as i have said before, high schoolers who feel that they can resist the temptation to display their immaturity are more than far and inbetween. I do not think i can convince you that i will not abuse the mustang but i would like to tell you that IMO there are teenagers who are able to handle the car properly and not at reckless speeds. So i would appreciate if you all would not judge people by their age and start judging them on their actions. It simply is not fair.
In conclusion, as a 16 year old who only recently obtained his drivers license, I stand strongly convinced that immaturity and age are not connected. I know plenty of people in college that do not have the self control to drive a mustang. and i recognize that i do not know ANY other high school students that would be able to responsably use this beast. So i beg of you all stop making assumptions about high school students and how we are all "rich brats." i happen to be getting my mustang on x plan and it is putting some financial stress on my family to get this car. I have proven to my parents as well as my brother that i can properly handle myself on and off the road and that there is nothing besides for my family that i will take better care of than this mustang.
Thank you all if you actually read all this.. sry for the lengthyness
--A.S.P.

 

[Klay]

I think you should just wait until you get more experience before you get this car. I know you think you can handle it, most teenagers do. I know I did when I was that age, which wasn't too long ago since I am only 21. My first car was a 1985 nissan 200sx and even though I wasn;t a bad driver and the car was a beater, I ended up getting into an accident and totaling it. If I had a car like the 05 mustang gt anf that happened I would have been heartbroken to lose such a nice car. Just wait until you are at least 18 before you go and get a car with that much power because even if you feel like you can handle it, the temptation is too great to just romp on it.

 

[RandyB]

My first car was an '84 Mustang GT and I lived to tell about it. I was 16 at the time, and payed $9,800 for the car. I remember my two uncles went with my father and me to look at it. My dad isn't much of a car guy, so my two uncles pointed out the fact that the highway patrol used the Mustang because it was the only thing fast enough to catch speeders. I still managed to talk my father into letting me purchase the car somehow. I'm thankful that my parents trusted me to be responsible enough with the car to not get myself hurt, and the rest is history. Got me started in the right direction.

Good luck getting the car, and be careful if/when you get it.

That said, I can't wait to get my '06 GT! It will be my 6th Mustang, including the aforementioned '84 GT.

 

[jfrayzier]

first of all i would like to state that yes they do allow a 15 yr old with a permit to test drive a 2005 Mustang Gt Converable 5 speed with a 32k sticker..

When I was 15, I couldn't afford anything near a $32k car. Where do you work? I need to work there as I still can't afford a $32k car.

 

[topless beach]

The kid does have a point about maturity and age not being mutually exclusive. I think a more important point about car ownership at a young age is how much 'sweat equity' the kid has in it. Give a kid any car that he hasn't earned at least a part of the cost of and you have the potential for abuse.

How many of us remember the beater that we worked long and hard for vs a car that was given to us? How much care did you lavish on the 10 yr old pick-up that you earned the $ for?

If you are mature enough for a new GT, then you should be mature enough to pay for at least half the car and half the insurance. If those rules are in effect I bet the shopping list excludes a lot of cars like the stang.

 

[Stang-V8]

Well, the results are that the dealer never came, because me, my step mom, little sister and dad came with us. I test drove it down a dead street. about 1 - 1.5 miles.

 

[Sanctus]

The kid does have a point about maturity and age not being mutually exclusive. I think a more important point about car ownership at a young age is how much 'sweat equity' the kid has in it. Give a kid any car that he hasn't earned at least a part of the cost of and you have the potential for abuse.

How many of us remember the beater that we worked long and hard for vs a car that was given to us? How much care did you lavish on the 10 yr old pick-up that you earned the $ for?

If you are mature enough for a new GT, then you should be mature enough to pay for at least half the car and half the insurance. If those rules are in effect I bet the shopping list excludes a lot of cars like the stang.

see this is where you are going wrong again... thank you for having my back on the fact that maturity does not conincide with age. But you are dead wrong to thing that your not mature if you cant hold a job. Because i happen to go to highschool and play sports at one of the most rigorous high schools in the nation. That means i do have the maturity, and i do not have the time. And i would like to see you try and get a job at the age of 16 "without prior work experiance." not these days you cant. and frankly, i just dont have the time durring the school year, and i havent been 16 till very recently so no emplorer would offer me a job period. So i am not quite sure why you equate maturity with $ because money does not prove to hold value. THe fact that i have shown my parents i can handle the responsibilities of a high school such as mine, play sports and take my word for it, in my life these are More than full time jobs. so please please please stop combining maturity with such concepts as age and the ability to pay for things, because they are semi-related and sometimes overlap but they are NOT i repeat NOT directly related. Jeeze I find it amazing how low teeangersare looked down uppon by adults and it really saddens me to how narrow sighted some of these observations can be.

my parents see i value my education. And in my opinion that is real maturity

 

[Klay]

see this is where you are going wrong again... thank you for having my back on the fact that maturity does not conincide with age. But you are dead wrong to thing that your not mature if you cant hold a job. Because i happen to go to highschool and play sports at one of the most rigorous high schools in the nation. That means i do have the maturity, and i do not have the time. And i would like to see you try and get a job at the age of 16 "without prior work experiance." not these days you cant. and frankly, i just dont have the time durring the school year, and i havent been 16 till very recently so no emplorer would offer me a job period. So i am not quite sure why you equate maturity with $ because money does not prove to hold value. THe fact that i have shown my parents i can handle the responsibilities of a high school such as mine, play sports and take my word for it, in my life these are More than full time jobs. so please please please stop combining maturity with such concepts as age and the ability to pay for things, because they are semi-related and sometimes overlap but they are NOT i repeat NOT directly related. Jeeze I find it amazing how low teeangersare looked down uppon by adults and it really saddens me to how narrow sighted some of these observations can be.

my parents see i value my education. And in my opinion that is real maturity

Well I'm sorry but you are wrong, you totally missed the point. He was saying if you have money invested into the car you drive than you will most likely not abuse it since you had to help pay for it. You are just being naive if you say you can't get a job at 16. I got my first job right as I turned 16 at a jack in the box, not the best job but a job nonetheless. Trust me, when you actually pay for the car you are driving it feels a lot better than having someone else buy it for you.

 

[jfrayzier]

I think we are the ones who mised the point. I think he's one of those guy's who plays football in high school, so he has to have his Mustang GT handed to him rather than pay for it.

I play a lot of computer games, so I don't have time to get a job, either. That's why I'm 29 and married and still have my parents buy my Mustang for me.

Good for you... leech as long as you can.