My First Chase Vehicle: Whaddya Think of It?

[Mickey Ptak]

Seriously, that is not a bad price... $7,500 is a fair price for your first car.

Not to pick on you but IMHO that really is far to much. The fact that you are a 16-year-old male you have one of the highest chances of getting into an accident and that being due to your experience behind the wheel or the lack there of. Now, that is statistically speaking of course. You also have to consider your insurance cost. It is going to be VERY high and again it's because you are 16 and you are a male.

When my son turns 16 I'm dang sure not going to buy him a $7,500 car. Nope he is going to get $1,500 to $2,000 car. At least until he gains some experience behind the wheel. Then I might buy him a better car pending is maturity level and accident history.

Unless you have a money tree in your back yard (If you do what is your address LOL) then $7,500 is way too much for a first car.

Mick

 

[nickgrillo]

LOL... I can understand that a lot of kids my age can be bad drivers, but we are all individuals too. I'm not gonna be drag racing my ass on Gratiot Ave. and get my car smashed up and thrown in jail for reckless driving. I never understand why kids my age bother with the POS $1,000 cars... Your gonna end up spending thousands to get the pieces of crap fixed / redone -- only to end up getting another car soon after. It always seemed like that to me (everybody I know)... So, screw that -- get a nice car and stay with it for >4 years. I just don't see the reason to throw out a grand to buy a POS car, spend thousands to fix it up, only to probably still send it to the junkyard soon after -- makes absolute ZERO sense.

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

Actually, go ahead and get a mustang... it will work as a great cop attractor around chase territory .

Aaron

 

[Tim Samaras]

I'm in agreement with Mickey.

I have two daughters in college, and I got each of them a 1991 Chevy Cavalier when they turned 16. Why?

1. Cavaliers are INCREDIBLY cheap to fix when/if they have a "little problem" Engine parts cost are next to nothing, and all the auto parts houses have what I needed.

2. I paid $250 for one, and $500 for the other. Throw away costs for a car.

3. They are VERY reliable.

Only issue I had was with the boss (my wife). Her comment:

"Well....I see you went out and spent $$$$$$$$ on that fancy new CAMCORDER you just HAD to have...and our precious daughters are driving THIS???....You are so cheap!!"

Actually, it was the best thing I ever did...what I had forecasted....happened.

8)

Tim

 

[Caleb Lawrence]

LOL... I can understand that a lot of kids my age can be bad drivers, but we are all individuals too. I'm not gonna be drag racing my ass on Gratiot Ave. and get my car smashed up and thrown in jail for reckless driving. I never understand why kids my age bother with the POS $1,000 cars... Your gonna end up spending thousands to get the pieces of crap fixed / redone -- only to end up getting another car soon after. It always seemed like that to me (everybody I know)... So, screw that -- get a nice car and stay with it for >4 years. I just don't see the reason to throw out a grand to buy a POS car, spend thousands to fix it up, only to probably still send it to the junkyard soon after -- makes absolute ZERO sense.

That's because you have no appreciation for fixing up vehicles and customizing them. I personally like my vehicle with a little character; not some bland piece of stamped out crap. I like to put my heart and soul into my vehicle.

A $7,500 vehicle may be a bit 'spensive, but it is a station wagon, and not some sports car, which may help...I thought Mercedes were also safe, as well. Besides being 16, the only thing I can think of that would jack the prices up is because of parts (in the event of an accident) due to it being a foreign vehicle. Could just get liability only.

My first truck was a $500 1986 Chevy S-10 Durango. Still own it; however the first vehicle I drove on the road after I had my license is my even older 1973 Chevrolet crew cab; also $500. Still driving it, and hopefully will for a very, very long time. I have no interest in newer cars or trucks. They are rather boring.

 

[Shane Adams]

I just don't see the reason to throw out a grand to buy a POS car, spend thousands to fix it up, only to probably still send it to the junkyard soon after -- makes absolute ZERO sense.

We just "blew" a grand on a "POS" car. It's a car I've been driving over a year, already put 20,000 miles on, and has 135,000 overall miles. It gets about 400 miles to the tankful, which means I can fill it up for under $30 even with gas over $2/gallon. It's a Nissan, which means, with regular maintainence, it will run...forever. Because it's a 1993 Sentra, my insurance is cheap as well. Is this car much to look at? No. But it's cheap to fuel, comfortable on long trips, doesn't cost me out the butt to insure, and it's the last car a cop would look twice at. Oh yeah, the only thing that's had to be replaced on it in 135,000 miles is an alternator.

Your inexperience in life shows well in this thread. Your perceptions of what is and isn't regarding the purchase of a vehicle are black and white. Cars are a tool, not a fashion statement or accessory. Most people who live on Earth worry about reliablility first. Because a vehicle isn't much to look at doesn't mean it's a POS. What's UNDER the hood is what counts, regardless of the package. Not every car for a grand is a waste of money, and NO car for a grand is waste for a teenager.

Just like you say - you get one shot (4 years) with a new car. If you wreck it, if it gets stolen (2005 Mustangs are a wonderfully popular target in the great city of Detroit), or you simply do what every adult on here knows you will, and just run it into the ground so far the resale/trade value plummets to subterrainian levels, you're done. You're walking, and still paying thousands on a car you no longer have. Or at least your parents are.

When my car dies, I'll be walking too....to the dealership to get another one.

 

[nickgrillo]

Man, I should have known not to reply to this type of thread... I got several replies to my original post on how buying a new / nice car is a wrong choice for a 16 year old, so I replied to that. To be honest, can you name me ONE SINGLE teenager who DIDN'T want a nice car? No, every single damn kid wants a nice car... The problem is, who can afford and be able to get one. I'd like to have a new car (or close to one, with low mileage) so I know for a fact my ass will NOT be breaking down in the path of a gigantic supercell. Anyways, there is no point arguing... So bye!

 

[Steve Miller]

I have to question parents in this situation too. Who will allow their teenage son to buy (or finance through them) a brand new, or older nice, car knowing full well that car will end up in the middle of the plains on a chase day getting the crap thrashed out of it?

An additional question I pose is who here had parents who would let them drive out to the plains to interact with something as potentially dangerous as a severe thunderstorm and its related driving conditions, let them stay in motels in the middle of nowhere, and be gone to do all of this for multiple days?
Am I too conservative?

I still like the Mercedes and congratulate you on your ability to get one at 16 years old. Enjoy it!
As for the Mustang, you can have it - those things are death traps in the rain.

 

[nickgrillo]

I have to question parents in this situation too. Who will allow their teenage son to buy (or finance through them) a brand new, or older nice, car knowing full well that car will end up in the middle of the plains on a chase day getting the crap thrashed out of it?

An additional question I pose is who here had parents who would let them drive out to the plains to interact with something as potentially dangerous as a severe thunderstorm and its related driving conditions, let them stay in motels in the middle of nowhere, and be gone to do all of this for multiple days?
Am I too conservative?

Gee, I dunno... Maybe the parents of smart kids, who knew what they are doing when it comes to chasing severe storms? Please don't even get started on that subject...

 

[Mickey Ptak]

An additional question I pose is who here had parents who would let them drive out to the plains to interact with something as potentially dangerous as a severe thunderstorm and its related driving conditions, let them stay in motels in the middle of nowhere, and be gone to do all of this for multiple days?
Am I too conservative?

I don't think you are to conservative Steve. I wouldn't let my son go out for weeks on end chasing at the age of 16. Not that I am judge Nick's parents because granted Nick was with a responsible adult. But again not my son there is now way in hell.

Nick

I was not picking on you just giving you advise because I too was once a 16 year old and I know what was on my mind then. I can just see you focusing on the storm and not the road. I would rather not see that happen to you man.

Mick

 

[Darin Brunin]

I bought my first car (a 1989 Chevy Corsica) when I was 15 for $500. It seemed like I worked all summer to pay for that thing. It was no show car but it got me around and that's all that really mattered. I then bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee for $5000 two years ago and it has been great to me. After I graduate next year I hopefully will be able to afford to buy something else but while I am still in school there is no rush to buy something over 10k especially when I still have problems supporting myself as it is. I am going drive this Jeep as long as I can because it's paid off now and it's nice to not have to worry about payments every month. By the way....I will never own another vehicle besides a Jeep. I believe in them that much.

 

[Jeff Snyder]

An additional question I pose is who here had parents who would let them drive out to the plains to interact with something as potentially dangerous as a severe thunderstorm and its related driving conditions, let them stay in motels in the middle of nowhere, and be gone to do all of this for multiple days?
Am I too conservative?

I don't think you are to conservative Steve. I wouldn't let my son go out for weeks on end chasing at the age of 16. Not that I am judge Nick's parents because granted Nick was with a responsible adult. But again not my son there is now way in hell.

Mick

I started chasing just before my 17th birthday. That first summer, my parents wouldn't really let me go more than ~80-100 miles from home. The next summer, it was ~150 miles. The summer after that, they didn't really care too much where I went as long as I wasn't gone more than a day... In that time, then, my chase domain (out of the Twin Cities, MN) was most of MN, central and northern IA, extreme eastern SD (never did make it out there before I moved down to OK for school), and western WI, which seems fair seeing how I was 18 by then. So, while my parents wouldn't let me go on a multi-day chasing trip, they did give me more freedom each year. Personally, I think it all depends on the child. If you can trust them, and they haven't done much to make you think otherwise, I wouldn't be too concerned. Of course, I'm not a parent yet, but I think the way my parents handled it seemed (and seems) fair to me.

As for chase vehicles -- to each his own. I'm not going to say what car someone should or should not buy... If you want to chase in a $100 car, then more power to ya... If you want to chase in a $300,000 Lambourghini, then more power to ya... I'm not sure I'd go TOO cheap on the vehicle, however, since one often finds oneself in the boonies, hours from home, where break-downs aren't entirely convenient. Of course, I'm not saying that inexpensive (<$1k) cars are not dependable, but just something to keep in mind... For what it's worth, I don't think I'll ever buy a new car... I'll save the thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars by buying a slighty-moderately used car (<75000mi preferably) that'll last me 5+ years anyway.

 

[David Drummond]

Gee, I dunno... Maybe the parents of smart kids, who knew what they are doing when it comes to chasing severe storms? Please don't even get started on that subject...

Well, I know what I am doing when it comes to chasing severe storms (I think) and there is no way when mine turns 16 she will be doing that on her own. She can go with me, but not on her own for a couple of years. Driving normally is a dangerous proposition almost any time. Driving around others in bad weather situations is substationally more dangerous. Only a period of driving experience can give you the proper skills you need to handle that effeciently.

Like I posted before, my first car was a 68 Pontiac Catalina. It was ugly, had a dent in every panel on it and was diarrhea green with freaking shag carpet on the dash no less. But it ran VERY WELL and NEVER broke down. Eventually it needed some extensive brake work and was sold for $500, it only cost $300 originally.

Oh yeah, I wanted a Trans Am (this was the 80s) so bad I could taste it. I finally managed to get a 76 Firebird that I wanted so bad that turned out to be the biggest POS EVER! My favorite cars of all time are Dodge Chargers and I spotted one I looked at for over a year in a guys back yard, an 1968 Dodge Charger. Managed to buy it NOT RUNNING, for $500. I had gotten a summer job at a junk yard pulling parts and there was an old dodge back there with a 426 hemi 6 pack sitting in it. worked all summer for that motor and read books a learned and restored that car.

Circumstances forced the sale of the car eventually, but the lessons and knowledge I learned owning that car are still with me today. I wish the car was because they are selling for about $30K these days. :cry:

 

[Sheila_Ward]

I didn't get a car until I was 18, and it was a Chevy Citation. I was fortunate that my parents got it for me when I graduated high school. This thing was a 4-door and it was a tank. If you remember the Citations, you know they aren't exactly a cool teenager type car. Sure I wanted something flashy and sporty, but my dad said as long as he was paying for it he was getting me what he wanted me to have and when I bought my own car I could get what I wanted. Pretty good logic.

I drove the wheels off that thing for 10 years with no real problems. Dad knew what he was doing.

Good for you on the new car Mark. It should ride pretty sweet on those long drives in the plains.

 

[Kurt Hulst]

The Benz

Station wagons are nice as they give you more room to put things, in a chase situation. I paid 850 for my first car it was nice until accident number one some one stopped to fast infront of me because she didnt know what she was doing, Accident two some lady pulled out infront of me on an icy day and i wound up rear ending her it was labled my fault but was really hers. I went in a ditch with that car, because of 7 inches of snow. Accident 4 black ice. And some people wonder why I hate snow.

Well that was all when i was 16-17 with my 1983 Cutlas supreme. She just couldnt take anymore so i got a 1994 cutlas supreme. Never an accident with that one. but it was totaled by my house fire when i was 19. heat damage. then i got a 1995 cutlas supreme can ya tell i like those cars. had that for about 4 years. Shortly after my house burned down i got into a fight with a firehydrant and well the hydrant won. That was a DUI and a night in jail. But I still drove it after that. I cleaned up and havent been in a acciedent in five going on 6 years. Knock on wood. The one concern i have with younger drivers chasing is the attention and concentration they need to stay on the road. I Actually let Nick drive through Chicago well it was raining earlier this fall. He did pretty good but there were a few close calls that scared the crap out of me. But we made it to the gas stastion in one peace. It gave him some experience

If any young driver with a nice car gets in an accident or hail core and busts out windows, then thats how it has to be. If ya gotta learn the hard way then there ya go. It might just hurt your pocket and repo your vehicle. But i hope we all miss hail cores like May 12, 05'

Happy car hunting

I hope to get a Pontiac Vibe this year.