FWIW, I looked up the repair ratings on the LS in CR. They look pretty bad, which surprised me a bit. It seems like it might be an excellent idea to sell it before the warranty runs out. Also, I wonder about the resale value of Lincolns in later years w/no warranty.....(?)
What does it cost to lease an Accord 6-speed sedan?
Honda is running a lease deal that includes a money factor of .00079 and residual of 58% for 3-years, plus they have $750 marketing support on them, too. So it all depends on what you get it for, but, based on my calculations, I should be able to pick one up with about $1200 down (which would just be the security deposit, first months, tags, etc) for about $280 without NAV or $320 with NAV (which changes the residual to 56%).
I'm really inclined to get the NAV, but it makes locating one much tougher, and $40 a month is alot to pay for a toy.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
He should sell it right now. In my experience, $10K per year is the minimum depreciation you can expect on a LR. I'm surprised he can do that well. Trading it on another LR however........the word masochistic springs to mind.
To people like us with average incomes, you are 100% correct.
However, it was like the conversation my wife and I had the other day about people who buy Hummers. She wondered aloud why anyone would want to waste that much gas, and I replied that people who can buy $50,000 boxes with limited practicality don't necessarily give a rip about large gas bills, or the environment.
Buying something like a Land Rover is even more foreign to my thinking, though. Imagine what your house would be like if you did $90,000 worth of home improvements, for example. There's a law of diminishing returns with cars, and anything over $40-$50k blows right past it.
I haven't driven the current -gen accord. But $280/mo, with $1200 down....... I can't see anything wrong with that deal. Assuming, it's a V6, with leather, S/R, etc.(?) The $40 a month for the NAV: I might do it if it were $10/month.........
The Fit rings my bell. Not sure why and I wouldn't buy one because of the lack of a sunroof. But I still like it. The Si is obviously a superior car to the Fit but the Fit just seems like perfect basic transportation.
I thought the same thing about the Nissan Versa. It's an amazing value for a small car!
something is up with that LS. I've been contemplating trading mine and the wholesale is $17k. Mine is a year older with twice the miles. So either that '04 is at or even below wholesale or, like i said, something is wrong.
I can tell you that my father in law went through 3 transmissions on his LS V8. Fun to drive car, reliability not so great.
who bought a 2000 LS with the V-6. Transmission went out almost immediately. Then he had a/c problems. And a problem with the electric cooling fan. Then tranny #2 started to act up. The dealer ended up giving him a killer deal on a 2001 LS with the V-8.
The V-8 never gave him any problems, but that first one made him leery of Lincoln, so he traded it on a 2003 Acura TL once it got to around the 50,000 mile mark.
Those people did buy a Supercharged Range Rover and it was their fourth Range Rover I think.
They drive their Range Rovers like commuter cars and put about 20,000 miles a year on them. Remarkably none of their Range Rovers have been problem cars either. Putting that kind of miles on a Rover a year is just asking for trouble but if you look at the work order history they have had minimal problems.
yup. EX V6 6-speed (although automatic would be the same price). EX comes with the leather, heated seats, 6-cd, moonroof, etc, etc.
Yeah, $40/mo is real tough to swallow. I mean, I could get a portable NAV for less than 1-year of that extra $40/mo. BUT, I do really like the coolness factor of being able to "tell" the car what temperature you'd like the cabin set at and what radio station to tune into. I dunno. Maybe I could compromise with myself and scrape up another $500 down and then it would only be about $25/mo extra.
What could I get for the Lincoln? Well, that's the all-encompassing question. KBB says $20,600. But that's pretty high. It is certified, which is a big plus. But my plan is to list it for $19,500 and take $18,500. Now I just gotta get my butt to the car wash (or maybe i'll wash it myself tonight) and take pics.
The worst part is I could get right around $18,500 if I were trading it in for a new purchase. The trade-in value plus the tax break would get me right near my number. HOWEVER, to the best of my knowledge (which isn't really all that great; it consists of hearing it from a guy who heard it from a guy), the tax break doesn't exist when leasing the new car.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
You are in Jersey too, right? If so, I asked this same question back in December when I was considering a lease, and the answer was No. I robably was going to buy anyway, but that took away one incentive to lease, since I planned to trade in my old car.
My friend and I went to the dealer on Saturday, and everything worked out okay. He needed me to co-sign on the loan, which I was expecting. I know in theory, that's a great way to kill a friendship, but this is someone I've known for years, and have helped out before, so I trust him. Plus, hey, my name's on the title, so it's half mine!
I have a new ML 350 with only 9500 miles driven and my Continental tires have no tread left. Conitnental states: Premature tire wear is NOT a manufacturing defect! I try to find other ML owners that have a simular problem. Herm
Bought the 97 Sebring today, then sat at DMV for an hour and a half to get the title switched over, went to the insurance agent and had to explain why one family needed 4 cars....lol. Insured it.....liability only was $177/6 months, not too bad. So its legal to drive as soon as the suspension work is done on Saturday and we mount its new 17's on it.
One more month and we will be back down to a more reasonable 3 cars. For now I'm going to park Zippy and the Titan to keep the miles off of them......'cides, the Sebring has leather, a great stereo, and a sunroof, what's not to like for summer driving!
Feels good to own the car outright......don't have any payments on it, I really like that!
Off the wagon. I always like to check this thread because it's nice to know there are other people like me who are constantly looking to buy their next vehicle, but I've never commented because I'm afraid to admit my problem. However, after nearly a year on the wagon I find myself in grave danger.
We currently have a 2005 CR-V and a 1990 F150, but a gas efficient compact is starting to look better and better. I only bought the pickup a couple years ago because I got a REALLY good deal from my father-in-law, but I don't really like pickups and I DO like driving compacts w/5 spd manuals. Therefore, I have begun to search for a '01 or '02 Chevy Prizm. With gas prices getting as high as they are, I can almost justify it.
Anyway, to satisfy my CCB Jones, I have started eyeballing cheap cars for when my son get his license. OK, he doesn't turn 15 until June, which means he won't even have a permit for 13 months, but you have to start these things early!
And face it, there's no chance I teach him to drive stick on my car. I won't even let my wife drive it. So, a perfect excuse to buy a third car, that he can eventually have as his own. Even though in NJ he will have to be 17 before he can drive solo I think.
So far, I saw a 1980's (maybe earlier 90's) Sentra (the boxy one)(although I didn't stop to look so i don't know price or tranny). And the other day, out front of the detail shop I visit occassionally (or maybe the tranny shop next door) there was a mid-generation Ranger. White with odd blue graphics, standard cab, with $795 written on the windshield.
The price caught my eye. Could be a possible if it was a 5 speed. Tough, cheap to fix and hard to hurt, plus it has some practical value to me. even the insurance should be as low as it could go.
I can't wait until next year when I can start shopping seriously. I also wouldn't mind having a little PU again for hauling duty (to save abuse on the odyssey), so I might kill 2 birds with one stone.
Don't know what the rules are in NJ, but here in CO when there are 3 drivers and 3 vehicles the teen must be 'rated' on one of them. This means that the insurance premiums will be much higher.
In addition, I was told by my agent that the cheapest 'type' of vehicle to insure for a teen is a 4-door sedan. Saturns, for some reason, are less expensive than other makes. 2-seat vehicles (like the Ranger you saw) are probably at the other end of the spectrum.
Just some food for thought as you begin your search.
EDIT: one other thought .. I read an article somewhere that had some good suggestions for teen drivers. The article suggested that the child needs to have an amount in the bank equivalent to the deductible on the insurance policy. That way, if they get into an accident, they can pay the deductible themselves. And, they have to replentish the deductible amount before they can start driving again.
This policy worked well with our teenaged son, who was involved in 3 accidents in the first 2 years he had his license.
I live in NJ. When you add a teen to the policy, they just drop a suction hose into your bank account and take everything in it. So, I honestly am not sure how they work the pricing, and I don't think I want to know yet!
At least until he is 17, he can't drive alone, so they really can't treat him as a real driver. And if it is really too expensive, no 3rd car (which at this point he would be paying for himself).
Either that, or I move to NH or VA just to save on insurance.
I think make an excellent choice for a first time driver. Just make sure you get the regular cab so they can't haul too many friends around. I read a study somewhere that said the majority of teen deaths occur when there are 3 or more people in the car.
I think I would also get the 2wd 4 banger to keep the horseplay down.
It can also double as work truck if your son wants to start a lawn care business on the side.
my Mom and stepdad made me get a policy in my own name once I started driving. It was expensive at first, $1361 the first year for just liability, and that was way back in 1987! But if nothing else, since they made me get the car in my own name, and the insurance in my own name, it cut out all of those idle "do what we tell you to do or we'll take the car away from you!!" threats. :P
Yea, Here in NY a 16 yo can't be responsible in the eyes of the law so mom and dad are on the hook !
We just put the kids cars and insurance in grandmas name (who no longer drives and has NO assets) so IF something happens the [non-permissible content removed] lawyers can't get anything !
Stick: Most of these kids can't operate a stick vehicle. These new fwds are too fragile IMO. Not like the good old "3 on the tree" I learned on ! I found that out on my 16 yo. and the Cavilier I got for him. So not to risk spending major $$$ repairing it he got to drive my old Escort and practice on the cav. till he got it down pat.
And he thinks I am gonna give up MY Z-28 !!!!!!! Yea right!
he already said he wants a stick, and since that's what i drive, it will greatly enhance his chances of ever being behind the wheel. The other choice is a newer odyssey, which is really too big IMO to comfortably teach a kid to drive on. Let them learn on something more manageable (and cheaper!!), and work up to a barge.
I also like the idea of a compact reg cab PU, since it will help teach driving dynamics (such as RWD traction on a wet road!) the way i learned it. It will also be tough as nails, cheap to run, slower than dirt, and unable to hold a car load of friends (unless they are in the bed, which would be grounds for immediate removal of license and all driving privleges).
The driving schools near us (which you are required to use if they want a permit at 16) tend to have old K cars, Cavaliers, Neons, and other cars of that size range.
In a pickup, there is no RWD traction on a wet road! Especially not with the crummy factory tires most of them come with. I guess that's what you mean... And, making a turn from a dead stop on a wet/snowy road in one can be a religious experience. I'll be glad when we see more trucks come with traction and skid control systems.
Having been through this twice - and with the kids being at the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of their attitude towards driving and their ability - I feel pretty comfortable speaking on this topic.
What we did:
-> Provided a relatively new car for them to drive; nothing that would require a lot of repairs or leave them stranded. The idea is that if they were going to drive, then make sure that you (as parents) weren't schlepping them around when the car was broke.
-> Make the kid pay for their own insurance and gas. Parents take care of the maintenance and repairs. And, as noted above, make sure the child has enough $$$ in savings to cover the deductible. Teaches them responsibility without weighing them down with too much $$$ obligation.
-> Both of our kids went to driving school .. saves money on the insurance policy (which, remember, they are paying for). Luckily for us, some friends of ours started a driving school in our town so we got the "friends and family" discount - $200 instead of $400
-> The child has to work a part time job. Both of our kids got jobs at the local grocery store as courtesy clerks, paying around $7/hr. They worked, on average, 25 hours or so a week, so there was enough money to cover gas and insurance, plus some spending money left over.
Now, this is what worked for us. Your mileage may vary. One kid (19) is now on his own and paying for all of this car related expenses, while the other kid (17) is going off to college in the fall. She is still paying her own insurance ($153/mo) and gas, and has managed to save up enough money to buy her own laptop ($1500) and pretty much every DVD known to man (her collection is larger than ours!).
As has been documented extensively in this forum, we still haven't fully decided if she is going to take the car to school or not.
This is why many states have, or are introducing, 'graduated' licenses when issued to new drivers.
Colorado now has this, but unfortunately, it didn't apply to my 16 year old son when he got his license over 3 years ago.
Five weeks after acquiring said license, he was driving home from school with himself, a friend and his sister in the car. He had dropped off another student and was taking the 'back way' home. The back way, in this case, being a dirt road.
Well, being a 16 year old boy and believing himself to be indestructable, he was speeding along at a jaunty 60+ MPH when approaching a curve. He lost control and hit the 18" high berm on the side of the road. He rolled the car twice and vaulted (butt-over-nose) once before it came to rest, 117' feet later.
The most serious injury sustained was a moderate concussion suffered by my daughter - she was air-lifted to the nearest hospital and spent 4 days there recovering. No broken bones, and only a few bumps, bruises and burns (from the airbag). The car was written off - they had the cut the roof off to extract my daughter.
The car in question was a used '98 Chevy Tracker 4-door. We had bought it because we didn't think it would be fast enough to get into any trouble with. It was also a one owner car (retired GM exec). In addition, we had warned him that, as an SUV, it was more prone to tipping in corners - he had, in fact, spent most of his pre-license time behind the wheel of a Ford Explorer, so we felt comfortable with him in another SUV.
I pretty much agree with corvette. My 1986 Toyota P/U was one of the flimsiest, least safe, worst handling vehicles I ever owned. The sheet metal was so flimsy you could put a dent into it just by kicking it (I found out)--then I used a plunger to pull it out.
An old Sentra, or old Ranger P/U? I can't believe they have much crash protection. The Car Talk guys are always telling people who want safe cars for their teenagers to buy them an older Volvo. Even an older bmw 3-series (E36 maybe) would be safer than most little P/U's or economy cars.....
As for bang-for-the-buck, nothing beats a 2000+ Taurus in decent shape. Very safe, all the necessary air bags and structural protection -- think side-impact door beams -- and none of the Volvo repair nightmares... if you have a Volvo mechanic handy, go for it, but the corner garage will be much more effective on the Taurus.
Also, finding a decent Taurus is not a dissertation, like finding a Volvo or Bimmer (!????) in decent shape. Much as I'd love a '95 5 series... not for a teenager.
My personal recommendation is still an '88 Caprice with the secondaries welded shut.
My personal recommendation is still an '88 Caprice with the secondaries welded shut.
Ooh, I kinda like that idea! Or, along those lines, a late '88 or an '89 Mopar M-body (Gran Fury, Diplomat, 5th Ave) might be a good choice. They're unitized as opposed to body-on-frame, so they fold up in a more controlled fashion. And those particular years I mentioned had a standard driver's side airbag. And they only had 318-2bbls with 140 hp, so they weren't that exciting.
Just don't get an ex-police car, though! As boxy as the are, they'll still hit 125 mph with little strain and can get you into all sorts of trouble. They're not THAT fast off the line, such as from 0-60, but they really open up at higher speeds.
As for the Taurus, if it matters, I remember NHTSA mentioning that when they tested the 1996, it was the safest car they had ever tested up to that point in time.
My personal recommendation is still an '88 Caprice with the secondaries welded shut.
I am not sure what secondaries are ...
We had an engineering intern a couple of years ago who had one of those Caprices ... and a book full of speeding tickets to boot.
Agree completely with the Taurus recommendation although most midsized sedans would qualify. My preference (for teenagers) are underpowered 4 cylinder engines.
If it will run at all you could sell it for twice that price here where I live in South Mississippi. I also predict that it will be cheaper to insure than many other vehicles. At $795 you don't need anything more than liability. A complete windshield replacement is less than $200 on a Ranger, so there's no need to even carry comprehensive coverage on it.
My 96 Ranger XL extended cab with 242,000 miles on it costs me $23 per month to insure. A tankful of gas is twice that much. The tag is only about $30 a year, and with the 4-cyl and a 5-speed, I'm getting a hair better than 20 mpg around town. The way I figure it, even with occasional repairs it's CHEAP transportation.
Also, I think that pickups--especially regular cabs--are more prone to roof crush than SUVs in a rollover (assume you're in a situation where it's a given that any car will roll over). A regular cab pickup has 3-4,000 lbs. to support using only four pillars and a small roof area; a sedan, coupe, or SUV has at least six pillars and a larger roof area.
An extended or crew cab pickup has more pillars for strength but still has a small square footage of roof area (relative to the size of the vehicle) over which to distribute the weight.
The body panels on the Canyon appear to be thinner than the old Sonoma--they dent rather easily, and there is even a TSB that says you have to install a bracing kit if you want to install a toolbox in the bed. But I still think the Canyon has a safer/better-designed structure than the Sonoma.
It's not that terrible to drive, as long as you understand it's not a sports car. A lot of the people driving pickups and SUVs lack this understanding.
Secondaries would be the second set of valves/barrells/whatever you want to call them on a 4-bbl carb. The 4.3 Caprice was always TBI, but the 5.0 may have still been a 4-bbl by then. I think police cars with the 5.7 were TBI, too.
LOL... I was guessing it was the back doors.... so, they couldn't carry passengers...
My personal feeling is that a pickup truck is a poor choice for a new driver.. from a safety standpoint.. I've got a CR-V, which will be almost 8 years old when my son turns 16... But, I don't think I want him to have anything that might have a higher propensity to roll over in an accident..
Is hoping he will get this car when he starts driving......ha, somehow I doubt it, lol. This is the 1997 Sebring LXi with 55k on it that I bought Monday for $650. It will look a lot better Saturday when we put the 17s on it and get it off the trailer. I'm looking forward to driving it this weekend.
Um, it had a little run in with a tree. There is some minor body damage on the other side and some suspension damage. The suspension will be fixed Saturday and the body work will be done sometime this summer. Body work should be less than $1500, I already have all the parts to fix it. After the suspension work it will be totally driveable, so I'll drive it until it goes into the body shop later on this year. I'm guessing when its all said and done I'll be in it maybe $2500 tops, it books for around $5000.
The car runs fine and drove itself up on to the trailer. Its got leather, sunroof (was off track, but is fixed now), infinity system. Really nice car, just needs some minor work.
It was one of those.......right place, right time, and we had the trailer to get it deals.
I always consider it a bad sign.. if I have to trailer home my latest purchase
LOL, yeah, I hear ya. It was almost driveable, it will be on Saturday. For the price I wasn't worried about it, it runs great and did get itself up on the trailer.
Come to think of it, we've trailered home a few purchases, only regretted one.
It helps that I have a little brother who works at a junkyard and can fix anything......otherwise I wouldn't tackle projects like this one.
is that a teen's chances of getting into a fatal crash in the first place are greater with 3 or more people on board.
Not simply that if you're going to have a fatal crash anyway, that the more people you have on board, the more will die.
Basically, it's the fact of having the 3 or more people aboard in the first place that leads to the fatal accident.
You are probably right in your interpretation of the statement, Andre.
But I was just making a tongue-in-cheek comment about the statement. People always accuse me of looking at things in face-value and not really understanding the gist of what's mentioned.
hehehe I know I shouldn't laugh but I always find it funny when people don't know what carburetors are.
And I know that makes me sound old but this next statement will date me the other way. This is a long story but it does pertain to teenage driving.
My High school car was a 1990 Jeep Cherokee, full time 4wd System and the 4.0 inline six. I wrecked that car twice the first time I was still in High school and it was repaired but the damage was in the 8,500 dollar range. When I wrecked the car it was not actually mine yet but was still my dad's. The deal always was that when I had the money I would buy the car from him at fair market value.
After it got wrecked I paid the deductible and then I tried to negotiate diminished value with my dad since the car was wrecked now and not worth as much. :P
Yeah my Dad did not fall for that at all but I figured it was a valid negotiation tactic.
I drove that jeep through the rest of High school and half of college before I wrecked it the second time.
This wreck was much more severe. I hit my head so hard that I don't really remember why I ran off the road but I managed to piece together all of the other information from the accident aftermath.
I ran off the road doing between 55-60 mph went into a ditch that was full of wet grass so no chance to stop. The police officers said that it looked like I locked up the brakes for a while then manually pumped the brakes several times probably slowing the car down to 40-45 mph. At that point I hit a mail box and then, while still in the bottom of the ditch, I hit the side of the driveway.
The side of the driveway basically acted like a ramp and since I was trying to climb out of the ditch at the time I hit it at a slight angle.
Hitting a ramp at that angle at that speed caused my jeep to rocket into the air and roll upside down. I slammed into a stand of trees at about 40 mph, upside down and eight feet into the air. The cops measured the mark where my bumper gouged a hole in the first tree that I hit and it was about eight feet above the base of the tree. I ripped that tree up out of the ground by the roots and was spun into two more bouncing off of them until I landed upside down in the wet ground. The skit marks show that I slid about fifteen feet on the roof after landing.
I walked away from that crash with just bumps, bruises and a pretty big cut on my head where I hit the roof. I unbuckled myself fell out of the chair and crawled out the back cargo area where the force of the wreck had popped the rear window out of its frame. The front windshield broke but the safety glass kept it all out of the cabin. I had the front two windows rolled down so those did not break when the roof was crushed about two inches.
The amazing thing was that none of the back windows were broken. The roof was only crushed a little bit in the front so none of th back windows broke. I actually still have the window from the lift gate of that car. I kept it as a reminder and there is not a scratch on it.
My opinion get a mid 90's jeep cherokee with the full time 4wd option, ABS and air bags. ABS might have let me steer out of that ditch but I am not sure. Based on the marks I left in the dirt I did not try to steer out of the ditch till I saw what I was going to hit and figured out what would happen if I did it. I guess that when I first got into the ditch I tried to slow down so I could climb back out without flipping the jeep when I crested the top of the ditch. Once I saw the driveway approaching I stopped trying to slow down and just tried to steer out of the ditch but I did not make it.
In retrospect I probably hit the best part of the ditch. If I had hit the very base of it I would have slammed into a concrete pipe that would not have had the give of the trees I uprooted. If I had steered a little bit more out of the ditch I would have probably gotten a little air on the drivers side. That would have probably caused me to roll the jeep across the highway and possibly across the very narrow center divider into oncoming traffic.
Comments
What does it cost to lease an Accord 6-speed sedan?
I'm really inclined to get the NAV, but it makes locating one much tougher, and $40 a month is alot to pay for a toy.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
To people like us with average incomes, you are 100% correct.
However, it was like the conversation my wife and I had the other day about people who buy Hummers. She wondered aloud why anyone would want to waste that much gas, and I replied that people who can buy $50,000 boxes with limited practicality don't necessarily give a rip about large gas bills, or the environment.
Buying something like a Land Rover is even more foreign to my thinking, though. Imagine what your house would be like if you did $90,000 worth of home improvements, for example. There's a law of diminishing returns with cars, and anything over $40-$50k blows right past it.
What could you get for the Lincoln?
750,000 dollar a MONTH income not yearly income but monthly income is one of the highest I have seen.
I thought the same thing about the Nissan Versa. It's an amazing value for a small car!
I can tell you that my father in law went through 3 transmissions on his LS V8. Fun to drive car, reliability not so great.
You seem to get a ton of car for about 16K. From the early reviews, the ahdnling is a little soft, but the aftermarket can take care of that!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
The V-8 never gave him any problems, but that first one made him leery of Lincoln, so he traded it on a 2003 Acura TL once it got to around the 50,000 mile mark.
So, a supercharged RR would be their winter beater, or car they leave at the airport...
Those people did buy a Supercharged Range Rover and it was their fourth Range Rover I think.
They drive their Range Rovers like commuter cars and put about 20,000 miles a year on them. Remarkably none of their Range Rovers have been problem cars either. Putting that kind of miles on a Rover a year is just asking for trouble but if you look at the work order history they have had minimal problems.
Yeah, $40/mo is real tough to swallow. I mean, I could get a portable NAV for less than 1-year of that extra $40/mo. BUT, I do really like the coolness factor of being able to "tell" the car what temperature you'd like the cabin set at and what radio station to tune into. I dunno. Maybe I could compromise with myself and scrape up another $500 down and then it would only be about $25/mo extra.
What could I get for the Lincoln? Well, that's the all-encompassing question. KBB says $20,600. But that's pretty high. It is certified, which is a big plus. But my plan is to list it for $19,500 and take $18,500. Now I just gotta get my butt to the car wash (or maybe i'll wash it myself tonight) and take pics.
The worst part is I could get right around $18,500 if I were trading it in for a new purchase. The trade-in value plus the tax break would get me right near my number. HOWEVER, to the best of my knowledge (which isn't really all that great; it consists of hearing it from a guy who heard it from a guy), the tax break doesn't exist when leasing the new car.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I know it does not in CT.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
My friend and I went to the dealer on Saturday, and everything worked out okay. He needed me to co-sign on the loan, which I was expecting. I know in theory, that's a great way to kill a friendship, but this is someone I've known for years, and have helped out before, so I trust him. Plus, hey, my name's on the title, so it's half mine!
Oh, and here's an out with the old, in with the new pic that shows just how much the cute-ute has grown over the years.
Conitnental states:
Premature tire wear is NOT a manufacturing defect!
I try to find other ML owners that have a simular problem.
Herm
One more month and we will be back down to a more reasonable 3 cars. For now I'm going to park Zippy and the Titan to keep the miles off of them......'cides, the Sebring has leather, a great stereo, and a sunroof, what's not to like for summer driving!
Feels good to own the car outright......don't have any payments on it, I really like that!
We currently have a 2005 CR-V and a 1990 F150, but a gas efficient compact is starting to look better and better. I only bought the pickup a couple years ago because I got a REALLY good deal from my father-in-law, but I don't really like pickups and I DO like driving compacts w/5 spd manuals. Therefore, I have begun to search for a '01 or '02 Chevy Prizm. With gas prices getting as high as they are, I can almost justify it.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Anyway, to satisfy my CCB Jones, I have started eyeballing cheap cars for when my son get his license. OK, he doesn't turn 15 until June, which means he won't even have a permit for 13 months, but you have to start these things early!
And face it, there's no chance I teach him to drive stick on my car. I won't even let my wife drive it. So, a perfect excuse to buy a third car, that he can eventually have as his own. Even though in NJ he will have to be 17 before he can drive solo I think.
So far, I saw a 1980's (maybe earlier 90's) Sentra (the boxy one)(although I didn't stop to look so i don't know price or tranny). And the other day, out front of the detail shop I visit occassionally (or maybe the tranny shop next door) there was a mid-generation Ranger. White with odd blue graphics, standard cab, with $795 written on the windshield.
The price caught my eye. Could be a possible if it was a 5 speed. Tough, cheap to fix and hard to hurt, plus it has some practical value to me. even the insurance should be as low as it could go.
I can't wait until next year when I can start shopping seriously. I also wouldn't mind having a little PU again for hauling duty (to save abuse on the odyssey), so I might kill 2 birds with one stone.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Don't know what the rules are in NJ, but here in CO when there are 3 drivers and 3 vehicles the teen must be 'rated' on one of them. This means that the insurance premiums will be much higher.
In addition, I was told by my agent that the cheapest 'type' of vehicle to insure for a teen is a 4-door sedan. Saturns, for some reason, are less expensive than other makes. 2-seat vehicles (like the Ranger you saw) are probably at the other end of the spectrum.
Just some food for thought as you begin your search.
EDIT: one other thought .. I read an article somewhere that had some good suggestions for teen drivers. The article suggested that the child needs to have an amount in the bank equivalent to the deductible on the insurance policy. That way, if they get into an accident, they can pay the deductible themselves. And, they have to replentish the deductible amount before they can start driving again.
This policy worked well with our teenaged son, who was involved in 3 accidents in the first 2 years he had his license.
At least until he is 17, he can't drive alone, so they really can't treat him as a real driver. And if it is really too expensive, no 3rd car (which at this point he would be paying for himself).
Either that, or I move to NH or VA just to save on insurance.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I think I would also get the 2wd 4 banger to keep the horseplay down.
It can also double as work truck if your son wants to start a lawn care business on the side.
of the law so mom and dad are on the hook !
We just put the kids cars and insurance in grandmas name (who no longer drives and has NO assets) so IF something
happens the [non-permissible content removed] lawyers can't get anything !
Stick: Most of these kids can't operate a stick vehicle.
These new fwds are too fragile IMO. Not like the good old
"3 on the tree" I learned on !
I found that out on my 16 yo. and the Cavilier I got for
him. So not to risk spending major $$$ repairing it he
got to drive my old Escort and practice on the cav. till
he got it down pat.
And he thinks I am gonna give up MY Z-28 !!!!!!!
Yea right!
I also like the idea of a compact reg cab PU, since it will help teach driving dynamics (such as RWD traction on a wet road!) the way i learned it. It will also be tough as nails, cheap to run, slower than dirt, and unable to hold a car load of friends (unless they are in the bed, which would be grounds for immediate removal of license and all driving privleges).
The driving schools near us (which you are required to use if they want a permit at 16) tend to have old K cars, Cavaliers, Neons, and other cars of that size range.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
In a pickup, there is no RWD traction on a wet road! Especially not with the crummy factory tires most of them come with. I guess that's what you mean... And, making a turn from a dead stop on a wet/snowy road in one can be a religious experience. I'll be glad when we see more trucks come with traction and skid control systems.
What we did:
-> Provided a relatively new car for them to drive; nothing that would require a lot of repairs or leave them stranded. The idea is that if they were going to drive, then make sure that you (as parents) weren't schlepping them around when the car was broke.
-> Make the kid pay for their own insurance and gas. Parents take care of the maintenance and repairs. And, as noted above, make sure the child has enough $$$ in savings to cover the deductible. Teaches them responsibility without weighing them down with too much $$$ obligation.
-> Both of our kids went to driving school .. saves money on the insurance policy (which, remember, they are paying for). Luckily for us, some friends of ours started a driving school in our town so we got the "friends and family" discount - $200 instead of $400
-> The child has to work a part time job. Both of our kids got jobs at the local grocery store as courtesy clerks, paying around $7/hr. They worked, on average, 25 hours or so a week, so there was enough money to cover gas and insurance, plus some spending money left over.
Now, this is what worked for us. Your mileage may vary. One kid (19) is now on his own and paying for all of this car related expenses, while the other kid (17) is going off to college in the fall. She is still paying her own insurance ($153/mo) and gas, and has managed to save up enough money to buy her own laptop ($1500) and pretty much every DVD known to man (her collection is larger than ours!).
As has been documented extensively in this forum, we still haven't fully decided if she is going to take the car to school or not.
Sorry to sound condescending, but.....
DUH!!
For the same number of fatal accidents, more people are going to die with 3 or more people in the car - versus 2 or less people.
Not simply that if you're going to have a fatal crash anyway, that the more people you have on board, the more will die.
Basically, it's the fact of having the 3 or more people aboard in the first place that leads to the fatal accident.
Colorado now has this, but unfortunately, it didn't apply to my 16 year old son when he got his license over 3 years ago.
Five weeks after acquiring said license, he was driving home from school with himself, a friend and his sister in the car. He had dropped off another student and was taking the 'back way' home. The back way, in this case, being a dirt road.
Well, being a 16 year old boy and believing himself to be indestructable, he was speeding along at a jaunty 60+ MPH when approaching a curve. He lost control and hit the 18" high berm on the side of the road. He rolled the car twice and vaulted (butt-over-nose) once before it came to rest, 117' feet later.
The most serious injury sustained was a moderate concussion suffered by my daughter - she was air-lifted to the nearest hospital and spent 4 days there recovering. No broken bones, and only a few bumps, bruises and burns (from the airbag). The car was written off - they had the cut the roof off to extract my daughter.
The car in question was a used '98 Chevy Tracker 4-door. We had bought it because we didn't think it would be fast enough to get into any trouble with. It was also a one owner car (retired GM exec). In addition, we had warned him that, as an SUV, it was more prone to tipping in corners - he had, in fact, spent most of his pre-license time behind the wheel of a Ford Explorer, so we felt comfortable with him in another SUV.
Graduated license my foot.
How about a brain?
-Mathias
An old Sentra, or old Ranger P/U? I can't believe they have much crash protection. The Car Talk guys are always telling people who want safe cars for their teenagers to buy them an older Volvo. Even an older bmw 3-series (E36 maybe) would be safer than most little P/U's or economy cars.....
Also, finding a decent Taurus is not a dissertation, like finding a Volvo or Bimmer (!????) in decent shape.
Much as I'd love a '95 5 series... not for a teenager.
My personal recommendation is still an '88 Caprice with the secondaries welded shut.
-Mathias
Ooh, I kinda like that idea! Or, along those lines, a late '88 or an '89 Mopar M-body (Gran Fury, Diplomat, 5th Ave) might be a good choice. They're unitized as opposed to body-on-frame, so they fold up in a more controlled fashion. And those particular years I mentioned had a standard driver's side airbag. And they only had 318-2bbls with 140 hp, so they weren't that exciting.
Just don't get an ex-police car, though! As boxy as the are, they'll still hit 125 mph with little strain and can get you into all sorts of trouble. They're not THAT fast off the line, such as from 0-60, but they really open up at higher speeds.
As for the Taurus, if it matters, I remember NHTSA mentioning that when they tested the 1996, it was the safest car they had ever tested up to that point in time.
I am not sure what secondaries are ...
We had an engineering intern a couple of years ago who had one of those Caprices ... and a book full of speeding tickets to boot.
Agree completely with the Taurus recommendation although most midsized sedans would qualify. My preference (for teenagers) are underpowered 4 cylinder engines.
My 96 Ranger XL extended cab with 242,000 miles on it costs me $23 per month to insure. A tankful of gas is twice that much. The tag is only about $30 a year, and with the 4-cyl and a 5-speed, I'm getting a hair better than 20 mpg around town. The way I figure it, even with occasional repairs it's CHEAP transportation.
An extended or crew cab pickup has more pillars for strength but still has a small square footage of roof area (relative to the size of the vehicle) over which to distribute the weight.
The body panels on the Canyon appear to be thinner than the old Sonoma--they dent rather easily, and there is even a TSB that says you have to install a bracing kit if you want to install a toolbox in the bed. But I still think the Canyon has a safer/better-designed structure than the Sonoma.
It's not that terrible to drive, as long as you understand it's not a sports car. A lot of the people driving pickups and SUVs lack this understanding.
Secondaries would be the second set of valves/barrells/whatever you want to call them on a 4-bbl carb. The 4.3 Caprice was always TBI, but the 5.0 may have still been a 4-bbl by then. I think police cars with the 5.7 were TBI, too.
My personal feeling is that a pickup truck is a poor choice for a new driver.. from a safety standpoint.. I've got a CR-V, which will be almost 8 years old when my son turns 16... But, I don't think I want him to have anything that might have a higher propensity to roll over in an accident..
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55k miles and only $650??
what's wrong with it?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
The car runs fine and drove itself up on to the trailer. Its got leather, sunroof (was off track, but is fixed now), infinity system. Really nice car, just needs some minor work.
It was one of those.......right place, right time, and we had the trailer to get it deals.
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LOL, yeah, I hear ya. It was almost driveable, it will be on Saturday. For the price I wasn't worried about it, it runs great and did get itself up on the trailer.
Come to think of it, we've trailered home a few purchases, only regretted one.
It helps that I have a little brother who works at a junkyard and can fix anything......otherwise I wouldn't tackle projects like this one.
Not simply that if you're going to have a fatal crash anyway, that the more people you have on board, the more will die.
Basically, it's the fact of having the 3 or more people aboard in the first place that leads to the fatal accident.
You are probably right in your interpretation of the statement, Andre.
But I was just making a tongue-in-cheek comment about the statement. People always accuse me of looking at things in face-value and not really understanding the gist of what's mentioned.
And I know that makes me sound old but this next statement will date me the other way. This is a long story but it does pertain to teenage driving.
My High school car was a 1990 Jeep Cherokee, full time 4wd System and the 4.0 inline six. I wrecked that car twice the first time I was still in High school and it was repaired but the damage was in the 8,500 dollar range. When I wrecked the car it was not actually mine yet but was still my dad's. The deal always was that when I had the money I would buy the car from him at fair market value.
After it got wrecked I paid the deductible and then I tried to negotiate diminished value with my dad since the car was wrecked now and not worth as much. :P
Yeah my Dad did not fall for that at all but I figured it was a valid negotiation tactic.
I drove that jeep through the rest of High school and half of college before I wrecked it the second time.
This wreck was much more severe. I hit my head so hard that I don't really remember why I ran off the road but I managed to piece together all of the other information from the accident aftermath.
I ran off the road doing between 55-60 mph went into a ditch that was full of wet grass so no chance to stop. The police officers said that it looked like I locked up the brakes for a while then manually pumped the brakes several times probably slowing the car down to 40-45 mph. At that point I hit a mail box and then, while still in the bottom of the ditch, I hit the side of the driveway.
The side of the driveway basically acted like a ramp and since I was trying to climb out of the ditch at the time I hit it at a slight angle.
Hitting a ramp at that angle at that speed caused my jeep to rocket into the air and roll upside down. I slammed into a stand of trees at about 40 mph, upside down and eight feet into the air. The cops measured the mark where my bumper gouged a hole in the first tree that I hit and it was about eight feet above the base of the tree. I ripped that tree up out of the ground by the roots and was spun into two more bouncing off of them until I landed upside down in the wet ground. The skit marks show that I slid about fifteen feet on the roof after landing.
I walked away from that crash with just bumps, bruises and a pretty big cut on my head where I hit the roof. I unbuckled myself fell out of the chair and crawled out the back cargo area where the force of the wreck had popped the rear window out of its frame. The front windshield broke but the safety glass kept it all out of the cabin. I had the front two windows rolled down so those did not break when the roof was crushed about two inches.
The amazing thing was that none of the back windows were broken. The roof was only crushed a little bit in the front so none of th back windows broke. I actually still have the window from the lift gate of that car. I kept it as a reminder and there is not a scratch on it.
My opinion get a mid 90's jeep cherokee with the full time 4wd option, ABS and air bags. ABS might have let me steer out of that ditch but I am not sure. Based on the marks I left in the dirt I did not try to steer out of the ditch till I saw what I was going to hit and figured out what would happen if I did it. I guess that when I first got into the ditch I tried to slow down so I could climb back out without flipping the jeep when I crested the top of the ditch. Once I saw the driveway approaching I stopped trying to slow down and just tried to steer out of the ditch but I did not make it.
In retrospect I probably hit the best part of the ditch. If I had hit the very base of it I would have slammed into a concrete pipe that would not have had the give of the trees I uprooted. If I had steered a little bit more out of the ditch I would have probably gotten a little air on the drivers side. That would have probably caused me to roll the jeep across the highway and possibly across the very narrow center divider into oncoming traffic.