jim morehouse

Veon,you won't like this...listen to your mother. Unless you are a truly exceptional young man you just don't have the maturity, and more importantly, the experience to drive a high performance car. Now maybe you are the exception to the rule and if you are, great. I'm going on my own experiences driving as a teen and raising two teenage sons. Now that they're adults they'll admit that they too did not have an appropriate sense of their own mortality nor the judgement/experience refrain from "pushing the envelope"..particularly after a fight w their girl friend dujour or a few beers. Be grateful for the Volvo, learn to drive it, and when you're 'emanicipated', buy whatever you like....you've got lots of time.

Jim

Richard S

When I was 17 my dad bought a 1979 924. I thought it was the coolest ride around. So did my friends at school. Looked good at the time, handled great, but was slowwww. Compact trucks could beat me at the stoplight drags. So I didn't race. Just drove and enjoyed it. Never felt pressure to prove anything. I actually enjoyed driving it on a deserted twisty road over driving around town.
When I was 21 I bought my first car...1979 928. Looked great, handled great, and was fast!!! Insurance was sky high, but I had my dream car. I think the experience of growing up with the 924 and graduating to the 928 proved beneficial. I still enjoyed the driving experience without the need to prove anything or race others.
The point I'm making is to be realistic. I know you must lust after the prestige, HP, looks, quality, etc. embodied by the 928. But at your young age it may get you into tons of trouble. Go with a less powerful Porsche for now, and don't do anything STUPID on the street. Keep the racing for the track (PCA, autocross, etc). My recommendations: 1987-88 924S, 1986 and up NA 944. Learn to do your own maintenace, it saves you TONS of $$$$ and gives you more respect for the car. Keep the 928 as a post-college goal, you'll need a good job to support it.

Richard
79 928 A/T
80 928 5 spd

Tom

I advocate an early 924. Porsche looks Porsche handling No power. Let them learn to drive a low powered great handling car well and quickly and they will be ready to drive a high powered great handling car really well and quick.

Veon Ake

Well I will admit that it is possible that I am not mature enough for a powerful car. I would at least like to think that I am though. I have driven more powerful cars than a volvo. In fact our family had a volvo. My current car has 220HP and my dad has a 2000 passat 4motion which we take up to the mountains. I have also driven my friend's dad's 1991 porsche 911 c4. I would say that that is a lot of power. He has even offered to take me to autocrosses and some of his buddies own many porsches and race them at autocrosses. Another point you went over Jim was alchohol. Well i dont drink and am very against it. I dont do drugs either. I dont want the power to show it off or the porsche name just to gloat. I know people will say "look at that rich kid" and btw im not rich at all. But really I just love to drive (yeah im 17 and i know how i cant know that i like doing somethign so much and whatnot but right now its the only thing i cant get enough of). I dunno guys, with the recent attacks I am not going to bring the subject up with my parents for a while. Any decisions probably wont happen until december...

Tabor

I think if you get a 944 NA it will not get you into any more troble than the next car. Seriously, it has the same top speed as a dodge neon. And the neon is faster in the 1/4 mile. I got mine when I was 16 and I am now 18, I have not wreched it. Though I did wrech a honda once, but it was kindof a freak accident. I was driving on dry pavement on a sunny day, when I came around a corner into a pool of water (about 1/2"), I hydroplaned into a curb. The water was from a maulfunctioning sprinkler system.

Kaz

I sympathize with you Veon, but Mom's are tough to convince most times. If you're her only son it'll be even tougher. Perhaps you can convince her in more subtle ways by including her in some of the legal auto racing activities that you participate in.
As for Volvo's I like John's post and it's true. I took my Volvo 740 Turbo up to 160,000 miles and it was solid. Then I read about Ross Converse and Ken King up in Maine, they were doing 5.0L V8 conversions and later LT1 conversions into the 740 and 240. With the V8 I drove the car another 100 or so thousand miles before finally cracking the bell housing due to a heavy clutch. Anyway, that's when I stepped to the 928 myself but boy that V8 Volvo was fun.
There are a lot of mods for even the stock 4 cyl turbo engine to bring that car up to 300hp so if your mom absolutely insists on you racing Volvo's visit www.brickboard.com and learn how to pump that puppy up.

John Struthers

Ake, me lad,
What all of these posts haven't covered is the FACT that immaturity behind the wheel, apparently any wheel, doesn't have a specific cut off age.
1. I just turned 51 the other day.
2. I lusted after a 928 since my first tour of duty in the Army, not far from 928 Mecca, Zuffenhausen - Stuttgart FRG - . Early 80's.
3. I, finally, bought Pattycakes, named after MY MOM, in May after a very expensive, often dissappointing, search for a 86 1/2.
I wound up with a 82' auto., Weissach, 4.7L.
My sHARk is a beautiful, sleek, eyecatcher.
While the 4.7 is quick and powerful it is no way competitive on the street or track with later model SHARKS. Having said that I regularly, trounce Mustangs, Camaro's, Pontiac's, and HiPo pickups by being alert, staying on the cam and paying attention to traffic. NONE of my 'Races'last more than a minute and seldom more than 20-35 seconds.
4. My biggest problem is from people in the mid 20 to mid 40 age bracket. They tend to slowly gain on me, check Pattycakes out - that's cool - then pull ahead, whip back in front of me in less than a car length and promptly slow down tossing road grit all over my hood and windshield - not cool-. When I, in turn, pull out to pass something clicks in their heads and suddenly I am in a race with mom or dad driving a - pick one - mini-van, 4 cly. Olds, Suburban, SUV, Crown Vic, you name it! With miles of empty 4 lane, in an effort to keep me in my place,
I simply keep them in their lane and drive them behind a 18 wheeler, because, quite simply they have lost it. And I do this at speeds below 75mph.
The point here is that while teens tend to spin the wheels - stoplight racing - , and weave through traffic in a jerky manner, while making engine noise long after they SHOULD have shifted, they are easy to spot!
Have your Mom really look at traffic and identify the truly lame drivers. If she is impartial she is going to have the suprise of her life. And don't forget the Geezers - I'm heading there!-. I'm not saying Teens are better drivers. I am saying "I can't just cruise at the posted speed without some jerk in HER age group passing me/cutting me off/slowing down then being outraged that I would attempt to pass them back." I don't count them but there seems to be no discernable, numerical, difference between JERKS of either the male or female gender.
For those who would say, I have a problem and should JUST slow down or let some jerk
sand blast my car/endanger my life. Shove it! I've been a Biker since 1965. I've been run over at intersections, on 4 lane interstate highways at posted speed on sunny days on a bright red bike with the headlight on while wearing a safety vest. Run off of two lane roads just for Grins. Hit while stopped at red lights, T-boned by people turning left in front of me, T-boned by people in the right lane next to me turning left from a stop. I stopped being in accidents when I discovered that aggresive driving coupled with TOTAL awareness is the safest form of driving for ME.
Now as to your age /experience and gotta have it urge for a 928/951. Face it! You WILL speed/race/act like a teen - hey, it's what you are, we have all been there -. If you are involved in an accident wether or not you are at fault more than likely YOU will be cited. Life can be creul and unfair.
Here are your options.
1. Have Mom really look at who the driving jerks are out there. If she is impartial you have a arguing point for the Porsche. I would still recommend the 4.5L/4.7L series 928 -initial/insurance cost also being a factor.
2.If she is adamant in her refusal there is the late model Olds, Aurora, Pontiac Grand Prix's, Lexus 400 series, even -Gross- a Cadillac.
Are they a Porsche? NOPE! Are all of them good-looking, comfortable, fast, safe, fairly good handling, 245HP+, babe magnets?
BET THE FARM! Parts are plentiful, on-hand, and you won't feel like you just had a day of unwanted Prison Sex when you pay for shop work! Parents have the power and the check book while teens will always be second class citizens. Go for the best deal you can
and good luck - been there!
Keep em' rolling.
John S. 82' Auto., 'Pattycakes'

John Krawczyk

Kaz -

Please email me a phone number or a URL.
This sounds good. Whats the cost roughly?
Did you upgrade the brakes and suspension too?

John

928 Brothers

I got my first 928 at 16 years old. It's the safest porsche . 944 and 911 NOT SAFE!

Hai

So many good opinions and only one decision to make. When I was growing up, the only thing I wanted to do was drive my Dad's '73 Z28. He bought it brand new and really loved that car. Very fast!!! I was a safe driver who was always careful. When I finally got to drive that car I took it out away from the house and punched it. Nothing bad happened, but when confronted with the power I couldn't wait to try it out.
The moral of the story, no matter how safe a driver you are, power is power and it's hard not to use it. The 928 is a great, safe car, but the 944 might me a better choice at this point. Plus, the 928 can be very expensive to fix. Either way, it should definately be a Porsche. Like Tom Cruise said in Risky Business. "There is no substitute."

Nicole

My first ever ride in a 911 was in Germany in the early 80ies. A 19-year old buddy had just moved up from a 924 to a beautiful 911SC, and took me along a long sloping 2-lane highway, when - coming out of a cuve - we saw a big truck coming towards us on the other lane, and a passenger car on our lane. My friend hit the brakes, then steered into the corn field next to the road. We rolled 1 1/2 times, and survived thanks to the safety belts.

Well, we did not tell the Police we had been going 90mph, and if I think about it, there should have been enough space on the shoulder to avoid the corn field. With little over 1 year of driving experience you might not automatically have the best reaction to a critical situation.

This friend moved up to a 928S shortly after, and has owned 928s ever since. What else would he drive? He already had one of the highest end cars before the age of 20. There was not much else to aim for. Even his motivation in school/college was minimal - until he realized that he did not get all that much respect, despite his expensive car. Today, he is an engineer who can actually pay for his hobby without his Dad's wallet...

In my experience, it takes a pretty decent job to "support" a 928 - unless you just want to run it to the ground. I don't agree with your Mom on the safety part (I survived the 911 accident, and believe the 928 is much safer). But I do agree that it might be a good idea to work your way up, rather than starting high.

A non-turbo 944 or 924S would like a reasonable compromise between the Volvo and the 928. Keep the 928 for later. You still have a lot of life ahead of you! And by the way, I don't think Volvos are uncool!

Brett Matthews

You are past the point of where I started. I was fortunate enough to see my Dad buy a '56 356A Porsche, when it and I were 7 years old. I started to learn to wrench with that car's introduction to us. I am fortunate enough to be able to say I have inherited that car, and still have it. I was wrenching right alongside of my Dad, LONG before I was driving. Look around, you may find a 356 that will do for a while, especially if cool or old-and-cool is a prerequisite or like someone else has said, look for a 914, or even a 912, all of these Porsche's have 4 cylinder engines. So do 924's and 944's. I'm not saying they are all slow, but you will learn a lot in both driving, and wrenching. You may want a vehicle that doesn't break down much. I am NOT saying any of these will, it will depend on the PO's (however many of them there were) efforts at maintenance. But if your wrenching hands-on experience is lacking, stick with a honda or toyota, you can get in and turn the key and engine over almost all the time, without any worries. Good maintenance is a BIG key. If, as I seem to have read, you have people willing to help you, and they have prior experience, count your blessings! I wish I had this resource!
If your parents want you to have something dull and staid, as well as utterly boring, they may have reason. It is up to you to proove their reasoning faulty, or totally wrong.
Oh, one other thing I'll point out; you can't get much into a Porsche. Your parents may be thinking of this, for when you go to college?

BigPorscheGuy39

It seems to me, in reviewing the discussion here, that the question is being made overly complicated. The question was "Would you get the kid a Porsche" not "Which Porsche is the best in a crack up".

I'll complicate things further.

1. I'd go along with the person who said the young person should pay the insurance. That'll instill a sense of 'ownership' over the car and his own behavior.

2. As far as 'Which Porsche is best in a crack up" it seems the best answer is "The one going the slowest". My point is: One will not be overly comforted by receiving a telephone call from a hospital saying "He's here, he's cracked up your car, and we assure you the roll cage and design intricacies of the vehicle were optimum. However, he was doing 160 mph and so he's in very bad shape." Sorry if I put too fine a point on it.

3. The "safe chassis" arguments really don't matter a damn if the car has been driven to it's limits and crashed - whether Volvo or Porsche - none of these crash tests performed by Porsche, Volvo, or any other company happen at 140 mph. So stats on the 'safest' Porsche are likely quite invalid at speeds above 100 mph.

So whaddya do? Buy the slower car. That's your safer bet. A 914, 924 or 944 would be more than adequate for autocrossing.

By the way Veon, if I were you I'd let your mother buy you the Volvo and I'd just be grateful for having such a cool Mom - she sounds like an awfully generous person. And regarding safety, she is absolutely correct, and you are wrong. A Volvo IS safer given that it's not going to be used and driven the same way you use and drive a Porsche - I know it, you know it, and she knows it. And though most of our adult subscribers to this bulletin board will publicly deny that they drive their Porsche differently from their other cars, I bet a hundred Canadian loonies these same people don't go out at midnight trying to find the apex on that onramp curve in an SUV.

In sum: Don't look a gift Volvo in the mouth.