Veon Ake

If your 17 year old son enjoyed driving very much and had shown that he can handle a car in complex driving (i.e. fast mountain roads/switchbacks), has been to autocrosses and wants to participate.... would u let him have a porsche?

DJ

Yes. A 914-4, and get him lots of instruction, and lots of autocross time.

Kaz

Yeah, I would. It's a lot safer than a 5.0 Mustang which is what most of me and my friends had at that age and with less driving experience.

Tabor

I got my 1987 944 NA when I was 16, my parents helped me pay for it. But I have been paying for upkeep. I am 18 now.

Joe R

As a matter of fact I just returned home with a 914 2.0 which has lots of extra parts like 914-6 struts brakes etc. My buddy thought I was nuts. But I asked if a VW Bug would be OK. Yeah of course he said. Well This car has better brakes handles better and ain't all that fast. I bet I can put a throttle stop in it too!. But My boy is only 15 and still has a while to drive it. I think I have taught him well enough that racing on streets is bad.

icat

This morning I laughed as I saw a kid in a Saturn - with coffee can muffler - take off from a light. He spun the sneakers and hit second for a small chirp. The point? It probably doesn't matter what you buy him, he'll test its limits anyway.

My first car was a 66 Dodge Polara - I hated that car! I did everthing I could to tear it up. Damn thing was built like a tank.

My second car was a 68 Plymouth Barracuda - which I bought and paid for myself. I loved that car, but hid the fact that I drag raced at the track from my dad. I thought he wouldn't approve. I lost a great deal of quality time with my dad because I was afraid he would stop me. As it turned out, he would have loved to be involved.

Moral of this long winded post, get him the Porsche, MAKE HIM PAY THE INSUSRANCE! And go with him to the track - it'll be the most fun the two of you will ever have.

Veon Ake

Well now that I have gotten a few replies, I will tell you that I am the 17 year old trying to convince his mom to let him have a porsche. She thinks that porsches are unsafe cars. If she had her way I would have a volvo. YOU CANT RACE A VOLVO. I mean you could i guess but who would want to? I have always loved porsches. My favorite was the 951 before I knew about the 928's (i had never seen one before). I love the styling and value of a 928. My mom doesnt understand why I like driving so much or how a sports car could possibly be safe. Want to know her name for cars? "wingless flies" I am pretty sure my dad is ok with me getting a porsche. I just have yet to convince my mom of it. So now my question is... how do I convince such a stubborn parent that a porsche is a safe car and to let me get one?

Jay Wellwood

Keith-

Time is valuable...enjoy what you can...

That being said - your folks did you a great service with the Insurance part....not something commonly found.

You seem to have a GREAT set of parents.

just MHO....

Kaz

Veon, find a 928 that has it's interior mostly unassembled and show them the factory roll cage in that badboy.

Veon Ake

I have told her many times that a porsche can be a lot safer than many other cars, especially in rollovers and the like. They have airbags, they have rollcages (not to many cars with stock rollcages), and are less likely to get in an accident in the first place because you can literally manuever out of one because of its superior handling to something like a volvo. Any other arguments you think I can present to her? One of the arguments she has given me is "16 and 17 year olds dont get porsches". That isnt an argument to me really, just because other people do not have the chance does not mean I should be deprived of it. I wish everyone had the chance but they dont and thats life. Its not like young race car driving or sports car driving is a new thing. Hell there have been nascar drivers (eww nascar :P) as old as me.

Adrian

Dear Veon,
I gave my 18 year old daughter a NA 944. I certainly would not have given her a 928 or a 951.
Maybe you could convince mum if you started in something with 160HP rather than 300HP.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

Ketchmi

Here in Salt Lake City we recently had a very sad day. Two teens were racing after school, one in his parents Porsche, both lost control and the Porsche hit 4 young boys. One of the boys died as a result. I believe that he didn't try to have the accident, but also didn't have the driving skills necessary to be driving such a car in such a manner. His life as well as the youth that died are now ruined. Could you live with that? The driver was 17 years old. It's more than paying for insurance, it's the responsibility that is required piloting a vehicle that can go so fast in such a short distance. If you don't know how to handle it, you shouldn't be in that position. I have 2 sons, 15 & 16. They think that my 928 is the greatest and want to drive it. Not until they go through a racing school and learn how to handle a car that is faster than almost anything on the road. I agree that the safety aspect does matter, but a 17 year old with a minimum of high performance driving experience does not need to be in a 928. Start with a 914 or 924 until you learn how to handle a sports car, then move up as your skill level increases. Do you think that the 17 year old driver in Nascar just jumped right into a car and took off? JMHO, Dave

John Krawczyk

I have a Volvo 740 GLE wagon and i have a Porsche 928.

If i were to be in a accident, from a percieved safety standpoint, I would much rather be in the Porsche than the Volvo. And our 740 wagon is a tank. Try as she might, my wife cannot kill this car. Anybody who owns one knows what i mean! But the solid construction of the 928 inspires more confidence. Im a firm believer in active and passive safety. The 928's got both bases covered. The 928's power on demand gets me out of trouble before i can get into it much better than the Volvo. The Porsche is also better at handling sudden avoidance manuevers and recovers better from same.

A sharp knife is a safer tool than a dull one.

The only thing that keeps me from daily driving my 928 is the rarity of the car and my ability to replace it without losing my shirt. I can get Volvos pretty cheap.

That being said...

I dont disagree with your Mother about the Volvo. After all, she is looking out for your best interests. By the same token, I dont agree with her that all Porsches are dangerous. The only thing dangerous about a Porshce is its driver. And as far as that goes, Ive seen grown men drive them just as badly as any teenager is a honda civic. Just not as often. Testostrone seems to have an uncanny abilty to cut off all rational thought. Teenage boys have testosterone in spades.

Heres some food for though.

Sex in a 928 is not nearly as comfortably as a Volvo 740 Turbo wagon with the rear seats folded down.

A definte case of YMMV

My first car - a '74 Plymouth Duster had fold down rear seats and a drop panel between the trunk and the passenger compartment.


John

Tabor

A 944 NA is slower than a new Dodge Neon. Try that fact. They are also less expensive.

Veon Ake

haha john. I am very sorry for those boys in salt lake. I am not a reckless driver, if I ever did any sorta of street racing (which i dont think I would) there wouldnt be anyone around and I wouldnt let my friends be in the car. I dont want to risk anyone elses life nor mine. The thing with the volvo or similar cars is she thinks I should race those, she knows I love to drive and believe me if taking racing school is the prerequisite I'm all for it. Actually I would enjoy racing school, so no problem there. I'll try suggesting that to her. After reading that the prices I have been seeing for 928's are gonna get me a car that needs a fair amount of work I think a 944 would be a better choice also. I really want the 951, but I would be satisfied with a nonturbo. I like the 1984.5 and later models the best since a lot was done in improvements then. To Ketchmi I was just giving nascar as an example, I was not saying at all that those teens didnt have a lot of previous experience in lesser cars. Please don't discourage me from getting a porsche, cause it is like a dream for me to have one. All I want is some advice on getting my mom to realize that it isnt irrational to get me a porsche. Thanks for the help so far.