Iwanna928

I was given my MB wagon to me by one of my students dad. He gave it to his 17yr old and it wasn't fast enough or cool enough so he talked his dad into a Camaro SS, a newer one. I had a 90 Z28 convertable that I had restored and it was stolen. I was out a lot of money and pissed. He GAVE me the car because he didn't want me to miss any lessons with his son.

He bought it because he read a article where a women and her child went off a enbankment and fell 50 ft or so falling nose first hitting the ground like a head on, they both walked! I love that wagon until the rediator hose blew on the car and the HG went and it wasn't worth fixing.

After getting the wagon I bought my wife a 300td because I loved that motor and MB during that era made one hell of a car. Plus the 300 was a pretty 4door sedan in my eye's. She drove that until we had our second daughter and she was killing herself getting the little ones out of the back seat so I bought her a 4wd Grand Cherokee.

A old Benz would be cool for a first car. Reliable, safe and different. The different factor goes a long way in HS!

Stephen

TheClairvoyant

I've had my 928 since I was 17. My older brother and I bought it together. We still have it 15 years later and it's still in great shape.

I did drive it pretty fast on the highways from time to time, but was never a show off or aggressive driver. It always annoyed me the way a lot of boys my age would drive and I didn't want to do the same stupid stuff they did - Burnouts in the school parking lot, trying to get get their car up to 80 MPH on before reaching the bottom of a hill in a residential street, racing, ect....

If your son's mature enough, let him have it. As long has you get to buy a nicer one as a replacement

curt_928

My perfect first car was a 77 924. Slow but "porschey" and handled great to keep me out of the inevitable trouble that I could find. Lasted 3 years then sold it for as much as I paid for it.

Then at 19 got an 86 RX-7, that stupidly "I can corner with this car like a porsche" rolled one october 6 months after I got it... I used my 2 legs for the next 8 months and then bought am 80 924 that I restored and drove for over a decade until after college when I bought the 928.

928 for a first car.. not a wise idea in my book..

Curt
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79 928 5sp silver/blk
02 boxster 5sp blk/blk/blk

soontobered84

+1
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I believe that if he has that driving urge, he/she should know what it takes in upkeep. If he has the opportunity to learn that, he will probably have greater respect for the car and for it's capabilities.

dr bob

Much of the 'interesting car' ownership experience is bonding and an appreciation for what it is and the investment in it beyond the initial money. When your son gets in an accident in it, who will fix it? Cost of a fender be a car killer? Will the car turn into "That POS..." as soon as some little thing goes wrong? Will it really be his, or is there a lifetime tether back to dad?

Start off by asking the son what he thinks. Consider cars in the Civic/Corolla/etc class. Something cheap to operate, cheap to insure, and cheap to 'upgrade' the brakes and handling. Something with an airbag. Something likely to do less damage to others and to your son if something gets out of hand.

Accident stats for under-20 male drivers are staggering. As much as we all like to think that our kid is "above average" and "would never do that", reality is that there are accidents, and that our "above average" kids are just average teenage kid drivers at best. Do you bond with your son by ripping off-ramps at 9/10? When he does the same thing, it will be 11/10 and a mess. He learns his driving habits from those he rides with. Six hours of driver training will prepare him for a license test, but the habits are ingrained from the first time he could see over the dash.

The insurance thing is also important. I had a GF, and her little sister was graduating high school. Sister and her date wanted to borrow one of the more interesting cars from my collection for the prom. I checked with my carrier and got the upcharge number for just the weekend, with 18yo male driver. Let's just say that the limo was cheaper. Do a little rate research before the discussion on the 928 get far along. The 5yo throw-away Civic could easily cost less to own and drive than just the insurance on your baby(s).

morganabowen

I agree with Dr. Bob. Also, I have promised my 17 yr old grand daughter that she could have my 928 for her graduation if she could afford the insurance. The other nite we were discussing her up coming graduation and she told me, "thank you grandpa, but no thanks". She said that she would rather have a Nissan Xterra. Funny thing is that at first I was hurt, then I realized I was off the hook. I experienced an incredible sense of elation

polecat702

My first car was a 56 Chevy BelAir HT, that my Aunt & Uncle gave my cousin as a wedding gift. My cousin's husband never put oil in the engine and it threw a rod. All I had to do was get it out of thier garage and I got a classic for my first car. BTW, it was only 2 years old. Out came the 265 SB, and powerglide. In went a 348 E Head, and B&M 4speed Hydro, with Tri-power. Dee and I went everywhere in that car. We had it all through high school and till I graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy. It was stolen in 74 and never recovered. I've owned some really fantastic cars, and still do. But there will never be another like my 56 Chevy. I can't believe that I teared up writing this, 52 years later and I would give almost anything to heve it back. Lots of memories.
Find out what your son really wants, and if its resonable, get it for him. You will only have one first car.

Ketchmi

We sold a beautiful black/black 86.5' 5-speed to a gentleman in Park City for his 16yo son. We warned him and his son repeatedly that this was not a kids car, certainly not for a first timer. He swore that his son was responsible, would be well supervised and could handle the car...

A couple of months later we got a call to check out the car, it was totalled. He had taken it out late at night without his parents permission, hadn't had a lot to drink but was drinking and bounced it over a curb and into a parked car while "drifting" with a few friends in it. No one was injured thank god but I doubt the kid learned his lesson. He was on here for a while looking for another one.

Blame it on peer pressure, youthful decision making, whatever you want to but he was damn lucky no-one got hurt and he did trash a beautiful car.

I got a huge kick out of the relationship advise this kid was giving out in OT...he was 16! I kinda' doubt he was speaking from experience. It was very entertaining (in an ugly way) knowing that these poor souls were listening to this kid in their troubled hour and taking him for someone that actually knew something. It was all just a game to him, just like owning a nice Porsche I guess...

My sons drove POS's while learning and they trashed them even further doing stupid youthful stunts, just like I did. They now appreciate nice cars and both of them have quality performance cars which they treat well at the ripe old ages of 23 & 24.

My vote...get a land barge for the learning mobile.

cali4sun

Not a car for a 16 year old. I purchased mine from a wife who's husband had passed away. Her daughter was turning 16 and wanted the 928. The mother said to me that it's too much car for a 16 year old with no experience. I would have to agree! You also have to keep in mind peer pressure at that age. Kids want to go fast!

'89 S4 GP White/Black
'76 912E Silver/Black sunroof

M. Requin

The inertia that rules in this case is the inertia of the human body in the cabin. In a car like the 928, and even more so in today's designs, the inertia of the vehicle is absorbed in ways the designers of old large iron never thought of. What do you think a crush zone does? It reduces the inertia transferred to the human occupants in a crash, so that when you collide with the dash or whatever it is with less force.

My own personal solution to this problem 20+ years ago was to teach both sons to drive, but to make it clear that if they wanted a car they had to earn the money to buy it. The compromise, which was so well worth it I can't adequately express my feelings about it, was to say to them that they could call me anytime, from anywhere, and get a ride home (for their friends, too), no questions asked. The oldest was reluctant at first, but then it became routine. I washed puke off the sides of the car many times after that, but I was always glad it wasn't blood.

And I'm familiar with the personal responsibility side of the equation. I was given my first rifle when I was 5, and I have no problem with demanding responsibility from early on. But it must be, IMHO first taught - which implies supervision, and second learned, which is a case by case deal. Good luck!

docmirror

Ok, here's a perspective from someone who actually did it and my experiences. Not just a 928, but a 928GT was our 'extra' car when my son turned 16. It was also the only stick car we had at the time, and I wanted him to learn a stick shift. So, we started with him at 15 with a learners permit in the 928. 9 months later, he was more competent in that car than most mature drivers were in their own car.

I took him through the state sponsored parental driver class in a month or so, then after that the actual driving lessons started. The standard package teaches you how to drive when everything is going right. What's needed after that, is how to handle things that go wrong. Most new drivers don't realize just how quickly a car will stop from freeway speeds in a panic. Most also don't realize that many times, turning, or accelerating will solve more problems than stopping will. We practiced panic stops, swerves, panic acceleration. and on a wet day in a big parking lot the limits of grip and slides. I had him work with cones so that he could get out of the way of mistakes that others made. We covered sacrificing the metal to save the meatsacks inside.

Most important, we covered attitude and decision making. For example, having a high performance car, and a pax, and a phone, and night, and rain on a Sat is a recipe for pure disaster. There were things that we wouldn't let him do with the car, and situations that we forbid. No male pax AT ALL for the first year. Never answer the phone when driving, pull over and answer the phone. No text plan, no night driving for the first 6 months, perfect GPA, and no racing on the street. He would help me with the mx, and we would do things together so he understood the importance of correct tire pressure, fluids, etc.

The last thing I told him was 'son, you have the fastest car in school by far. There is no reason to prove it to anyone.' He drove it on and off for 11 months without so much as a scratch until I seized the engine and he had to drive the truck. He was not happy.

blown 87

Volvo 245, cheap, safe, disposable, slow and ugly.

shmark

Personally I lean towards a solid disposable car, and I favor Hondas for that. A Civic will allow him to have fun customizing, be nice and slow, and everything to fix it is easy at the pull-a-part. I'm not sure I could stomach him driving my car other than special occasions, and you better believe one scratch on those Fikses would put paid to it. I also really like 944s but they are a little harder to insure and fix. My wife just surprised the hell out of me with that statement, especially given how nice my car is.

Mogans

definitely not. I'd get him a 4 cylinder 5 speed something, maybe a vw golf. Fun car and he can get used to a stick.

namasgt

I would buy a late model car (Volvo, BMW,...) with air bags, he may not make a mistake, but what about others on the road that could make a mistake. just few years ago my brothers friend got his new Cobra totaled coming out of Whataburger drive threw, an old lady in a big truck T boned the front clip.
Don't buy an old American car, their junk, you can hit your head on the steering wheel on those things.