RPetty2

heyy im 16 with an s4 and well its at the shop so i cant say much but what i will say is yes he should respect the power in that car, however getting him a starter car is not any better. god for bid something ever happens to any of us in a 928, wed be much safer then a beat up little thing because how strong the car is made, i say go for it and have a good couple years of bonding time with him! my father and i did that and im really glad we did because i learned alot and became closer with him, go for it!

wmasmb430

You can speed and drive recklessly in any car and do tons of damage to yourself or anyone else on the road in any vehicle. But its up to the driver or your 16 year old son in this case to be responsible about it. As long as he understands what is an appropriate way to drive and knows that going to far can result in life changing consequences I dont see why not. It doesn't matter what car you drive as long as you are responsible and understand that driving is a privilege and driving recklessly in any vehicle can result in big issues. When I was 16 I had enough money to buy my own first car and I ended up purchasing a mercedes clk430. My father let my buy it because he trusted me and believed I was responsible enough to understand what is right and wrong. It wouldn't have mattered what type of car I bought though because of the fact that my parents raised me and knew what type of kid I was they had trust in me to make the proper responsible choices on my own. You know your son better than anyone so if you trust him and know that he has a good responsible head on his shoulders and knows there is a time and place for everything I dont see why you wouldn't let him enjoy an awesome car that actually means something to him.
I am now 21 and own my own 996 turbo but when I was 17,18,and 19 my dad always had a special car anything from an E55,M5, 993 turbo, or 997 gt3 and I drove them all because he trusted me. When he would let me drive these car it made realize that he did have alot of trust in me and now it was up to me to keep that trust. The last thing I would have ever wanted to happen was for him to loose that trust that he had in me. For me that feeling of trust was to important to take for granted and knowing that I was aloud to take these cars for rides by myself or with my friends was something i didnt want to loose.

Don Carter

I'm facing this soon with my daughter who is 16 now but doesn't have her license yet, and my son in a few years. My daughter doesn't care much what she gets to drive but of course is interested in the red 89, but she knows it's not likely she'll be driving it much. My son REALLY wants a 928 but understands it's really not a good first car. I'm thinking mid 90's BMW's 3 series...affordable, safe, good gas milleage, reasonably reliable, sporty, nice looking and familiar for me to work on.

I took my daughter to a class called Teen Survival Driving Academy on Sunday at Texas World Speedway. There was about 30 minutes of classroom followed by about 3 hours on a closed part of the track. The class size was 3, and one of the 3 was her best friend. She got to do slalom, slalum with drunk glasses on, slalum while texting, panic stop making ABS kick in, emergency lane change and going off and back on the road, all at 30, 40 and 50 mph. I think it gave her more confidence and showed her what the car feels like in extreme situations. We did the class in in the car she has driven the most, our 09 Altima 2.5 and at the end, the dad's got to use the course. My daughter was shocked as we flew through the cones in the Altima, and I was shocked how good it handled with it's new 18" high performance tires. Fun time and definately worth it.

rgs944

I learned the sad news this evening of a former friends stepdaughter dying in a crash this past weekend at 2 am on Sun. She was 19 and was not driving. My thought is that it can happen to anyone at anytime when you get irrisponsible people driving any car. I have no details yet but my best guess is that it was just a normal slow car with a stupid driver. Point is that I still believe the driver makes the difference, not the car. When I find out more about the type of car it was and other details I will post again.

Alan

I certainly do agree its all about the driver...

The one who is still a teenage new driver.

They still will do totally irrational things they can't even explain to you - and - this is virtually all of them... really... (I was one - so were you...)

If there are rare exceptions to this then they are certainly outnumbered heavily by the self delusional ones who just claim this is true... And parents - the teenager you see at home is not the one their friends see (you know this really - right?).

Yes its certainly all about the driver, so modulating the car is just means of providing some control - wether its access, safety features, limited peformance, size, ugliness, vested interest in the car, monitoring systems, rules, agreements or whatever - just a tool in your arsenal to keep them safe.

Getting too cerebral about how to keep them safe doesn't really mesh with the teenage mentality very well - it works well when they are being rational which is most of the time - BUT there are still the other times... and you won't be there!

Alan

To me letting my teenage boys drive my GTS would be just giving them a suicide machine... (I'm not entirely sure I trust me in it...). They can drive a Porsche when they can buy their own - and to help them I'll put them through college - that will buy me & them some time & experience...

rgs944

There are a lot of different opinions here and some very good points made. I might suggest to the OP a compromise. What about helping him build a track car that he can drive. He would learn the valuable lesson of building something and you would be able to supervise when he puts it in motion.

jej3

All great ideas! I'm glad I'm thinking about this now rather than when he was 15 or I might rush my decision. Thanks everyone for your opinion and great points!

rgs944

Update on the accident I mentioned. It was a Mitsubishi eclipse. Driver was drunk and tried to pass a car on a 4 lane at a very high rate of speed. 4 people in the vehicle. One dead, two badly injured and the 21 year old punk that was driving walks away. Well he walked to the police car anyway and hopefully is gone for a long time.

curt_928

I don't know the OP teenager.. but speaking from my experience I had a 77 924 with 90hp (maybe 95) as my first car. It was a perfect first car. Not too much power, but handled fantastic, braked well. Dented it only one on the front clip.
Took drivers ed, was a "good driver". Then I got an 86 RX7, about 150hp. Was a good driver until that one night when I totalled it. Too fast in the twisties and then flipped and totalled it. Didn't drive for 6-8 months after that.

Got back into a 80 924 and then my 79 928. Afterward respected the abilites of the car. Even still did some stupid things with the 928.. You're a great driver until that one moment that you're not... Most Accords have over 200 HP today, it's not the car it's the driver.
_______________
79 928 5sp silver/blk
02 Boxster 5sp blk/blk/blk
99 360 Modena gated red/blk

terry gt

NO , bought my 16 year old a 4 banger volvo . very carfull / conservative driver . Asked me 2 weeks later ,what was wrong with his car . The owners manual said the top speed was 107 mph and he could only get 103 mph . I would have loved to give him a 928 . So who are you planing on looking after ?

Adamant1971

When I was young I could have driven anything and would have gotten more tickets if I had a faster car then I did. But back in the mid 80's, if you sped you got a ticket, no big deal. But now if you speed excessively they take your car, your license and your insurance sky rockets for years.

I would be more concerned about the possible insurance costs and damage to their driving records from a 928.

Any one can kill themselves in any car, but one that goes faster easier is a recipe for trouble from the law. And likely it will be friends that will get in and ask, how fast does it go! **** I'm 40 and still tend to show off a bit when I have a passenger.

Something like a late model 318, safe, reliable but not overly fast.

IcemanG17

Ricky is blessed with very tolerant parents.....

I would NEVER-EVER put a new driver in a 928 S4..... IF & its a big IF I thought they were responsible enough for it, they would start with an automatic L jet...80-82...pretty much the slowest 928 around....I would say on par with most 4 cylinder honda accords nowdays....but still way to fast for most teenagers...

I know how I was as a youth....NOT GOOD....I conned my single mother into buying my a "poor mans 944 turbo" at 16.....an 88 Chrysler Conquest Tsi....188hp-234 torque in a 3000lb 5 speed rear wheel drive car...I am lucky to be alive....the "stunts" I pulled in that car were legendary.....fractions of an inch or seconds the WRONG way and I would have killed myself and my friends....

Imagining me behind the wheel of an S4 at 16......scary...very scary....

Speaking as a "car" guy.....my answer is NO

Speaking as a Cop who see's 1st hand what happens to kids in over the head and having to tell their parents to "meet me at the morgue" is something I never hope to do again.....

928 obsession

My father and I restored my '82 starting when I was 13. I'm now 19 and I've been driving since I was 16,no problems so far. Restoring the car made me really respect it much more than just having it handed to me and also created many priceless memories. I don't know about an S4, but I think a 16v would be sufficient. Also, do what my father did, let him race the car at the local track so he can see what it can do in a safe environment.

AO

My plan is very similar to the OP's. My son will soon be 13. I've been thinking that starting next year we would build a track car together out of a 928. Then get him some seat time in it at DE's and AutoX's. This way he will hopefully learn something useful and learn how to fix something rather than just starting at it and saying, "Dad... it's broken!"

The other aspect will be that it will hopefully provide an environment for him to learn how to drive and get the crazy crap out of his system on the track rather than doing it on the streets like I did. Will it work? I dunno, but the bonding experience it may create is worth the endeavor.

docmirror

I certainly respect your expertise on 928s in general and electrical stuff, but I think you're way off base here, and maybe your family is like that, but not all families are that way.

My kids are very similar when away, as when they are around me. I know because I've had discussions with their friends, some enemies, teachers, coaches, etc. If we do our jobs as parents well, the kids will generally turn out well barring some kind of interference. I know, it's not all nurture, but in my philosophy it's mostly about nurture. If it was all related to nature, and our course was fixed no matter what, why even be a parent? Just pop them out, and let them go like turtles.

In my kids senior HS year we had three deaths in our town from car crashes. Two boys in a truck(natch), and one girl in a Honda something. There were others with injuries as well. My son was a pax in a car that was in an accident and they were in a Buick of all things.

You don't want to put your kids in a 928 that's fine, and I can understand that. But to limit the rest of us to that same limitation based on your situation isn't fair. Some kids can handle it at 16, most can't. It depends. Maybe his kids are ready, we will never know. But I can tell you, it's just as easy to die at 100MPH in a SUV or truck as it is in a 928(with airbags). If my GT didn't have airbags, I prolly wouldn't have done it. Not due to the driver, but due to the limits of the car.