On the fence - first vehicle for a teenager

[Doctors Do Little]

Yes Im aware that they could carry kids in the bed.

Meh...it's Texas. There's laws, and then there's "suggestions" shrouded in some mysterious common sense? It's tricky.

 

[Trace26]

As an example my daughter hit a curb in a parking lot (she assures me she wasnt going fast) with the bolt and caused 2300 in damage. Detached the wheel from the axle and other damage.

In her defense, I will say that the bolts are kinda known for that. The front suspension is value engineered and the bolt is pretty heavy. Force in an unideal direction will do as described.

 

[Driven5]

Yes Im aware that they could carry kids in the bed.

They could do a lot more in the bed than 'carry kids'.

No chance of more than one passenger? No grandkid practice? Sounds like nobody else here had a Miata in college.

 

[AZFox]

Heh

 

[LevelHeaded]

Slate will be just fine as a first vehicle. It's targeting good safety specs, has a reasonable speed limiter, will be reliable and probably durable to door dings etc.

I think we'll see a lot of them in high school parking lots.

 

[sodamo]

They could do a lot more in the bed than 'carry kids'.

No chance of more than one passenger? No grandkid practice? Sounds like nobody else here had a Miata in college.

After a thorough review of the cars and trucks in my life, my MGB would be able to tell the best stories.

 

[FL4XE]

Riding Motorcycles is a big teacher in driver awareness and defensive riding and driving.

Around here the old drivers run into stopped school buses with their stop sign and flashing lights. He wouldn’t stand a chance and that is coming from someone that’s had motorcycles in this area for a while.

bought my daughter a 2 year old 2023 bolt euv for 15K. Amazing deal for a practically new car. She loves it and I love it too. She is 18 and off to college in the fall and Ill be driving her bolt instead of my tundra until I can buy a slate. In a year they will probably be closer to 10K.

I think it’s my area. The only Bolts around here in that price range have over 100k miles and accident or two and are 2017 or 2018.

 

[FL4XE]

Every morning during my busy commute, I see Teslas flying by with the drivers looking away from the road ahead. It is a new way of driving. I am thankful that technology is helping these drivers stay in their lanes. 😅

Had one today pull behind me while I was waiting on a lady to load her baby and all the stuff into her car so I could grab her parking spot. The driver didn’t know how to make the Tesla to go around me. 🤦‍♂️

 

[Johnologue]

Had one today pull behind me while I was waiting on a lady to load her baby and all the stuff into her car so I could grab her parking spot. The driver didn’t know how to make the Tesla to go around me. 🤦‍♂️

If only there were some sort of interface that allowed a driver to directly control a car using only their mind and intuitive muscle movements...with some kind of circle-like shape that's in easy reach of the driver...of course! The answer was right in front of them all along!

...they need to ask Grok to tell Musk he should create a Neuralink smart ring for controlling Tesla-brand vehicles!

 

[ValkorTheOptimistic]

Question 1: Does your son appreciate or love cars for their own sake? If so, sure, go nuts. Get him something he'll treasure as his first car forever.

If he doesn't care, doesn't get it yet, or just sees it as an appliance, just get him an old used ICE car that's been reasonably well taken care of. The comments about safety are a little weird. Seriously, once you have airbags and a decent crumple zone, you're doing ok, and that's been 20 years. We're not talking about a Corvair here.

If you're really worried about distractions, get him a manual transmission. That'll give him something to do with his hands around town.


Don't give him something he'll regret not loving and taking care of later.

 

[Trace26]

The comments about safety are a little weird. Seriously, once you have airbags and a decent crumple zone, you're doing ok, and that's been 20 years. We're not talking about a Corvair here.

Doesn't hurt to just look up the crash testing on any older car before buying it. If the rating is good enough for your risk tolerance then you're good.

 

[Jeffrey]

As the title states I am on the fence with getting the slate. We know we want an electric vehicle as a first car for our teen (much less maintenance, no missed oil changes, driving without oil and blowing up the engine, and all the other mechanical things that go along with ICE). We really like the customizations and DIY aspect of the Slate. However we keep getting feedback that he may be better off with a vehicle that has a screen and power windows to lessen picking up the phone and distractions. Looking at what is out there in this price range leads us to the Bolt or the Leaf (but nearby the cheapest is $37K). So at this point our deadline to put the extra $250 to keep our delivery date (which works perfectly) is coming up but we are still debating the Bolt vs Slate. Anyone in a similar situation and any thoughts? The Slate is a two seater so that would also prevent a whole bunch of teens in the car causing distractions but may limit car pooling.

I think it would be a great first car. Easy to maneuver, low horsepower, no screen. My boys started out in full size pickups. When I bought a ford focus they loved it.

 

[AC Slater]

I’m gonna say an electric vehicle is not good for a teen driver. Teens havent learned responsibility on that level yet. Seems like they more likely to have the battery die because they weren’t paying attention to that

 

[sodamo]

I’m gonna say an electric vehicle is not good for a teen driver. Teens have learned responsibility on that level yet. Seems like they more likely to have the battery die because they weren’t paying attention to that

Sounds like a great learning experience as long as it’s not all on the parent.

 

[im_a_dirty_dirty_slate]

The slate pickup is the perfect teen vehicle.
2 seats. Can't have a party in the car.
Pickup bad. Can have a party in the back on date night.
Gets all their crap to college.
When they get older, they need more seats for their kids. Buy the add on with seats. They don't get the truck in college? You get the truck and don't need to haul a kid around in the back anymore.
I'm getting the blank slate. No body kit. If at some point I want to try camping, I'll get a shell of some kind and a truck bed tent with the rear window out and a hard shell. AC on all night, baby.

My boy got my Scion FRS and he crashed it into a deer. Sports cars are bad for kids.