Best car for a male teen?
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Schadenfreude
All Star
everyone's already said camry, civic, corolla, accord, mazda3, crown vic, grand marquis, etc.
here's a suggestion which is just as safe/reliable and he'll love a lot more - third gen ls430, maybe even fourth gen ls460 (just don't get one with air suspension, the maintenance will ruin the value prop)
also gonna tag @Schadenfreude cause he's the only poster who actually knows shyt about cars
Aye if you're wanting something more mechanically simple to work on and you want a big sedan, the LS430 is your car. Five things you need to be aware of: Plugs are due every 120k miles. It has a timing belt, that's due anywhere from 80-100k; you should do the water pump at that time as well while you're in there; possibly the timing belt tensioner (those don't normally go bad, you still should check it and possibly replace it if you want piece of mind). Do NOT go aftermarket with any of the timing components, get Denso/Aisin stuff otherwise you're asking for trouble. Suspension stuff can be expensive, but it usually lasts quite a long while. And don't forget to change the rear differential fluid every 80k or so (I think the rear diff has been discontinued for this car from Lexus). Crutchfield makes a plug and play radio kit for this car if you want Apple Car play/Android Auto and includes the trim pieces to make it look factory. Whatever you do, do NOT get an LS430 if the car came from factory with the soft close function -- each door actuator that allows that feature to exist is like $500 per door.
If you're buying an LS460 and it's high mileage, understand that the struts do tend to leak with higher mileage ($300-400 a piece for the rear). And that the front control arm bushings will wear out and cause a ton of noise. (The front suspension on the LS460 has 3 control arms per side). If that happens, replace ALL of them with OEM, otherwise you're going to do it twice within a year. But honestly, one of the most expensive repairs to do on an LS460 is the resealing of the heat exchanger. (It will leak coolant at some point, you can see it on the back side of the transmission by looking for pink crust or a trail of pink). It sits in the valley between the two cylinder heads right below the direct injectors. When this repair is done, usually at least one of the direct injectors breaks (they're $600 a piece and there's 8 of them).
Schadenfreude
All Star
Auto trader search for cars under 10k has me surprised. Some ok stuff out there … just need a bit of cleaning up.
But I would probably say a “higher” mileage Lexus would fit the bill. As long as it has service records. Didn’t realize they depreciate so much.
But I would probably say a “higher” mileage Lexus would fit the bill. As long as it has service records. Didn’t realize they depreciate so much.
Ezekiel 25:17
Veteran
A LOT of TLR dudes don't know anything about cars.
Under $10k, safe, reliable, affordable, and “cool"???
Infiniti. Infiniti. Infiniti. Either go G35 or G37.
Under $10k, safe, reliable, affordable, and “cool"???
Infiniti. Infiniti. Infiniti. Either go G35 or G37.
Any accord 2011-2014 should work.
. Still the best car I've ever owned2013-2015
/thread
Mini van got too much room in the backkia soul
minivan
my first car was a f150 and i miss it so much
Gunz&Butta
All Star
6 cylinders for a teenage male? Stop it. Get that boy a 1.5Liter four banger.
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I’m leaning towards the civic or the Camry, I may have to bump the budget up and maybe have him pay the difference slowly but surely, I’d pay it off and he can pay $150/month once he gets a job
UpAndComing
Veteran
Honda or Toyota Camry. Those are the best first cars that are safe
Chevy Beretta
MrBillCollecta
All Star
Subaru Impreza. Looks good, not fast. With a aftermarket exhaust he be super happy and so will you. Insurance rates are cool too.