I need a vehicle to share with my 16-year-old son... here are the options I'm looking at, what do you suggest? I live a couple hours from Clarksville in Southern Indiana.
2011 Ford Ranger XL, V6, manual transmission, 4x4 107,000 miles. $18,000
2022 Toyota Tacoma SR5, V6, automatic transmission, 4x4, 0 miles, $36,000
2013 Honda Civic LX, I-4, manual transmission, front-wheel drive, 170,000 miles $6,000
2005 Chevrolet Suburban C1500, 5.3L V8, automatic transmission, rear-wheel drive (I currently own this vehicle but the motor doesn't run, I'd need to have it rebuilt or replaced, and I'm guessing the transmission won't be too far behind). I'm guessing around $3,500-7,000 to fix the motor, depending on direction. 220,000 miles.
Or, insert suggestion here...
Thank you!
I'd get the Honda Civic, It's inexpensive, It got good safety (euroncap report, IIHS report) and it only has 140 horsepower with a 0-60 of 9.3 seconds - so it's safe, quick enough but not fast - this lowers the chance of him getting into serious trouble by a lot.
The older Ford Ranger isn't too crashworthy, and it doesn't handle that great (Young drivers tend to miscalculate their speed in turns from what I've been seeing) - I think that this might end up being an issue. and as far as buying a new car for a teen - I don't think it's a great idea, So many people end up crashing their first cars or beating them up severely...
Also rebuilding engines tends to be a bit of a gamble, I'd try to get a used engine instead (also a bit of a gamble but usually you can get them for relatively cheap)
Get something cheap and strong because your 16 year old will probably drive the p*ss out of it when he's alone.
I’d scratch the Tacoma off that list because there is no way in hell I’d let a 16 year old drive my brand new vehicle. The Civic and the Ranger sound like the best overall options. Civic being the first since 2013 was one of the best years for the civic, plus with a manual transmission, that’s even better.While the Tacoma might last the longest, that’s too much money to put in a 16 year old’s hands. I’m 23 and I’ve been driving for 5 years and my mom won’t let me anywhere near the keys to her new F-150
Great answers, thanks!
The Ranger is at a dealer, the Civic is private owned.
Agreed on not going with the Tacoma.
I suspect the rear main seal went out on the Suburban and now it just runs real rough. Another option might be to put in a Jasper engine or something? But that's more than the vehicle itself is worth, so it's tough to pull through.
Are the Ford Ranger and Honda Civic at a dealer? What happened to the motor on your Suburban and when did you notice it going bad?
I wouldn't go for the Tacoma because even though it's new- the current market for new cars (especially with the chip shortage) is higher than ever.
If I had to chose, I would go with the Ford Ranger. The price of that is a little high so try to lower the price to $15k.
