Terminator as first car...

[SPARTAAA 117]

Hey guys,

I'm new here. I'm about to be 16 and am going to get a permit soon. A few months ago my brother took me out and put me behind the wheel with a sequoia and it was easy for me to pick up. I've been focused on school so I haven't had the time or pleasure to learn more driving though.

I really want to get a Mustang as a first car, I was looking at a mustang v8 . Both my older brothers advised me against it even though they both had Mustangs as first cars Right now one has a 96 mystic I think and a fox 90. The other one has a 03 Terminator blacked out. After being in his terminator many times I think I've grown too fond of it and want one of my own.

My dad said I could sell our 2001 Sequoia (50k miles) or the 2008 Odyssey and I can get a mustang. I don't think he knows how powerful a cobra is.

I'm a bit worried about the costs of insurance, mpg, and the car itself though. I am getting a job to pay it off though, and I am selling some of the things I have.

I'm pretty much a straight edge and fear too much for my life to participate in street racing, I don't go to any parties (yet), but won't drink, don't smoke. If I end up getting one I will probably keep it in first gear and not go over 30 mph for a long time. I won't even go on the freeways. Srs.

I am aware of how much power these cars have and don't want to kill myself. If I drive carefully, slowly, slow down at turns and all that good stuff, I don't see how the terminator would put me in a bad situation. I could be wrong though
I don't want to doing shit like this Black Kenne Bell Blown Mustang Cobra gets a hard driving lesson - YouTube
Is that a result of bad driving?

I have no idea what to do.
Any advice guys, I know I'm going to get a lot of hate for this, but just be respectful and I will hear you out.

I am unsure what to do, any advice?

 

[cnnrlck]

Work your way up, even stock that is way to much raw power to handle if you haven't even owned a car before...it's way too easy to get into trouble especially an inexperienced driver that doesn't know how to react to a situation. The blower whine is addictive, try starting with a gt, insurance will be very high too

 

[LAMach]

Work your way up, even stock that is way to much raw power to handle if you haven't even owned a car before...it's way too easy to get into trouble especially an inexperienced driver that doesn't know how to react to a situation. The blower whine is addictive, try starting with a gt, insurance will be very high too

This... Insurance is going to kill you. In had an 03 Mach at 19 while I was in college. I had a good student discount so my insurance was right at $185/month, which is still high, but it was manageable. That's w a clean record also.. As soon as I lost the discount, it went to almost $300/month. Sold the car soon after. I'm 25 now with a 04 cobra and pay $120/mth w a clean record.

 

[BladeX10]

I wouldnt get one for a first car, I'd get a 94-04 GT and "learn the ropes". Terminators are very unforgiving. My friend who had a 2005 350z who thought he knew everything about "fast" cars and knew how to handle them sold his 350z and bought a modded 2004 Cobra, During his trip back home, He got on it and lost the rear end and fishtailed all over the freeway. Luckily it was 1am at night with no cars on the freeway.

Theres 400-500 HP cars that are so refined, you can barely even feel the torque/power, Terminators on the other hand are very dangerous for the inexperienced drivers, Go take a look at some in car youtube videos of them in action and youll see what i mean.

 

[GeorgiaSnake]

I wouldnt get one for a first car, I'd get a 94-04 GT and "learn the ropes". Terminators are very unforgiving. My friend who had a 2005 350z who thought he knew everything about "fast" cars and knew how to handle them sold his 350z and bought a modded 2004 Cobra, During his trip back home, He got on it and lost the rear end and fishtailed all over the freeway. Luckily it was 1am at night with no cars on the freeway.

Theres 400-500 HP cars that are so refined, you can barely even feel the torque/power, Terminators on the other hand are very dangerous for the inexperienced drivers, Go take a look at some in car youtube videos of them in action and youll see what i mean.

Good advice from Blade. The limited slip rearend or as most call them "posi's" will get away from you especially in the wet. Got to respect the horse power of the engine and the characteristics of the rearend behind you.

The Snake

 

[SPARTAAA 117]

I'll get a GT for now and then when I'm 18 I'll sell it and get a Cobra. Are there any mods on the GT that will make it sound as good as a KB Cobra?

 

[Chosyn1]

I'll get a GT for now and then when I'm 18 I'll sell it and get a Cobra. Are there any mods on the GT that will make it sound as good as a KB Cobra?

no:banana:

 

[SuperBlownGT]

no:banana:

:beer:

 

[svtrookie]

I agree with everything said above. Even a GT can be somewhat dangerous for a new driver. The temptation to be immature is always there not to mention that your friends will always be encouraging you. Just be careful, start off slow and work your way up!

 

[mike.b]

you need an econo shit box for a first car. civic, cobalt, focus at least 5 years old already.

you need to get some hours under your belt before you get a car with any kind of power.

 

[starnsey]

The guys here are gonna eat you alive since a lot of them are "Get off my lawn!" types.

I'd say you can do whatever you damn well please. Insurance would be a bitch and a half. If the debate is really needed: I'd say get a new edge GT, put some lowering springs, nice shocks/struts, 18" wheels, and an exhaust system and you'll be more than satisfied till you're ready to upgrade to a more powerful car.

You don't need to drive a shitbox just cause the old farts think you don't deserve a cool first car. My first car was a 1966 Mustang that I got when I was 14 - my dad and I restored it and even at 16 and the car being an inline 6 I respected it and got a whole lot of attention in the high school parking lot.

Whatever you do, just don't bring up your age on here or talk about how you whooped up on someone or how you were drifting around the cul-de-sac and hopefully the negative nancy's on here will leave you alone.

 

[KLeech]

no:banana:

Put Kenne Bell on GT? :shrug:

 

[Dasaliac03]

Put Kenne Bell on GT? :shrug:

LOL i got a 1.7L id sell to the kid!


I had a supercharged 01 bullitt as my first car. Just as long as your responsible enough to drive like you have some sense, i dont see a problem with it!

 

[Shadow Grey 03]

I drove a fox body vert for a little bit when I was 16, then reality set in and I had to drive my own car. It was an 86 Grand Marquis. I took that old Mercury out in the snow and learned how to handle a rear drive car in the snow. That made controlling the 93 fox body, that I got when I was 19, a lot easier. My one friend learned to drive in an 88 5-speed coupe. You just have to know your limits and don't push too hard until you are comfortable with what you have. We all worked our way up from there. Modding our cars and then getting more powerful cars was part of the fun along the way.

 

[BLU3VN0M]

My first car was a 2000 v6 vert... It was slow as hell but I loved that car to death. Then I stepped up to a cobra as my second. I would HIGHLY advise you not to get a cobra as your first car. I know when I got mine I said I wouldn't get on it that much (quit kidding yourself, it doesn't last long trust me haha). These cars are highly powerful even in the stock car, they're a drivers car as you have to learn the car, they don't save themselves when your back end steps out. I know v6's suck, but they have come a long way in the past 5-10 years. I think if you were to wait for the Eco boosts in 2015, you wouldn't be disappointed

 

[MalcolmV8]

No one needs an 03 Cobra for a first car. It's a good way to end up dead. You don't have to start out with a total pile but it definitely needs to have much less power. You need a few years of driving experience, pick up on things like depth perception of how fast a corner is coming up when a car is accelerating hard, what happens when the car fish tails and steps out on you a bit, what it does in corners, how about corners a little to fast, just to name a few. Some of those can be fatal lessons learned in an 03.
Take your first car out to local SCCA events and put it through some paces in a safe environment and work your way up. No one wants to see you get hurt, hence all the similar advice up above.

 

[6speed]

ehh im on the fence. I know 99% of people will say "don't get one you will die" theres two sides to it. I will say when I was 16 I drove like an inexperienced idiot, and probably cheated accidents many of times thankfully have never been in one still to this day at age 30. (knock on wood) had I been driving a high hp car and not a ford probe I may have very well turned one of those near misses into an accident.

that being said it sounds like you are already aware of the dangers and have a more mature attitude than I did. so... I will just say that you get something like an old gt or whatever, youll find yourself dumping massive $ into it to try to make it faster, eventually give up get bored and sell it and lose a bunch of money. In my late teens/early 20s went through a gt, a mystic, a saleen, eventually wound up in a ws6 til there was something with enough power to keep my interest.

bottom line its up to you and no one here can make the decision for you. good luck be safe.

 

[whitedevil95]

Yeah get a GT or V6 and take your lumps on that. When your a bit more mature i would make the step up.

 

[MysticRob]

With all the electronic nannies these days new drivers have it much better than I did 20-some years ago. A terminator cobra can still get you in trouble with its power, but if you can afford it and it's what you want, then by all means get it. Just don't drive like a douche anywhere near me bro. LOL

 

[SLPRCTM]

Start out with something not so powerful and that can take a bit of a beating. You can "learn" to drive out in the real world for a while and hone your skills. Once you get comfortable behind the wheel and learn natural reactions to avoid accidents, then consider getting a high performance vehicle. This will make you a safer driver, a more responsible driver and save you some cash. My first vehicle was a 1983 Thunderbird with a v-6. Great car to learn in.