What should I do?

[ported 04]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this but i'm looking for everyone's opinion on what I should do with my son. He's turning 16 this month and is getting his license. He's had his permit for 9 months now and has drove a LOT. He of course wants a car but I can't afford insurance on a Harley, Cobra, Truck AND another car. So I think I might put him as a secondary driver on my insurance and then he can drive my cobra or my truck whenever he wants. I'm trying to sell my harley duece right now if he gets a car or not i need money. If I sell my harley soon, i'll think about getting him a used car. But don't jump all over me because i'm letting a 16yr old drive a ~500rwhp cobra. He suprised me the first time I let him drive it. It was his FIRST time driving a stick and he didn't kill it at all until we got into the driveway and he popped the clutch going over the little bump. He is literally powershifting the car now from 1st to 2nd! (faster than me).

Sorry for the long read but here is what I want to know. Should I:
1. Sell harley keep the money I get and let him drive cobra/truck until he's 18 then he gets his own car.
2. Sell harley get him a used car for around $4000-$5000 and keep the rest of the harley money.

The reason I don't want to get him a car is because he can't have a car in his name until he's 18 so i'm wondering if I should just wait till he's 18 and he will have some money to help pay for a car.

 

[Tx_Diablous]

Your Cobra is to much for a 16 year old. I have seen what was left of a Cobra that a Dad gave to his 16 year old when she plowed through a stand of trees at 110. Not much left of either of them.

 

[ported 04]

My son isn't going to be doing 110 anywhere besides the track. Well, I hope he won't. When he floors it, it's usually getting onto the highway he drops it down into 2nd going about 40 then hits it.
Whatever I get him, he will want to put mods on it. Even if it's a civic he wants to build the motor and put a turbo on it. He's been driving the cobra 9 months and he does good.
And he will drive the cobra even if I do get him a car. He wants to take it to school to show off and take his g/f out in it.

 

[tjs98gt]

if he feels he can beat on the car with you in it....imagine how he will drive when hes alone or with his buddies. bad idea all together

 

[ported 04]

^Yeah i'm pretty worried about that..I already have 2 people interested in the Harley so if one of them buy it, i'll be looking at cars.

 

[Swannyvill]

yea i don't think i would let him drive the cobra alone, when i think back to when i was 16 and if i had that car i would have been fooling around w/ it.

 

[James Snover]

+1 on what they said. Too much engine for a sixteen year old young man.

Your boy is probably going to hate you for not letting him have it, but when he is in his late twenties, he will thank you for not letting him have it. But until then, you have to be smarter and stronger.

I'm not saying anything against your kid, I'm sure he is a fine young man. But it is the "young" that is the hold up, and means that this decision is up to you, not him.

Jim Snover

Your Cobra is to much for a 16 year old. I have seen what was left of a Cobra that a Dad gave to his 16 year old when she plowed through a stand of trees at 110. Not much left of either of them.

if he feels he can beat on the car with you in it....imagine how he will drive when hes alone or with his buddies. bad idea all together

yea i don't think i would let him drive the cobra alone, when i think back to when i was 16 and if i had that car i would have been fooling around w/ it.

 

[ported 04]

+1 on what they said. Too much engine for a sixteen year old young man.

Your boy is probably going to hate you for not letting him have it, but when he is in his late twenties, he will thank you for not letting him have it. But until then, you have to be smarter and stronger.

I'm not saying anything against your kid, I'm sure he is a fine young man. But it is the "young" that is the hold up, and means that this decision is up to you, not him.

Jim Snover

I understand. We went and looked at a 2001 S10 4cyl 5spd and he got to drive it and he said he really liked it but the thing had NO NO NO power at all. He wants something he can haul his dirt bikes around in. I was thinking about selling the cobra to have some extra dough but now I decided that I'm def. hanging onto the cobra because I beleive these will be worth a lot of money later on. And it's winter time so I won't be riding my harley at all.

 

[wlg101190]

My parents bought me my '03 Cobra when I was about 16. My father used to let me drive his 2003 Z06 with him in the car, but not alone. I guess he had no idea how fast the Cobra was. :banana: Anyways, when I got the car, I was very responsible, hardly did I ever get on it. Sometimes I would go out to an old abandoned road and just get used to the power, then take it to my local track to have some fun. Then again, my car is not ported, just pullied.

Edit: Never have I gotten in a wreck, or even come close at that, in this car. *Knocks on wood*

 

[ported 04]

^Awesome! I trust my son with it I think he will probbaly do the same thing you do. Go out to an abondoned road and hammer on it once in a while. I don't street race and he said he won't either he will only be going to the track to race for fun. My car isn't really "ported" the blower is just opened up a little by a local shop. It has average pullied cobra HP but the TQ is high.

 

[SVT_4_me]

no 16 year old should have a 500 hp car... period.

if i had a car like that when i was 16 i would definitely not be here today.

 

[01SaleenS281]

Is it in th cards for him to get a part-time job? I'm all for the matching dollar for dollar scenario versus giving a kid a car when they are able to drive. It's amazing how much value it builds and how much more a person takes care of something they have time and money in. Let him drive the truck to and from work/school until he saves enough to put 50% towards a decent car. Keep the Cobra in the garage and you won't have to worry about the shape it's gonna return in especially since you're holding onto it since it will have good value in the future. In the end peer pressure is a bitch when you're 16 w/ a fast car and no dad in the car telling you not to be stupid.

 

[firemanmike]

If you love your son (which I'm sure you do) you won't let him drive your Cobra, especially the way you say he's been driving it with you in the passenger seat.:nonono::nonono::nonono:

 

[ported 04]

He is probably getting a job at HEB or a local driving range soon. If I don't get him a car, he will have to drive the cobra 70% of the time because I take the truck to work. I'm thinking about maybe a V6 mustang or V6 camaro or a small truck or even a civic.

 

[99cobra302]

you can find 96-98 mustang gt's in good condition for pretty cheap these days. may want to look into something like that. this way he has a mustang and if he wants to mod it he will be able to for fairly cheap.

 

[mustangvsix]

get him a small truck he can hall his dirt bikes around in like you said he kind of wants to be able to do. It will give him his own car, and then on occasion you can let him take the cobra out, he will realize it's more of a privilege to drive the cobra then and not be as likely to be too stuipd in it and end up loosing that privilege. Any kid who is powershifiting and screwing around in the car with his dad on a learners permit is bound to try and see how fast that car goes, guaranteed. I would definitely not give a new 16yr old driver a 500hp car.

yeah and +1 to a 96-98 gt rather than a 99+ v6. They may not be much faster but I feel they have way more potential and then at least he will have a v8.

 

[BlackenedSVT]

My son isn't going to be doing 110 anywhere besides the track. Well, I hope he won't. When he floors it, it's usually getting onto the highway he drops it down into 2nd going about 40 then hits it.
Whatever I get him, he will want to put mods on it. Even if it's a civic he wants to build the motor and put a turbo on it. He's been driving the cobra 9 months and he does good.
And he will drive the cobra even if I do get him a car. He wants to take it to school to show off and take his g/f out in it.

TRUST ME (and the others who agree with me), the Cobra is WAAAAY to much for a 16 year old. No offense but I'm surprised that you're even considering something like that. A 500rwhp car IS too much power for such an inexperienced driver. And "he wont go 110 anywhere other than the track"....yeah maybe if you're in the passenger seat EVERYTIME he drives.

What do you think his other 16/17 year old friends will say when hes driving your cobra around. they will want to drive it too! and you're not going to be there to know. And either his friends or your son will be not only ABUSING that cobra but probably wrecking it.

Do yourself a favor, buy him a used car. Even another used cobra if you want. Just not a terminator or anything with a blower. I'm not against younger drivers having fast cars. But one with a blower..... no, thats really a bad idea.

And I have nothing against you but Im going to vote the 3rd option on this poll. This shouldn't even be a question. No 16 year old should have a 500rwhp cobra. Reguardless of how much you and him "THINK" hes a good driver.

 

[Chris _Scott]

I definitely couldn't imagine having a 460rwhp Cobra at that age.

I was 15 and learned how to drive in a v6 S10 [miss that truck btw] and had a stock 98 eclipse through high school..and still had a blast driving it!

I would just go ahead and buy him a 99+GT or a 96-98 Cobra...they're really not that expensive and you can mod them easily.

I bought my Cobra stock when I turned 18 and while I thought it was badass and fast [shortly before I discovered SVTP] and it wasn't anywhere close to having too much power and losing control, but then again I have always babied mine.

I would definitely NOT trust your son with the Cobra alone, while I'm sure he will be responsible with it and be careful with it..all it takes is that ONE time where he decides to show off to friends/girls[you already mentioned he wants to show off the car] and he pushes it too hard and loses control and causes damage to the car, himself, and possible others.

Every time I drove with my dad in the car, I was extremely cautious and could not imagine getting on it and powershifting with my dad in it....

I'm 20 and it wasn't too long ago that I was there, just my .02

edit: I just saw that he wanted to haul his bikes around...get a v6 s10, they're awesome trucks! still wish we had it!

 

[s_x_i]

Get him a fox body! They are great bang for the buck, parts are cheap, easy to mod and he can learn as he goes.

Please don't let him drive the Cobra. If I had had 500rwhp at 16, it would have been very messy... :nonono:

 

[F the V-TAC]

Coming from a 17 y/o....more than likely HE WILL drive differently when your not in the car.