80 shopping

[Doc]

Have you thought about "The Contract"? There a quite a few versions of this floating around the net.

Basically- it's a kind of written agreement between you and the new driver, stating rules and expectations. Ever version I've seen addresses drunk driving and punishments. Also, every version includes the clause that if they (the son/daughter) are drunk and call home for a ride instead of driving- that no punishment will be given or no suspension of driving privelages... etc...

It's a good idea, and you can incorperate just about anything. ie; not giving rides to friends, moving violations will result in loss of privelages, etc.. Pick 8-10 points and write a paragraph covering each.

Of course, both the parent and child should use this as a tool to set reasonable ground rules and treat it as set in stone until such a time as there arise situations that fall outside of the contract.

 

[Brentbba]

One other tidbit - at least here in SoCal, it's more expensive to insure my 16 yr old daughter as the primary driver in my '94 cruiser than an '04 Matrix. Only reason I can think of would be the carnage the 'bigger/safer' truck would cause relative to the smaller Matrix. Anybody in insurance that can explain this one?

 

[PHAEDRUS]

You got it brent,
that is a large part of it. the potential for damage is much greater, also you have the parts issue on an "older" vehicle vs a newer vehicle. so you comprehensive/collision is high due to age of parts and no real aftermarket suppliers for collision repair, very limited used supply for the same. and your pd levels will be high since it is a non airbag equipped 6k pound tank wich can seriously hurt people. CDN is in the ball here. I would not give a 16 year old a 80 series to go and bash around NYC but if you are in rural Utah or Washington if it is not lifted or modified it is a great vehicle. Teh breaking is an issue with these but it can be adressed and as long as she respects stopping distances you should not have any issues.
I say it is a great rig because the chances of her surviving a broad side by a drunk is about 3x greater in a unibody frame built on top of a ladder box than a conventional unibody. door impact beams and airbags be damned.
You know your child we dont if you think she can handle it adress the brakes and go for it.
Dave

 

[Sammy Jenkins]

Brent, why don't you just insure your daughter as a part time driver? That will be even less expensive.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Thanks for all the discussion here. I decided to pass on this one. Something like a 5 year old Camry would be more practical and appropriate. She may temporarily have to drive the 60 series, but we will have a long discussion about the center of gravity and how swerving a lifted truck is not a good plan. I really like the idea of something large and heavy though, since our part of town is full of Suburbans and similar very large vehicles.

 

[Jim_Chow]

When I was in college, my first car was a used (30K mi) Toyota extracab pickup w/ 22re engine...it provided everything I needed...fuel economy, could carry all my personal belongings when I had to move each year, was reliable and cheap/easy to maintain. The added bonus is, although not everyone in college has a car, since you have a two-seater, you don't have to drive! The other popular college car is a Honda civic...easy to handle, excellent fuel economy, cheap to maintain, and easy to park! (this is important when you're searching for that free parking spot alongside the curb, as most college students do to avoid having to buy a parking permit). You can get them w/ side air bags, too. My older sister bought a new Toyota mini w/ 22r as her first vehicle, but back then, they were only $4995. Just my 2 cents...

 

[GXO]

Get her a MBZ 300SD and let her cruise around in that boat.

Big, comfy, cheap, and good on diesel.

 

[ginericLC]

[quote author=Brentbba link=board=2;threadid=17237;start=msg167469#msg167469 date=1086125423]
One other tidbit - at least here in SoCal, it's more expensive to insure my 16 yr old daughter as the primary driver in my '94 cruiser than an '04 Matrix. Only reason I can think of would be the carnage the 'bigger/safer' truck would cause relative to the smaller Matrix. Anybody in insurance that can explain this one?

[/quote]

Each car is rated on replacement cost of parts. If you've ever started looking at replacement parts for your Cruiser you'll understand why it is so expensive. Why are they expensive, because most of the parts are going to be OEM. Because there was a limited amount of Cruisers imported the replacement part companies don't have any need to make 80 series parts. Almost all 80s I've seen in the junkyard have been rolled which means lots of damage and lots of expensive parts. A Suburban might have 5 or 6 different companies that make fenders of different qualities. Our Tahoe was rearended and we needed a new bumper. We had a choice between 7 different companies that make the same exact bumper.

Another part of what they are rated on is the medical claims. I would think that the occupants in the 80 would do OK as far as medical claims but the other vehicles that the 80 collided with may not have done so well.

Insurance companies rate vehicles on a scale. I believe it goes 1-10 or maybe 1-9 and then they use letters. My 94 is rated at a K still even after 10 years. Our insurance guy could not believe this. A brand new Excursion was less than a K, he happened to be figuring that at the same time he was doing ours. I think our 91 is like an A or C which he couldn't believe either. 14 years old and still in the letters.

Our insurance guy did a lot of investigation and this is what he came up with. He was real curious as we have the only two 80s he has insured (small town). I tend to believe him and our insurance only dropped like $10 when switching companies. He apologized quite a few times because he wanted to do better than that.

 

[semlin]

well, every single damaged part on our 91 that just had a front ender had to be replaced with brand new OEM, after the insurer initially specified used or after market but found there was none. I ended up saving the insurer money by subbing in an ARB bumper insread of OEM! The adjuster joked with me that they would have to reevaluate the rating for these vehicles.

 

[sjcruiser]

Andrew,

There's a '96 LC forsale in craigslist right now for $9500. It has about 152K; appears to be in great condition.

FIY,
Frank.

 

[Brentbba]

[quote author=Sammy Jenkins link=board=2;threadid=17237;start=msg167548#msg167548 date=1086135633]

Brent, why don't you just insure your daughter as a part time driver? That will be even less expensive.
[/quote]

That's almost as expensive as adding a third car. We've had to list her as a third driver now that she's 16, no car associated with her, just another driver.

Eric V. Interesting info - thanks!

I've already made my decision to keep the beast for myself and look at something much more fuel efficient with excellent crash test ratings.

 

[Chuck_FJ60]

My son is the same age (16) and will be needing a car pretty soon. He'll be practicing with my wife's 97 LC since he doesn't want to learn manual shifting (my FJ60) for the road test. I wasn't thinking about getting a used LC for him, since we already have 2 of them and with gas prices lately...almost $50 for each fillup. I'm thinking about a used Honda Accord or Civic, as he thinks all the used Toyota 4-door sedans (Camry, Corolla, etc.) are pretty ugly. All we own are Toys, so I also suggested a RAV4. He only likes the newer model and not the 1st Gen Rav4. However, it's still too expensive.

I also didn't want a vehicle with too many seats (i.e. SUVs, vans), as it will become a taxi for all his friends. Too much distraction for young drivers, IMO.

Regards,


Chuck

 

[cruiserman]

2WD 22RE powered pickup is a great first vehicle, especially for carting crap to college. Don't expect it to survive in an accident though.

 

[Sammy Jenkins]

[quote author=Chuck_FJ60 link=board=2;threadid=17237;start=msg167956#msg167956 date=1086206993]
My son is the same age (16) and will be needing a car pretty soon... he doesn't want to learn manual shifting (my FJ60) for the road test...I also didn't want a vehicle with too many seats (i.e. SUVs, vans), as it will become a taxi for all his friends. Too much distraction for young drivers, IMO.
[/quote]

- Oh man how can your son not want to learn how to drive stick?!? I think that was the best thing that I learned how to do when I started driving and i think it still is. I'm still pretty young and stupid. If you don't want your son driving people around and all that other stuff, I would suggest a used jeep; safe, better mileage than the cruiser, suv, slow, cheap, and one can not fit a lot of people in it.

 

[jjbodean1970]

not a used heep!!!

 

[semlin]

Sammy, how about a used 40 if that's your logic?

Chuck, imho your son would benefit from learning to drive a stick and should take the test in the 60 (or in a 72 econoline window van with 3 on the tree, manual steering, manual brakes and a high idle if you have one handy ). He will have to work harder which is good.

 

[80and100cruisers]

I was lucky enought to get my mom's 91 when I turned 16. Was a good car to learn on....very slow..which is very good. The brakes do suck, but if its what you learn on, you learn to deal with it. When ever I'd drive my parents cars I'd be amazed. I did get into a fender bender..the front bumper is weak and folded..but that rear bumper kicks ass. What you want for a high school parking lot...maybe even an arb/slee up front Plus she will have one kick ass car..that you can borrow.

-Matt

 

[NorCalDoug]

I "learned" how to drive stick in driver's ed while in High School. I got really good at it while I worked as a valet in a high-dollar hotel in Monterey

There's nothing like polishing your manual transmission skills with someone else's Porsche

 

[Budd]

[quote author=sjcruiser link=board=2;threadid=17237;start=msg167860#msg167860 date=1086198343]
Andrew,

There's a '96 LC forsale in craigslist right now for $9500. It has about 152K; appears to be in great condition.

FIY,
Frank.
[/quote]

what is this craigslist you speak of?

 

[strap]

I dont know your daughter, and Iam sure she is very responsable but when I was 16 (not that long ago..6 years) I would of loved a girlfriend with a big car (big back seat area..hint.hint) When I have kids Iam gonna get them the smallest car made so I dont have to worry about what else they might be doing in the car besides driving it.

strap