Most teenagers I see drive way too fast and they are always looking down at their phones while driving. TBH, they drive like assholes. An 8 year old Land Cruiser with 125K isn't just some beater. That's still probably a $50k car on Autotrader right now. I won't tell someone else how to parent their own kid but if it were my kid they'd be driving a 3rd gen 4Runner or at most a 4th gen 4Runner.
Kid car: 2016 LC125k mi vs newer 4Runner
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The frugal part of me says buy a 4 to 6 year old 4 door sedan with 4 cylinder engine. This is by far the cheapest insurance option and vehicle cost. I have no kids but if I did the protective farther in me says get LC its a tank on 4 wheels however I still would not do that. I think privilege should be earned so starter car through high school and college and maybe a new car on passing college assuming I had that kind of dough. It was 1988 when I got my license. I was give a 1977 Ford F100. I got in one accident before I was 19. The truck died in 1993. I bought a used 1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe in 1993. I wrecked it in 1997. Then I bought my first new vehicle a 1997 Toyota T100 (still have it). Good Luck with what ever way you go.
Thank you I’m trying to steer her away from the mini but she has always loved them. As for BMW, The worst car I ever owned was a E46 M3, 2nd worst was a x5.
I work with a guy (just became an empty nester) that sold his 200 last year for a lot. Got a new Santa Cruz and a model 3 for about what he got out of the LC. Let me borrow the Santa Cruz for the weekend, she really likes the practicality of the small bed as she is pretty much always outdoors: skiing, Mtn bike, fishing, camping,….
I'd propose a sort of hybrid assuming you want to maintain the amount of cars you own:
1 - Get her to match some sort of skin in the vehicle she drives (NOT the LC) by matching money or some sort of turning wrenches on it.
2 - Sell your wrangler
3 - Two door taco sounds great, but for a daughter - no.
4 - I like the corolla/hybrid idea as it's a smaller and common car that isn't catastrophic if/when minor impacts happen.
5 - Keep the LC for when she's driven for several years and has experience to apply to a great platform
6 - Try to keep soaking in the memories you've made and where you've arrived with your family and keep enjoying the journey.
my M3 I swore was built first thing Monday morning after a Oktoberfest blow out then must have fell off the ship in transit across the Atlantic. I got it new with <100 miles, it had all kinds of electronic gremlins from the start. Three ECUs in ~9months. More time in the shop then I drove it in the first year. The dealer finally gave me my original sale price trade toward a 996 turbo.
Damn, definitely a lemon.
I owned an '05 330i ZHP at one point and absolutely loved the car. Zero issues for the ~1.5 years of ownership. The E46 is notorious for leaking every fluid imaginable, though. Among other issues.
I'd still love to have an E46 M3 6MT coupe. Timeless classic IMO.
Well my daughter is going to get my old beat up 2015 Tundra (in about 1 more year) …. It’s a double cab and has more scratches on it than the average record.
Ironically, I’m actually shopping for my own second car and I am looking for 2015’s with low mileage (<80k-90k) and shooting for under $40k…. Would you like to adopt me? I’ll treat it well… I’ll flush the AHC, change the transfer case and differentials…. Regular oil changes and I promise to give it a good thorough washing every month… And I’ll kiss it good morning every day.
Trust me I’m totally adoptable
Ironically, I’m actually shopping for my own second car and I am looking for 2015’s with low mileage (<80k-90k) and shooting for under $40k…. Would you like to adopt me? I’ll treat it well… I’ll flush the AHC, change the transfer case and differentials…. Regular oil changes and I promise to give it a good thorough washing every month… And I’ll kiss it good morning every day.
Trust me I’m totally adoptable
No way I'm giving my child the 200-series, or even a 4Runner to start. Multiple reasons including too much mass, power, seats for friends, lumbering taller profile including increased likelihood of rollover.
The way I look at it is that a modern day camry/accord is what I would start them on. Except modern day of those would be the Tesla Model 3. More structural safety. Lots more built in safety tech. Less mental distractions in the act of "driving" a car so they can focus on the road. More cameras and nannies to spy on them. Sure, they wouldn't have the appreciation of learning on a legacy car, but the future will continue to evolve.
They're definitely not touching my analogue manual Porsche (I better hide the keys).
The way I look at it is that a modern day camry/accord is what I would start them on. Except modern day of those would be the Tesla Model 3. More structural safety. Lots more built in safety tech. Less mental distractions in the act of "driving" a car so they can focus on the road. More cameras and nannies to spy on them. Sure, they wouldn't have the appreciation of learning on a legacy car, but the future will continue to evolve.
They're definitely not touching my analogue manual Porsche (I better hide the keys).
Also I have a second thought on this. My first car was a full-size jeep grand Wagoneer.
V8 power, seats for plenty (5 legally) but… Got about 9 miles per gallon and it took every penny I had to put gas in it. So big four-wheel-drive and big power doesn’t necessarily mean opportunity for big trouble. I could barely afford to take that thing to school and back.
V8 power, seats for plenty (5 legally) but… Got about 9 miles per gallon and it took every penny I had to put gas in it. So big four-wheel-drive and big power doesn’t necessarily mean opportunity for big trouble. I could barely afford to take that thing to school and back.
Either one is incredibly generous. My youngest (21) still drives around in my old 2000 T4R which he totaled once and we bought back. Offered him an upgrade and he said, nah I’m good.
I agree with all these ponts except Tesla 3 is WAY too fast for a teenager, lol. Even the small battery SR I would not do as a first car. Also being new to cars and generally careless as kids are, they'd probably drain the battery a few times before learning to keep it charged, which is a little bigger of a deal than the typical walk of shame with a gas can. 4 cyl camry would be great though.
Very true and I would be concerned.
Fortunately there's built in driver profiles, valet and chill mode, to limit top speed and acceleration.
Range anxiety is not really a thing on modern EVs, especially in a Tesla. 300 mile range with explicit and dynamic feedback that accounts for weather, grades, speed...works like their cell phone. It is gas cars that has a guess-o-meter that us old folk are calibrated to understand say what quarter tank equals to.
I was sitting here thinking you were nuts for suggesting a Tesla (speed) but having that ability to control and track for the kid makes it a game changer.
I fear that's a double-edged sword. It'll build a tracking dependency for the parent (which is likely not all that "healthy"), and a similar "I'm being tracked, they don't trust me" fear in the kid, which is also likely not all that "healthy." I'd appreciate the ability to remotely turn on tracking in case of emergencies (ie. kid said they'd be home at 10pm, it's 10:30pm and they're not answering the phone), but having it on 24/7 and relying on it just seems wrong. That kind of location sharing can already be done via smartphones, but having a secondary layer of that in the car would be an added plus (phones can get lost, stolen, etc.).
Maybe I'm just being cynical, but it seems to me that trust (going both ways) is part of growing up. So is making mistakes.
I mean, do you give the kid 50% power? 70%? At what point, after which KPIs, do you "upgrade" the kid from 50% to 70%, or to 100%? Just seems like a whole lot of headache and complication. Trust is either there, or it's not.
I always bought my own vehicles (cars and motorcycles), paid my own way, made and paid for plenty mistakes, learned tons along the way. I think there's a lot of value in making your own way.
I distinctly recall sitting in a grade 11 class with another student, while he had his head down in his arms, looking sad and broken; he then explained that his parents offered to buy him either a new Acura TL or a new 3-series BMW, and he couldn't make up his mind for a week at that point, so he was "depressed." Don't know how that kid's life turned out, but I'm pretty sure we had different challenges & values...
I hear ya. Kids can't be kids anymore and everything is tracked, recorded, etc. Cell phones and the ubiquitous cameras out there. With a Tesla, kids won't even have privacy in the car. For those that haven't seen what is remotely viewable, and why Tesla's are the least favorite for crimes...
Trust is only broken when you break it. Same with allowing your kids to watch things they shouldn’t or limiting screen time etc. They’re gonna do it if they really want to, kids will be kids.
Do I want to spend time tracking my kid when she’s away? Nope, sounds boring.
Do I want to know where she is at 2 morning when she’s 2 hours past her curfew? Would be really nice to be honest.
Do I want to make fart noises while her car is full of friends? Abso-freaking-lutely.
Do I want to spend time tracking my kid when she’s away? Nope, sounds boring.
Do I want to know where she is at 2 morning when she’s 2 hours past her curfew? Would be really nice to be honest.
Do I want to make fart noises while her car is full of friends? Abso-freaking-lutely.
Good grief, camera surveillance?? Do you not trust your kids that much? Don’t give them a car, then, instead of going all Big Brother on them. 
I’m going against the majority here. If it has to be between the two vehicles, I’d pick a 4Runner. It’s smaller, easier to park, easier on gas and maintenance, and honestly, more hip among the teen crowd. It’s a “cool” vehicle. The LC is a soccer mom mobile (I’m being unbiased here).
I’m going against the majority here. If it has to be between the two vehicles, I’d pick a 4Runner. It’s smaller, easier to park, easier on gas and maintenance, and honestly, more hip among the teen crowd. It’s a “cool” vehicle. The LC is a soccer mom mobile (I’m being unbiased here).
Heritage 2020
SILVER Star
Our daughter drove a my ‘14 AEV Jeep Rubicon during high school (which she loved as a kid) then “upgraded” to a ‘16 4Runner Limited in college (which she loves and drives to this day as a young adult).
In high school, it was all about the cool factor and the Jeep checked the boxes.
By the time college rolled around, she was tired of the rough ride and the roaring KM2s—which worked great, as I got my Jeep back.
Win, win!
In high school, it was all about the cool factor and the Jeep checked the boxes.
By the time college rolled around, she was tired of the rough ride and the roaring KM2s—which worked great, as I got my Jeep back.
Win, win!
TheGrrrrr
GOLD Star
Good grief, camera surveillance?? Do you not trust your kids that much? Don’t give them a car, then, instead of going all Big Brother on them.
I’m going against the majority here. If it has to be between the two vehicles, I’d pick a 4Runner. It’s smaller, easier to park, easier on gas and maintenance, and honestly, more hip among the teen crowd. It’s a “cool” vehicle. The LC is a soccer mom mobile (I’m being unbiased here).
Those kids are carrying around 100 sensors, generating terabytes of data about their behaviors, thoughts, feelings, likes and fears which they do not hesitate to give to unregulated companies in exchange for entertainment. Additionally they live in homes with alarm codes, smart locks, doorbell cameras, they go to schools with metal detectors and cameras covering every inch of the building. There are very few moments in the average teenagers day to day life where a camera, sensor or app isn't tracking them. This generation has never known privacy of any kind, but even the illusion of privacy is routinely traded away for clicks, share and likes.
Trust never had a chance to enter the equation.
