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Am i crazy to get my 16 year old an M3??

26K views 111 replies 90 participants last post by  DinanM3e36 
#1 ·
I've always told my son that if he got good grades, and didnt smoke that he'd get to pick out a decent car. It started out with a 00 civic si, and some how ended up coming to a 1995 bmw m3. Ive drivin several bmw's, but never an m3. Is it too much power for a brand new driver?:dunno:
 
#5 ·
My first instinct was to say yes, you are crazy, borderline psycho.

I believe that for a first car, you should get him something with 4 cylinders, and preferably something FWD. I think the 00 Si is a great choice, I had one myself a few years ago. This car will be efficient, reliable and more than enough fun. Because it is FWD it will be safer for a 16 year old that has a limited understanding of vehicle dynamics, but a virtually unlimited capacity for rash decisions (you may have a very good kid, but believe me, all 16 year olds, and particularly boys, are stupidity-prone).

HOWEVER, if he insists and you capitulate, I highly encourage you to send him to driving school. And not the $99 ones that put him in a Ford Focus for a day and teach him how to parallel park. Spend at least $1000 on a quality driving school, which will teach him the wonders and responsibilities of rear-wheel drive, and the value of traction control. Perhaps even go with him and make it father-son weekend thing. A nice investment in driving school won't just bring you closer together, it may very well save his (or someone else's) life.
 
#6 ·
Yes. But if you do, you REALLY need to send him to a GOOD driving school. Skip Barber, Roos Racing, BMW Performance Center.

It is not only the performance of the car, it is the image. He will have other young people challenging him all the time, and he will likely not be able to resist.

I managed to have to do a driving school (71 in a 60 zone, country road, light traffic). Young male in the class, saw my M3, and mentioned he had one. For 3 weeks. Seems he was bummed because his Dad made him get rid of it after getting ONLY 6 tickets in that 3 weeks.
 
#7 ·
No, just because I hate conformity, no one here knows your kid as well as you do.Go for it, but don't get it right off the bat. I had to drive a old ****ty s10 with no window and a worn clutch first. It taught me " **** if I can almost get in trouble in this, I better be careful as hell in anything else". M3's are quick, but they're really not that fast.
 
#9 ·
With driver training, sure. Do you believe that he has the sense to learn car control and apply that when he gets aggressive?

The real issue with a '95 M3 is maintenance - a '95 is pretty old and will almost certainly need substantial work. (Very few people seem to be properly maintaining them at this point.) Typically, cooling system, suspension, bushings, and a few other things.

How are you handling maintenance? Will this be your responsibility? His? Is a shop dealing with it? Refurbishing an older BMW can be very rewarding - it'll feel like new, but it can be pretty expensive. And frequently, it's not optional.
 
#10 ·
I'm 22 and just bought myself a 95 M3 about a year ago. I wouldn't say you are crazy but at the same time you need to be really careful. my dad taught me to drive on a '84 528i and I started doing numerous track weekends as soon as I was old enough so I learned how to handle cars properly. It is all in the training. Make sure he knows how to drive the car correctly and take him to driving schools. Oh and the M3 is way cooler then the si, chicks love it.
 
#11 ·
WOW! I'm not sure about your son, but my son wasn't the most responsible at 16 and crashed his Prelude twice within the first couple of months of getting his license, and this had nowhere near the power that you are talking about! You son may be out of the norm, BUT remembering how I was at 16, there is NO way in the world that I should have been behind the wheel of a M-3. Even at my age I've postponed going up to the M as it is VERY tempting to drive beyond my means.... Even at 190hp, I have WAY more power than a new driver should have.

My advice, look for something in the Volvo/Honda range, with a good balance of safety and performance! You can always add mods to make it handle better. Better also to invest in a good driver control school.

Best of luck and good work on your son's grades..
 
#12 ·
Definately not. Young drivers are very subject to having auto accidents. It is way too easy for the M3 to exceed his driving experience, school or no school. That car can easily turn around and bite him.

Be truthful with him and tell him what you were thinking when you told him about your car purchase thoughts. Don't give in to him just because he wants it now, you're own instincts seem to say that the M3 is too much car, so just be truthful.

Maybe it might make a good college graduation gift, but please, get him something safer to drive.

A 56 year old Dad.
 
#13 ·
Would you want your kid to start taking flying lessons in a Cessna, or a Gulfstream? That car is way too much for him, IMO. It'd be like going skiing for the first time and deciding to take your kid up to Jackson Hole and have him jump off the ledge into Corbet's Couloir. I think you are setting your kid up for disaster.
This may be beyond the scope of your question, but why not tell your kid he can get the M3 once he has enough money saved from his JOB to pay for it. My father wouldn't buy me a car, or pay for gas/insurance/repairs, etc. The reason wasn't money, as we were pretty well off, rather it was to teach me responsibility. While I wasn't happy about it then, I thank him for it now. And it made me appreciate my 1972 Chevy Impala that much more!! I don't think your kid will appreciate the M3. It will make him feel entitled though.
Congrats on the good grades and not smoking. Sounds like a responsible kid. Why endanger those responsible habits by giving him such a high powered car?
 
#15 ·
I say go for it, but driving school is a must.

I was given a BMW 525iA at 17 as my first car, and I must admit that in the beginning I did get myself in some sketchy situations. Had I been given a 540i I would have probably killed myself.

After a few scares I decided that I needed to get to know the limits of the car, so every day on the way to school I would take some corners sideways. Every day I would slightly increase the speed or the angle. By the end of the school year I was able to control the car almost completely sideways, at speed, through those corners. Learning little by little helped me see what a big difference a small adjustment can make. I don't recommend that your son does this in an M3, so you better send him to a good driving school instead of buying more tires. :D

Dad: "Why are your tires wearing so fast?"
Me: "I don't know, it must be the harsh Mexican roads"

He always knew what I was really doing.

On the other hand, the legendary BMW handling has saved me a few times since I knew how the car would react.


An M3 at 16 sounds reasonable, but a good driving school isn't optional.
 
#16 ·
Don't ask a question for which you don't want to know the answer.

Look this up... 77% of all new drivers will have an accident in their first year of driving.

www.nsc.org/issues/teendriving/

So, you strap your teen into a M3 which is a very safe car, yet fast. I agree with everyone, get your kid a good 1986-91 Volvo.

I have a 525i and my wife drives a Z3. My 17-year old daughter drives a Subaru with over 175,000 miles that tops at 80mph. Her first incident (backing up into a light pole in a mall) cost abour $75 to repair.

Sorry, but everyone is right. Hence, never ask a question for which you don't whant to know the answer; take the car away.
 
#19 ·
#20 ·
personally not at 16,maybe 18 after driving a few yrs. M3 has power and it gets intoxicating. At 16 you want to proove that alot. My own daughters has driven my M3 with me. It depends how you taught them and how confident you think their driving skills can manage an M3. I would get them a civic,lancer,mazda3, then spruce up the suspension,brakes, intake and exhaust and let him feel or hear power,plus the insurance is a lot less..good luck in your decision
 
#22 ·
OTOH if he gets training, is responsible and knows that ANY trouble will lose the car, it could work. Heck, my first car was a 55 Chevy with 57 Buick 364, Isky cam, Carter AFB carb, Thompson high compression pistons, Hooker headers, Borg Warner T10 close ratio, 4.11 posi.

I survived and didn't crash it.

And BTW I have friends who learned to fly in a T-37 jet and did fine. It is all in the training.
 
#23 ·
OTOH if he gets training, is responsible and knows that ANY trouble will lose the car, it could work. Heck, my first car was a 55 Chevy with 57 Buick 364, Isky cam, Carter AFB carb, Thompson high compression pistons, Hooker headers, Borg Warner T10 close ratio, 4.11 posi.

I survived and didn't crash it.

And BTW I have friends who learned to fly in a T-37 jet and did fine. It is all in the training.
I agree. My kids will probably end up driving ///M cars, mostly because its what he have now...

They also know, at 10 and 5 (well, the 5yo doesn't get it so much) that cars are not toys, unless they are in the garage and you're playing 'car'. When they're being driven, they are 1+ ton of steel, rubber, and explosive/toxic liquids. They also know that if they abuse the privilege and do stupid stuff, the privilege is gone.
 
#89 ·
That's the brightest idea I've heard yet. haha, he'll adjust to the fact that he doesn't really have a quick car if the revs are limited. He won't feel the need to show off or prove anything. As a first car, he wouldn't know what the pull of 240 horses should feel like, so it won't make a difference.
 
#28 ·
My first car was a 74 Opel Manta...this was 1991. It had very little power and was great. My next car was a 69 Cougar with a 351 and 3 speed manual tranny on the floor. I'm lucky to be alive. I was considered to be a "good kid", but I loved getting behind the wheel of my mom's Mazda Protege and winding it out when no one was with me.

I realize Opels are few and far between now, but I think a 4 cylinder pickup truck (pick your flavor - Toyota, Ranger, S10, etc) is a great first vehicle. They are readily available and extrememly reliable because of their mechanical simplicity. Relatively new models are cheap because they are underpowered and no one else wants them. A standard cab model can only carry 3 people inside. Maintenance, fuel, insurance and everything is relatively inexpensive as well.
 
#34 ·
I think a 4 cylinder pickup truck (pick your flavor - Toyota, Ranger, S10, etc) is a great first vehicle. They are readily available and extrememly reliable because of their mechanical simplicity. Relatively new models are cheap because they are underpowered and no one else wants them. A standard cab model can only carry 3 people inside. Maintenance, fuel, insurance and everything is relatively inexpensive as well.
Only downside is that trucks are built to lower safety standards, so you are getting your kid, who is more likely to have an accident, a vehcile that they are less likely to survive an accident while driving. Doesn't make sense to me.

Nice E30 makes more sense.
 
#29 ·
That's asking too much of a 16 year old. Just the showing off factor may get him killed.

Get a new Honda Civic sedan or coupe with 5-speed. Quick, fun to drive, economical, and safe as houses. Cheap to buy, cheap to run and maintain, yet it won't get him sneered at by his friends.

Check this out as far as safety goes... It shows the 2007 cars in order of how safe they are, based on every available rating. You want a new car with all the safety bells and whistles instead of an older model because if he wads it up, he may still walk away from it...

Bruce
 
#30 ·
My first car at 16 was a 3000GT VR4. ;) (My parent's great idea of rewarding me of the good grades and decent behavior thus far in life)
BAD IDEA...........:thumbdwn::thumbdwn::thumbdwn:
Within a year or two, there wasn't a single insurance company who wanted to insure me, other than the government ran ones. I had to pay $787 a month for year and a half before anyone(Nationwide) decided to take a chance. That's right, 787 a MONTH to insure myself with an Accord.:yikes: (I wanted a Supra and they told me $1220/mo)
I had horrifying driving record that will take any cop who pulled me over at least 5 minutes just to find the latest entry.
I'll tell you a funny story... I grew up in Chicago, and I wento pick up a friend from a metro station in UIC campus. I had to make circles because there really isn't a parking lot and no lane for loading and unloading. I made an illegal u-turn along the way and was pulled over. The cop who pulled me over went back to her cruiser, and came back 5 minutes later said "You are a horrible driver!! I don't even know what to do with you...:tsk:" threw my license, and left. :rofl:
Was I a troublemaker? other than driving, far from it. Had excellent grades, and didn't smoke either(at the time at least). I know that it took a LONG~ time to fix everything up, and still regret every bit of it.
Not everyone gets into the type of trouble I had, but kids and fast cars are not a good match.
 
#31 ·
your stupid for asking

when i heard this i couldnt help thinking you where stupid firstly hows he gona insure maintain and run in,secondly giving your 16 boy son an m3 would be like wrapping a machine gun for the columbine teenage murders for theyre birthday if you incredibly stupid by him an m3
 
#32 ·
when i heard this i couldnt help thinking you where stupid firstly hows he gona insure maintain and run in,secondly giving your 16 boy son an m3 would be like wrapping a machine gun for the columbine teenage murders for theyre birthday if you incredibly stupid by him an m3
Wow. What a very well written response. It's nice to see people with such a high opinion of others' ability to control themselves...:rolleyes::tsk:

Insults are something you seem to be good at. :thumbup:
 
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