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

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?

YES !! I think you would be asking for trrouble

yes! i had a ford bronco and killed it in less than a year!

Yes.

Try E30 3 series if you want a nice starter car.

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.

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.

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.

M3 is a very quick car...I wouldnt do it for my kid at 16. Too young

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.

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.

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..

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.

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?

I have a better idea. Just strap your kid to a rocket and launch him to the moon.

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.

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.

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.

Not for the first car, temptation will get him eventually and he'll wrap it around a tree. Go with the civic to learn on, then go for the M3

If M3 at 16.

Where does he go frome there.....give him a chance to appreciate lifes hard fought rewards..

Originally Posted by graystone

If M3 at 16.

Where does he go frome there.....give him a chance to appreciate lifes hard fought rewards..

+1

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

Originally Posted by BumBMW

I have a better idea. Just strap your kid to a rocket and launch him to the moon.

Thats probably safer!

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.

Originally Posted by Pinecone

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.

not an m3, that's way too fast for a first car man

Originally Posted by ffej

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.

So you have already taken away the M3 from your 10 year old?