Seeking my Son's first car ..

Bringatrailer.com

I see lots of cars on here that would make good starter sporty cars

Good luck with the search

 

I'm in a similar situation. Believe it or not, the Alfa Giulia, seems like a very attractive option. They've proven to be reliable (yes, I said it! ) according to many (https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/alfa-romeo-giulia.505665/), perform and drive very well (most say better than BMWs comparable offerings), and recent model years can be bought with low miles quite inexpensively (around the upper area of your price range). The Giulia hasn't changed much over the years, so older models are quite similar to the newest. No stick available, but a very sporty automatic. In my opinion, automatic is better solution for a kid's car than automated manual (PDK et al) from a maintenance/reliability standpoint. Can be as sporty as some of the sports cars he prefers, but I think a bit safer.

I'm in your position, and honestly the Giulia is currently at the top of the list.

The Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86/Scion FR-S (all largely the same car) is more of a sports car and surprisingly practical (tiny back seat, pretty good storage) -- but a major downside is that the engine has very little torque and feels shockingly slow in normal driving (feels like 9 second 0-60 even though it is 6.2 secs in tests). They finally improved torque in 2022 I think, but that would be over budget. I think the Alfa is a far better choice for roughly the same dollars, and the Alfa seems like it would be less tempting to be irresponsible with.

 

Many cars on that site are homed in NY, NJ, CT, and typically the owners are open to a visit or an inspection. No dog in the fight here, just highlighting.

and if it's a no reserve, you can do well

 

We did cx5 and love it.

 

May want to consult your insurance company first - rates are sky rocketing, especially with new drivers. Best of luck to him, drive safely!!

 

Pretty sure they wont allow coverage solely under the umbrella. If he is a licensed driver and domiciled at your home address, they will require him to be on the policy, from what was explained to me. I use Pure fwiw.

 

oh, they know already.

NY (esp Westchester) super expensive imo. I'm paying $4,400/yr for daughter's '18 SQ5 , also I'm paying extra on my cars due to my son, even though he isn't assigned to a car (lives in the city).

Get a used Audi , imo.

 

No kidding. My son, 18 y/o, perfect grades and zero traffic issues, is $4196/year on our family policy. (State Farm, multi-line, etc. etc)

 

Who do you use for insurance? Pure actuality doesn’t assign drivers to cars which i was surprised to learn.

 

USAA.

I'll check out Pure , but time and time again , no other company could beat USAA's cost

I have Hagerty for the 812GTS (on consignment) and Z06 - they have written in docs that my kids under 25 can't drive the cars.

 

Try Grundy for the toys - they’re usually half of hagerty in my experience.

 

I just picked up a mint 1997 Porsche Boxter (Manual) with 25k miles for $15k. I love the thing. Its my daily driver for when I don't want to drive the Ferrari. I'd take an old boxer over a new car. The thing is a blast! It reminds me of when I use to race Lotus Elise's

 

This cld be cool for sporty:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2017-mazda-mx-5-miata-2/

 

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=carGurusHomePageModel&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d1751&zip=10001#listing=377099406/NONE/DEFAULT

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=carGurusHomePageModel&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d1751&zip=10001#listing=376488231/NONE/DEFAULT




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I'm going through this problem also right now for my soon-to-be 17-year-old. The budget is 15 to 20k for a used car or do I just buy him a new car for 35k with every safety feature and be done with it. Used, we are thinking Arbath 500 or Subaru. New, we are thinking Mini Cooper 2-door base model or something like that. He doesn't like what the newer Subaru's looks like, though they seem to have the best safety features.

 

BMW repair bills will eat you alive.
buy him a car than can withstand a soccer moms suv impact. nobody is paying attention anymore while driving and im seeing a lot of people running red lights.

 

Small cars and 17 years olds cld be risky. Cx5 until they’re out of college for us. Safety wise you cant be a cx5 for the money its a ton of car.

 

IMHO - a Mazda is good value for the money and pretty darn reliable and if it gets dinged, you wont cry too much.
and if you are so motivated, readily modded. He does drive a stick, right? Zoom Zoom.

 

I mowed lawns and saved up $5k and bought a Nissan pickup. Great truck. I used it to do yard work during college to help pay my way. So my vote is Nissan pickup.


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I know it sounds like he wants a sports car, but for all practical reasons, a good old Jeep Wrangler can deliver just as many sporty thrills...cruising with the doors off in the summer, or 4-wheel barn-storming in winter snow. I loved mine just as much as the Jag.