kids and fcars...

Its the type of fun that they would have that worries me, anyway no back seats in most so they wouldnt want it anyway.

 

I know how I drove when I was a kid in my little four banger ford. There is no way I would let my kid take out the Ferrari!!!!

 

My kids are cool enough!For me it sends the wrong message not only to my children but to thier peer's as well.

 

OK got you interesting question, it would be a big responsobility on both sides, but with a responsible kid i dont see no problems most would love the car and treat it with respect i think, one question though insurance?

 

When my little boys come of age,they will only drive 0.5 of a litre cars with only 28 bhp and a top speed of 25 mph, side air bags,front air bags and cross harnesses and not forgetting the guy running up front with a red flag. As for motor bikes yes when there 30 years of age. In a nut shell the thought of letting them go scares me s***less. Sorry to say this but as a parent it has to be a case of .....do as i say not as i do...

 

Too late....these two have got the bug already ! My son is in driving seat, 360Spider's son is in passenger seat.
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Years ago I let my then 18 year old daughter drive my TR to her high school graduation. She stills talks about it on occasion.

 

That v cool. Nice one. ; )

 

Cool!
I guess she was a very popular girl that evening...

 

Here's another perspective guys from the kid on the other side of the question...

About 10 years ago, my father had a brand new, really high horsepower Corvette that was his baby...I mean aftermarket tuned to the gills. I was 17 when he bought it and had it tuned, and because I was a "responsible" teenager, he would let me take it out...needless to say, you would not believe the "wanna race" and "how fast is that thing really?" comments I got. The temptation was definitely there...

The funny thing about that car was that I would NEVER act irresponsible in it. In fact, I was over-responsible and super protective of that car and my right to drive it. My greatest fear was that if I did something stupid with it, he would never let me touch it again. In a way, it taught me to respect nice things and appreciate how valuable trust really is.

I later asked him what possessed him to trust me with this car (his friends often asked him the same thing). He simply answered "you are my son, and I love you more than anything in this world, including that car." He then looked at me with a sly grin and said, "besides, I KNOW you, you are a good son and you work hard. I never had any trouble out of you...you deserve it as much as I do".

I still have that car. He gave it to me as a College Graduation present.

I guess my point is that if you know your child will respect your car, and he/she realizes that driving a ferrari is a privilege not a right, then what is the harm in letting them take it for a spin every now and again??? Who knows, they might surprise you and put gas in it!!!

Cheers

 

That's a bloody awesome story... Welcome to FerrariChat...

 

As long as your kid is responsible, and you trust that he won't be trashing it...or racing it...I think its ok. I grew up around cars, and my dad taught me to respect them. He also had me drive karts since a kid...and I did lots of track events. I pretty much learned street racing, and 0-60 starts are stupid. At 16 I had a new M3, I got another M3 at 18, another M3 at 21, a CLK55 at 21, and now Im 23 and I have a 360. I never street raced, or did stupid things in my own cars (This does not include dealership loaners)...infact I was SO careful driving them because I never wanted to disappoint my parents. So bottom line...if they are responsible kids...and they have respect for the parents and the car....I dont see a problem in letting them have an exotic.

 

My kids are too much like me at that age, so no to them driving the Ferraris.
We have a neighbor a couple of houses down that let his daughter use his mid-life crisis corvette.
He should have removed the privilege after she got a speeding ticket in it.
But instead waited till she totaled the vett.
Now he and his wife share a ride to work in the morning.
Truly sad.

 

Problems usually arise when anyone (doesn't matter what age they are or what they are driving) becomes too comfortable and over confident with what they drive. While I think that a parent letting their son or daughter drive their Ferrari is a nice display of faith, it shouldn't be a day to day privelidge. ie make it 'for special occasions' only.

Maybe I am speaking a little too much from my perspective of a young lunatic here, but after the 'fear of destroying' a new car washes away, I find myself weighing less and less the consequences of what I do. The bottom line is, don't let them get too comfortable with driving "something too fast to do something stupid in" (Stolen from XXX the movie )

 

Aw man, now I feel all warm and fuzzy!

 

interesting topic. i know my dad never let me drive his M5, except when he was in it with me. same goes with his vette. he told me it was because he was a pretty wreckless and crazy kid and he figured i'd be the same way. he told me he took out his sister's nissan 240z when he was 12 and drifted it and crashed it into a neighbors wall. damage was minimal, but his sister wasn't pleased.

after hearing stuff like that i can understand why he doesn't trust me. but he sent me to karting school and i raced for a little bit. that was his way of keeping me off the street and teaching me a few things about driving.

 

Wow, that IS a great story! I was going to respons somewhere along those same lines but you captured my feelings much more eloquently than I could have

 

my dad doesnt have a ferrari but WHEN i get MINE i think it will take a while for me to let my kid drive it, because i look at myself now, just learning to drive, and im a f^&*@%$ maniac, so to me its all about descions they have made in the past as well as driving abilities. maybe ill just let him drive my crappy lamborghini hahaha, what im trying to say, if i had one rite now i wouldnt let myself drive it

 

Not too long ago I let my father drive my Ferrari.

He was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the drive.
He still talks about it when I speak to him on the phone.

As a young boy my father did not even let me drive his old Volvo (you remember the big bumper one). After the drive he offered me to drive his new Volvo! Isn't that sweet?

Ton

 

Maybe let him/her drive it with you first, then if they do alright let them take it out on their own at a certain, specified time? Also, you probably know what kind of a driver your son/daughter is. For me, I don't usually speed (much), have never gotten a ticket, and generally don't do stupid things with my car (unlike a LOT of other people my age). If they are this kind of driver, let them go ahead - they will probably drive 10 mph under the limit and generally be very cautious with such a great car!